CrossRoadsNews, August 26, 2017

COMMUNITY

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Tribute long overdue

Closer look required

A life-size statue of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be unveiled at the Georgia State Capitol on Aug. 28. 2

Commissioners Kathie Gannon and Jeff Rader say Atlanta’s move to annex Emory could have unforeseen consequences. 4

Let’s Keep DeKalb Peachy Clean Please Don’t Litter Our Streets and Highways

EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER

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August 26, 2017

Volume 23, Number 17

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Eyes turn skyward as thousands witness solar eclipse

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker, Rosie Manins and Angelina Velasquez

could experience the moon blocking much of the sun’s light at school and at Fernbank Science Center rather than be stuck on buses headed home.

Some adults gathered in groups, including at the Lou Walker Senior Center in Stonecrest, and at libraries. Others viewed the celestial occurrence from work and home.

After viewing a partial eclipse, visible from Stone Mountain High School, 16year-old Chauncey Holt called it “a one of a lifetime thing.”

“It’s an exciting thing to see,” said

For 30 minutes on Aug. 21, thousands of heads in DeKalb County craned towards the sun.

Their owners were all trying to catch a glimpse of the first total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States in 99 years.

The total eclipse was not visible from metro Atlanta, but that did not dampen the excitement of people who could not travel to north Georgia to see the moon completely cover the sun for a couple of minutes.

DeKalb County and Decatur City schools held students back for an extra hour so they Please see ECLIPSE, page 2

Stone Mountain High School Students stare in wonder at the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, the first total eclipse to cross the continental United States in 99 years. They saw a 97 percent eclipse. The full eclipse was visible in north Georgia.

Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews

Push to remove Confederate symbols gains steam Protests center around landmarks on public property

By Rosie Manins

Can DeKalb County, former headquarters if the Ku Klux Klan, be the first county in Georgia to remove its Confederate monuments, street names and symbols?

That is what thousands of DeKalb residents of all races, cultures and generations are demanding from local and state legislators in the wake of the Aug. 12 violent racial protests in Charlottesville, Va. The protests, which ended in death, sparked a nationwide movement to remove Confederate monuments and associated symbols of white supremacy from public spaces.

Statewide there are at least 174 monuments to the Confederacy, including the largest in the world – the 1.5-acre carving of Confederate leaders on Stone Mountain.

In downtown Decatur, outside the historic DeKalb County Courthouse, towers the “Lost Cause” monument, a 30-foot obelisk erected in 1908, just two years after the Atlanta race riot of 1906 in which African Americans were hung from lamp posts.

Now, at a time when Confederate monuments all over the country are being removed, relocated, covered-up and desecrated in the aftermath of Charlottesville, the Decatur monument is the symbol of a divided community.

A petition with more than 2,000 signatures was presented to DeKalb Board of Commissioners at its Aug. 22 meeting calling for its removal, while almost 1,000 people have signed a petition asking for it to be protected and kept in place.

Supporters say they don’t want to see history – Confederate or otherwise – lost through monument removal, and they advocate better contextual education.

Petitioners and residents on both sides

Photos by Rosie Manins / CrossRoadsNews

Larry Platt, who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, makes his case for the removal of the Lost Cause obelisk [fully visible at right] from the Square in downtown Decatur. “I’ve been standing up against the Klan since I was a little boy, and I’ve survived,” he said.

of the debate also shared their views with the Decatur City Commission at its Aug. 21 meeting, even though the monument and surrounding land is owned by DeKalb County, and there is a state law in place which prohibits such monuments from being relocated, removed, concealed, obscured, or altered.

Members of the group Hate Free Decatur, who organized the petition to remove the obelisk that was presented to DeKalb Commissioners, say the state law can and should be tested by local government in this case.

“We should no longer let monuments like this control our memory of the Civil War, or of Georgia,” said Sara Patenaude, a petition organizer and a historian and Georgia State University Ph.D. candidate from unincorporated DeKalb.

“We should no longer revere the lost

cause of the Confederacy or what it was really all about – slavery,” she told commissioners, while a dozen residents stood up behind her in support.

Patenaude told commissioners that we should no longer accept a society that treats any of our residents as less valuable or symbols that do the same.

“We should move as a community to put this monument and all it represents in our past, where it belongs, not in our public square,” Patenaude said. The auditorium of about 150 people applauded.

Patenaude and Hannah Hill, who copastors the Church of Mary Magdalene in Decatur, have held a couple of public events at the monument since Charlottesville, including one on Aug. 19 – a day after the obelisk was smeared with feces.

