FINANCE
YOUTH
Home buying made easy
A place for making stuff
The Super Saturday Homebuyer Education Workshop and Resource Fair gives prospective homeowners critical info they need to know. 2
Decatur Makers provides a space where innovative children and adults can build and learn different forms of art and technology. 7
Let’s Keep DeKalb Peachy Clean Please Don’t Litter Our Streets and Highways
EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER
Copyright © 2017 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.
June 3, 2017
Volume 23, Number 5
www.crossroadsnews.com
School District helping graduates transition to college By Angelina T. Velasquez
tive director for student advancement, said the goal is to help graduates make a smooth transition to a college campus in the fall. “During the school year, students are able to seek advice and guidance Manomay Malathip from teachers, counselors, and other staff to keep them on track,” Malathip said. “But we know that need doesn’t end once students receive their diploma. We want to
The DeKalb School District’s Summer Transition Centers staffed with professional advisers will open June 6 to help the Class of 2017 make a smooth transition to a college campus this fall.
Recent DeKalb high school graduates struggling to make the transition to college this fall can get help from the DeKalb School District’s Summer Transition Centers opening for the first time this year. The district said that starting June 6, most of its high schools will have special areas staffed with professional advisers to assist the Class of 2017 graduates who still have questions about what to do after high school, need help starting or completing enrollment/ admissions paperwork, or just need some guidance on available options. Manomay Malathip, the district’s execu- Please see TRANSITION, page 7
15,000 party at Atlanta DeKalb Carnival Lively colorful parade swamps Covington Hwy By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
It was a dance fest, a music fest and a food fest on Covington Highway when the Atlanta DeKalb Carnival came to town on May 27. Pulsating music; happy, laughing, gyrating people; vibrant colors; and food so aromatic, mouths couldn’t help watering. Thousands of paraders – resplendent in feathers, chiffon and tiny bikinis the colors of the rainbow – danced their way from the Kensington MARTA station near Avondale Estates to the Mama’s Primetime building in Decatur, where a carnival village featured performers and other events until 10 p.m. At the end, organizers of the third annual carnival, who earlier estimated crowds of 10,000, said they easily topped 15,000 people. Spectators six people deep lined both sides of the parade route, dancing along when the music moved them. Some brought lawn chairs, colorful umbrellas, tents, coolers, grills to “lime,” as the West Indians say, when they are hanging out. DeKalb Police closed several roads around the parade route for five and a half hours. Spokeswoman Shiera Campbell said Thursday the carnival was incident-free. “There were no reported crimes or incidents from Saturday’s event,” she said. Matthew “True” Nelson, an organizer with Atlanta Carnival Productions that helped stage the carnival, credits the incident-free event to the passion and culture of the Caribbean people, who carried and wrapped themselves in the flags of Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, Dominica, Grenada and Panama, to mention a few. “Carnival is about love,” Nelson said. “That’s the one word for it, loving what we do. People love to make costumes. People love to dance in the streets in costumes. People love to watch people dancing in the streets in costumes. That’s just it.”
Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews
Atlanta DeKalb Carnival spectators lined both sides of the parade route on Covington Highway in Decatur on May 27. Organizers say the crowd easily topped 15,000. DeKalb Police closed several roads around the route for five and a half hours.
Bill Murrain, who lives in Conyers, watched the parade of 22 bands on Covington Highway near the Memorial Drive McDonald’s. He said he had too much fun. “I am glad nobody took my picture,” said Murrain, who confessed to getting in the street from time to time to dance. The Panama native said he’s been to carnival in Toronto, New York and Miami and they have nothing on the Decatur event. “I have seen my share of carnivals and it was really well-done,” he said. “From the very extravagant costumes to T-shirts, it was just a lot of fun. I really enjoyed myself.” During the parade, a sea of bands of 200 to 900 people with names like Madd Colors, Inferno – The Happiest Band Alive, Madd Flava, Islandaz Mas Experience, MasVibez, Island Fuzzion and the Awakening danced down the streets to the strains of calypso.
Musicians playing “pan” and other instruments rode on tractor-trailers as band members paraded and danced behind them. Murrain said it was great to see thousands of people gather in one place without any negative incidents. He said the carnival moved well with paraders stopping to dance with spectators along the way. “There was nothing untoward,” he said. “You know if it was negative, we would have heard it on the news.” Connie Anam of Stone Mountain was among a large group of spectators watching the parade at Rite Aid on Memorial Drive. “Oh my God, this is great,” she said. “This is astounding. I just love it.” It was her second consecutive carnival. “I stumbled onto it last year. I was driving along Memorial Drive and saw a crowd of people and parked my car to see what was
going on. My goodness, I was surprised.” Anam, who is from Philadelphia and has lived in DeKalb since 1993, said she loved the unity she saw displayed among all the people from the different islands of the Caribbean. “It’s just beautiful. I love the way they all come together and party. The costumes were spectacular. It’s intergenerational. I took pictures. I put them on Facebook. I appreciate the beauty of it. We all need to appreciate all that is here in DeKalb County.” Anam said more people who are not from the Caribbean should see the carnival. “Next year I am going to send an email out to all my contacts to come to see it. And MARTA should push it. It should have pictures of it in the train stations and encourage people to take the train to see it, and after it ends, take the train to the jazz festival. That’s what I am going to do.”