WELLNESS
SCENE
Moments of reflection
It’s celebration time
Victims and survivors of domestic violence will be honored at the 25th annual Candlelight Vigil on Oct. 20 on the Decatur Square. 6
Apple Blossom and Kooky Cookie of the Shopkins will help the Mall at Stonecrest celebrate its 15th anniversary on Oct. 22. 9
Litter... R Is unsightly R Lowers property values R Discourages investment R Is everyone’s problem R All of the above
Let’s Do Our Part to Keep DeKalb Beautiful
EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER
Copyright © 2016 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.
October 15, 2016
Volume 22, Number 25
www.crossroadsnews.com
DeKalb teacher charged with sexually assaulting student William Plummer, a teacher at Elizabeth Andrews High in Stone Mountain, is facing criminal charges for alleged sexual assault of a female student, and the district is now seeking to fire him from his six-year job. William Plummer Plummer, 41, was arrested Oct. 6 and charged with three counts of sexual assault against a person in custody.
Based on a DeKalb School District investigation completed on Oct. 13, School Superintendent, Dr. R. Stephen Green said Thursday that the district will “pursue terminating” Plummer. Investigators say the alleged incidents took place on Aug. 30, Sept. 3 and Sept. 10 at the school, which shares a building with the district’s headquarters. Plummer, who lives in Buford, was released from the DeKalb County Jail on Oct. 7 on $30,000 bond. Quinn Hudson, district spokesman, said
Plummer was removed from the school on Sept. 12 while the district’s Public Safety Department investigated. “Such alleged conduct will not be tolerated and, based on our investigation, we are prepared to prosecute this matter to the fullest extent of the law,” Hudson said Oct. 12. “The safety and health of our students and staff are our top priorities.” Plummer was placed on administrative leave with pay. Hudson said that by law, the results of the district’s investigation cannot be released
for 10 days. Plummer has been a teacher with the district since November 2010. Hudson said he has only taught at Elizabeth Andrews. The case is the second of its kind this year at a DeKalb high school. Ronald Wright, 54, a volunteer coach at Ronald E. McNair High, was dismissed and arrested on Aug. 22 on a sexual assault charge after a student said he touched her inappropriately in a girls locker room on Aug. 19. Wright was released on $6,000 bond and is awaiting trial.
High lead levels found in five DeKalb schools District turns off water source for remediation
Deanna Jarvis walks with grandson August Haverty on Oct. 13 at the Museum School of Avondale Estates, one of five in the DeKalb School District that registered high levels of lead in drinking water.
By Ken Watts
Five DeKalb schools built between 1935 and 1955 have elevated levels of lead in the water coming from some of their pipes, and the DeKalb School District has established a “Lead-In-Water-Testing” Hotline to answer parents’ questions. DeKalb School Superintendent R. Stephen Green said the district has turned off the water source at the affected schools, and the district is replacing fixtures and/or piping that contribute to the lead in the drinking water. “In each instance, the water supply will remain off during the entirety of the remediation process until the problem is resolved,” Green said. “Should the situation require additional water sources, the district will Stephen Green provide bottled water for drinking and/or water tanks for food preparation as necessary.” The five schools – Redan Elementary in Lithonia, Stone Mountain and Allgood elementary schools in Stone Mountain, International Community School in Decatur, and the Museum School of Avondale Estates – registered lead content at or one to four times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency action level of 15 parts per billion. In letters to parents at the affected schools, Green said it is important to remember that the presence of lead is not building-wide, but is specific to one particular source. Green ordered testing of all of the district’s 150 school buildings in September “out of an abundance of caution” in the wake of the lead in water crisis in Flint, Mich., and concern about high lead levels found in schools across the country.
Ken Watts / CrossRoadsNews
Public school systems like Atlanta, New York, Chicago and Milwaukee have tested their water this spring. In Atlanta Public Schools, 25 of its 60 schools that were tested showed levels above the EPA standards in one or more water fountains or sinks. Lead pipes were legally used in construction before 1986, and in DeKalb County, 106 of the School District’s 150 buildings predate 1986. Redan Elementary was built in 1935; the International Community School in 1951; the Museum School and Stone Mountain Elementary in 1954; and Allgood Elementary in 1955. Green, who has been notifying parents of the lead testing results since Oct. 5, said that in samples taken on Sept. 20, the drinking fountains at Redan Elementary and two of
its 27 sinks had lead content at or above the EPA’s action level of 15 parts per billion. “These water sources have been turned off, and the fixtures and/or piping contributing to the lead in drinking water will be replaced,” Green told parents. Redan Elementary is at 1914 Stone Mountain-Lithonia Road. At Stone Mountain Elementary School, located at 6720 James B. Rivers Drive, five of its 26 water sources sampled higher than the EPA limit. Similar letters were sent this week to Allgood, International Community and the Museum School. All three have high lead levels that are one, two and four times higher, respectively, than the EPA standard. During the September testing, priority was given to schools with pre-k programs. Among the schools tested in September,
only Toney and Avondale elementary schools and DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter School met EPA safety standards. Sampling is being done by Atlanta Environmental Management Inc., an environmental consulting and engineering firm. Inspectors are checking water fountains; ice makers; classroom, kitchen and restroom sinks; all classroom bubbler fountains; and drinking water sources on athletic fields. Toxic lead levels depend on several factors, including the water temperature as well as the length of time the water sits in pipes. Green said testing will be completed by the summer of 2017. For more information, call the School District’s hotline, 678-676-1222, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or visit www.dekalbschoolsga.org/leadtesting.