CrossRoadsNews, September 23, 2017

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY

9/11 responders remembered

Champion for victims

Seven firefighters climbed 3,851 steps to the top of Stone Mountain in a special tribute to the 2001 terror attacks. 2

Investigator Jennifer Waindle received the Gender Justice Award for her commitment to improving domestic violence safety efforts. 4

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.

September 23, 2017

Volume 23, Number 21

www.crossroadsnews.com

MARTA taking reins of troubled streetcar

By Rosie Manins

MARTA, which is the eighth largest rapid transit system in the United States, began in 1971 as a bus system. It now operates a network of bus routes linked to 48 miles of rail track with 38 train stations.

Its daily ridership is about 430,000, with annual ridership of 134.7 million.

The streetcar, which carries about 700 passengers daily on a 2.7-mile loop between Centennial Olympic Park and the King Center, opened for business on Dec. 30, 2014. During its first year, when it free to passengers, riders took 880,083 trips.

In 2016, when the city started charging

Ridership on the Atlanta Streetcar plummeted in 2016, when the Atlanta City Council started charging riders $1 per trip.

MARTA is taking control of the beleaguered Atlanta streetcar, which has been plagued by plummeting ridership under the city’s stewardship.

All of the streetcar’s assets and operations, developed at a cost of $99 million, will go to MARTA over the next year.

The Atlanta City Council approved the ordinance authorizing the transfer on Sept.

19. The transfer includes, without limitation, all operational, staffing, planning, maintenance, employee, fare, service level and related functions. The ordinance had the support of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

Please see STREETCAR, page 4

Rosie Manins / CrossRoadsNews

Decatur favors removal of Confederate obelisk City Commission unanimous in ‘Lost Cause’ vote

DeKalb County youth, supported by local branches of the NAACP, lead a 300-strong march through downtown Decatur Sept.

10, demanding the removal of the city’s 109-year-old Confederate monument in Decatur Square.

On Monday the Decatur City Commission voted unanimously to support the removal of the 30-foot “Lost Cause” obelisk.

By Rosie Manins

The Decatur City Commission voted unanimously Sept. 18 to support the removal of the monument to Confederacy that has towered over the city’s square for 109 years.

City commissioners were contemplating erecting panels around the 30-foot tall “Lost Cause” obelisk located behind the historic DeKalb County Courthouse to give it context when they did a double take and voted instead to support its removal.

More than 100 people – many of whom called for the removal of the monument, owned by DeKalb County government, and spoke against the panels – packed the council meeting.

The resolution, moved by Commissioner Tony Powers, asks the Georgia General Assembly to amend a state law that currently prevents Confederate and other public monuments from being removed. It calls on state officials to allow county and city governments to make decisions regarding monuments within their jurisdictions.

It also says the Decatur City Commission supports action by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners to remove the Confederate monument in Decatur Square, when authorized, and to seek an alternative location for the monument.

The obelisk was erected in 1908.

Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss first presented commissioners with a $65,000 proposal to design and install a semi-permanent exhibit of interpretive panels beside the obelisk to provide contextual information about the African American experience leading up to and following the Civil War. Merriss’ proposal, which was based on a quote from consulting firm Lord Cultural Resources, also called for a $40,000 second phase involving extensive public engage-

Rosie Manins / CrossRoadsNews

ment in the design, creation and installation of a permanent exhibit contextualizing the Confederate monument. It was tabled after widespread public opposition to it.

More than 2,300 people have signed a petition demanding removal of the monument and placement of it in a museum. Almost half of those signatories are Decatur residents. A counter petition, asking for the monument to remain, has more than 1,000 signatures.

To press their demands for removing the obelisk, more than 300 people marched through downtown Decatur and staged a rally on Sept. 10.

More than a dozen people at Monday's city commission meeting, including Gerald Griggs, Mario Bembry Jr. and Janel Green, waited for more than 90 minutes to implore commissioners to support removal of the

monument.

Griggs, vice president of the Atlanta NAACP, said the Atlanta, DeKalb County, Beacon Hill and Georgia chapters of the NAACP have passed a resolution that all Confederate monuments should be removed from public spaces.