Patenaude said removing the monument

is just the beginning.

“We want to continue to work with all of the people of Decatur to create a truly welcoming and compassionate community,” she said. “We want to work with DeKalb to create systems that work for all of the people in the county, and we want to work for a Georgia that’s going to be even better in the future than what it is now.”

While Patenaude was presenting the petition to the commissioners, Larry Platt, a 70-year-old Atlanta resident, was at the monument, detailing his suffering at the hands of the KKK and his civil rights involvement to passersby and making his case for the removal of the Lost Cause obelisk.

“I want it to be took down,” he shouted.

“I want it to be took down now.”

Please see MONUMENTS, page 6

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Community

CrossRoadsNews

August 26, 2017

“At this point in my life I might not make it to see the next one.

It’s the reason I’m here and having this moment.”

Once-in-a-lifetime event inspires awe across generations ECLIPSE,

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Chauncey, an 11th-grader. “I didn’t think this could happen with our solar system.”

Mse Maji Al-Amin, who has taught ninth grade civics and world geography at the school for 17 years, called the eclipse “a teachable moment.”

Al-Amin, who is 77 years old, said Monday’s eclipse was his third.

“I saw one in my 20s, and one in my 40s,” he said. “I hope to be living for the next one.”

Erica Parham, a Stone Mountain High School cafeteria worker, said she was impressed to watch the sun change shape as the moon traveled between it and Earth.

“I saw it at the half-moon shape,” she said.

“I looked up again and it was a crescent. I thought, oh, this is really cool.”

At the Lou Walker Senior Center, 72year-old Patricia Bush Arnold viewed the eclipse with 100 other people and was suitably impressed.

“It was everything I hoped it would be and more,” she said.

The seniors, mostly in their 60s and 70s, made a party of the occasion with dancing, music, cake, snacks, refreshments, and live television network news coverage on a bigscreen television.

Arnold said it was just wonderful to be able to be a part of it.

“I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to see it,” she said, Like many others at the party, Arnold recalled seeing a partial eclipse in Georgia in the 1970s.

Nellie Goins, whose children made viewing boxes for the 1970s eclipse, and she feels privileged to witness another.

“I think it’s fantastic,” said Goins, 76, of

Doretha Connor and Sharon Pimpton gaze at the solar eclipse at the Lou Walker Senior Center.

Rosie Manins / CrossRoadsNews

Lithonia. “I think we should all appreciate the marvels of the world we live in.”

For Doretha Conner, 71, it was her first eclipse. She said watching it move and take shape was astounding.

“It’s just amazing to see the wonders of God,” said Conner, who lives in Decatur.

Bettye Davis, Lou Walker Senior Center director, said she was only able to get a dozen pairs of eclipse viewing glasses through DeKalb County Public Library. She raffled them off at the party.

“We tried to get more (glasses) but everybody’s out,” Davis said.

She says it is important for center members to be a part of history, especially as many won’t see another eclipse in their lifetime.

“That’s why we’re celebrating,” she said.

Davis said she was 17 or 18 years old during the partial eclipse in the 1970s.

“I remember standing in our yard in Birmingham, Ala., and saying that this won’t happen again until I’m almost 66,” she said.

Davis was confident the center, which has about 2,500 members, would draw a large crowd for the event.

Some spectators, including 70-year-old Lithonia resident Leroy Cochran, gathered

onsite at 10 a.m. to wait for the eclipse.

“I came early to get a parking spot,” Cochran said. “It’s a full house here today.”

He remembers seeing a partial eclipse as a young man living in Toccoa, 90 miles northeast of Atlanta, and said he was thrilled to encounter this latest marvel.

After viewing the eclipse, Cochran broke into a celebratory dance. Sharon Pimpton, 73, of Lithonia couldn’t help joining in.

“It’s awesome,” said Pimpton, who won viewing glasses in the raffle to watch her first eclipse. “I was actually praying that I got to see this.”

Fernbank hosted thousands At the Fernbank Science Center, more than 3,000 adults and children gazed at the skies as the moon eclipsed more than 97 percent of the sun in Decatur.

Joyce Gamble, Fernbank administrative coordinator, said the turnout shows that people really are interested in science.

“Our children want to learn more,” she said.

In the center’s planetarium, 1,500 visitors viewed photographs and video footage of the celestial event provided by more than 50

high-altitude balloons, three NASA aircraft, and astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

A group of 20 fourth- and fifth-grade students from the Mohammed School of Atlanta were wide-eyed and full of excitement as they toured the center ahead of the eclipse, the first full one seen in United States in 99 years.

