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County databases
on display during
annual event
Center to address
cancer among
Blacks
Miller Grove
sweeps
Stephenson
Local, 2A
local, 8A
sports, 18A
by Andrew Cauthen
andrew@dekalbchamp.com
Bury the hatchet was a
message a group of DeKalb
County pastors gave the
Board of Commissioners and
interim CEO during a Nov.
23 meeting.
Approximately a dozen
ministers with interim county CEO Lee May and Commissioners Nancy Jester,
Larry Johnson, Jeff Rader,
Sharon Barnes Sutton and
Stan Watson to discuss various issues in the county.
All of yall are injured
by one another, so every time
you sit downand when
somebody starts talking, all
kinds of stuff starts moving inside and automatically
weve got a war going on
before we get the facts on the
table because you called the
media on me, you did this
to me, you stabbed me in
the back, I heard about the
meeting you had about this,
Bishop Eddie Long, pastor
of Lithonias New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, told
county leaders.
You dont trust one
another with good reason,
Long said. There should be
a meeting where we have a
peace treaty.
Rev. Steven N. Dial
Sr., pastor of Rainbow Park
Baptist Church, where the
championnewspaper
championnews
championnewsPaper
championnews
County databases
on display during
annual event
by Andrew Cauthen
andrew@dekalbchamp.com
It was all about dataand
the people who manipulate
itwhen DeKalb County
held its annual Geographic
Information Systems (GIS)
Day on Nov. 18.
Basically GIS is a database that links descriptive
informationwhat things are
likewith geographic informationwhere things are,
said Stacy Grear, director of
the countys GIS department.
GIS Day is a time to
demonstrate real-world applications [about] how GIS
is used on a daily basis
[in] the delivery of all public
servicesfire, public safety,
911, planning, community
development, economic development, Grear said. We
basically support every department within the county.
DeKalbs GIS awareness
event was part of an annual
international event during
which information is disseminated about the field of geographic information systems
and the contributions they
make in the fields of science,
technology, information, and
the humanities.
Representatives from
county departments and city
governments that use GIS databases had tables in Maloof
Auditorium during the event.
Grear said one of the
GIS departments tasks is to
maintain land records for the
countys estimated 235 land
parcels.
Those parcels have to
be assessed and taxed, Grear
said. We have to accurately
depict each one of those parcels in terms of maintaining
andsubdividing. When a
new subdivision comes in it
has to be displayed so the tax
assessor can put an accurate
assessment on it.
Additionally, the GIS
department maintains a
county database of more than
400,000 addresses. One of the
uses of this database is for the
911 system.
Accurate GIS records are
critical to response times in
terms of public safety, 911,
police, fire [and] EMS, Grear
said.
During a fuel or chemical
spill from a tanker, for exam-
local
Page 2A
County and city departments that benefit from geographical information systems (GIS) were on display Nov.
18 during DeKalbs annual GIS Day. Photos by Andrew Cauthen
local
Page 3A
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Thanksgiving
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Katherine Tanner
Katherine Tanner spent a
few hours on Nov. 18 talking
to students and other residents about emergency preparedness during a DeKalb
County event promoting geographic information systems
awareness.
She talked about the need
for weather radios, signing
up for the countys CodeRed
emergency notification system and having enough food,
water and supplies during an
emergency.
Tanner volunteers as an
instructor with the DeKalb
County Emergency Manage-
local
Page 6A
unteering.
Its just fun to interact
with people and you feel good
about yourself because youre
helping somebody else, especially somebody that really
cant help themselves, Tanner
said. We thoroughly enjoy
it.
Tanner and her husband
are volunteers in their church,
Connect Point Christian Center in Snellville, where they
work with media, Sunday
School and the churchs caf.
Anything that needs to
be done, were there, Tanner
said.
If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a future Champion of the Week, please contact Andrew Cauthen
at andrew@dekalbchamp.com or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 117.
taxes.
Councilman Steve Wells
said the city should consider
the property values beyond
2015.
We obviously have to
look 100 years down the road
and say what are these property values are going to look
like, Wells said. If Greenhaven comes in, theyre going
to take everything, and then
were truly stuck.
The proposed city of
Greenhavens map includes all
unincorporated areas in south
DeKalb, including the areas
surrounding Stone Mountain.
Although the Greenhaven
cityhood bill did not pass the
last legislative session, it is still
under consideration.
However, Wheeler said
Opinion
Page 4A
John Hewitt
johnh@dekalbchamp.com
GUEST EDITORIAL
opinion
Page 5A
Bill Crane
bill.csicrane@gmail.com
Columnist
F ree P ress
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Publisher:
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Managing Editor:
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Staff Reporters:
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AroundDeKalb
Brookhaven
local
Decatur
Credit union donates food to Greenforest
Social Ministry
Peach State Federal Credit Union recently
donated food to the Greenforest Social Ministry
Food Bank of Decatur. The credit union collects
nonperishable food items throughout the year
and makes quarterly donations to food banks in
their service area.
