CrossRoadsNews, December 24, 2016

HOLIDAY

HOLIDAY

Celebration milestone

Time’s running out

Kwanzaa, the AfricanAmerican holiday celebrating family, community and culture, marks its 50th annivers­ ary this year. 4

Christmas Eve is the deadline for kids to write to Santa as part of the “Believe” campaign sponsored by Macy’s. 4

Put Litter in Its Place Let’s Do Our Part to Keep DeKalb Beautiful

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

Copyright © 2016 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.

December 24, 2016

Volume 22, Number 35

Spirit of Christmas

www.crossroadsnews.com

Health scare underscores meaning of life, holiday season

Erika Walker Cash says her medical odyssey made her appreciate life even more.

By Donna Williams Lewis

Ken Watts / CrossRoadsNews

Employees of the DeKalb Sheriff’s Office, who bought toys and clothing for the children of inmates, hosted a Christmas party for them on Dec. 20.

Sheriff ’s staff brings holiday cheer to kids of inmates

By Ken Watts

Children’s laughter has a way of softening up everyone – even sheriff ’s deputies in uniform at the county jail.

On Dec. 20, the beaming faces of children filled the staff dining room of the DeKalb Sheriff ’s Office as employees brought cheer to kids whose parents are incarcerated.

The staff hosted 22 children from nine families at a Christmas celebration in partnership with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services Kinship Program.

Their guests got beautifully wrapped toys, video games, clothes, shoes, warm coats,

even bicycles, and food baskets. Every gift was donated by the employees.

The families also were treated to lunch and a special performance by recording artist Bishop Elder Murphy.

Chief Deputy Reginald Stennett said the party and gifts reflect genuine empathy for children in difficult situations.

“There were times in my own upbringing when we had little for Christmas,” he recalled. “You never forget that. What we’re doing is just part of our mission of service.”

Twania Carr-Ferguson, a DFCS kinship care navigator who supervises the case histories of about 100 children, said everything

was “just wonderful.”

“What they do makes a huge difference,” Carr-Ferguson said. “A lot of these kids would not be able to have a Christmas otherwise.”

Under the Kinship Program, some of the kids are being raised by grandparents. Others have been placed with Bethany Christian Services Foster and Adoption Care.

Mauveen Rennals of Lithonia was surprised by the gift of a bike and toys for her foster daughter, DeShaunte Carr, 11, and foster son Isiah, 12.

“Oh my God!” she said. “This is amazing.

I’m so happy for them.”

From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!

2695 Panola Road, Off I-20 @ Snapfinger Woods Drive • 770-322-0065

Erika Walker Cash begins every weekday morning with a 45-minute swim, eats healthy foods, doesn’t smoke, and rarely takes any type of medication.

At 43 years old, she felt like she was in pretty good health. Her regular medical checkups provided the proof.

But last June, she was about 15 minutes into teaching an evening class at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta when she suddenly felt a sharp, excruciating pain in her lower back – an inexplicable bolt so intense that within minutes she was unable to walk.

It was the beginning of a remarkable medical odyssey that has made her appreciate life more than ever before.

“I’m grateful every single day. I have a deep knowing of what it means to be blessed to have God’s grace and mercy,” Cash said. “People were incredibly generous and kind to me. People from church were praying for me, just because.”

As the holidays – Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s – approach, Cash says her health scare underscored for her just how Please see HEALTH, page 2

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Community

CrossRoadsNews

December 24, 2016

“There’s a deeper meaning in how we connect with each other and with a higher power.”

Parents owing child support could spend the holidays in jail

By Rosie Manins

DeKalb Sheriff’s Deputy Enrique Acosta knocks on the door of a Brookhaven apartment Dec. 21 during a “Deadbeat Parents Sweep.”

Deputies served 174 arrest warrants for unpaid child support over the two-day sweep.

“Deadbeat” parents who owe tens of thousands of dollars in child support payments are on the DeKalb Sheriff ’s Office radar, and some of them could be spending the holiday in jail.

Dozens of sheriff ’s deputies fanned out across the county Dec. 21 and 22 to serve warrants and arrest noncustodial parents for neglecting court-ordered payments.

