CrossRoadsNews, November 25, 2017

Page 1

FORUM

HOLIDAY

Commendable, but flawed

Ringing sensations

MARTA’s hopes for TODs along the East Line extension are promising, but the overall plan has a major flaw. 6

Handbell choirs from six metro Atlanta churches will ring in the holidays with a Christmas concert on Dec. 3. 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 • STONECREST

Copyright © 2017 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.

November 25, 2017

Volume 23, Number 30

www.crossroadsnews.com

DeKalb Medical, Emory Healthcare announce merger plan By Rosie Manins

DeKalb Medical will become part of the Emory Healthcare system if a planned partnership goes ahead in 2018. The two nonprofit institutions said Nov. 14 that they have signed a letter of intent to develop a strategic partnership, in which DeKalb Medical would come under the Emory Healthcare system – Georgia’s largest. In a joint statement, they said the partnership would allow for continued growth and expanded services to better serve the community.

Robert Wilson, president and CEO of DeKalb Medical, said the nonprofit health system is excited about the future. “Our community has counted on us for 56 years and we’ve always been here – growing to meet Robert Wilson our community’s needs,” he said. “This partnership will strengthen our ability to continue to deliver high quality community-based healthcare.” Both health systems say they anticipate finalizing the partnership in 2018, after

receiving final approval from regulatory agencies. Emor y Healthcare CEO Jonathan Lewin said both institutions have a commitment to providing exceptional care to the community, and a partnership would strategically support that Jonathan Lewin effort. “We understand the importance of both community hospitals and academic medical centers in delivering optimal care to our patients,” said Lewin, who is also executive

vice president for health affairs at Emory University. DeKalb Medical, which has three hospitals in Decatur and Lithonia and 50 physicians group offices, hit a rough patch late last year when John Shelton resigned as CEO and about 60 workers were laid off amid financial strain. The health care system, which has 115 providers in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, also did away with about 80 vacant positions in the latter part of 2016. In August 2016 John Katsianis resigned as DeKalb Medical’s chief financial officer for Please see PARTNERSHIP, page 2

Publix, Kroger closings portend ‘grocery gap’ Residents face loss of large markets in Hairston corridor

A Publix spokeswoman has confirmed that this supermarket on Hairston Road at Covington Highway will close on March 3, 2018. The Florida-based chain has not officially notified local customers, but the spokeswoman said it is planning to do so at least a month prior to closing.

By Lyle V. Harris

Publix Super Markets’ announcement that it will shutter its Decatur store at South Hairston Road and Covington Highway next spring comes as Stone Mountain shoppers are still reeling from the unexpected closure of the Kroger at North Hairston and Memorial Drive last month. The recent moves are raising alarms among customers, community leaders and county officials who are now hoping to prevent an exodus of name-brand shopping chains from the area. Publix spokeswoman Brenda Reid confirmed that the store, which coanchors the Hairston Crossing shopping center at 2075 South Hairston Road with a Walgreens, will close on March 3, 2018, after 15 years at that Brenda Reid location. The Florida-based chain has not officially notified local customers, but Reid said it is planning to do so at least a month prior to closing. Reid said the store has been underperforming for some time now. “We appreciate the support we have gotten from customers and it’s with a very heavy heart that we close any store,” she said. “Unfortunately, we just weren’t able to make that store profitable.” Reid said store employees have already been notified of the impending closure. Once the store goes dark, she said customers will be encouraged to patronize Publix’s other south DeKalb markets at Flakes Mill Road, Panola Road and Glenwood Road – the closest of which is about three miles away. DeKalb Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson, who represents District 5 where

Sharif Williams / CrossRoadsNews

the Publix is located, convened a high-level meeting Wednesday to discuss the issue. The meeting at the county’s government office in downtown Decatur reportedly included Reid, DeKalb Chief Operating Officer Zach Williams and other county officials. Johnson said last-ditch pleas to convince Publix representatives to keep the store open were unsuccessful. “They told us that the store had not been profitable for 10 years and they struggled to keep it open and continued to operate in the red,” Johnson said. “It’s very unfortunate, but they’re a for-profit corporation and I understand their decision.” Hairston Crossing shopping center also has a Marco’s Pizza, Chase bank. and Lucky Panda restaurant. Kimp Walton, who lives around the corner from the Publix, says he shops there about four times a week and expects the closure will be a major setback for his fam-

ily, which includes five children, and his neighborhood. “I can’t imagine the ripple effect if [Publix] leaves.” Walton said. “If we lose this store, it will impact a lot of us who shop there because they have better quality groceries than the other stores in our area.” Janice Carr, 66, a retired microbiologist, has lived in Walton’s subdivision for 50 years. She is skeptical that economics is solely behind the scheduled closing. Carr first heard about the impending closure from an employee of the SunTrust bank branch inside Publix. “I don’t know if you call it racism but they just don’t treat people who live in this area the same as other places,” said Carr, who describes herself as an “old white woman with white hair.” “They just treat us crummy. I also think we as a community haven’t demanded better. These stores close and we don’t get anything

of quality to replace them.” The news about Publix has whipsawed through nearby subdivisions and emerged as a trending topic on Nextdoor, the hyperlocal website that serves as a virtual bulletin board. Just a few miles north in Stone Mountain, Publix’s impending closure has sparked a foreboding sense of déjà vu. On Oct. 13, the Kroger store in the Hairston Village Shopping Center at 965 North Hairston Road, near Memorial Drive, closed after 18 years in business, leaving a so-called “grocery gap” in the community. In a press release explaining the decision, Kroger said the store experienced declining sales and negative profit over an extended period of time. “Its closure was necessary to make Kroger more competitive in the market,” the statePlease see CLOSINGS, page 3


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