PEOPLE
WELLNESS
YOUTH
Ron Marshall, an activist who championed a number of community issues, died after a two-year battle with an inoperable brain tumor. 4
Breakfast is getting its due as research indicates that starting off with a healthy meal curbs the appetite and supplies energy for the day. 8
The Trendsetters Dance Company of the Academy of the Arts dance school took the top prize in a national competition held in Gatlinburg, Tenn. 9
Voice for the people
Copyright © 2010 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.
Start the day right
July 17, 2010
Dancers reach the top
Volume 16, Number 12
www.crossroadsnews.com
Vote 2010: Decision day is Tuesday By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
Through Thursday, early and absentee voters made up less than 2 percent of the 381,470 active voters on DeKalb County rolls. The primary is July 20.
With five days to the July 20 primary, just over 6,350 DeKalb voters had taken the opportunity to vote early this week. Through Thursday, the fourth day of the five-day early voting period, 5,188 people had cast ballots in person at the DeKalb Election Office and at four other early voting sites across the county. In addition, through Wednesday, another 1,162 had mailed in absentee ballots. Together, the early and absentee voters made up less than 2 percent of the 381,470 active voters on the county’s rolls. Maxine Daniels, the county’s director of elections, said the slow start will pick up some on election day, but she Please see PRIMARY, page 2
Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews
Renovations transform Fairington Wal-Mart By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
Shoppers at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Fairington Road are picking their jaws up off the floor. They walk through the doors of the Lithonia store and can’t believe it’s the same place. Instead of cluttered aisles and towering shelves, they see wider aisles, shiny floors and low-profile shelving that makes it easier so find what they are looking for. All of the changes result from 11 weeks of renovations, completed last week at the store at 5401 Fairington Road. And customers just love it. Janet Lamb of Decatur, who was shopping in the store Wednesday, said it suddenly became more spacious. “There is more space and it is wellorganized,” she said. “I love the way things are laid out now.” Ditto for Jessica Clayton of Lithonia. She is convinced that they somehow increased the size of the 205,802-square-foot store. “They done made it bigger,” she said with a laugh. “And it’s neater and cleaner. I like it a lot more now.” Store manager Jerome Adkins said customers have been effusive in their praises since they cut the Jerome Adkins ribbons on the new look on July 2. “They seek me out to tell me how much they like it,” he said. Adkins, who became manager in September, likened the remodeling to highway construction. “When it’s going on, nobody likes it. But
Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews
Shopper Janet Lamb of Decatur, shown with Wal-Mart sales associate Starlette Darden, said the Fairington Road store seems more spacious. “I love the way things are laid out now.”
when it is done, everybody loves it,” he said. Adkins is glad it is over. The store stayed open during the remodeling, and he said it was a tough job satisfying customers, employees and contractors. The renovations were completed between April 17 and July 1 at the store, which first opened for business in July 2004. Adkins said it is one of four metro Atlanta Wal-Marts being renovated this year. The others are in Conyers, Tucker and Marietta. “We try to do this every five years.” The improvements include new floors, new merchandising counters, new cash registers including eight self-checkouts, and
the realigning of departments that customers shop daily. The store also got a larger pharmacy, an expanded electronics department with more brands and interactive displays, new coats of paint inside and out, better lighting, and easy-to-read signage to enhance the shopping experience. Adkins said the low-profile counters allow customers to find departments that are now grouped and flow into each other. Tangi Crossfield of Lithonia remembers how the rows would go on forever in the old store and how high the shelves were. “I like the more open look. The colors flow. I just have to learn where things are
now and remember to look up. The signs are there.” Al Clove of Stone Mountain was shopping for automotive supplies when the new expanded electronics department with its wall of TV screens caught his attention. “It’s more open,” he said. “It’s a lot lighter and brighter. Everything is changed for the better but the prices. They stayed the same.” With the physical changes also comes a new attitude to customer service. Adkins said they have raised the bar by having more associates on the floor and making sure they are being helpful to customers. “We are being more careful about how we communicate with customers. We want them to have a great shopping experience.” Feleicia Hayes found out just what Adkins was talking about. She said the Fairington Road store was the fifth Wal-Mart she visited on Wednesday in search of some storage crates to organize back-to-school supplies at her East Atlanta home. When sales associate Dominique Dixon located them for her, she was so happy she tracked down Adkins to tell him how helpful he had been. “He kept searching and telling me that they had them,” she said. “I was beginning to think he didn’t know what he was talking about when he came back with them.” On top of that great customer service, she also loved how neat and clean the store is. “This is a great Wal-Mart.” LaTonya Turner of Alpharetta visits relatives in Lithonia and often shops at the Fairington Road store. She said the remodel makes the store more inviting. “I have to relearn where everything is but I don’t mind. It looks better.”