CrossRoadsNews, January 17, 2009

WELLNESS

YOUTH

SPORTS

I CARE, a nonprofit group that provides drivers who tote senior citizens on doctor visits and other errands, doesn’t have enough drivers to meet demand. 7

Girls Scouts are taking orders as the annual cookie sale gets into full swing, but troop leaders fear the economic downturn may put a damper on sales. 11

Members of Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Phi Psi fraternities took to the court to help raise money for Southwest DeKalb’s girls basketball team. 12

Mobility assistance

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Outlook not so sweet

January 17, 2009

Hoopin’ for a cause

Volume 14, Number 38

www.crossroadsnews.com

Thousands head to historic inauguration

This official portrait of President-elect Barack Obama was released Wednesday by his office. White House photographer Pete Souza captured the image on a digital camera, a first for an official presidential portrait.

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will take the oath of office on Jan. 20 at 11 a.m. on this stage in front of the U.S. Capitol. Obama’s inauguration as the nation’s first African-American president is expected to attract up to 4 million people.

DeKalb residents join pilgrimage to nation’s capital

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker and McKenzie Jackson

Thousands of DeKalb and metro Atlanta residents are taking to the roads, rail and airways over the next three days to be part of the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation’s first African-American president.

Many confessed to feeling propelled to join the expected millions on the National Mall in Washington D.C. despite cold weather and crowded conditions.

“It’s a moment in history that I want to be part of,” said DeKalb District 5 Commissioner Lee May, who will be taking to the

interstates with his wife, Robin, and another couple for the nine-hour drive on Sunday.

“It’s a moment of history I don’t want to miss.”

Wynbrooke Elementary School fifthgrader Nicholas Weddington, 10, will also be making the trip. He is leaving today with his mother, Gwen, and family friend Amelia Jackson and her son, 9-year-old Kaba Jackson.

Gwen Weddington said she didn’t hesitate about taking her son out of school Tuesday and Wednesday. She said that witnessing the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States will be a lesson he will long remember.

The DeKalb residents will be part of a record-setting crowd of 1.5 million to 4 million people, expected to descend on the nation’s capital for the inauguration.

In addition to people driving themselves, charter bus companies like Harmon Brothers Charter Services Inc. in Atlanta are sending record numbers of coaches to the D.C. area.

Clinton Harmon said Wednesday that 20 of his coaches will begin departing metro Atlanta for Washington today. Five of those buses are leaving DeKalb locations, including Saint Philip AME Church on Candler Road.

In his 29 years in business, Harmon said

“It’s a moment in history that I want to be part of. It’s a moment of history I don’t want to miss.”

Lee May, DeKalb County Commissioner

“It will truly let any child of any color in the U.S. and the world, know they can be whatever they want to be.”

Amelia Jackson, who is taking her son to witness the inauguration.

it’s the most buses he has sent to a single event.

“Jena (LA) was 10 buses,” he said. “We have had 12 to 15 buses to Super Bowl events in Tampa and other places, but never 20 buses.”

Please see INAUGURATION, page 6

Official invitation to inauguration took supporter by surprise

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

Leslie Royal holds her official invitation to President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremonies.

Royal was excited because two week’s before she had watched a television report on the New York printer who got the contract to print 1 million gold-and-black engraved invitations for the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American president on Jan. 20.

She watched with interest the story of the invitation’s design, its embossed gold-foiled crest, and its raised letterings.

She never dreamed she would get one.

When her husband ripped the envelopment open with his finger and pulled the invitation from the envelop, Royal fell out.

“I screamed and hollered and ran around

When Leslie Royal opened the mailbox at her Lithonia home on Tuesday, the big cream-colored envelop caught her attention immediately.

When she saw “Handle with Care” printed on the envelop and “Presidential Inauguration Committee” in the return address, she ran into the house calling for her husband, Tony.

“This is not what I think it is,” she said, thrusting the envelop toward him. He told her to open it and find out, but she couldn’t.

“You open it,” she told him.”I can’t do Please see INVITE, page 6 it.”

Curtis Parker / CrossRoadsNews

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CrossRoadsNews

January 17, 2009

Community

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CrossRoadsNews

January 17, 2009

“I am confident that with her level of expertise and skills she will move this county forward as we build a new consensus for a better DeKalb.”

New county administrators Howard Mosby chairing DeKalb delegation State Rep. Howard delegation on Jan. 13 at serving on numerous House and get nod from commissioners Mosby caucus committees. is the new chair the state Capitol.

By McKenzie Jackson

Dr. Tom Coleman and attorney Lisa Chang have joined the administration of CEO Burrell Ellis.

On Jan. 13, Coleman took the post of chief of staff and Chang, the position of county attorney.

Coleman, a retired deputy commissioner of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, served on Ellis’ Transition Team.

Ellis said his vast experience will allow him to be effective immediately in his new position.

“He will be responsible for managing intergovernmental and community relations,” Ellis said.

“He will also play an important role with the Board of Commissioners and he will provide leadership to the CEO’s office.”

Coleman, who was born in Meriwether County, Ga., spent 25 years in the US Air Force as a military officer, commander, executive officer and senior noncommissioned officer before working with Georgia state government.

He is also a writer and lecturer and has served on numerous boards including Argosy University, Team Georgia, Kaiser Permanente and the Dana Walters Cystic Fibrosis Scholarship Foundation.

Coleman said that he has high expectations for himself and the Ellis Administration.

“As a longtime resident of DeKalb, I know the many strengths

Lisa Chang

Tom Coleman

of this county, and I look forward to working with CEO Ellis to bring about positive changes,” he said.

Chang, a New York City native, was unanimously confirmed by the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 13.

She has more than 20 years of legal experience in federal and state courts. Prior to starting her own firm in January 2007, she was a partner with Beard & Chang, LLC, counsel with the law firm of Jones Day and partner with Knapp & Street, LLP. Ellis said he is pleased that Chang is the new county attorney.

“I am confident that with her level of expertise and skills she will move this county forward as we build a new consensus for a better DeKalb,” he said.

Chang thanked Ellis and the commissioners for giving her a new job.

“I pledge to represent the county to the best of abilities,” she said.

They join Keith Barker, who was named executive assistant last month.

of the DeKalb delegation Mosby succeeds forto the Georgia General mer state Rep. Stan WatAssembly. son, who quit his 10-year Mosby, who has repseat last year to run for resented District 90 in DeKalb CEO. Ellenwood and Atlanta As delegation chair, for six years, will chair Mosby is responsible for the joint delegation of 19 Howard Mosby leading the delegation in House and Senate mempreparing and submitbers in the 149th Session. ting local legislation affecting the He was elected by his col- county during the 2009 session. leagues at their first meeting of the He comes to the post after

Mosby said he is familiar with the extreme challenges facing DeKalb, the State and the Nation.

“I am looking forward to forging a new consensus with all leadership in DeKalb County in concert with the efforts of DeKalb’s new CEO, Burrell Ellis who holds the same goal for our great County” he said. “Only by working together can we make DeKalb County thrive.”

Keith Barker to run county day-to-day Keith Barker is handling DeKalb County’s day-to-day operations as CEO Burrell Ellis’ executive assistant.

The DeKalb Board of Commissioners unanimously confirmed Barker’s appointment at its Jan. 6 work session.

Barker was most recently the Board of Commissioners chief of staff, working closely with Ellis, who was District 4 commissioner for eight years and presiding officer for five consecutive terms.

Ellis said Barker, who became the Board of Commissioners’ first chief of staff in 2006, will be an excellent executive assistant.

“Keith has a substantial understanding of DeKalb County government,” he said. “He has strong management skills, and he possesses very sound judgment.”

Barker, 52, has a 30-year ca-

“I am ready to roll up my sleeves to work to make our county government more efficient and effective during these times when governments are being called upon to do more with fewer resources.”

Keith Barker, executive assistant to CEO Burrell Ellis

reer in public administration.