Shahidah Sharif, who chaperoned the students, said the field trip was an opportunity to enhance the students’ learning.

“It’s important for students to know the whole world is their classroom,” she said.

Fifth-grader Nadwa Mohamed said it was fun to see the sun become a crescent.

“I will remember the colors,” she said.

“The yellow, orange, and reds were really pretty.”

The path of the solar eclipse began on the west coast during the early morning hours.

The first sightings occurred in Oregon.

By 2:36 p.m., for about two minutes, the area surrounding the science center became dark and the temperature dropped.

Roxanne James, 63, was grateful she was able to witness history.

“At this point in my life I might not make it to see the next one,” she said. “It’s the reason I’m here and having this moment.”

The next full eclipse visible from the United States is scheduled for 2045.

Judith Smith shared the moment with her 11-year-old grandson Jacob.

“It was amazing,” she said. “I thought it would be darker, but I’m happy my grandson got to experience it.”

In north Georgia, a total eclipse darkened the skies and caused temperatures to drop seven degrees temporarily.

At 2:47 p.m. the last city to view the total eclipse was Charleston, S.C.

King statue to be unveiled on Aug. 28 Until now Atlanta has only had privately commissioned statues of the famous Georgia son at Morehouse College, where King did his undergraduate studies. It was erected in 1984.

By Rosie Manins

Gov. Nathan Deal, the Capitol Arts Standards Commission and a host of state officials will unveil a life-size statue of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Georgia State Capitol on Aug. 28.

Nathan Deal The 10 a.m. ceremony comes more than three years after Deal first announced the project in 2014. It takes place at the corner of MLK Jr. Drive Southwest and Capitol Avenue Southwest.

It has been a long time coming.

Civil rights leaders, led by former state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, fought for years for a public memorial honoring King in the city of his birth.

Until now Atlanta has only had privately

commissioned statues of the famous Georgia son at Morehouse College, where King completed his undergraduate studies. It was erected in 1984.

House Bill 1080, or the King Monument Bill, authorizing the King memorial was signed into law on April 29, 2014.

The six- to eight-foot bronze statue, built with private donations, sits on a pedestal inscribed on all four sides with quotes from King’s speeches and sermons.

Construction began in early 2015, but was halted when sculptor Andy Davis was killed in a motorcycle accident that July. Deal appointed Atlanta sculptor Martin Dawe to finish the project.

It stands on the northeast corner of the Capitol, a short distance from Auburn Avenue where King was born on Jan. 15, 1929, where he grew up, and where he was co-pastor with his father at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

CrossRoadsNews

August 26, 2017

Community

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“That was not in my thought process but it transformed into more than I had imagined.”

Franchise fee triggers increases for some in Stonecrest Contested races

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker on Stonecrest, doing this,’” he said.

“I didn’t know they Once he explained that the fee is for use Some 6,400 city of Stonecrest residents were going to do that. of the city’s rights of way and that it will Lithonia councils are getting a 4 percent hike in their electricity yield revenues to run the city, and purchase bills after Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corp. passed on to its customers the entire franchise fee levied on it by the Stonecrest City Council.

The rate increase is effective Sept. 1.

Snapping Shoals EMC and Georgia Power provide electric service to Stonecrest residents, but Georgia Power, which services 10,000 parcels in the city, is only passing on 2.7 percent of the franchise fee to its customers.

Stonecrest is also levying the 4 percent franchise fee on Atlanta Gas Light, AT&T and Comcast for gas lines and cable.

Cities are mandated by state law to collect franchise fees from utility companies who use of their public rights of way to deliver service.

The Stonecrest City Council unanimously approved its franchise ordinance on Aug. 21. Georgia Power was already charging its customers 2.14 percent and will increase it by 0.6 percent to 2.7 percent as result of the Stonecrest ordinance.

The city says that franchise fees with AT&T, Georgia Power, and Comcast are in the final process and should become effective within 60 days.

In an Aug. 21 notice emailed to customers, Covington-based Snapping Shoals EMC said that the city of Stonecrest has implemented a 4 percent franchise fee for all electric accounts served within the city limits.

“According to City records your service location(s) is located within the city limits and will be subject to the new franchise fee on or after September 1, 2017,” the emailed

Most utilities pass through a portion of the fee, or do it in increments.”

Diane Adoma, Stonecrest City Council Member

statement said.

“The monthly fee will be based on your total electricity charges before taxes.”

The new fee means that for every $100, Snapping Shoals EMC customers will pay $4 more.