“There needs to be no plaques,” Griggs told Decatur commissioners, “until there’s complete removal of hate in Decatur Square which is the monument.”

Sixteen-year-old Mario, who is a Decatur High School student, said the Confederate monument is a “blatant mockery of my ancestors.”

“It does not deserve to be on a pedestal in Decatur Square,” he said.

Green, a co-founder and executive director of the Georgia Alliance for Social

Justice, said erecting information panels at the monument lacked merit and was an embarrassment.

“You are reinforcing white supremacy with this plan,” she told commissioners. “You are planning to spend $40,000 to pay white people to tell our community about the history of our African-American community members. We’ll do that for free.”

Green urged the commission to be bold and to become the first government in Georgia to take “decisive action” and have the monument removed from Decatur Square.

“Tell the Gold Dome that Decatur truly is no place for hate,” she said.

Members of Hate Free Decatur, a multicultural group formed in August in response Please see LOST CAUSE, page 2

2

Community

CrossRoadsNews

September 23, 2017

Wearing a full complement of firefighting gear, the emergency personnel climbed the equivalent of 160 flights of stairs to the top of Stone Mountain.

Firefighters pay tribute to 9/11 with climb up Stone Mountain This is the third year Fayetteville firefighters have climbed Stone Mountain as a group to commemorate the heroic rescue efforts that took place at the World Trade Center in New York 16 years ago.

City of Fayetteville / Fayetteville-ga.gov

By Rosie Manins

For most people, walking the mile-long uphill trail to the top of Stone Mountain is a challenge at the best of times, but for seven Georgia firefighters the 3,851 steps to the peak was extra grueling on Sept. 17.

The firefighters, from the city of Fayetteville and Barrow County – to the south and northeast of Atlanta, respectively – donned full uniforms for the climb in special tribute to the 343 firefighters and paramedics who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the World Trade Center.

Wearing a full complement of firefighting gear – 70 pounds of extra equipment including fire helmets, pants and jackets that repel heat and wick away moisture, waterproof boots and oxygen tanks – the emergency personnel climbed 1,686 feet above sea level – the equivalent of 160 flights of

stairs to the top of Stone Mountain.

They climb was in honor of the slain firefighters who climbed into the burning twin towers on 9/11 to rescue trapped people after two airplanes were flown into the buildings.

Their tribute honored the 16th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The event was re-scheduled from Sept.

11 because of Tropical Storm Irma, which blew through DeKalb uprooting trees and downing power lines across the county and Georgia.

The 2017 climb is the third year that the city of Fayetteville firefighters have organized a 9/11 tribute.

They left the base of Stone Mountain at 9:30 a.m. and reached the top of the granite mountain at 10:35 a.m.

DeKalb County’s 9/11 anniversary tribute was cancelled because of Irma’s arrival in the county that day.

City of Fayetteville firefighters Quynh Hervey and Stephaene Core rest and hydrate atop Stone Mountain after climbing the DeKalb County structure in full firefighting gear Sept. 17, in a tribute to the emergency personnel who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks 16 years ago in New York.

Proposal for contextual panels around Confederate monument rejected The “Lost Cause” Confederate monument in Decatur Square, erected in 1908, is offensive to thousands of DeKalb County residents who want the obelisk to be removed from public.

More than 300 people carried signs and chanted slogans calling for removal of the “Lost Cause” Confederate monument at a march and About 100 people attended a Decatur City Commission meeting Sept. 18, when commissioners rally on Sept. 10. unanimously voted to support the removal of a 1908 Confederate monument in Decatur Square.

LOST CAUSE,

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1

to violent clashes in Charlottesville, Va., over Confederate monuments, also spoke at the meeting.

After the meeting Monday, the group applauded the Decatur City Commission for tabling the panel proposal and for supporting the monument’s removal by the county or state.

“Now it is time for the DeKalb County Commission to take action and remove this blight from the face of our community,” said Sara Patenaude, a Hate Free Decatur founder.

Rosie Manins / CrossRoadsNews

Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett said the commission was simply trying to acknowledge the community’s wishes.

“Clearly we need to take a step back and figure out a different way,” she said. “A way that we can engage the community.”