During the two-day “Deadbeat Parents Sweep,“ the deputies served 174 arrest warrants on mostly fathers.

In some cases, offenders owe more than $10,000 and are likely to spend Christmas in the DeKalb County Jail.

Sheriff ’s Deputy Charles Robinson, who was serving warrants in Decatur, Brookhaven and Chamblee on Wednesday, said some offenders will be jailed.

“Oh yes,” Robinson said. “They’ll probably be in there for New Year’s too, and every other night until they can either pay the bond or the purge amount, or go to court.”

The purge amount is a percentage of what’s owed.

The deputy of almost 20 years said rounding up child support offenders can be a dangerous task, particularly this time of year.

“Some get difficult – it can go from zero to 60 pretty quick,” he said. “No one wants to be locked up around the holidays and safety is my biggest concern.”

Rosie Manins / CrossRoadsNews

Armed sheriff ’s deputies have been working in pairs on the crackdown, which Robinson said usually happens once or twice a year.

He’s hoping it will lead to happier, healthier children in the area.

“If we didn’t do this, there would be a lot of kids out there being deprived of welfare, not getting enough food or warm clothing,” he said.

Last year statewide, more than $726 million was distributed in child support for more than half a million children.

Noncustodial fathers made up 91 percent of those owing money.

Robinson said finding them isn’t always easy.

He estimates about a quarter of offenders know they’re subject to arrest warrants and try to hide from police.

“The warrant gives us the authority to search anywhere a body can hide,” he said. “If they’re not at home, we’ll go pick them up at work, but usually they’re at home hiding.”

Robinson said DeKalb’s problem with unpaid child support is no worse than anywhere else.

He said there are usually more cases in South DeKalb and most warrants are for young men.

“But there are women who aren’t paying child support, too,” he said. “You get all sorts – some guys as old as 60 and others as young as 17.”

‘Little acts of kindness can have a huge impact on people’ HEALTH,

from page

1

At left, Omar and Erika Cash are grateful for her successful surgery in June to remove a large intrathoracic goiter from Erika’s chest.

Below, Erika, a week after the surgery. The neck to chest incision allowed doctors to remove the footballsized goiter that threatened her life.

much the holidays are not about material things.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s a deeper meaning in how we connect with each other and with a higher power,” she said. “It’s not about big gifts. It’s just human kindness.”

During her recovery, Cash couldn’t drive for six weeks. She was offered rides, sometimes just to get out of the house for a while. Home-cooked meals were delivered to her door.

“It reminded me of how little acts of kindness can have a huge impact on people,” Cash said earlier this month. “People who don’t even know me touched my family, and that’s a reminder of how powerful we are and of how we choose to use that power.”

Swimming was the key A Virginia native and Spelman College alumna, Cash is an attorney, wife and mother of two children, Jamal, 24, and Amari, 16.

She left Atlanta to earn her law degree at Washington and Lee School of Law in Lexington, Va., and returned in 2011 to work in the Office of Academic Achievement at John Marshall.

Kimberly D’Haene, assistant dean of that office, said Cash is one of the best people she has ever met and one of her best friends.

She was teaching down the hall from Cash in June when that mysterious bolt of pain struck, forcing Cash to excuse herself from class. D’Haene called 911. While they waited for the ambulance, Cash emailed her students the rest of the answers to the bar exam questions they’d been discussing in class and gave them an assignment.

“That makes me sound super anal and crazy, but I’m an attorney, so I guess it goes with the program,” Cash said.

Her pain had subsided significantly after taking a pain reliever and she debated whether to go to the hospital at all when the ambulance arrived, particularly after paramedics told her she was looking at a six-hour wait wherever she went.

She decided to take their advice and was transported to Piedmont Hospital. In the emergency room, a hospital employee whom she recognized was a fellow church member

at First Afrikan in Lithonia.

Later that night, her Piedmont doctors were stunned by X-rays that showed a “football-sized” mass in her chest cavity – a mass so large it had forced her windpipe into a semicircle shape, nearly crushing it, and completely covering one of her lungs.