He has worked as labor relations specialist with the city of Atlanta and was an employee/management relations representative. wit hthe state of Georgia.He also did stints in county adminstration in Dougherty County and was assistant city manager in Decatur before directing a management development program at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia.

Barker said that Ellis is going to

establish high standards for county government.

“I am ready to roll up my sleeves to work to make our county government more efficient and effective during these times when governments are being called upon to do more with fewer resources,” he said.

As executive assistant, he will function like a county manager or chief operating officer, and will handle the daily details of Ellis’ administration.

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Forum

CrossRoadsNews

January 17, 2009

“In working to unite, rather than divide, he will engage us to help solve the serious problems facing our region.”

CEO Burrell Ellis on right track with call for unity 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 Staff Writers Corey M. Edwards McKenzie Jackson

munity leaders to work This New Year began together to help move with important inauDeKalb forward. gural activities on the His kind acknowledgnational and county level. ment of the legacy left by In DeKalb, we can be previous CEO Vernon proud that our new CEO, Jones set the tone for Burrell Ellis, began his seeking to build on the tenure in office this week successes of the past. In by seeking unity among Sarah Fountain working to unite, rather the elected political leaders. At his Jan. 5 swearing in, Ellis than divide, he will engage us to challenged the commissioners, the help solve the serious problems judges, the board of education, the facing our region.

DeKalb has a history of visionconstitutional officers, the DeKalb legislative delegation and com- ary leaders who unflinchingly

took on the larger problems facing the region – such as MARTA and Grady Hospital, two huge entities that affect the quality of life for our region. As CEO, Burrell Ellis promises to be very engaged in the regional issues facing us including transportation, public safety, education, water resources and sustainability.

As a distinguished graduate of Leadership DeKalb, Ellis will have support from the hundreds of our graduates who, like him, seek to create a better day for DeKalb and

the region.

We welcome the consensusbuilding leadership of our new CEO and stand ready to help him connect leaders to government to generate the answers and solutions to the challenges we face in these difficult economic times. We salute his strong collaborative style of leadership because that’s what is needed right now. We can solve these issues together when we stand together.

Sara A. Fountain is executive director of Leadership DeKalb.

Advertising Sales Cynthia Blackshear

Obama’s inauguration calls for national reflection

Graphic Designer Sharif Ffrench

With the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama mere days away, all Americans need to stop and reflect on the moral, social, spiritual and economic conditions of this nation.

And then take personal inventory on their individual responsibility to contribute to making America a beacon of hope again rather than a dark shadow of shame.

“When righteous people are in power, the people rejoice but when the wicked are in power the people mourn with burdens.” (Proverbs 11:10) Americans are well aware that this nation has some perilous challenges ahead but these challenges can and will be overcome when national and local leadership “do right” by the people. Over the last eight years, national leadership has been deceitfully wicked, grossly incompetent, and entrenched with infectious arrogance.

Congressional silence and dereliction of duty of fiscal oversight, except for former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, has also played a major role in our national prob-

CrossRoadsNews is published every Thursday by CrossRoads­News, Inc. We welcome articles on neighborhood issues and news of local happenings.

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If President Obama does his part and we do ours, we can weather the storm in this tight restoration process.

We must help each along the way.

Kevin Oliveira

lem. The nation spent over $600 billion on war and death over an eight-year period, and then the same administration paid out $700 billion to bail out their Wall Street friends with no remorse. You can do the “fuzzy math.”

From the time George Bush stole the 2000 and 2004 elections, America has suffered greatly on all fronts – domestically and internationally.

Christianity has also lost its credibility with “W’s skewed bornagain foreign policy” with a sinister, clandestine financial agenda attached. The Bible says “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.” Eight years of war abroad and natural disasters at home have caused many Americans to ask themselves who is really running

this country? We always sing God Bless America, but my question is, how does God bless mess?

So where does America go from here?

American leadership must diligently seek the right way, the truth, and the lifestyle so the Lord can provide His protection, provision, and presence in these dark days in our nation.

Obama can’t do it alone. Nor should he bear the sole responsibility to do so. He can set the national agenda and start the conversation, he can work with Congress to fund a domestic recovery plan, as well as inspire and empower citizens to believe in themselves again, and the power of individual effort to create positive change for the common good. But we all have to put forth sincere effort.

The wickedness of the political and business backroom dealing and culture of corruption should not be tolerated again by the American citizens. The congressional silence in the face of fiscal pillage cannot happen again. The assault on the working class and the working poor must not continue. And most of all, an economic model of diverse and fiscal inclusiveness is the tall order of the day.

If President Obama does his part and we do ours, we can weather the storm in this tight restoration process. We must help each along the way. If this nation can spend $600 billion on war and death, think about if that money was spend on job creation, education, and healthcare. Boy, what a Godly nation we would truly be!

So what happens now? We hold Barack Obama accountable. We hold our state and county officials accountable. We hold ourselves accountable.

And if we don’t, we get the lack of leadership we deserve.

Kevin Olivera lives in Ellenwood.

Quick Read New administrators get nod Transport service for elderly DeKalb library branches from commissioners 3 needs volunteer drivers 7 to screen inaugural Dr. Tom Coleman and attorney Lisa Chang have joined the administration of CEO Burrell Ellis.

Eighty-five-year-old Eugenia Powell didn’t waste any time coming down the steep driveway of her Doraville home on Jan. 8.

South DeKalb residents who aren’t making the trip to Washington, D.C., can view the historic Jan. 20 inauguration of Presidentelect Barack Obama at library branches in Decatur, Stone Mountain and Clarkston.

Keith Barker to run county Infant mortality rates still too day-to-day 3 high for blacks 8 Driver’s ed could become Keith Barker is handling DeKalb County’s Across Georgia, African-American babies fee-based elective day-to-day operations as CEO Burrell Ellis’ are still twice as likely to have low birth executive assistant.

weight and more than twice as likely to die than white infants.

Day of Service to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

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DeKalb high school students who want to take driver’s education in the fall might have to pay.

5 Grady mulling charging poor for more of its services 9 Hitting stride a step toward DeKalb volunteers can join thousands of major leagues 12 Healthcare supporters and advocates are people nationwide including President-elect Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama by taking part in a National Day of Service on Jan. 19 in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

very unhappy about plans by Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation to begin charging for some services.

When students at Cedar Grove High see the black 2009 Lexus pull up in the school parking lot, some smile, some stare, and some just glance and look away.

Girl Scout hosting health fair NAACP needs volunteers for for badge 9 James to speak at Black first Habitat house 5 History prayer brunch Stone Mountain High senior Elizabeth Circulation Audited By

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The DeKalb NAACP needs volunteers a Habitat for the Humanity House it is building in Decatur.

Sumpter is seeking a Gold Award by hosting a health fair for teens and the elderly on Jan. 24 at St. Paul AME Church in Lithonia.

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DeKalb Solicitor-General Robert James will headline the 11th annual Black History Prayer Brunch at Saint Philip AME Church.

index to advertisers AtlantaJobs.com.................................... 6, 14, 15 Burroughs-Johnson-Hopewell Attorneys......... 6 CDC Federal Credit Union.................................3 Communication/Telecommunication Assoc......5

Craig Williams, DDS..........................................8 Ella’s Caring Hands Adult Day Care................ 15 EOS The Medical Spa...................................... 9 Lorillard Tobacco Company..............................5

Felicia V. Anderson, CPA LLC........................... 6 First Afrikan Presbyterian Church................... 13 Holy Innocents Episcopal School.....................11 Malcolm Cunningham Ford............................ 16

Radium Soft......................................................7 Saint Philip AME Church................................. 13 Salt & Light Truth Center................................ 13

January 17, 2009

Community Please volunteer in your community as part of our Renew America Together initiative. Join people across the nation who are making an ongoing commitment to improve our communities and country.

Michelle Obama

National Day of Service to honor Martin Luther King Jr. DeKalb volunteers can join thousands of people nationwide including President-elect Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama by taking part in a National Day of Service on Jan. 19 in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

The community service oriented day is a nationwide initiative being led by Barack Obama, who will be sworn in to the presidency on Jan. 20, under the theme of “Renew America Together.”