Hunger doesnt just happen during the holi-
Doraville
Lithonia
City to host tree lighting
Collection sites:
Brookhaven City Hall, 4362 Peachtree Road
Brookhaven Police Department, 2665 Buford
Highway
Lynwood Recreation Center: 3360 Osborne
Road
Briarwood Recreation Center: 2235 Briarwood
Way
Page 7A
Stone Mountain
Ministry to host Breakfast with Santa
Stone Mountain Cooperative Ecumenical
Ministry will host Breakfast with Santa Dec. 5 at
St. Timothy United Methodist Church, 8-11 a.m.
All proceeds will benefit the Christmas season
for the ministrys clients. The church is located
at 5365 Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain. For
more information, call (770) 879-5977.
Countywide
CASA collecting donations for holiday
season
The DeKalb County Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASA) Program is collecting donations for the upcoming holiday season. They are
asking for donations of unwrapped toys and gift
cards that are suitable for children ages 2 to 18.
For more information about the CASA program
and this years donation collection, call (404) 3780038.
local
Page 8A
From left, vocalist Yasmeen Williams, violinist Lewis Eichelberger and KISS 104 Radio Personality Art Terrell participated in the Nov. 20 groundbreaking ceremony for the African-American Cancer Center, the brainchild of Tony Barrs.
Participants ceremonially break ground at the African-American Cancer Center. Photos by Andrew Cauthen
local
Page 9A
Artistic Director Robert Egizio helped the Stage Door Players make the leap from volunteer-run community
theater to professional theater.
Time to invest
in yourself.
gpc.edu/apply
GPCSpringCampionAd.indd 1
11/19/15 6:38 PM
local
Page 10A
Three alleged gang members plead not guilty during their arraignments.
this
holiday season
Vivid Boutique
The Cooks Warehouse
Squash Blossom
Trinity Mercantile & Design
Get Gifty!
Shop Terrific Thursdays in
Decatur for seasonal sales,
snacks, and extended hours.
Join in the jolly with
Decatur
free fun and local
cheer all month long.
Visitors Center
decaturga
Decatur-champion-dec3-2015.indd 1
downtowndecatur
visitdecaturga.com
11/23/15 1:13 PM
In
WEEK
local
Page 11A
Pictures
Interim DeKalb County CEO Lee May, with the help of Senior Connections, delivers food to the homes of
elderly residents. Photo provided
Larry Gator Rivers, a legendary Harlem Globetrotter, performs during the groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 20 for the African American Cancer center on Hairston Road. Photos by Andrew
Cauthen
(404) 294-2900
www.rollingforwardtoone.com
local
Page 12A
by Ashley Oglesby
ashley@dekalbchamp.com
For more than two decades Clarkston has accepted refugees from dozens of countries in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Public Notification:
PUBLICNOTICE
TOTHEQUALIFIED VOTERSOFTHECITYOFATLANTA
NOTICEOFSALESANDUSETAXSPECIALELECTION
MARCH1,2016
ThereisherebycalledaCityofAtlantaSpecialElectioninconjunctionwiththe
PresidentialPreferencePrimaryElectiontobeheldonTuesday,March1,2016.The
purposeofsaidSpecialElectionistopresentareferendumquestiontovotersto
determinethereimpositionornonreimpositionofa1%SalesandUseTaxtofund
waterandsewerprojectsandcosts.
Theballotshallhaveprintedthereonthequestionasfollows:
"Shallaspecial1percentsalesandusetaxbereimposedintheCity
of Atlantafor a periodoftimenotto exceed16calendarquarters
and for the raising of not more thanSevenHundredFiftyMillion
Dollarsand ZeroCents($750,000,000.00)for the purpose of
funding water andsewerprojectsandcosts?"
Votersdesiringtovoteforthereimpositionofsuch1%salesandusetaxshalldosoby
voting"YES;"Votersdesiringtovoteagainstthereimpositionofsuch1%salesanduse
taxshalldosobyvoting"NO."
TheelectionshallbeheldatalloftheprecinctswithintheCityofAtlanta,andthepolls
shallbeopenfrom7:00a.m.until7:00p.m.Qualifiedvotersmustberegisteredtovote
byFebruary1,2016tovoteinthisSpecialElection.
(This noticeis providedpursuantto theauthorizationoftheAtlantaCityCouncilandis
publishedpertheintergovernmentalagreementbetweentheCityofAtlantaandthe
FultonCountyBoardofRegistrationandElections.)