Her doctors believe that swimming is the only thing that explains why she didn’t have symptoms because her one operating lung was working so well.

About 10 years ago, Cash had been diagnosed with a goiter, which is an enlarged thyroid. It was benign, and she had it checked regularly to make sure it stayed that way.

Goiters typically grow in the neck area, where swelling can be seen, but the mass in her chest was an intrathoracic goiter – a goiter that had grown downward, undetected, along her windpipe, under her sternum and into her chest cavity.

The doctors were astounded that she had been able to breathe, eat, walk and talk and that she had exhibited none of the symptoms expected of someone in her condition.

She was admitted to the hospital that night. The next day, Cash spoke plainly with her doctors, who told her she’d been operating with just one lung and that the mass would have to be removed immediately.

She learned that to remove a mass of that size that was connected to very large blood vessels in a delicate location, doctors would have to take the unusual step of breaking open her chest in complex surgery that could take six to seven hours. Cash was told she could bleed to death, her vocal cords could be damaged, and she might lose the ability to speak.

She scheduled her surgery for June 20 –

three days before her daughter’s return from a study abroad trip to China with her class at Atlanta Girls School.

She went home two days later on June 11 to prepare for her surgery.

D’Haene said her first priority was taking care of her students, her co-workers, her children and her husband.

“She wanted to make sure that she could minimize the impact on them, minimize the fear, give them a sense of order and a sense of ‘this will go on, this will be fine,’ ” she said.

Peace in preparation In the nine days before her surgery, Cash went back to swimming and completed preparing lessons and final exam for the remaining weeks of her class so that someone else could take over if necessary.

She asked her father, Gerrold Walker, who lives in Hilton Head, S.C., and Lisa Goodman, a close cousin in Wisconsin, to be there for her family if she didn’t make it through.

Being called upon to help out in a worstcase scenario made Goodman feel honored and terrified at the same time.

“This is somebody that I love, I respect, I admire and I adore,” she said. “I was petrified that I could lose my cousin.”

With firm assurances that they would help, Cash said she was at complete peace going into surgery.

“I was not fearful,” she said. “I thought that I was going to be OK.” And she was.

The surgery took half the time expected and the nearly 3-pound goiter was removed along with her thyroid.

Six weeks after surgery, when she got the medical all clear, she was very happily back in the swimming pool.

“My recovery was fantastic,” Cash said.

“No complications, no nothing. … Certainly I am healthier now than I have ever been before in my life.”

Her husband, Omar, said the woman he married in 1999 at First Afrikan is a former social worker who has always been able to separate emotion from what needs to be handled.

“I’m just happy that everything worked out the way it was supposed to,” he said.

“We’re very fortunate.”

CrossRoadsNews

December 24, 2016

Community Ellis to recognize 25 heroes in their communities

Twenty-five individuals and organizations who are making a significant impact in DeKalb County will be honored Dec. 27 as DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis’ Community Heroes at the DeKalb History Center.

Awards will be handed out in five categories – community champion, environmental change, youth volunteer, neighborhood empowerment and vanguard.

The ceremony takes place at 6:30 p.m.

WGCL-TV reporter Sally Sears will be mistress of ceremony.

Ellis, who returned to office on Dec. 14 after a three-and-a-half-year suspension in connection with his indictment on corruption charges, said he is glad to have the opportunity to honor the residents.

“It is an opportunity to highlight the contributions of our residents who are committed to improving their neighborhoods,” he said. “It’s a small gesture of gratitude thanking them for their tireless contributions to making DeKalb County a better place to live.”

Ellis returned to office after the Georgia Supreme Court overturned his sentence because of errors during his trial. The case was returned to the DeKalb District Attorney’s Office.

The ceremony for the Community Hero Awards, co-sponsored by The Champion newspaper, is free and open to the public. To RSVP, visit www.onedekalb. com.

The History Center is at the Historic DeKalb Courthouse, 101 E. Court Square in Decatur. For more information, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov.

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“It is an opportunity to highlight the contributions of our residents committed to improving their neighborhoods.”