In a video message on www. usaservice.org and YouTube, Michelle Obama said that King lived his life in service to others.

“Barack and I will spend the day volunteering right here in Washington, D.C., helping out in the community that we now call home,” she said.

She invited Americans to find projects in their community and give of their time.

“Please volunteer in your community as part of our Renew America Together initiative,” she said. “Join people across the nation who are making an ongoing

commitment to improve our communities and country.”

At www.usaservice.org, prospective volunteers can either sign up to volunteer at an event or host an event.

On Tuesday, it listed more than 75 events within 50 miles of South DeKalb including a food drive being hosted by the National Federation of the Blind in the lobby of the Decatur Courthouse at 10 a.m., the M.L. King Jr. Service Summit at Stone Mountain Elementary School from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a fabric drive at Intown Quilters in Decatur from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Starting on noon on Jan. 19, Ellenwood resident Kris Bivins will accept blankets for the homeless and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. there will be a clean-up event at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta.

Michelle Obama said the event is more than just a single day of service.

“At usaservice.org you can connect with people and groups in your community and continue serving in the months and years ahead,” she said.

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CrossRoadsNews

“Barack and I will spend the day volunteering right here in Washington, D.C., helping out in the community that we now call home.”

Hearings into county budget scheduled DeKalb residents will have 11 chances to tell CEO Burrell Ellis what they thing about his proposed $601.4 million budget.

The hearings across the county will take place between Jan. 22 and Feb. 19. The Jan. 22 hearing will be at 7 p.m. at the South DeKalb Senior Center, 1931 Candler Road in Decatur.

The budget strongly supports public safety and the projects of the 2006 Bond Referendum.

Ellis said he balanced the budget by cutting $184

million from county departments. It is down $21.4 million from the 2008 budget proposed by former CEO Vernon Jones.

“I am confident that all of our county departments will be able to continue the level of service and professionalism that the citizens expect.”

The Board of Commissioners is legally required to approve the budget before March 1.

For more information, visit www.yourdekalb. com.

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January 17, 2009

Planes, trains and autos carrying folks to D.C. INAUGURATION,

Sponsored by CrossRoadsNews.com

from page

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“I was really surprised. I am still surprised at the number of buses they are expecting in D.C.,” he said.

“I don’t know of another gathering in my 29 years in the charter business that have had this many.”

Victoria Wimberly’s ministry, First Page New Chapter, is taking three buses with 170 people from across metro Atlanta to the inauguration. She has another 30 people who are flying into the D.C. area.

Wimberly said her group, which includes people from Decatur, Dunwoody, Atlanta, Marietta, Douglasville, College Park, Milledge­ville and Macon, is so fired up they got her excited, too.

“This is truly going to be an overwhelming experience for us,” she said. “We are not concerned about the number of people or the weather. “ Wimberly said one lady told her she was going because she never thought she would have the opportunity to see a black president sworn in at this time in her life.

A military man, who just got

McKenzie Jackson / CrossRoadsNews

Amelia Jackson and her son, Kaba, use a map to plot their itinerary while packing for their road trip to Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration.

out of the army, is traveling with them and bringing his son.

Their bus journey will be chronicled by Associated Press reporter Jesse Washington, who is traveling with them.

Jackson, who is traveling with the Weddingtons, lived in Washington for 11 years in the 1980s and ’90s. She said she wants her son

who is a third-grader at Pine Ridge Elementary in Stone Mountain, to see Obama get sworn in.

“It will truly let young AfricanAmerican children, any child of any color in the U.S. and the world, know they can be whatever they want to be,” she said.

For more information, visit http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/.

‘It’s something that I will cherish for the rest of my life’ INVITE,

from page

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the room,” she said. “I was one in a million.”

Of course, Royal had to share the news with family and close friends and the employees of their Chick-fil-A restaurants on Turner Hill Road in Lithonia and at the Gallery at South DeKalb in Decatur.

Everyone has been encouraging her to go to Washington but she said she had not planned to go.

“I will have a front row seat in front of my television at home,” she said Wednesday.

Royal said she also plans to invite some friends over on Tuesday night to watch the presidential balls on television.

No one, including staff at Congressman Hank Johnson’s office, could say for sure how many of those invitations came to DeKalb County, but it appears that some Barack Obama campaign volunteers and donors, including Commissioner Lee May and his chief of staff Edmond Richardson, were rewarded with invitations.

Royal, who is not connected politically to the campaign, is still

pinching herself at her good fortune at getting an official invitation to the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States.

She has already framed her invitation and given it a place of prominence in her foyer.

“It’s the first thing you see when you come through the door,” she said.

As to why she got so lucky, Royal says she has been wracking her brain. She knows no one on the Presidential Inauguration Committee and wasn’t a big donor to the Obama campaign.

“I didn’t donate more than $200,” she said.

The only other explanation she came up with is that she and her husband hosted a voter registration drive at their Turner Hill restaurant and that she sent emails out to her friends and family on Sept.

3 encouraging them to enroll 30 voters in 30 days ahead of the Oct. 5 deadline for the Nov. 4, 2008, presidential election.

“I can’t put into words what it feel like to be considered special enough to be invited,” Royal said.

“It’s something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Jan. 17, 2009

Page 7

Service providing transport for the elderly needs volunteer drivers

By Corey M. Edwards

Eighty-five-year-old Eugenia Powell didn’t waste any time coming down the steep driveway of her Doraville home on Jan. 8.

She was anxious to get her day at the doctor’s office started early – and “on time.”

“People are always on time for me, so I try to be right on time with them,” she said as Thomas Burleigh, her driver for the day, escorted her to the waiting car.

Powell is still able to drive herself to the grocery store, post office and church, which are within a few minutes of her home, but she shies away from the crush of traffic on the interstate.

Her doctors’ offices are in Duluth and Stone Mountain and relying on family members to get off work to take take her often make the trips to doctors a stressful ordeal. Burleigh, who took her to the doctor that day, is a volunteer with I CARE (Interfaith Companion And Ride Express) Inc., a DeKalb nonprofit organization that matches senior citizens like Powell with volunteers who drive them to their medical appointments.

Powell has used I CARE’s service for two years and says she doesn’t know how she would get to her doctor’s office on time without it.

“They’re always caring and kind

I CARE volunteer driver Thomas Burleigh helps Eugenia Powell into his car.

Corey M. Edwards / CrossRoadsNews

with me,” she said. “They always come 30 minutes early before my appointments, and I really like that.”

But dozens of other DeKalb seniors are not that lucky. Because of a shortage of volunteers, many are missing doctor’s appointments because they have no one to drive them there.

Tom Simon, I CARE’s director, said last month that his office is only able to provide 25 to 30 trips a week because of the lack of driv-

ers. He says he has a waiting list of seniors and would like to add 50 new volunteer drivers.

“If we were able to get those drivers and they only drive once a month, that will add 50 rides, which is seven or eight more people that we can help each week,” he said.

To help recruit more volunteer drivers, Simon and several I CARE board members are planning to visit local churches and civic groups this month to describe their plight.

He said volunteers drive as little or

as much as they want.

Qualified volunteers must have a valid driver’s license, reliable motor vehicle and can give two or more hours a month. They include men and women, the young and retired, part-time workers and students, who are all required to undergo a background check.

A typical ride takes between two and four hours. Volunteers are notified a week ahead so they can plan their schedules. People who volunteer with I CARE says it’s a

great way to give back.

Geraldine Young of Stone Mountain signed up six months ago as a way to spend her spare time. She said she will never forget her first client, a stylish, older woman who completely changed her outlook on volunteering and growing old gracefully.

“After I helped her in my car, we talked a little bit about her life,” said Young. “Then she said, ‘my boyfriend comes from out of town to visit me.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, she really has it going on.’”