Garrett said she talked with DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond Monday afternoon about the Confederate obelisk, and that he promised to get clarification from the county attorney and the state attorney general.

“If the law gives some discretion he would be willing to seek additional options,” she said.

September 23, 2017

Community

CrossRoadsNews

3

“It’s unlivable and we aren’t allowed back in to get any of our stuff. Nothing is salvageable.”

CEO Thurmond updating customers on water billing crisis

By Rosie Manins

On Sept. 25, DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond will update residents on the county’s progress fixing the water billing crisis that has plagued residents with exorbitant water bills Michael Thurmond for more than year.

The update, which starts at 6:30 p.m., comes as the county releases another 7,500 previously held bills to customers.

In December 2016, DeKalb County suspended normal billing for 37,000 of its 194,000 water and sewer accounts in the

wake of widespread complaints about inaccurate and exaggerated water bills across the county.

The county suspended the billing because the accuracy of the bills could not be independently verified. It blamed aging and broken meters and equipment, staff monitoring issues, and a lack of oversight.

Thurmond, who became CEO in January, launched the New Day Project in March to address the problem. Since then, 75 percent or 26,500 bills, including the 7,500 bills being mailed this month, have been released.

In August, Thurmond announced the development of an independent verification process that he says has expedited the review of customer accounts, water consumption

Cobble challenger pulls out of race that said Washington withdrew early Stonecrest city councilwoman enough so that her name will not Jazzmin Cobble is now unopappear on the ballot. posed in the Nov. 7 election after Washington qualified Aug. 23 challenger Alecia Washington for the District 3 race at the last mindropped out of the race. ute to challenge Cobble, who has Washington, a retired teacher, represented District 3 since March withdrew from the race in a Sept. and is seeking a full four-year term 6 letter to the DeKalb Election on the city council.

Board.

Jimmy Clanton Jr. in District “I authorize the filing of my Jazzmin Cobble withdrawal from the city of Stonecrest race,” 1 and Diane Adoma in District 5 are also Washington said in the letter. She did not unchallenged in the election.

The deadline to register to vote in the offer a reason for dropping out.

Erica Hamilton, the DeKalb Registration Nov. 7 election is Oct. 10. Early voting takes & Elections assistant director, said Sept. 18 place Oct. 16 to Nov. 3.

Family ravaged by Irma still homeless

By Rosie Manins

Single mother Patrice Dunn and her five children are still homeless, nearly two weeks after a huge tree crashed through the roof of her rented Decatur home during Irma’s peak on Sept. 11.

The four-bedroom Patrice Dunn brick house on White Oak was condemned by the county on Sept. 19.

“It’s unlivable and we aren’t allowed back in to get any of our stuff,” Dunn said. “Nothing is salvageable.”

Dunn says her children, ages 2 to 14, have a few sets of clothes, but little else.

After Irma hit, Dunn and her children stayed at a Tucker hotel through Sept. 20.

Neighbors and friends picked up the tab for her.

This week, while she was ferrying the children between the hotel and school, Dunn said she has been wracking her brain for a new home.

“I keep praying,” she said Wednesday.

“We are just taking it day by day.”

She has sought help from the American Red Cross, United Way and her neighborhood church. Still they remain without a permanent home.

DeKalb still tallying Irma’s impact

By Rosie Manins

Nearly two weeks after Tropical Storm Irma blew down trees and power lines, blocked dozens of roads and left half of the county in the dark, DeKalb’s government and school district are still tabulating the costs.

Through Sept. 20, officials said they were still calculating the storm’s impact and did not yet know when the estimates would be completed.

Irma, which as a hurricane devastated several Caribbean islands, and ravaged large sections of Florida, swept DeKalb County and metro Atlanta with gale-force winds and heavy rain on Sept. 11. It damaged more than 200 homes, schools and businesses across the county and kept students out of school for four days.

County crews cleaned up more than 130 tons of debris, including 245 trees, and cleared more than 100 roads. Officials say that more than 60 of the downed trees were entangled with power lines, and that about 54 percent or about 170,000 DeKalb residents lost electricity for multiple days.