New DeKalb DA and solicitor general sworn into office

Photos by Curtis Parker / CrossRoadsNews

At left, new DA Sherry Boston gets a kiss from her husband, Ed, after taking the oath of office on Dec. 19 from retired Court of Appeals Judge Herbert Phipps.

Above, Donna Coleman-Stribling takes the oath from Justice Robert Benham. Her husband, David, holds the Bible. Both officials take office on Jan. 1, 2017.

Hubbard, Favors seeking Stonecrest council, mayor seats

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

Eric Hubbard and Douglas Favors have announced runs for council and mayor respectively of the new city of Stonecrest.

They are the latest candidates to announce for the March 21 elections.

Qualifying takes place Jan. 9-11.

Hubbard, who has been U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson’s outreach director for the past decade, is running for the District 3 seat.

Hubbard said Dec. 21 that he is offering himself to help build the new city.

“I know this community and the community knows me,” he said. “As we come together to create a new city in South DeKalb, I’d like the opportunity to make a difference.”

Hubbard said he is interested in utilizing the city’s zoning and land-use authority to help bring economic development to the area and preserve and grow its green space.

“I know how to make government work, serve the community and help Eric Hubbard build a strong foundation,” said Hubbard, who was Johnson’s executive assistant when he was District 5 commissioner before he was elected to the U.S. House. He said he will be a strong voice for the people of Stonecrest.

“I will be accountable, accessible and a man of action,” he said. “When Stonecrest succeeds, DeKalb will succeed and Georgia

as well.”

Favors, who has lived in the Stonecrest area for more than three years, says he has extensive experience in retail and management industries and he and his wife had talked for years about him running for mayor.

He said he is selfemployed but did not respond to questions about Douglas Favors what he does.

“I am running because I am not a politician, business as usual, or a traditional candidate,” he said. “My energy and abilities combined with my vision of a great Stonecrest are unmatched.”

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CrossRoadsNews

Holiday

December 24, 2016

“Please come in and write a letter. It’s an easy way to spread the joy.”

Eight-yearold Lia Butts writes a letter to Santa on Dec. 19 for the annual “Believe” campaign, which benefits Make-A-Wish Foundation.

2346 Candler Rd. Decatur, GA 30032 404-284-1888 Fax: 404-284-5007 www.crossroadsnews.com editor@crossroadsnews.com

Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker General Manager Curtis Parker Assistant Editor Brenda Yarbrough Staff Writers Jennifer Ffrench Parker Ken Watts Editorial Intern Rosie Manin Multimedia Editor Sharif Williams Front Office Manager Catherine Guy

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First Afrikan Presbyterian in Lithonia will hold its “Our Culture Matters” Umoja community celebration Dec. 26.

Rosie Manins / CrossRoadsNews

Deadline looms to write Santa at Macy’s Kwanzaa observance

By Rosie Manins

Christmas Eve is the last day for children to write Santa and drop their letters off in Macy’s annual “Believe” campaign.

The retailer, which has stores at the Gallery at South DeKalb in Decatur and the Mall at Stonecrest in Lithonia, is donating $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for every letter deposited in its stores and at macys.com/believe by Dec. 24.

Since the campaign began in 2003, Macy’s has donated more than $100 million to the foundation to help grant the wishes of terminally ill children.

Terry Young, manager of the Macy’s at South DeKalb, said that since the 2016 campaign kicked off on Nov. 4, area children have deposited hundreds of letters in the store’s Believe mailbox located in the children’s department on the lower level.

Last year, the South DeKalb store received 2,700 Santa letters, resulting in

$2,700 for Make-A-Wish.

In 2015, nearly 15,000 wishes were granted from the letter-writing campaign. Young said it’s a great cause.

“Please come in and write a letter,” she said.

“It’s an easy way to spread Terry Young the joy.”

On Dec. 19, 8-year-old Lia Butts was in the store penning her letter to Santa. She wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up and had one wish of the jolly old elf.

“I asked him for a veterinary practice kit,” she said.

Kids of all ages can write letters, which also can be posted at macys.com/believe.