Three months and several trips later, Young says the two or three hours she spends with her I CARE clients have broadened her understanding of the elderly in her community.

“Volunteering with ICARE has been a really eye-opening experience from the beginning,” she said.

Sue Bessey became an I CARE volunteer two years ago after hearing an advertisement on the radio.

“The fact that you’re helping somebody out makes those few hours we spend with them rewarding,” said Bessey, who is a pre-school teacher.

I CARE’s office is at 300 E. Ponce de Leon Ave. at Decatur First United Methodist Church in Decatur. To volunteer or schedule a trip, call 404-377-2273.

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Wellness

CrossRoadsNews

January 17, 2009

“There is something about African-American women living in the US that’s very stressful. And Pregnancies don’t like stress”.

Infant mortality rates still too high for blacks

Grady contemplating charging th

By Corey M. Edwards

By McKenzie Jackson

Across Georgia, African-American babies are still twice as likely to have low birth weight and more than twice as likely to die than white infants, even though the state’s infant mortality rates have declined significantly over the past 20 years.

Health officials say the reasons are many and include the lack of access to health care, poor nutrition, substance abuse, inadequate prenatal care and lack of folic acid.

Babies who are less than 5.5 pounds at birth are considered low-birth babies. Each year, they account for more than two-thirds of Georgia’s infant deaths.

Last year, Georgia ranked 40th nationwide in the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings with an infant mortality rate of 8.0 per 1,000 live births.

That was down from 8.3 per 1,000 in 2007.

A recent Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report showed that the infant mortality rate for nonHispanic black women was 13.63 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to a rate of 5.76 for nonHispanic white women.

Although the racial disparity between Georgia’s AfricanAmerican and white communities is clear, public health experts say the deaths after the first month of a child’s life are preventable, and that socioeconomic status is not entirely to blame for the divide.

Dr. Lucky Jain, attending neonatologist at Children’s Healthcare of At l a n t a a n d medical director of the EmLucky Jain ory/Children’s Center, says researchers are now widely considering stress as the cause for the difference in infant

Healthcare supporters and advocates are very unhappy about a proposed plan by Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation to begin charging for some services.

At the Grady Board’s Jan. 5 meeting, 10 speakers opposed the changes to the hospital’s Grady Card program that helps uninsured patients get health services at a free or discounted rate.

They argued that if the board approved the plan it would be shutting out the poor and needy and abandoning the safety net hospital’s historic mission to serve Atlanta’s working poor.

John Shippee, a Doraville resident who addressed the board, said Grady provides medical services to people John Shippee who normally can not get it anywhere else.

“I know if I had been in the situa-

mortality rates between ethnic communities.

“There’s something about African-American women living in the US that’s very stressful. And pregnancies don’t like stress,” he said. “You can take a mother in Africa who will have two healthy babies there, then bring her to America and watch as her children and children’s children will have a lower birth weight – making them more susceptible to infant death – even though you’ve moved them to a more affluent environment.”

Jain, who recently attended a world infant mortality summit in New York, said stress leads to changes in mother and the fetus are irreversible.

As research continues to shift, so too are the medical community’s ideas on prenatal care. Now, many physicians are taking a more proactive approach by asking women to begin eating right and exercising before conception.

Dr. Sandra Elizabeth Ford, acting health director for Georgia Division of Public Health, says taking a pre-conception attitude to prenatal care could eliminate some of the preventable factors of infant death from the beginning.

“Since 60 to 70 percent of pregnancies are not planned, it’s better

to look at it from a perspective of being a woman opposed to a woman trying to conceive a baby,” she said. “You need to be sure that you’re getting the proper nutrition and exercise all the time instead of saying, ‘OK, I’m ready to have a baby, so let me start eating better right now.’”

Ford said that men should also consider developing a pre-conception plan because their poor health habits can affect the baby’s chances for survival.

The state Division of Public Health has worked to improve the infant mortality rates in the African-American community by enhancing the technologies and facilities for treating newborns who are dangerously underweight, increasing access to prenatal care for pregnant women and raising public awareness.

Another aspect of infant mortality that adversely affects the African-American community is SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), the third leading cause of death among infants over one month old. In Georgia, nearly twice as many African-American babies died as whites.

For more information, visit: http://health.state.ga.us/ or call 404-657-2850.

tions of the people you are planning to begin charging, I would have died,” said Shippee, who is recovering from brain cancer.

Shippee, said that when he was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2007 his health insurance covered his medical costs, but he can’t help think about what he would have done without insurance.

“Anything that discourages people from getting the care that they need is not good,” he said.

The proposed plan would require DeKalb and Fulton county patients who earn between 126 percent and 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines to pay 40 percent of their bill, up to 25 percent. Patients from other counties earning at that level would pay 70 percent of their bill.

Individuals earning up to $13,000 per year would still receive free care if they are from DeKalb or Fulton. Others earning the same amount would have to pay half of their bill.

Currently patients from DeKalb and Fulton who earn less than 250 percent of the federal poverty guide-

Free screenings and information It will be a great big celebration of good health when the 2009 Health & Wellness Expo rolls into the Mall at Stonecrest on Jan. 31.

The fourth annual event will bring together health care professionals, advocates, supporters and residents to discuss some of health disparity issues that plague our community, offer a plethora of free health screenings and lots of information and resource for children and adults to live active and more healthy lifestyle.

Jennifer Parker, editor and publisher of CrossRoadsNews, which presents the annual event at the 1.3 millionsquare-foot mall, says the Health & Wellness Expo is the largest gathering in the celebration of health and wellness in east metro Atlanta.

“Since its launch in 2006, the Health & Wellness Expo has attracted between 7,500 and 10,000 people to the mall,” Parker said. “This year will be no different. We are expecting a crowd.”

Parker said that CrossRoadsNews and the expo’s title sponsors, DeKalb Medical, Humana and the 100 Black Women of DeKalb-Decatur, and the dozens of health care exhibitors care about getting the message of good health to our community and facilitating lifestyle changes.

“We have to take care of our bodies and we have the control,” she said. “It’s all about the choices that we make. At the expo, you will get information to

A DeKalb Medical nurse checks the blood

help you make the right choices for a healthier and more active lifestyle.”

Exhibitors include doctors, hospitals, health centers, wellness centers, spas and medical research companies.

Expo goers will have their pick of

Blog radio offers help for parents DeKalb’s disabled residents now have an online forum for information and networking at www.blogtalkradio.com/norma-stanley.

Norma Stanley, who hosts the live call-in talk show “Exceptional People, Exceptional Lifestyles” every Friday at 6:30 p.m., says her weekly goal is to bring guests from around the country who are making major imNorma Stanley pact on two of the largest minority populations in the

nation.

The show, which has been airing since October, is sponsored by Stanley’s Decatur-based marketing company, NFS Communications and Publishing Inc. Stanley plans to cover issues like keeping love relationships strong while raising children with disabilities and President-elect Barack Obama’s agenda for the disability community.

Her blog on Disaboom.com has also become a great resource for the disability community. For more informatio, e-mail Norma Stanley at nstanley@nfscommwriter.com.

Wellness

9

CrossRoadsNews

January 17, 2009

“At the expo, you will get information to help you make the right choices for a healthier and more active lifestyle.”

Stone Mountain High senior Elizabeth Sumpter talks with her British Literature teacher Dr. Geneva Spence and classmate Uhriah Blake.

he poor for more of its services lines, or $26,000 per year, receive free care at Grady.

T h o s e f ro m outside the two counties currently pay 30 percent.

Grady CEO Michael Young said that the hospital would not deny care to those Michael Young who need it.

“We want to make sure that people who can afford to pay something will pay something,” he said.

The Rev. Timothy McDonald, a member of the watchdog Grady Coalition that advocates for Grady patients, said that people who are losing jobs are also losing healthcare.

“In Fulton and DeKalb, where else are they going to go,” said McDonald, who is also a member of the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta.

In mid-December, hospital leaders announced that they were considering a plan that they believe would net the financially troubled hospital an additional $2.5 million a year.

