EDUCATION SPECIAL NEEDS
The Cloverleaf School offers social support so students can achieve. Page 16
CASTRO’S GLEE
TUITION CHANGE
In March 1959, the Emory Glee Club paid a visit to postrevolution Cuba. Page 19
Atlanta Jewish Academy creates a plan for families to pay what they can. Page 20
Atlanta VOL. XCI NO. 47
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
DECEMBER 2, 2016 | 2 KISLEV 5777
Rain Helps Fight Fire Near Ramah By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com The Rock Mountain wildfire a halfmile north of Camp Ramah Darom in Rabun County is more than 50 percent contained, thanks in part to 2 inches of overnight rain that began falling Monday, Nov. 28 — the first precipitation in the area in 52 days. Ramah is hosting about 200 firefighters. As of Tuesday, Nov. 29, the fire had spread to 24,725 acres in Rabun County, and more than 660 people were working to contain it. “This rain won’t stop the drought or reduce fire danger over time, but in the short term it has definitely stopped fire movement,” said Kale Casey, information officer for the Rabun County Emergency Management Agency. “What the residents need to know is that nobody was evacuated during the burnout operations, no structures were damaged, no firefighters were injured, and now we have the rain, which gives us a chance to catch our breath and wait for the sun to come out.” A full containment line has been set up around the fire, but fully extinguishing the blaze will take at least a few more weeks, he said. Dead and fire-weakened trees that could blow over from strong gusts remain a danger to firefighting crews.
BURNING ISRAEL
After nearly 1,800 fires scorched more than 32,000 Israeli acres in late November, with Haifa hit the worst, organizations from JNF to Federation are raising emergency funds. Page 8
Photo by Jerry Cohen
Smoke from the nearby Rock Mountain wildfire hangs over Camp Ramah Darom on the afternoon of Nov. 26.
The Rock Mountain wildfire began Nov. 9 and spread mostly by burning fallen leaves. Since Nov. 15, Ramah Darom has served as an unofficial base camp for many of the wildland firefighters, who have come from as far away as Colorado and Oregon. “I cannot overstress how important the camp has been to our firefighters,” Casey said. “In this part of the country you just don’t set up fire camps with tents for numerous safety reasons. Inside lodging is the norm here. Having a camp with those incredible facilities and staff and a location that close to the fire line reduc-
INTERFAITH TIES
Atlanta was well represented at the Interfaith Opportunity Summit, where personal relationships and Honeymoon Israel were stressed as ways to turn a problem into a potential strength. Page 24
ing travel has been unbelievable.” Fire managers plan to have a strong presence in Rabun County for months to deal with the containment and aftermath of the wildfire. The fire near Ramah Darom is just one of many blazing in North Georgia and surrounding states, including a fire that whipped through Gatlinburg, Tenn., about the time rain was bringing relief to Rabun County. More than 6,000 firefighters from Alaska to Maine have joined forces with local, state and federal agencies to battle wildfires in six Southeastern states. ■
INSIDE Calendar ��������������������������������������� 4 Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Israel News �����������������������������������6 Opinion �����������������������������������������9 Education ������������������������������������14 Obituaries ���������������������������������� 26 Marketplace ������������������������������ 28 Sports ������������������������������������������ 29 Crossword ���������������������������������� 30
Keep Faith, Lewis Urges “Hold on to your beliefs and never hate,” Rep. John Lewis advised a crowd packed into the Davis Academy Lower School gym Monday night, Nov. 29, “for hate is too heavy a burden to bear.” The Democratic congressman was answering the final question of his hourlong appearance and the second from one of the youths in the crowd. The young man asked whether the veteran of the civil rights movement ever was so badly beaten that he wanted to give up. Lewis was arrested 35 times before Atlanta elected him to Congress and five times since. He nearly died from beatings by Klansmen in a Greyhound waiting room in Montgomery, Ala., in 1961 and by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in 1965. But he said he never got down, never lost faith and never became bitter. He just got back up and continued the fight. The first question after Lewis spoke for about 30 minutes came from Davis’ student government president, Lily Fleisch mann, who asked what Lewis hopes young people will learn from his three-part graphic memoir series, “March,” the most recent volume of which won a National Book Award in November. “Madame President,” he said, drawing a chuckle from the crowd, “thank you for your leadership.” He said he hopes youths who read the books will learn never to give up, will keep the faith and will keep pushing for a better world. Lewis wants to “inspire people to give everything they can” to make this country and this world better. Young people not only should never give up on themselves and their goals, he said. “Never, ever give up on another person.” ■ • Lewis preaches nonviolence and chicken farming, Page 14.