Make-A-Wish says 27,000 children are diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions in the United States each year, almost half affected by cancer. To date, more than 270,000 wishes have been granted.

Tree of Love touching 600 children Six hundred children will be getting Christmas gifts this year because of the annual Tree of Love Campaign founded by District 3 Commissioner Larry Johnson.

The campaign, which is in its 18th year, offers residents the opportunity to fulfill the wishes of kids in foster care and others in need. Benefactors picked the names of kids and their wish lists from the Tree of Love at the Gallery at South DeKalb on Nov. 19 and returned Dec. 17 with gift bags and boxes laden with toys, clothes, games and other items.

Since its inception, Johnson said that the campaign has raised close to $750,000 in toys and provided gifts to more than 10,000 children.

He said he is grateful for the overwhelming support.

Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews

Donated gifts line the stage Dec. 17 in front of Macy’s at the Gallery at South DeKalb.

“Thank you to everyone that gave this year making the program a success,” he said.

‘Light Up’ contest offering $2K in prizes Christmas lights aficionados can compete for more than $2,000 in prizes and other incentives for the best light displays at their homes and businesses this year.

Georgia Power’s inaugural “Light Up the Holidays” contest is offering two grand prizes of $500 each to a residential and a business winner statewide who submit photographs of their festive displays.

It also is awarding four $250 gift cards to two runners-up each in the residential and business categories.

In addition, weekly winners of $50 gift cards will be randomly selected through Jan.

8. Participants also can win commemorative plaques and the chance to be featured on the electric power and energy services utility’s website homepage.

Entries must be uploaded to Georgia Power’s Facebook page or tweeted using #GeorgiaPowerLights.

The public will vote for their favorites.

Photographs with the most likes or votes throughout the competition will be awarded the top prizes during the week of Jan. 13.

For full contest rules, visit www.georgiapower.com/holidayrules.

marks 50 years of celebrating culture

Families observing Kwanzaa and those wanting to learn about it can join the annual celebration at First Afrikan Presbyterian Church in Lithonia.

The theme of its 2016 observance is “Remember, Restore, and Recalibrate.”

Kwanzaa, Swahili for “first fruits,” is a black cultural holiday that takes place Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.

The observance, which celebrates family, community and culture, is marking its 50th anniversary.

Founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana Studies, activist and author, Kwanzaa celebrates Seven Principles or Nguzo Saba – Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).

On Dec. 26, the first day of the seven-day holiday, the church’s “Our Culture Matters” Umoja community celebration takes place 4 to 9 p.m. at the church. A Children’s Celebration is from 4 to 6 p.m., followed by an Evening Celebration from 7 to 9 p.m. Both events are separated by a one-hour snack break.

On Dec. 27, the second day of Kwanzaa, the Kujichagulia celebration, co-sponsored by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, begins at 7 p.m. at the church.

It includes singing, drumming, dancing, spoken word, and naming ceremony.

On Dec. 31, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement hosts its sixth annual Ujamaa Fest at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center, 3181 Rainbow Drive in Decatur. The 2016 theme is “Black Money Matters.”

Ujamaa Fest, which takes place noon to 7 p.m., celebrates the principle of cooperative economics.

There will be storytelling, science/STEM activities, a financial literacy workshop, a Kuumba Marketplace and African drumming, wellness workshop and healthy cooking demo.

Register for free tickets at www.ujamaafest.com.

RSVPs are mandatory for all adults attending.

Kwanzaa candles will be lit at all the gatherings.

All Kwanzaa and church services and activities are open to the public.

First Afrikan will observe its annual UmojaKaramu Watch Night Service at 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. Worshippers will eat samples of gold, white, black, green and red foods to symbolize stages in the struggle for freedom – enslavement, emancipation, freedom movement and the future.

All events, except the Ujamaa Fest, take place at the church, 5197 Salem Road. For more information, call 770-981-2601 or visit http://firstafrikanchurch.org.

Lou Walker Senior Center Festivities celebrating the 50th year of Kwanzaa take place Dec. 29 at the Lou Walker Senior Center in Lithonia.