Grady, which has been dogged by financial woes for years, ended 2008 $34 million in debt and lostses of $5 million in November.

Board members took no action on the proposal at the meeting, because members of the board’s finance committee wanted more information before presenting it to the full board.

Young said that the hospital recently made a money-saving move when it replaced 100 agency nurses with 100 registered nurses who are Grady employees. He said the move will save $2 million a year.

“Those nurses weren’t working for Grady, they were just collecting a paycheck,” Young said.

He also said that Grady is attempting to renegotiate its contract with Emory within the next 100 days.

Shippee said Grady officials should keep looking to get funding from counties that use Grady’s services besides DeKalb and Fulton.

“That’s a no-brainer,” he said. “I think it’s very good that they are cutting away at the supply nurses because they are very expensive.”

n at health and wellness expo

d pressure of an expo goer at the CrossRoadsNews 2008 Health & Wellness Expo.

screenings for diabetes, hypertension, HIV/AIDS and BMI, and will get to talk to doctors from DeKalb Medical and other facilities about fibroids, diabetes, strokes and other issues.

There will also be performances from the Main Stage in front of Sears

and expo goers who visit at least 20 exhibitors can enter to win two-round trip tickets to Jamaica from Air Jamaica. The noon to 5 p.m. expo will be on the mall’s lower level.

To be an exhibitor or for information, call 404-284-1888.

Doctor to tackle veins in talk Vein Talk, a discussion They cause aching of the causes, diagnoses and pain and discomfort for treatment options for varicose up to 15 percent of men veins, is coming to DeKalb and up to 25 percent of Medical on Jan. 24. women.

Dr. Timothy Milner, the In extreme instances, hospital’s endovascular/vaspainful ulcers may form cular surgeon, will speak and on the skin in the tissue take questions at the 10 a.m. Timothy Milner surrounding the veins. to noon event in the Stubbs Stubbs Auditorium Auditorium. is on the DeKalb Medical Center The event will include lunch and campus at 2665 North Decatur screenings for varicose veins.

Road in Decatur.

Varicose veins – gnarled, enlarged The talk os free but registraveins most commonly found in the legs tion os required. For more inforand feet – may signal a higher risk of mation or to register for Vein Talk, other circulatory system disorders. call 404-501-WELL.

Girl Scout hosting health fair for badge DeKalb Girl Scout Elizabeth Sumpter is seeking a Gold Award and the community will benefit.

The Stone Mountain High senior is seeking the Girl Scouts’ highest awardand will host a health fair for teens and the elderly on Jan. 24 at St. Paul AME Church in Lithonia.

The four-hour event will help her gain the award while offer a range of free screenings and information. There will be blood pressure screening, a blood drive,

health and nutrition services and HIV/AIDS testing.

Elizabeth, who has been a Girl Scout for 10 years, said she chose the project to help senior citizens and raise awareness in teens about the various health issues they face,.

“I know a lot of teens who don’t have access to health care services, “ she said. “I wanted to do this for them.”

Elizabeth has been working toward earning the Gold Award for

three years. The final step is undertaking a community-based project requiring 50 hours or more.

Participants at the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. health fair include Kirkwood Health Center, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Planned Parenthood, the Lou Walker Senior Center, AARP, the Red Cross and South DeKalb Center for Healthy Living.

The church is at 2687 Klondike Road. For more information, e-mail Janel Sumpter at goldawardhealth@ gmail.com or call 770-873-6834.

10

CrossRoadsNews

Scene

“The evening will feature the nation’s civil rights pioneers who marched on Washington in 1963 with SCLC founder, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

DeKalb folks hosting inaugural party Smooth jazz musician Antonio Allen of R&B jazz ensemble Five Men and a Stool will headline the Metro Atlanta Pre-Inauguration Party on Jan. 19 at the Westin Hotel in Baltimore.

The event, which is hosted by Saint Philip AME Church member Eugene Johnson, will be 7 :30 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Crossland Ballroom.

Allen, whose recordings include the “The Air I Breathe,” “Lost Without Hymn” and “Forever & Always,” will appear at 8:45 p.m.

He has performed with bass player Wayman Tisdale, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, R&B legend Jean Carne and platinum recording artist Silk. His sophomore CD, “Forever and Always,” features mid-tempo grooves and romantic ballads, along with gospel selections.

Johnson, who is taking four busloads of people from Saint Philip AME Church and across metro Atlanta, said Monday that even though President-elect Barack Obama will not be present, the event will celebrate his inauguration as the country’s first AfricanAmerican president.

Tickets for the event are $65 per person. A table is $500.

Johnson said it is a perfect event for DeKalb residents who are headed to the Presidential Inauguration and are communting

January 17, 2009

Jazz musician Antonio Allen will peform live at the Metro Atlanta Pre-Inauguration Party in Baltimore.

from Baltimore to Washington, DC. The hotel at 1110 Old Elkridge Rd. is convenient to the BaltimoreWashington Airport.

The event will be attended by a number of local legislators and will

include dancing, hors d’oeurves.

Attire is after-five.

Space is limited and tickets are going fast. For tickets, book at www.csatl.com or call Johnson at 678-231-9676.

Libraries to screen inaugural South De­Kalb residents who aren’t making the trip to Washington, D.C., can view the historic Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama at DeKalb County Library branches in Decatur, Stone Mo u n t a i n a n d Clarkston.

T h e We s l e y Chapel-William C. Brown, RedanTrotti and Clarkston branch libraries will screen the 11 a.m. inauguration ceremony at which U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Barack Obama will become the nation’s 44th Roberts will swear president and first African-American in that office. in Obama and Vice-President It is expected to draw a record Joe Biden. crowd of 1.5 to 4 million people The Wesley Chapel Library and surpass Lyndon Johnson’s is at 2861 Wesley Chapel Road, 1965 inauguration, which holds the Decatur. record for the largest inauguration The Redan-Trotti Library is with 1.2 million attendees. at 1569 Wellborn Road, Lithonia, In contrast, President George and the Clarkston Library is at W. Bush’s inaugurations drew 951 North Indian Creek Drive about 300,000 people. in Clarkston.

For more information, visit The theme of the inaugura- www.dekalblibrary.org or call 404tion is “A New Birth of Freedom.” 370-8450.

Local stars, leaders among Trumpet Award recipients Hollywood movie star and Columbia High School graduate Chris Tucker will be one of nine people picking up awards at the 2009 Trumpet wards on Jan. 25.

Tucker, a comedian who still has relatives in Lithonia’s Flat Rock community, is a R. Pennington 1991 graduate of the Decatur school. He is being honored for his work in entertainment.

Other honorees at the 4 p.m. event include Dr. Alvin Crawford, who is being recognized for his work in medicine, NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and Dunwoody actress Raven Symone. Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington will be honored for his work in law enforcement, businessman Michael Roberts will be honored for his work in business, and the Tuskegee Airmen will be honored as heroes.

The evening’s co-hosts are Sherri Shep-

Will Smith, Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington.

The Trumpet Awards will be held at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway in Atlanta.

The awards show will be preceded by a Prayer Breakfast Michael Roberts Raven Symone Chris Tucker and High Tea with High Heels herd of “The View” and “Law and Order” star on Jan. 23 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 265 Anthony Anderson.

Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta.

Tucker, 36, got his start in the entertainOn Jan. 24, the International Civil Rights ment business doing standup comedy at Walk of Fame will get 13 new footprints at 10 Atlanta clubs. At age 17, he appeared on a.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. National HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, followed by appear- Historic Site, 450 Auburn Ave., Atlanta. ances on television sitcoms “Roseanne” and Among them are the prints of the Rev. “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper” before starring Dr. C.M. Alexander; Danny J. Bakewell Sr.; in the 1994 movie “House Party 3,” “Friday” Dr. Erieka Bennett; Roberto Goizueta; Cathy in 1995, and the “Rush Hour” franchise with Hughes; Earvin “Magic” Johnson; and the Jackie Chan.

