CrossRoadsNews, October 20, 2012

Page 1

PEOPLE

SCENE

The Rev. Jesse Jackson met with participants of the Atlanta Technical Institute for Males and other students while in town for an Operation PUSH event. 2

Families can compete in pumpkin carving and costume contests at Decatur First United Methodist Church’s Fall Festival. 9

Keeping hope alive

Operation scary faces

EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER

Copyright © 2012 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.

October 20, 2012

www.crossroadsnews.com

Volume 18, Number 25

State lawmakers studying creation of city of DeKalb By Mary Swint

State legislators are exploring the possible creation of a city of DeKalb that incorporates all of the county’s unincorporated areas. A new Senate Study Committee, lead by Sen. Gloria Butler, met for the first time on Oct. 17 at the State Capitol. Butler, a Democrat representing Senate District 55, said she doesn’t Gloria Butler have a bill but wanted to start a dialogue. The study committee comes in the wake of a bill that state Rep. Billy Mitchell floated in February in the House to create what would be Georgia’s largest city with 600,000

residents. The bill was assigned to the House delegation’s Policy Committee. Butler said she was asked to introduce similar legislation in the Senate but declined because she wanted more information on starting a city. Instead, she asked Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle to appoint a study committee, which he did on Sept. 12. At Wednesday’s meeting, four of the six committee members showed up. Those in attendance were Sens. Steve Henson, Gail Davenport and Jason Carter. Sens. Emanuel Jones, Ronald Ramsey and Fran Millar were absent. Millar is the lone Republican on the committee. Following the creation of the cities of Dunwoody and Brookhaven and a flurry of annexations by other DeKalb cities, Butler said the subject is ripe for discussion.

“The recent creation of new cities in DeKalb County and ongoing debate about future annexations means we need to talk about the future of our county,” she said. “As other areas are siphoned off, it leaves the county in dire straights for a revenue base. I want to start conversation on new ideas for ways revenue can be generated for the county.” Carter said the committee should “think creatively” and explore other options, such as townships. He said many of his constituents feel they are in a state of flux. Davenport, whose district now includes portions of DeKalb, said she Gail Davenport

has heard a lot of concerns from residents in unincorporated DeKalb about new cities taking away commercially developed areas and whittling away their tax base. The meeting was called to hear comments from county and municipal agencies and their representatives, but only DeKalb County lobbyist Joel Alvarado and two lobbyists from the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, two central DeKalb residents and three members of media attended. The lobbyists offered to assist the committee but did not say whether they support or oppose the proposed new city. At its next meeting on Oct. 31, the committee will get a presentation on demographics from the Carl Vinson Institute. The Please see DEKALB, page 5

Foundation Targets Hazing Pam Champion offers materials to help educate families about hazing at Commissioner Larry Johnson’s DeKalb Walks event at Exchange Park in September.

Champion’s family seeks to end ritual ‘senselessness’ By Donna Williams Lewis

As the one-year anniversary of the death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion approaches, a foundation created in his name is working to eradicate hazing. Pam Champion, his mother, said she created the Robert D. Champion Drum Major for Change Foundation last December, a month after the Nov. 19 death of her son after a hazing ritual Robert Champion aboard a FAMU band bus. “We put together a foundation to end the senselessness of hazing,” his mother said. She says she and her husband, Robert Sr., have been aggressively trying to develop a program to take into the schools. Their son, a graduate of Southwest DeKalb High, was a member of the Marching Panthers during his high school career there. The Champions still live in Decatur. “We want to give the real picture of what hazing is,” she said. “The dangers, a visual of what it actually is in true color.” On the day he died, her 26-year-old son and the FAMU band were in Orlando for the Florida Classic. Orlando officials ruled his death a homicide after an autopsy showed he died of internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma. More than a dozen people have been charged, and Champion’s parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against FAMU. Pam Champion said working through the foundation created in her son’s name is help-

Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews

ing her work through the pain of her loss. “Robert was 1 year old when we brought him into this house, and there are memories in every crack and crevice of this house,” she said. “It’s not easy, and it’s not a journey I would wish on anybody, and it’s something that was so needless.” The nonprofit is already laying groundwork for change. The first program under way is C.H.A.M.P., Creating Hazing Awareness With Mentality Progression. Inspired by college students, the program aims to change mind-sets from the start, by educating middle and high school students on the dangers of hazing and bullying. Professionals in law and medicine and other vol-

unteers will be recruited, along with people who have participated in hazing – people who have hazed as well as hazing victims. “We want them to get the real story,” Champion said Tuesday. A pilot of the program, which is still being developed, was conducted at a Clayton County school in February. In September, the Champions set up a tent at Commissioner Larry Johnson’s annual DeKalb Walks for the Health of It at Exchange Park to educate families about hazing. Champion also wants to shred the shroud of secrecy that cloaks hazing rituals. She’s looking for people who are willing to tell their stories, anonymously, if so

desired. A contact form is available on the foundation’s Web site. The site also posts a hotline number for reporting hazing and bullying. “People who are speaking out, calling the hotline number, need to be recognized as heroes,” she said. Robert D. Champion Drum Major for Change T-shirts, available on the site for $15, were worn by students in September during Haze Awareness Week at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, N.C. The Champions have been featured on national and local news programs, and their Please see FOUNDATION, page 5


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