Its African-American History Class is presenting the annual celebration at 2:30 p.m. in the Victory Room. The program is free and open to the public.

The center is at 2538 Panola Road.

index to advertisers Marten Transport............................................ 7 Best Buy Co. Inc......................................Inserts Bojangles Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits.............1 DeKalb Clerk of Superior Court......................6

DeKalb County Office of Community Affairs... 3 DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office........................6 DeKalb County Watershed Mgmt.................... 3 Johnson Hopewell Coleman LLC.................... 7

Macy’s.........................................................5, 8 Walgreens...............................................Inserts Rite Aid...................................................Inserts

Urban Motorsports of GA (4)......................... 7 Veritas Medical Center.................................... 7 Wright Vision Care..........................................6

December 24, 2016

CrossRoadsNews

C E L E B R AT I N G A H A L F C E N T U R Y O F C U LT U R E , H E R I TA G E , AND THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES

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CrossRoadsNews

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Holiday

December 24, 2016

“If you are planning a road trip, now is the time to get your vehicle inspected.”

Hosea Helps to FoodFinderGA app helps locate free food providers The website went live in May 2014. The and their families who need help website showed a dramatic increase in use feed thousands withStudents app was developed by Peachtree Ridge High meals over the holidays can use the free over the Thanksgiving break: Thousands of metro Atlantans will get hot meals and free services at Hosea Helps’ 47th annual Christmas Festival of Services at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta on Dec. 25.

From 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., participants will get clothing, beauty and barber services, health care, job training, and live entertainment.

The nonprofit’s 26th annual Children’s Christmas Party will be held simultaneously. Underserved metro youth will get toys, bikes and gift cards.

Parents must visit www.4hosea.org to sign up all children for the party.

Volunteers also will work throughout the day to deliver food to the homes of thousands of disadvantaged families who cannot attend the dinner.

Hosea Helps is seeking food and gift items, including toys, gift cards, men’s clothing, turkeys, hams, No. 10 cans of green beans, seasonings, and chicken stock or bouillon. For additional needs, visit www.4hosea.org. To volunteer, call Hosea Helps at 404-755-3353. To donate, text “4hosea” to 20222 or visit the website.

smartphone app FoodFinderGA to locate free food resources.

FoodFinderGA is available on the Apple App Store or Google Play (search: foodfinder) or online at www.foodfinderga.org. It uses geo-targeting to direct users to the free food resource closest to their home, school or current location.

Both the FoodFinderGA app and the

n Thanksgiving week visits to FoodFinder – up 496 percent versus the weekly average during this school year to date. n Average daily use during Thanksgiving week – up 500 percent versus the daily average this school year. n Peak usage was Nov. 21, the first full week without school lunch this school year, up 1,269 percent over the daily average.

graduate Jack Griffin, who was moved by a news story about food-insecure children. It was created initially for Gwinnett County students but expanded in 2015 to serve all food-insecure students – more than 1.7 million kids in over 2,300 public schools – statewide through a network of more than 1,700 resource providers. For more information or to donate, visit www.foodfinderga.org.

Year-end holiday travelers are poised to set a record Nearly 3 million Georgians are among the more than 103 million Americans who will travel for the year-end holidays, up 1.5 million more than last year.

AAA says this is the highest total volume of travelers since it began tracking holiday travel data in 2001. The travel period is defined as Friday, Dec. 23, to Monday, Jan. 2 – one fewer day than in 2015. The vast majority of travelers nationwide – 93.6 million – will take a holiday road trip, an increase of 1.5 percent over last year.

In Georgia, 2,988,030 travelers, up 2.4

percent, will be on the move – 2,715,505 will drive, 165,015 will fly, and 107,510 will use other modes of transportation.

The auto group says the increase in holiday travel is being driven by additional consumer spending, a result of improvements in the labor market and rising wages.

Joseph J. Richardson Jr., president/CEO of AAA-The Auto Club Group, said this will be the most-traveled year-end holiday season on record, particularly for driving.