Revs. Al Sharpton and C. T. Vivian.

He is already a member of the “$20 milFor more information, call 404-878lion per film” club with actors Tom Cruise, 6738.

SCLC to honor civil rights pioneers at inauguration Civil rights luminaries will be gathering on Jan. 20 at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference inaugural ball at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington in honor of the swearing in of President-elect Barack Obama.

The Atlanta-based SCLC said Tuesday that it is partnering with the leading civil rights organizations to host Dorothy Height Jesse Jackson John Lewis Al Sharpton the black-tie ball from 7:30 p.m. to Martin L. King Jr. 1:30 a.m. The evening will feature the nation’s civil rights pioneers who marched Juanita Abernathy. Gospel singing sensation at the same hotel on Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to honor King and pay tribute on Washington in 1963 with SCLC founder, Dottie Peoples will perform.

The event is co-hosted by the A. Philip to many of the organizations and individuals the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and helped paved the way for the nation’s first Randolph Institute, the MLK National Me- who participated in the historic 1963 March morial Project Foundation Inc., the National on Washington, which helped pave the way balck president.

Expected attendees include Martin L. Action Network, National Coalition on Black for the election of country’s first AfricanKing III, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Civic Participation, the National Council of American president. The 9 :30 a.m. breakfast Sharpton, Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.), Negro Women, the National Urban League will be $25 per person or $250 for a table.

Tickets for both events are limited. For U.S. Attorney General nominee Eric Holder; and the Rainbow Push Coalition. tickets or more information, visit www.theTickets are $175 each.

Dorothy Height, the NCNW’s chair emeriThe SCLC will also host a prayer breakfast dreamcometrue2008.com. tus; and the Rev. Joseph Lowery and his wife,

Author to sign new book at mall Celebrated author E. Lynn Harris will sign copies of his new book, “Basketball Jones,” on Jan. 28 at the Mall at Stonecrest.

The 7 p.m. meet and greet will take place at Border’s Books and Music, on the mall’s upper level near Dillard’s.

“Basketball Jones,” which will be released E. Lynn Harris on Jan. 27, is a fictional tale about the secret boyfriend of NBA star Drayton Jones.

The 256-page story involves blackmail, intrigue and double-crosses.

It is the eighth novel penned by Harris since he made his publishing debut in 1991.

The former computer salesman for IBM, Hewlett-Packard and AT&T selfpublished his first novel, “Invisible Life,” and sold it in black-owned bookstores, beauty salons and book clubs. After he was “discovered” by Anchor Book, the book was republished in 1994.

He followed “Invisible Life” with “Just As I Am” in 1996, “And This Too Shall Pass” in 1997, “If This World Were Mine” in 1999, “Abide With Me” in 2000, “Not a Day Goes By” in 2001, and “Any Way the Wind Blows.”

Harris has also written for American Visions, Essence, the Washington Post Sunday Magazine, Savoy, The Advocate, and the award-winning anthology Brother man: The Odyssey of Black Men in America, Go The Way Your Blood Beats.

His novella “Money Can’t Buy Me Love” was published in “Got to Be Real: Four Original Love Stories.” His short fiction will appear in “Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writers.”

The Mall at Stonecrest is at I-20 and Turner Hill Road in Lithonia. For more information visit www. mallatstonecrest. com or call 678-526-9880.

Youth

11

CrossRoadsNews

January 17, 2009

“Driver’s ed is a privilege. We were probably one of the only school systems in the state that offered that kind of elective for students.”

Driver’s ed could become fee-based elective under restructuring plan

By Corey M. Edwards

DeKalb high school students who want to take driver’s education in the fall might have to pay.

That is the word from the DeKalb School System, which is eliminating the free driver’s education program on June 30 as part of its Comprehensive Restructuring Plan, approved Nov. 3.

School spokesman Dale Davis said Tuesday that the DeKalb School Board is working on a

proposal to retool its driver’s ed program into a fee-based program offered as an elective course on weekends and after school.

Currently, students 15 years and above can take driver’s ed at no cost as an elective during school hours.

The courses are taught at three regional locations in Decatur, Stone Mountain and Doraville. Students are bused to and from their home school to the assigned location for one period daily.

Davis said the proposed paid

elective is still better than what is offered by other school districts in the state.

“Driver’s ed is a privilege,” he said. “We were probably one of the only school systems in the state that offered that kind of elective for students.”

Davis said there is no timetable for when the proposed plan will be submitted to the Board for approval. Under the plan being considered, DeKalb Schools would continue to run the program and

Sweets hit the streets for cookie sales season It’s cookie time again – Girl Scout cookies, that is.

And even with dour economic predictions, South DeKalb Scouts have been knocking on doors and taking orders for everyone’s favorite sweet treats.

The annual cookie order taking is under way through Jan. 31, and if you haven’t yet placed your order, you just have two weeks left to do it.

Helen Smith-Tyler, director of the Girl Scout Yellow Wildflowers troop in Lithonia, said Monday that they are expecting sales numbers to be lower than normal this year and she has been preparing her girls for the shortfall.

“We’ve talked to the girls about what might happen and they understand because a lot of their mothers and fathers have lost jobs,” she said.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program funds program development and resource materials for 40,000 girls and 16,000 volunteers in the 34 counties making up the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Inc. It also provides the girls with valuable business training from marketing and merchandising to

Area Girl Scouts will be out in force in coming weeks to sell their famous cookie treats.

The annual cookie sale is the organization’s primary fundraiser.

the development of presentation skills and team building.

Tyler said the four-week sales period this year is the longest she has seen in her 21 years with the Girl Scouts, and that the extra two weeks of selling is a pretty clear indication of the effect the economy is having on 2009 sales.

She said most of the South DeKalb troops rely on the revenue from cookie sales to do a lot of activities.

“If those profits are really down due to the economy, it could really affect our ability to do things like camping or taking the girls to Six

Youth compete in ‘Idol’ contest Fifteen boys and girls will be vying for a $1,500 grand prize in North DeKalb Mall’s fourth annual Youth Idol competition that kicks off Jan. 24.

The contestants, ages 8 to 15 years old, were picked at a Jan. 10 audition. They will compete every Saturday at 2 p.m. through Feb. 28 in the mall’s food court.

Each week contestants will be critiqued by contest judges Jean Wagner, Abbie Mansour and Felicia Harris. The contest runner up will get $500.

The Youth Idol competition is one of three “American Idol”-style competitions hosted by the mall to find local singing talent in the

metro Atlanta area. Mary J. Burdge, the mall’s marketing manager, said the competition is longer this year because it is the most popular Idol contest they have.

“We normally hold the competition for five weeks, but we extended it to six weeks this year, because we have so much participation,” she said.

Nia Imani Hunter, the 2008 Youth Idol winner, is now starring on Broadway in Disney’s “The Lion King.”

North DeKalb Mall is at 2050 Lawrenceville Highway in Decatur. For more information, email NDMIdol@cdecompany.com or call 404-235-6444.

Flags or up to Tennessee to the mountains,” Tyler said.

The cookie offerings this year include a new Latin American inspired cookie called Dulce de Leche, made with rich milk caramel chips and topped off with drizzled caramel stripes. It joins the Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, Lemon Chalet Cremes and sugar-free Chocolate Chips.

Each box of cookies is still $3.50.

Orders will be filled the week of March 9.

For more information, visit www.girlscoutsofgreateratlanta.org or call 404-527-7500.

use the simulators and videos that were purchased through an education grant, but it is not known if the current driver’s education teachers will be used to teach the afterschool and weekend courses.

The restructuring plan also eliminated the magnet program at Henderson Middle School and the county’s year round schools program at a savings of $311,000 in the fiscal 2009 budget.

Other austerity cuts included elimination of door-to-door pick-

up for magnet and choice school students, cutting of 217 positions, reducing special education programs and slashing $7.5 million in teacher step increases. The second phase of the cuts, which doesn’t take effect until the 2010-11 school year, includes one day of unpaid leave on May 25, 2010, for all employees and a 25 percent reduction of professional travel.