RhondaDauphinJohnson
MunicipalClerk/ElectionSuperintendent
CityofAtlanta
local
Page 13A
food bank
From left, interim DeKalb County Lee May and Bishop Eddie Long participate in a meeting between county officials and
local pastors about issues in the county. Photos by Andrew Cauthen
business
Page 14A
Dennis Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, far right, addressed a packed room at the DeKalb Chamber of Commerces November meeting. Among those he greeted are the chamber staff, upper left.
influential
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite, Decatur, GA 30030 404.378.8000 www.dekalbchamber.org
local
Lithonia business
district growing
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
Lithonia has seen a positive trend
in its business district and city officials hope it continues.
Several businesses have opened
this year in Lithonia, including the
Skinny Chef Caf, Luxor Lounge and
Bistro and TWO clothing boutique.
Lithonia Mayor Deborah Jackson
said new businesses in the city are a
trend moving in the right direction.
Were slated to have two additional restaurants opening probably at
the beginning of the yeara barbecue
restaurant and a Caribbean vegan restaurant, Jackson said.
Jackson said the rise in new businesses in the area is a sign that people
see the great potential that the city
has.
Weve had stable and enthusiastic
leadership and good staff, Jackson
said. When [business owners] come
into city hall to get information [the
staff] has been very helpful. There is
really a spirit of progress thats in the
NEWS BRIEFS
Page 15A
Congressman announces
app challenge
by Ashley Oglesby
ashley@dekalbchamp.com
Congressman Hank Johnson
announced Nov.17 that students
in the DeKalb County School
District will have the opportunity
to participate in a Congressional
App Challenge, an app development competition for high
school students.
The nationwide competition is designed to promote
innovation and engagement in
science, technology, engineering
and math (STEM) among high
school students who will compete by creating and exhibiting a
software application, for mobile,
tablet or computer devices on a
platform of their choice.
The competition aims to
encourage high school students
to learn how to code by creating
their own application.
Johnson said in a statement,
We cant allow our kids to fall
behind when it comes to being
a part of this new technological
economy. In fact, the time is now
for us to help our kids get ahead
of the curve.
of these gangs.
This grant was approved by the DeKalb County
Board of Commissioners on Oct. 1.
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education
Page 17A
Georgia Piedmont Technical College newly appointed executive vice president is Ivan Harrell II.
Columbia Elementary School students gather around volunteers for story time.
sports
Page 18A
Athlete
of the
Week
trying to do at Stephenson[win] championships. Thats what were going to take from this
and learn from and when they come see us Feb.
2 it may be a different story.
Senior Aidan Saunders led the Wolverines
in scoring with 17 points. Junior Joshua Jackmon had a double-double with 14 points and 11
rebounds, and senior Alterique Gilbert had 12
points and six assists. Newcomer Aaron Augustin had 13 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
White said Augustin has meshed well with
his new team.
Aarons adjustment has been nothing but
the best since he has got here, he said. He has
really been a great teammate, a great kid to
coach and he understands the game very well
and hes always looking to get better. Hes like an
energizer bunnyhe never stops and he continues to play and play hard.
Jamir Chaplin led Stephenson with 11
points and Daniel Alford finished with 10
points.
The Champion chooses a male and female high school Athlete of the Week each week throughout
the school year. The choices are based on performance and nominations by coaches. Please e-mail
nominations to carla@dekalbchamp.com by Monday at noon.
Jelani Woods, Cedar Grove (football): The junior quarterback completed eight of his 13 passing
attempts for 210 yards and two touchdowns in the
Nov. 20 playoff game against Oconee County.
Chrystal Ezechukwu, Miller Grove (basketball): The senior forward had a double-double of
15 points and 21 rebounds in the Nov. 17 matchup
against Stephenson.
sports
Page 19A
St. Pius defensive back Harrison Bernhardt bats down a potential touchdown pass.
21-14.
The third quarter was a defensive
battle with both offenses struggling
to get a productive drive going. The
Golden Lions got a drive going late
in the quarter, and Walsh opened the
fourth quarter with his third touchdown of the night from six yards out.
The extra point was blocked, leaving
the score at 27-14.
West Laurens fumbled on the following drive and St. Pius recovered it
at the 44-yard line. The Golden Lions
struggled to get in the end zone following the turnover and was facing
a fourth down. Standard and his
coaching staff gambled and won on
a fake punt with quarterback Reed
Egan running to pick up the first
down.
The drive resulted in a 3-yard
touchdown by fullback Lawson Cooper. A failed 2-point conversion left
the score at 33-14 with 2:53 left to
play. St. Pius defense prevented a potential West Laurens comeback and
sealed the 33-14 victory.
Standard said the game was won
by the defense and offensive line in
the fourth quarter.
local
Page 20A
body.
Were at war with criminal ideology not a religious
ideology.