SCENE
YOUTH
Family fun with the arts
Free reading made easy
Educational and artistic offerings will be plentiful at the Family Fun at The Woodruff Arts Center initiative on Nov. 12. 4
A literacy program run by metro Atlanta fathers and educators is expanding reading options for students at DeKalb schools. 6
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 • STONECREST
Copyright © 2017 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.
November 4, 2017
Volume 23, Number 27
www.crossroadsnews.com
Woman says Waffle House gave her drink with bleach By Rosie Manins
A Lithonia woman is suing Waffle House, claiming she was served a drink with bleach in it at the chain’s restaurant at 2842 Panola Road in Lithonia. Atavian Moore filed a civil complaint for damages in the DeKalb State Court on Oct. 25, demanding a jury trial and compensation for “severe and permanent” injuries to her intestines and other trauma, including disfigurement and permanent scarring. Moore says her ongoing serious physical and emotional injuries result from drinking bleach – served to her in a cup of beverage – at the Waffle House on Oct. 18, 2015.
esophagus, stomach and other internal areas of her body including mental and physical “We received the lawsuit last week and anguish,” her claim states. are in the process of looking into the “The Plaintiff brings this action to recover merits of it and getting all the facts. The for her pain and suffering, past, present and safety of our customers is paramount future, both mental and physical, for sums incurred for hospitals, physicians, medicaand we take that responsibility very tions and related expenses, past, present and seriously.” future, for her loss of enjoyment of life, and Pat Warner, Waffle House spokesman for her permanent disabilities and the diminished lifestyle with which she has been left as She says it has cost her more than $50,000 the bleach had been removed from the dis- a result of injuries suffered in the incident at in medical expenses to date, as well as her penser and some ended up in her drink. issue,” Moore’s claim states. “Ms. Moore continued to eat hoping to quality of life. She claims Waffle House was negligent Moore claims the drink machine had settle her stomach and eventually vomited been cleaned with bleach but that not all of in the restroom . . . she suffered injuries to Please see BLEACH, page 2
24 miles of South DeKalb roads to be repaved Federal DOT grant to help pay for resurfacing
By Rosie Manins
Eight million dollars worth of road repaving is about to start in unincorporated DeKalb, where the county has prioritized just over 24 miles for resurfacing. The work, which will impact 66 different streets in unincorporated areas of Stone Mountain, Decatur and Lithonia, is set to begin in December. It will be partially funded by just over $4 million from the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG). The rest of the cost is being borne by the county, from its general fund. The 66 streets are in need of major reconstruction but only 24.02 miles will be repaved at this time. Peggy Allen, associate director of DeKalb Roads and Drainage, said streets are given a rating between 0 and 62 depending on their condition, and the higher the rating the worse the road. All but two of the roads to be repaved this year have a rating of 34 or 35. “Once a street gets a rating over 30, you are looking at major recon- Peggy Allen struction,” Allen said. “That’s where the cost of repaving is about $400,000 per mile.” Across the county, there are about 400 miles of damaged roads that need fixing, estimated to cost about $180 million. DeKalb commissioners who see road improvements a priority approved the Special Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum which is on the Nov. 7 ballot. If voters approve, the penny sales tax will raise more than $100 million a year over six years to fix roads. The BOC has earmarked $151
Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews
Paving, like this one on Wesley Chapel Road on Oct. 30, is coming in December for 66 streets in unincorporated DeKalb County. In December, DeKalb will be repaving 24 miles of road at cost of $88 million. It is also hoping voters will approve the Special Local Option Sales Tax on Nov. 7.
million of SPLOST funds to resurface about 318 miles of local roads. At an Oct. 3 county Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting, Allen told commissioners that the SPLOST would clear the majority of the county’s road resurfacing backlog. “We have been aiming to get all the streets with a rating of 30 or above fixed, and a year ago it didn’t seem possible,” she said. “But
now it seems we will be able to do that with SPLOST.” If approved, the SPLOST goes into effect in January. Over its six years, it will raise $388 million and 60 percent or about $240 million will be used for transportation upgrades. DeKalb’s 12 municipalities will also receive $249 million, which will be disbursed based on population size. In addition to the SPLOST, the county
is also planning a 2018 list for general road resurfacing, with about $4.2 million from the state in LMIG funding. Allen said that would amount to an additional 25 miles of county streets that will be upgraded next year. She said minor road work, like filling in potholes, is funded separately as part of the county’s regular infrastructure maintenance.