For more information on the proposed driver’s education plan, call 678-676-1916.

Decatur High student earns prestigious UGA scholarship Decatur High School the HOPE Scholarship. graduate Juan Carlos Out-of-state students get Cardoza-Oquendo is one $14,500, plus an out-ofof 22 incoming freshstate tuition waiver. man at the University of While in the program, Georgia who are getting scholars participate in a full-tuition scholarships post-freshman summer Cardoza-Oquendo under the the university’s study abroad program, Foundation Fellows Program. spring semester travel-study proJuan joins a 2012 class that grams, travel-study grants and boasted a 4.17 GPA average, av- dinner-seminars with faculty from erage SAT score of 1522 and an the university. average ACT score of 34.

Faculty members and senior Foundation Fellows are among Foundation Fellows also mentor the top scholars in the nation and the students. two were recently named as RhoTo qualify for the program, des Scholars at Oxford University students must be current high in England. school seniors with a high school UGA was the only university in GPA of at least 3.75 and a mini2008 with two Rhodes Scholars. mum combined SAT score of 1400 The Foundation Fellows Pro- or ACT score of 31. gram, which was established in The foundation typically re1972, is offered to a select group ceives 800 to 900 applications each of incoming freshmen every year year and invites 60 to 70 finalists to who are leaders in their schools Interview Weekend before awardor communities and who possess ing 20 to 25 fellowships. special artistic, athletic or other For more information, visit talents. https://asg.citp.uga.edu/fellows_ The fellowship provides an uga/index.html or contact the annual stipend of about $9,000 Office of Admissions at 706-542for in-state students, in addition to 2112.

12

Sports

CrossRoadsNews

January 17, 2009

“Whether they need basketball rings, textbooks or anything, it’s up to the community to try and help get it done.”

Hitting stride a step toward major leagues

By McKenzie Jackson

When students at Cedar Grove High School see the black 2009 Lexus with the “X” license plate pull up in the school parking lot, some smile, some stare, and some just glance and look away.

When the driver gets out and walks through the building, the boys locker room or on the athletic field, chants of “What up, X?” “Hey, X,” and even, “Do you wanna race, X?” ring through the air.

One thing is certain: When Xavier Avery, a 2008 Cedar Grove graduate and Baltimore Orioles draft pick, comes back to the Ellenwood school, it’s all love.

Cedar Grove assistant football coach Jarrett Harper coached Avery on the gridiron for four years and on the baseball diamond for two seasons. He said the students at Cedar Grove have the utmost respect for the 5-foot-11, 180-pound outfielder.

“He’s just a real positive guy,” he said. “Everybody is so proud of him. They don’t take ownership into his success, but when he’s successful everybody else feels like they are successful, too.”

Avery, 19, who was picked 50th in the Major League Baseball draft by the Orioles last June, is coming off a 47-game rookie season in which he finished with a .280 batting average, seven RBI, 13 stolen bases and 27 runs.

The raw, athletic left-hander has Orioles management salivating at the thought of how good he can be. So for the past two weeks – in preparation for spring training in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which kicks off March 12, and his second season playing in the Orioles farm system – Avery has been running, lifting, hitting and doing every exercise

Former Tucker High football player Asher Allen announced on Jan. 13 that he is putting his name in for the 2009 National Football League draft.

Allen, a starting cornerback for the University of Georgia, is forgoing his final year of college eligibility to enter the April draft.

The 2006 Tucker graduate was a two-year starter for UGA. Allen, a 5-foot-10, 198-pound junior, said that the decision to

Xavier Avery has been working out at the Cedar Grove High School track as part of his regimen to stay in shape for spring training.

go pro was the hardest decision of his life because of his love and respect for Georgia and everyone affiliated with the school.

“I have been chasing this dream of playing in the NFL and after making this decision with my family, I feel like I am ready for this next step,” he said. “But I owe everyone the world who has helped me out during my time at Georgia.”

– McKenzie Jackson

Full story: www.crossroadsnews.com/pages/news_sports

McKenzie Jackson / CrossRoadsNews

and workout routine imaginable at Baseball Performance Center in Kennesaw and the East Cobb Baseball Complex in Marietta.

But he always ends up back at Cedar Grove, either running with the track team, lifting weights or just watching a Tuesday night basketball game. Before he began intensely training with other professional baseball players in January, Avery could be found at the school almost every day.

“I’m here all the time,” he said after jogging a bit on the track.

“Now, I’m here at least twice a week.”

Avery, who got a $900,000 signing bonus with the Orioles soon after being drafted and is renewing Youth from countries such as Somalia, Iraq, Bosnia and Vietnam will be playing soccer on Martin Luther King Day.

Kids get a kick on King Day Youth from more than a dozen ethnic and international backgrounds will play in the MLK Soccer Tournament on Jan. 19 at the Clarkston Community Center.

The 10 a.m. event will feature players ages 6-16 from organizations such as the Clarkston Community Center, the Decatur-DeKalb YMCA, Hall of Fame Soccer, Soccer on the Streets and the International Community School in a singleelimination soccer tournament.

Individual youth are also invited to play at the event, which will feature snacks and a reading of Civil Rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Flags from more than 30 countries that are represented in the Clarkston community will be painted on a wall beside the field.

John O’Kelley, the community center’s executive director, said flags representing nations such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Congo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Liberia

Tucker’s Allen opts for NFL draft

would be painted on the wall.

The event will be the first time youth have played on the community center’s soccer field since KABOOM!, a nonprofit group that creates safe places for youth to play, re-sodded the field six weeks ago.

O’Kelley said families of many of the Clarkston community youth who are playing in the event came from countries as refugees, survivors of the type of violence King condemned throughout his life.

“Here we are in the middle of a multicultural neighborhood, on the King Day holiday, one day ahead of the inauguration of the first African-American president,” he said. “We want to celebrate with something for the kids to do. There is probably not a more perfect sport to engage the community in than soccer,” he said.

The community center is at 3701 College Ave. in Clarkston.

For more information, call John O’Kelley at 404-508-1050.

a contract with Under Armour, hasn’t just been working out at the school. He has also been giving back.

Harper said that Avery paid between $1,200 and $1,500 in dues for some the school’s football players who could not afford to pay the $325 fees, and he has also donated Under Armour clothing and merchandise to the team.

“That just lets you know what type of person he is,” Harper said.

When pressed for information about his donations, the modest Avery admits that he also donated Christmas gifts to a Carver-Atlanta High School student and hopes to help the baseball team gets new uniforms before their season kicks

off on Feb. 24.

“It’s just a part of giving back,” he said. “This is just some stuff to help [football coach Ray Bonner] out because he helped me all these years. “ Before he heads to Florida, Avery said he plans on helping the baseball team by showing them some things he learned while playing for the Gulf Coast Orioles in the Gulf Coast League.

“I’m going to give them some advice on learning how to hit, get better technique,” he said.

Harper said that a lot of the players watch Avery.

“His being drafted has changed the work ethic of the kids in the baseball program,” he said. “They’re in the weight room working out every day. He has shown those guys how to become a big-time ballplayer.”

Avery’s work ethic made him a three-sport standout and got him a football scholarship offer to the University of Georgia last February, before he became a professional baseball player. He said he began picking up the intensity of his workouts this month, after Orioles trainers told him not to throw or hit a baseball in December.

“I’m doing a lot of stuff now,” he

said. “I’m very excited; I know it’s a long season up ahead, so I’m going to have to prepare a whole lot for it, so my body can withstand it.”

Avery said he is intent on having a good season this year.

“I did what they expected me to do my first season, from what I’ve heard,” he said. “I did real well in instructional league; I improved in all aspects of my game.”

While his 60-yard dash time of 6.4 seconds has helped him on defense and base running, Avery said he most wants to improve in the batter’s box.