“If you are planning a road trip, now is the time to get your vehicle inspected,” Richardson said Dec. 15. “Look for a facility displaying the ‘AAA Approved Auto Repair’ sign to

ensure a trustworthy inspection that could catch any problems before they arise.”

The forecast summary shows 103.1 millions Americans will travel 50 miles or more.

A record number – 93.6 million – will drive and 6 million will fly.

Gas prices on New Year’s Day will likely be higher than the average on Jan. 1, 2016.

Pump prices also could rival those on New Year’s Day 2015 but remain below year-end holiday levels dating back to 2009.

Prices are $30 higher for airfares ($204), $2 lower for car rentals ($66), $9 higher for AAA Two Diamond-Rated hotels ($128), and $10 higher for Three Diamond ($160).

Blood donors needed this winter Eligible donors are encouraged to add “give blood” to their holiday checklist to help the American Red Cross meet the constant need for blood this winter.

Donors with all blood types are needed.

As a special thank-you, those who donate through Jan. 8 will receive a long-sleeved Red Cross T-shirt while supplies last.

To donate, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment.

Upcoming blood drives include:

12/03, 12/10, 12/17, 12/24

Legal Notices

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

Civil Action Case Number: ++16FM11575-3++ Deontray Smith Plaintiff Vs. Oneida Smith Defendant To: Oneida Smith 2235 Mt. Zion Parkway Morrow, GA 30260

By ORDER of the Court for service by publication dated Nov. 17, 2016, you are hereby notified that on Nov. 02, 2016, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court and to service upon the plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Deontry Smith, 1577 Linksview Chase, Stone Mountain, GA 30088. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days Nov. 17, 2016.

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

This the 17th day of Nov., 2016 12/03, 12/10, 12/17, 12/24

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

Civil Action Case Number: ++16FM10018-3++ Sheryl E. Paige

Plaintiff Vs. Bobby L. Billings Defendant To: Bobby L. Billings 473 Sherwood Circle Stone Mountain, GA 30087

By ORDER of the Court for service by publication dated Nov. 17, 2016, you are hereby notified that on Sept. 20, 2016, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court and to service upon the plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Sheryl E. Paige, 1189 Eastview Rd., Conyers, GA 30017. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days Nov. 17, 2016.

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

This the 17th day of Nov., 2016 12/03, 12/10, 12/17, 12/24

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

Civil Action Case Number: ++16FM11985-1++ Juan Deante Robinson Plaintiff Vs. Trekina Nicole Dixon Defendant To:

By ORDER of the Court for service by publication dated Nov. 18, 2016, you are hereby notified that on Nov. 15, 2016, the above-named Plaintiff filed

suit against you for Divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court and to service upon the plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Juan Deante Robinson, 11806 Hastings Bridge Rd., P.O. Box 730, Lovejoy, GA 30230. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days Nov. 18, 2016.

Witness the Honorable Courtney L. Johnson, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 22nd day of Nov., 2016 12/10, 12/17, 12/24, 12/31

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

Civil Action Case Number: ++16FM12298-3++ Noelani Reynoso-Carrasco Plaintiff Vs. Nicholas Davis Defendant To: Nicholas Davis 2821 Zane Gray Dr. Atlanta, GA 30316

By ORDER of the Court for service by publication dated Nov. 29, 2016, you are hereby notified that on Nov. 23, 2016, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Name Change. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court and to service upon the plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Noelani Reynoso-Carrasco, 3539 Robins Landing Way, Apt. 8, Decatur, GA 30032. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days Nov. 18, 2016.

n Dec. 27 – IHOP, noon-5 p.m., 5170 Memo-

rial Drive in Stone Mountain.

n Dec. 28 – Covington Library, 11 a.m.-3

p.m., 3500 Covington Highway in Decatur. n Dec. 29 – Wade Walker Park Family YMCA, 3-7 p.m., 5605 Rockbridge Road in Stone Mountain. n Dec. 30 – Walmart Supercenter, 3-7 p.m., 1825 Rockbridge Road in Stone Mountain. n Jan. 3 – Scott Candler Library, noon-5 p.m., 1917 Candler Road, Decatur; Redan-Trotti, 1-5 p.m., 1569 Wellborn Road, Lithonia.

publication dated Dec. 09, 2016, you are hereby notified that on Dec. 06, 2016, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court and to service upon the plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is:

2323 Ousley Ct., Decatur, GA 30032.

Answer in writing within sixty (60) days Dec. 19, 2016.