The utility ended the email by directing questions and further information to assistant city manager Plez Joyner at 770-224-0202.

Joyner said the city was caught off guard by the timing of the notice before it could alert residents about the impendPlez Joyner ing increase.

“We found out about the notice when my phone started to ring with a lot of angry people on the other end,” he said Aug. 23.

By Wednesday afternoon, Joyner said he had received 50 telephone calls and two emails from unhappy residents complaining about the increase in their electric bill.

On Aug. 22, he also fielded questions from nearly 100 residents at Councilwoman Diane Adoma’s town hall meeting.

Joyner said the phone calls and voicemail messages went like this: “I didn’t want this city in the first place. I knew this would happen and I hate you for

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things like uniforms for code enforcement officers who are already at work, Joyner said most residents were understanding.

In the wake of Snapping Shoals’ action, Joyner said the city is now exploring three options: n Can residents now served by Snapping Shoals EMC switch to Georgia Power; n Should the city ask Snapping Shoals to phase in the increase to residents over time instead of in one big lump sum; n Should the city of Stonecrest create its own electric membership corporation and deliver electricity to its residents.

“These are the options we are looking at right now,” Joyner said, “But if other options present themselves we will explore them too.”

Adoma, whose district is entirely served

by Snapping Shoals EMC, a memberoperated co-operative, said she has been a Snapping Shoals customer since 2010, and was blindsided by the pass-through of the entire fee.

“My bill is going up too so I am not happy,” Adoma said. “I didn’t know they were going to do that. Most utilities pass through a portion of the fee, or do it in increments.”

Adoma said the Snapping Shoals situation deserves a revisit.

“We need to bring them to the table and ask them to do a phase implementation,” she said.

Leigh-Anne Burgess, Snapping Shoals EMC’s public relations and executive services coordinator, did not return calls by press time Thursday.

The cities of Lithonia and Stonecrest will each have a contested race in the Nov. 7 municipal elections.

Lithonia voters will pick three candidates from a field of four for its open at-large seats. Incumbents William “Ric” Dodd, Diane Howard and Tracy-Ann Williams qualified, along with political newcomer Amelia Inman, a Realtor who has lived in the city for 18 years.

Amelia Inman Inman, 26, said she became active in the city working with Mayor Deborah Jackson to host real estate seminars and a millennial mixer and people started asking her if she was going to run for office.

“That was not in my thought process but it transformed into more than I had imagined,” she said.

In the new city of Stonecrest, District 3 Councilwoman Jazzmin Cobble is the only incumbent in three open seats who is facing opposition. She is being challenged by retired teacher Alecia Washington.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to continue to represent the interests and desires of District 3 and entire city,” Cobble said.

Washington did not return calls Thursday.

District 1 Councilman Jimmy Clanton Jr. and District 5 Councilwoman Diane Adoma are unopposed. Qualifying ended Aug. 23.

The deadline to register to vote in the election is Oct. 10. Early voting takes place Oct. 16 to Nov. 3.

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August 26, 2017

The proposed annexation creates an unincorporated island and a long new extension of Atlanta’s boundary deep into unincorporated DeKalb.

Emory annexation could leave neighbors vulnerable

By DeKalb County Commissioners Kathie Gannon and Jeff Rader

Clifton Corridor institutions, led by Emory University have petitioned to annex their isolated property into Atlanta across a 65foot wide “land bridge” that Emory purchased last year.

They urge stakeholders to look at the Big Picture when judging their unilateral action and ask Atlanta to reflexively approve their incorporation into the city.

The Atlanta City Council and Atlanta voters should carefully assess the implications and mitigate impacts before they grant the request.

DeKalb has petitioned the state to arbitrate these issues.

The institutions seek to expedite a transit extension to the Clifton Corridor at Atlanta’s expense, after seeing that the Dunwoody legislators who control the MARTA Oversight Committee in the legislature have twice blocked DeKalb’s request to authorize a transit expansion referendum. Apparently they believe the Clifton Corridor rail project will go to the front of the line in Atlanta’s transit program.

Besides answering to Atlanta constituents who have their own rail priorities, Atlanta council members shouldn’t assume that MARTA can justify a transit terminus that only serves a single destination, rather than extending to the East

“One of Atlanta’s talking points is that this would be the largest annexation since Buckhead in 1952. This time there’s no referendum, and a largely lame duck City Council will make the decision, but the unincorporated public will live with the consequences.”

Kathie Gannon and Jeff Rader, DeKalb County Commissioners

Line Avondale station as previously planned.