“The hardest thing has been hitting,” he said. “You got to learn how pitchers throw and stuff, learn their rhythms. It got a little easier as the season went on and I played more and more.” He said other players have told him that “batting and hitting the ball come from experience and learning the game more and more.” He said he wants to do what is right in order to one day reach the big leagues.

“I just want to go in and be ready for what they have planned for me,” he said. “They told me to come in with my arm in shape, legs and shape and bat in shape for hitting and stuff. So that is what I need to do.”

Girls to get rings, but more funds needed The Lady Panthers of Southwest DeKalb High School will be getting their basketball state title rings.

The Lady Panthers raised $4,500 to help pay for their 2008 championship rings during a fundraiser on Jan. 8 at Southwest DeKalb.

Lady Panthers basketball coach Kathy Walton said the team is still solicating donations to get title rings for coaches and school administrators, which should cost another $2,000.

“If we could get 10 ten people to donate $200 we’d be set,” she said. “If not we could have another fundraiser.”

The SWD Lady Panthers 2008 AAAA State Champions Benefit Basketball Game pitted local chapters of Omega Psi Phi and Kappa Alph Psi fraternities against each other, and the Southwest DeKalb Alumni, a team made up of former SWD basketball players, took on the Stan Watson All-Stars, a team of former professional athletes coached by former state Rep. Stan Watson. The Omegas beat the Kappas 35-28 and the SWD Alumni beat the All-Stars by 20 points in the gym packed with students, parents and community members.

The fundraiser, also featured a three-point contest and musical and dance performances by KOB, Barnett Brothers, Rhythm Dancers, 2 Hot 2 Handle, Cash and Centuri,

“Coach” Stan Watson directs his team during the Southwest DeKalb benefit to raise money to help pay for the 2008 girls basketball team’s state championship rings.

McKenzie Jackson / CrossRoadsNews

CEB and boys and girls step teams from SWD. Lady Panthers coach Kathy Walton said that she hoped her team would get a lot of the support.

“I was very hopeful,” she said.

“This is really amazing.”

Donald Daniels, a member of the winning Omega team, said he didn’t need any convincing to come out and support the basketball team.

“I like to do things like this for the kids,” he said. “Anything to support the kids and the youth.”

Watson, whose son is a student at SWD, said it is important

for people in the community to help various schools.

“Whether they need basketball rings, textbooks or anything, it’s up to the community to try and help get it done,” he said. “This is a good crowd tonight. The kids are enjoying it; they are here having a good time.”

The Lady Panthers were one of three South DeKalb basketball teams to grab state titles in spring 2008. The AAAA state champion Columbia boys basketball team received their title rings near the end of last school year and the AAAAA state champion Lady Jaguars of Stephenson got their rings last fall.

Ministry

The ministry’s president said James was chosen to be this year’s speaker because of his accomplishments since taking office.

“We are asking you to spend time. The clothing drive is a good opportunity for families to go through their closets, basements and attics for clothing no longer needed.”

Pastor Ronnie White

Clothing sought for giveaway More than 100 families who need clothes will find plenty at the a King Day Clothing Giveway being sponsored by the City of Refuge Christian Church in Covington.

The church is collecting new and lightly worn clothes that it will make available to people in need on Jan. 18 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the church at 2185 Washington St. S.W. in Covington.

Ronnie White, the church’s pastor, said the event is in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday is being celebrated nationally on Jan. 19.

The King Day giveaway comes on the heels of a Thanksgiving clothing drive that benefited more than 175 families.

White said he is not asking donors to spend money.

“We are asking you to spend time,” he said. “The clothing drive

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is a good opportunity for families to go through their closets, basements and attics for clothing no longer needed.”

White said that he is encouraging people to organize their offices or make it a family affair to donate to people in need.

“I know we can make this winter more bearable for our friends and neighbors,” he said. “There is a dire desire to help and this one simple act can mean so very much to someone in need.”

The event is free to all. The church is hoping to help over 100 families. White is encouraging all to take what they need.

Donations can be dropped off at the church at any time or church volunteers will pick up from your location.

For more information, call JoAnn Davis at 404-933-9970.

James to speak at brunch DeKalb Solicitor-General Rob- has created pre-trial diversion ert James will headline the 11th an- programs addressing domestic nual Black History Prayer Brunch violence and general misdemeanor on Jan. 24 at Saint Philip AME crimes, prosecuted parents and guardians who don’t send Church. their children to school, The theme of the and developed commubrunch, which kicks off nity initiatives in the arthe church’s annual Black eas of elder abuse, child History Month programs, abandonment and welfare is “Beyond Black, Befraud. yond Boundaries,” and James is active in the it focuses on the accomathletic ministry at the plishments of African- Robert James Ray of Hope Christian Americans reaching beyond racial stereotypes to uplift the Church in Decatur and has served as a youth mentor and basketball nation and their people.

James, who took office in 2006, coach for young men.

McKenzie said that 50 people will speak at the event hosted by the Young Adult Ministry. It starts at 10 attended the brunch last year and a.m. in the church’s Marcia Moss she is expecting a bigger crowd this year. The event is free and open to Fellowship Hall.

Michelle McKenzie, the min- the public.

Saint Philip AME Church is at istry’s president, said James, who lives in Lithonia, was picked for 240 Candler Road in Atlanta. For this year’s speaker because of his ac- more information, e-mail Michele complishments since taking office. McKenzie at ammckenzie@yahoo.

In his two years in office, James com, or call her at 770-726-7113.

Ministry to honor leaders The Rockand a number dale County of high school High Hit Squad principals.

S t e p Te a m , Lorenzo New Harmony J o h n s o n J r. , Rhythm & GosJ.A.M’s senior pel Group and pastor, said the the Rockdale celebration is Samuel T. King County African David Cathcart the church’s way American Choir of helping to unified the will perform Jan. 19 at a community. community-wide MLK “The celebration will Celebration in Conyers. allow us the opportunity The event, hosted by to serve and recognize J.A.M. Worldwide Minthe community leaders istries Christian Church, who have served the East will also feature the Voices Metro communities and of J.A.M choir and other Lorenzo Johnson surrounding areas for performers. years,” he said.

It will honor community leadThe celebration takes place at ers like Rockdale County Schools 1 p.m. at the A.R. Gus Barksdale Superintendent Dr. Samuel T. King, Boys & Girls Club, 1015 O’Kelly St. Con­yers Police Chief David Cath- in Conyers. cart, Rockdale County Fire DeFor more information, visit partment Deputy Chief Mike Lee www.jwmchurch.org.

Longtime supporter is Pillar of Strength

Combo choir to sing at Grace Lutheran

Arthur Chaney, a longtime New Bethel AME Church member, will get the Pillar of Strength Award at the church’s eighth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Worship and Celebration service on Jan. 18.

Chaney, who joined the Lithonia church 35 years ago, is a retired postal worker who gives hundreds of volunteer hours to the church each year. He also sold to the church land on which the new sanctuary sits.

Regina Daniels, the church’s executive assistant, said Chaney has worked tirelessly to improve the woodwork in the church’s sanctuary, kitchen and other areas.

The 10 a.m. service, titled “A Dream Fulfilled,” will also celebrate Rev. King’s work for racial equality and the achievements of President-elect Barack Obama.

New Bethel AME Church is at 8350 Rockbridge Road. For more information, visit www.newbethelame. org or call 770-484-3350.

A combined choir of members from several metro Atlanta Lutheran churches will perform at the Jan. 18 Martin Luther King Service at Living Grace Lutheran Church in Tucker.

Members from Peace Lutheran Church in Decatur will join singers for the 2 p.m. service that rotates among metro Atlanta Lutheran churches.

Julian Gordy, bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will deliver the sermon. The Rev. David E. Hardy, pastor of Living Grace, will give communion at the conclusion of the service.

Living Grace Lutheran Church is at 1812 Cooledge Road in Tucker. For more information, visit www.livinggracelutheran.org or call 678-406-9229.

Best of East Metro Have you nominated your church? www.crossroadsnews.com

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