Witness the Honorable Courtney L. Johnson, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 13th day of Dec., 2016

DeKalb County Sheriff Office

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

This the 30th day of Nov., 2016

Jeffrey L. Mann, Sheriff 4415 Memorial Drive • Decatur, GA 30032

12/10, 12/17, 12/24, 12/31

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

Civil Action Case Number: ++16FM12378-1++ Ashley Nicole Taylor filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Nov. 18, 2016 to change name from: Ashley Nicole Taylor to Andrezej Nicholas Taylor. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Nov. 17, 2016

Sex Offender

Colin Boyd 3140 Moreland Avenue Conley, GA 30288 Charge of Sexual Exploitation of Children Convicted on 12/12/2016

Sex Offender

Leonard Greene 2505 Columbia Drive, Apt ZB6 Decatur, GA 30034 Charge of Rape Convicted on 1/17/1989

12/24, 12/31, 01/07, 01/14

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

Civil Action Case Number: ++16FM12513-1++ Julius D. Watson Plaintiff Vs. Angenola Watson Defendant To: 5864 Quebec Ave Minneapolis, MN

By ORDER of the Court for service by

Sex Offender

William Conner 2844 Toney Drive Decatur, GA 30032 Charge of Child Molestation Convicted on 10/21/2016

Sex Offender

James Matiatos 1221 Richard Road Decatur, GA 30032 Charge of Sexual Exploitation of Children Convicted on 4/25/2006

Sex Offender

Elton McNamar 3065 Midway Road Decatur, GA 30032 Charge of False Imprisonment of a Minor Convicted on 8/10/2015

The DeKalb Sex Offenders List is published by the DeKalb County Sheriff Office. For more information call the Sex Offender Unit at 404-298-8130.

CrossRoadsNews

December 24, 2016

Holiday

7

“They’re often forgotten and it was just on my heart to do something.”

Holiday gift cards for homeless DeKalb students

By Ken Watts

Twenty-five homeless DeKalb schoolchildren will be able to shop for their own Christmas gifts with $50 gift cards donated by the School District, State Court Judge Ronald Ramsey, and McDonald’s franchise owners John and Shirleen Hurt.

The Hurts, who own 15 McDonald’s restaurants, including five in South DeKalb, donated $1,200 to help buy the gift cards.

The business owners, Ramsey, and School Board member Vickie Turner displayed gift bags with the cards on Dec. 21 at the Hurts’ restaurant on Evans Mill Road near I-20.

Ramsey, who was the School District’s director of the Internal Investigations Unit and chief legal officer from 2005 to 2016, got the ball rolling for the project. He said he got to know the struggles of homeless schoolchildren who live in extended-stay and other transitional housing and survive on meager resources.

“They’re often forgotten and it was just on my heart to do something,” he said. “To have someone who is not a gang member reach out to them and show them love is

Manomay Malathip (from left), School Board member Vickie Turner, Shirleen Hurt, Judge Ronald Ramsey, and John Hurt spearheaded the gift card drive for the students.

Ken Watts / CrossRoadsNews

important.”

The donors at first wanted to give gifts to the kids but decided that they might enjoy the experience of shopping for themselves.

Ramsey asked Turner to help with fundraising and to mobilize school employees.

“I called Superintendent Stephen Green and he said, ‘We’ll make it happen,’” Turner said. “He got our staff involved.”

The administrative staff picked children

to be the recipients with the help of Manomay Malathip, executive director of the Division of Student Support and Intervention.

Turner said the gift cards would be delivered on Dec. 21.

Shirleen Hurt said the effort is only a first step.

“We look forward to making this an annual affair and supporting educational opportunities through McDonald’s,” she said.

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CrossRoadsNews

8

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12/13/16 9:52 AM