The proposed annexation creates an unincorporated island and a long new extension of Atlanta’s boundary deep into unincorporated DeKalb.

Emory will gain density from Atlanta’s more permissive zoning and be freed to build whatever else Atlanta allows, unaccountable for the burden on local roads that will remain DeKalb’s responsibility – ironically roads they carved out of the annexation.

In fact, the tax-exempt institutions will pay even less towards maintaining public infrastructure, because Atlanta lacks the storm water utility fee currently collected

by DeKalb.

Avoiding the fee will reduce the institutions’ cost, but not the impact of urban runoff from the intensively developed area.

Atlanta taxpayers will assume the cost of providing fire, police and emergency management in the new tax-exempt annex. DeKalb retains its fire station on Clifton Road, but will re-orient the facility to serve

the low density residential area that will remain its jurisdiction.

Atlanta’s chief operating officer says that the administration is willing to build and staff a new multimillion-dollar station to meet the challenging needs of this bioscience district, while their historic station in Virginia Highlands has to hold bake sales to fund renovation.

With an entirely new city government in January, that may be a hollow commitment.

Atlanta seeks an “Intergovernmental Agreement” to continue DeKalb’s provision of fire and emergency management protection for their new Clifton Corridor annex, but has deemed DeKalb’s request for similar agreements to protect unincorporated neighbors from follow-on annexation or irresponsible growth on campus “unworkable.”

If other recent annexations are a guide, adjacent parcels could lose historic district protection, and see disruptive redevelopment.

If Atlanta’s leadership is unaccountable to DeKalb stakeholders, what incentive does that leave DeKalb to address their priorities?

Atlanta’s long game may be to stampede surrounding neighborhoods into also annexing in order to restore the community’s seat at the table for zoning and infrastructure.

One of Atlanta’s talking points is that this would be the largest annexation since Buckhead in 1952.

This time there’s no referendum, and a largely lame duck City Council will make the decision, but the unincorporated public will live with the consequences.

The Big Picture shows that urban regions like metro Atlanta should collaborate, plan for growth and include all stakeholders in the process. That part of the Big Picture will be eclipsed if Atlanta approves annexation without protections for the people who live nearby.

The City Council should amend the Clifton annexation ordinance to include a strategy for preserving the stability of the surrounding community.

Kathie Gannon represents Super District 6 on the De­Kalb County Board of Commissioners. Jeff Rader represents District 2.

Time to put monuments to Confederacy where they belong

By Ed Williams

No one wants to destroy history, but we want to get it right and place some of the monuments into museums or on private property.

We do not need to have more Confederate monuments than there are Union monuments. Who won the Civil War? Every time we go to war, we change history.

The Constitution of the United States has changed throughout our history, It was designed to be changed. There have been 27 amendments added to the U.S. Constitution. Since 1789 there have been 37 states added to the union.

Several wars were fought and the country expanded from sea to shining sea. The moment Christopher Columbus landed on these shores, history was changed.

If change did not occur, then progress would not be possible. If

“There should be no doubt what the Confederacy stood for, it was more than states’ rights, They wanted to maintain a way of life which treated Blacks as slaves and property, disenfranchised women, and made native Indians foreigners in their own land.”

Ed Williams

change did not occur then only white men with property would be able to vote, slavery would still exist, women still would not be able to vote, and African Americans and Native Indians would not be citizens.

History changes and so do streets, buildings and people.

Change is as American as apple pie.

The 2017 SENIORS &Baby Boomer

E X P O

It seems that the Confederate monuments have higher privilege than religious images to be on public property. There should be no doubt what the Confederacy stood for: It was more than states’ rights; they wanted to maintain a way of life that treated Blacks as slaves and property, disenfranchised women, and made native Indians foreigners in their own land.

Changing our laws is not changing history. It is what makes us more tolerant and stronger. Removing statues and monuments from public spaces does not destroy history any more than the wind changes the landscape. If it was not for Dr.

Martin Luther King’s leadership, we would probably be still using separate water fountains, sitting in the back of the bus, and going to separate schools.

We can do more than one thing at a time.

During the 50s and 60s people were able to do more than one thing at a time. There were problems with education, opportunities, hunger, crime, and education back then, and just like now, people asked Dr. King to take it slow, and not go too fast, and don’t cause trouble, let things be, but he persevered, Today, you have every right to express yourself.

It is time for the carving on Stone Mountain to be removed.

Sign the petition at www.change. org/p/change-or-remove-stonemountain-confederate-carving.

Ed Williams is chairman of Concerned Citizens For Effective Government. He lives in Lithonia.

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“We in DeKalb County, being one of the most progressive counties in the country, should take a stand against this monument.”

Former MARTA exec Commissioner accused of sexual harassment The EEOC investigation is expected to facing theft charges take about three months and James said

By Rosie Manins

Joseph J. Erves, a former MARTA senior director of operations, is being prosecuted for allegedly stealing $500,000 from the transit authority that he used to buy a Porsche 911 and multiple products at high-end department stores.

Erves, 52, of Lithonia appeared before a federal judge on Aug. 24 on a federal program theft charge. He was not indicted, which is an indication that he is expected to plead guilty.

U.S. Attorney John A. Horn said Joseph J. Erves Erves conducted a false invoice scheme between June 2010 and December 2016, that resulted in MARTA paying more than $500,000 for work on more than 40 maintenance projects that was never performed, and that he funneled most of the money into his personal bank accounts via fake vendors.

“This is a classic case where a public official’s shortterm gain in stealing from taxpayers comes crashing down and ends with criminal charges,” Horn said.

Erves, who worked at MARTA from 1993 to 2017, ended his career there as senior director of operations. In that position, he oversaw the maintenance of all of MARTA’s buses and rail cars and had the authority to approve payments up to $10,000 to vendors for work performed for the transit system.

The case was investigated by the FBI and MARTA police, and is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Alison Prout.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is investigating allegations that DeKalb Commissioner Gregory Adams sexually harassed his district director Ashlee Wright.

The EEOC confirmed Aug. 24 that it launched its investigation on June 12.

Ashlee Wright Wright, who joined Adams’ office in January, complained to the county in April that Adams tried to pursue a late-night liaison with her at 3.29 a.m. while they were at an out-of-town conference.

She also says he asked her for a picture of her wearing a bikini, and referred to himself as her “big daddy.” Wright told WSB-TV that the harassment was debilitating.

“I had been having panic attacks,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep, and it just seems like every day when I got to work it was something else.”

Her attorney Robert James said the harassment was “constant, pervasive, inappropriate and completely unwanted,” from January to mid-June.

James said Wright complained to the county in April and when the harassment didn’t stop, she started recording conversations and text messages and filed a complaint with the EEOC. On June 30, Wright sent a “letter of demands” to the county seeking $750,000 to settle out of court.

She has been on paid leave since June.

James, a former DeKalb district attorney and solicitor general, said Wright has not filed a lawsuit against Adams because she is awaiting EEOC approval and the outcomes of its investigation and the county’s investigation.

they have no idea how long the county’s investigation will take.

Adams, who became Super District 7 commissioner in a special election on Dec, 6, 2016, has denied the charges.

He said Aug. 24 that he is staying focused on serving his constituents and Gregory Adams DeKalb County as a whole.

“I don’t want to derail anything in moving DeKalb County forward,” he said. “I was elected to serve people and that’s what I intend to do,” he said.

Adams said he hopes the county’s investigation will be finished soon.

“In spite of all the different conversations that may be flowing, I’m going to let the investigation take its course and will continue to serve the people of DeKalb County,” he said.

Adams, who is presiding bishop of Restoration in Christ International Ministries, has been married 33 years to his wife, Jacqueline. They have six children and eight grandchildren.

In an Aug. 20 joint interview with WSB-TV, his wife defended him.

“I’m not embarrassed at all because I know who he is,” she said. “We’ve been together 37 years, I know who he is.”

In the same interview, Adams called Wright’s allegations unfounded.

“I’m deeply disappointed because I respect all my employees and make my working environment very comfortable for everyone that works for me,” he said.

Residents urge DeKalb commissioners to remove tribute to Confederacy MONUMENTS,

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Platt, who is called “General,” lined up photographs of himself marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, at the base of obelisk.

He said Klan members shot him in the eye when he was 3 years old, and carved a cross into his forehead. When he was a young man, he said the KKK tried to hang him.

“I’ve been standing up against the Klan since I was a little boy, and I’ve survived,” Platt said. “Like I tell people, I ain’t gon’ give up! I was born to help people stop this junk.”

Decatur and DeKalb commissioners say they will host public meetings on the issue in coming weeks. They are also planning to meet with state legislators.

After tweeting her support for removing Confederate monuments on Aug. 22, DeKalb County District 5 Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson sent an “I Stand for Love, Not Hate” email to constituents on Aug. 23 soliciting response to her position.

“DeKalb County is a place for love, not hate,” Johnson wrote. “This is a place for progression, not regression. Together, as we stand for what is right, may we transform the jangling discords of our communities into symphonies of hope and love.”

Super District 6 Commissioner Kathie Gannon, who represents the city of Decatur where the obelisk is located said State Rep. Vernon Jones (D-Lithonia)

Rosie Manins / CrossRoadsNews

Audience members stand in support on Aug. 22 as Sara Patenaude asks DeKalb commissioners to remove the ”Lost Cause” Confederate monument from downtown Decatur.

said Aug. 18 that he will introduce legislation to create a state commission on historic monuments during the 2018 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly.

“While I have my personal beliefs on the matter, I propose that a bipartisan, systematic and transparent study be conducted in an effort to arrive at an inclusive solution,” Jones said.

The proposed commission would hold statewide hearings to discuss historic monuments and artifacts, and make recommendations to the governor and General Assembly about their placements.

Dr. Joseph Beasley, founder and chairman of the Joe Beasley Foundation, disagreed with Jones’ proposed legislation.

“The verdict is already in across the na-

tion,” Beasley said. “These symbols must go.”

The Atlanta City Council voted Aug. 21 to establish a seven-member advisory committee to review and make recommendations, within 70 days, on all city street names and monuments associated with the Confederacy. The Atlanta vote follows a call from leaders of the DeKalb, Atlanta and Georgia chapters of the NAACP, who at an Aug. 18 press conference condemned the violence in Charlottesville and demanded that Georgia elected officials remove all Confederate monuments, memorials, place names and symbols from the state.

“We must send a message, once and for all, that Georgia is a state too busy to hate,” said Phyllis Blake, NAACP Georgia president.

Blake said the groups are calling for the removal of all Confederate symbols and statues from all Georgia public property.

“We especially call on Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia General Assembly to act immediately on this issue,” she said, Democratic state Sen. Vincent Fort (District 39), author of the state’s first antihate crime law, said the time has come for change.

“The people demand it, and it must happen,” he said at the NAACP gathering.

Richard Rose, Atlanta NAACP president, called the Stone Mountain carving the “largest shrine to white supremacy in the world” and said he personally wants it blasted from the site, where in 1915 the second of three KKK movements was founded.

“It’s unbelievable that we are still coerced

into recognizing and celebrating those who fought to continue the enslavement of Africans for generations,” Rose said.

His sentiments were echoed by many others in South DeKalb this week.

Longtime Decatur resident William Recktor said he is sick of walking past the Lost Cause monument, which he finds offensive and embarrassing.

“We can’t sleep on this any longer,” said Recktor, who has lived in Decatur 40 years and walks through the downtown square most days. “It’s time for us to wake this issue up, stir it up, and get it to the forefront and let the masses speak.” He is among those who say the obelisk belongs in a museum.

“It needs to go,” Recktor said. “It should have been gone yesterday.”

Addressing DeKalb Commissioners on Aug. 22, Decatur business owner and resident Elizabeth Gilchrist called the city’s Confederate monument a “lightning rod of hate and derision.”

“How must the black members of our community who have lived through segregation feel about this legacy of domination,” she said. “The time has come, there is no room for hate.”

Fellow DeKalb residents Micah Lewin and Mikell Hagood, both members of Hate Free Decatur, also spoke to county commissioners on Tuesday.

Hagood said he had barely noticed the Decatur monument before the events in Charlottesville, but that as a symbol of persecution it needed to go.

“We in DeKalb County, being one of the most progressive counties in the country, should take a stand against this monument,” he said.

Lewin agreed, and presented commissioners a letter highlighting possible legal avenues for relocating the monument or selling it to a private entity.

He asked commissioners to consider their legacy as local leaders.

“Do you want to be remembered for being those commissioners who took the morally correct stance, the bold stance, the courageous stance of finally removing this symbol of hatred, of white supremacy, of racism, of false lost cause history from the square?’’ he said. “I think it’s time for us to rewrite the history and narrative of this county and for our county government to take bold decisive action.”

CrossRoadsNews

August 26, 2017

7 CHANGE Name of ADULT in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8457-1 Leah Rae Joyce filed a petition on Aug. 7, 2017 in the DeKalb County Superior Court to change name from: Leah Rae Joyce to Leeroy Cameron Darling. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Aug. 04, 2017

Legal Notices 08/12, 08/19, 08/26, 09/02

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8047 Enid Moore PLAINTIFF VS Hampton Moore DEFENDANT To: Hampton Moore 3302 Tree Terrace Pkwy Austell, GA

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated July 31, 2017. You are hereby notified that on July 29, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Enid Moore, 3255 Wyndham Park Lane, Decatur, GA 30034. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of July 31, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Asha F. Jackson., Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 1st day of Aug., 2017 08/12, 08/19, 08/26, 09/02

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM7986-9 Shwaye Kiflay PLAINTIFF VS Halemarim Kassa DEFENDANT To: Halemarim Kassa 204 Winter Creek Drive

Doraville, GA 30360

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated July 27, 2017. You are hereby notified that on July 25, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Correction of Birth Certificates of Minor Children.

You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Donald M. Coleman, Attorney at Law, 246 Sycamore Street, Suite 120, Decatur, GA 30030. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of July 27, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Mark Anthony Scott, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 27th day of July, 2017 08/12, 08/19, 08/26, 09/02

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 16FM11012-5 Curly B. Ware, IIII PLAINTIFF VS Rossine Lewis DEFENDANT To:

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated May 10, 2017. You are hereby notified that on Oct. 17, 2016, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for modification of custody and child support. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Elizabeth Ann Guervant, Esq.; 246 Sycamore St., Suite 120, Decatur, GA 30030. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of June 22, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Gregory H.

Adams, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 9th day of Aug., 2017 08/12, 08/19, 08/26, 09/02

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM7122-8 Cassandra C. Moore PLAINTIFF VS Terry L. Moore DEFENDANT To: 2100 87th St. Chicago, IL 60617

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Aug. 07, 2017.

You are hereby notified that on Apr. 7, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Cassandra Moore 2844 Norfair Loop; Lithonia, GA 30030. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Aug. 07, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Linda W. Hunter, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 8th day of Aug., 2017 08/12, 08/19, 08/26, 09/02

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8301-6 Sharon Evans PLAINTIFF VS Lonnie Evans DEFENDANT To:

By ORDER of the Court service for

08/26, 09/02, 09/09, 09/16

service by publication dated Aug. 08, 2017. You are hereby notified that on Aug. 02, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Sharon Evans, 223 Pleasantdale Crossing, Doraville, GA 30440. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Aug. 09, 2017.

Witness the Honorable J.P. Boulee, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 9th day of Aug., 2017 08/12, 08/19, 08/26, 09/02

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8216 LaToya Smith PLAINTIFF VS Calvin Smith DEFENDANT To:

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Aug. 09, 2017. You are hereby notified that Jul. 31, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: LaToya Shanice Smith, 10101 Fairington Ridge Cir., Lithonia, GA 30038. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Aug. 09, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Gregory A. Adams, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 9th day of Aug., 2017 08/12, 08/19, 08/26, 09/02

Notice of Petition to

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name(S) of MINOR CHILD(REN) in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM7346-3 DeLeon Mosely filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on July 12, 2017 to change the name(s) of the following minor child(ren) from: Darius Josiah Ferguson to Darius Josiah Mosely. Any interested party has the right to appear in this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: June 22, 2017 08/26, 09/02, 09/09, 09/16

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name(S) of MINOR CHILD(REN) in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8758 QuaSheeka Miller filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Aug. 15, 2017 to change the name(s) of the following minor child(ren) from: Madison Eileen Miller-Rhodes to Madison Alana Rhodes; Madelynn Elana Miller-Rhodes to Madelynn Elana Rhodes. Any interested party has the right to appear in this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Aug. 04, 2017 08/26, 09/02, 09/09, 09/16

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of ADULT in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8733 Sherry Ann Sands filed a petition on Aug.

8, 2017 in the DeKalb County Superior Court to change name from: Sherry Ann Sands to Sherry Ann Lewis. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Aug. 08, 2017 08/26, 09/02, 09/09, 09/16

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8268 Lynn Lockwood PLAINTIFF VS Willie P. Lockwood DEFENDANT To:

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Aug. 08, 2017. You are hereby notified that Aug. 01, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Lynn Lockwood, 118 Greenwood Place, #F, Decatur, GA 30030. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Aug. 08, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Asha F. Jackson, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 17th day of Aug., 2017 08/26, 09/02, 09/09, 09/16

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM5580-3 Siesta George PLAINTIFF VS Jeffrey George DEFENDANT To: Jeffrey George 3707 Church St. Clarkston, GA 30021

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Aug. 18, 2017. You are hereby notified that May 18, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: 3937 Underwood Rd., Conyers, GA 30013. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Aug. 18, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Clarence F. Seeliger, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 21st day of Aug., 2017

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August 26, 2017