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond declared a state of emergency on Sept. 14 to clear the way for federal help to cover the costs for debris removal and other storm damage.

Officials say that about 54 percent of DeKalb residents lost electricity for multiple days.

DeKalb School District had damage to more than 20 school roofs, and the district lost electricity to almost half of its 100-plus schools and offices. Downed trees also blocked roads to more than 33 schools, and caused schools to be closed for four consecutive days from Sept. 11 to 14.

Schools spokesman Andre Riley said Sept.

20 that they are making progress but don’t yet know what Irma’s final cost will be.

“We are trying to ascertain these costs over the next week or two,” he said.

Schools and offices reopened Sept. 15.

and billing data.

The county says that bills held back will not incur any late fees or other penalties, and extended payment terms will be available to customers. It says balances due prior to Sept. 2016 will be carried forward on the current bill.

Thurmond says the county has made significant progress in the past six months toward addressing decades of mismanagement that led to the failures in its water and sewer billing process.

“We are getting closer to restoring normal billing for all of our customers,” he said Sept. 5.

Before Monday’s meeting starts, county water billing representatives will assist cus-

tomers disputing new water billing, verify if customers are in the dispute process, if their bills are being held for evaluation, and answer general water billing questions,.

Thurmond’s update will be streamed live at www.dekalbcountyga.gov/dctv, and on the county’s Facebook and page and tweeted live at #NewDayProject. It also will be broadcast on Comcast Cable Channel 23.

For specific account information, visit the county’s Utility Customer Operations Center at 774 Jordan Lane in Decatur or call 404-378-4475.

For more information, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov/waterbilling.

The Maloof Auditorium is at 1300 Commerce Drive in downtown Decatur.

First female Sanitation director Tracy Hutchinson is DeKalb County’s first female director of its Sanitation Division. Hutchinson, who has worked for the department for more than 20 years, was appointed director in August by CEO Michael Thurmond.

She is overseeing a division that serves more than 178,000 Tracy Hutchinson households weekly, and leads the county’s environmental sustainability efforts.

Hutchinson joined the Sanitation Division in 2004 as assistant director of processing and disposal services, a position she held until 2015.

She became the division’s interim director in September 2016.

As director, Hutchinson is responsible for managing Sanitation’s day-to-day operations, which include 641 employees and five operational areas. Hutchinson also oversees the Seminole Road Landfill, the only countyowned landfill in Georgia.

Hutchinson made history when she became the first African-American female to serve in a senior management role within the engineering department at Waste Management Inc. She was also the first AfricanAmerican female president of the Georgia Chapter of Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA).

She holds a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from Savannah State University, is an American Public Works Association Fellow, and holds SWANA certifications in landfill operations, collection systems and recycling systems.

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2346 Candler Rd. Decatur, GA 30032 404-284-1888 Fax: 404-284-5007 www.crossroadsnews.com editor@crossroadsnews.com

Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker Staff Writers Jennifer Ffrench Parker Angelina T. Velasquez Editorial Intern Rosie Manins Front Office Manager Catherine Guy Multimedia Editor Sharif Williams

CrossRoadsNews is published every Saturday by CrossRoads­News, Inc. We welcome articles on neighborhood issues and news of local happenings.

The opinions expressed by writers and contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher, nor those of any advertisers.

The concept, design and content of CrossRoads­News are copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the written permission of the publisher.

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September 23, 2017

“This award is a reflection of her passion and commitment to the victims and survivors. We are fortunate to have her on our team.”

Investigator honored for domestic violence work DeKalb County District Attorney Investigator Jennifer Waindle received the Gender Justice Award for her commitment to improving domestic violence safety efforts at the 23rd annual Statewide Family Violence Conference Sept.

10-13 in Athens, Ga. The award recognizes social justice leaders who work for the betterment of women in Georgia and Jennifer Waindle whose work contributes to systemic changes to laws, enhances accountability of abusers, and increases the safety of

victims and survivors.

The 2017 conference, hosted by the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, was themed “Maintaining Our Momentum: Proven and Promising Practices to End Family Violence.” More than 400 local and national community stakeholders including sexual assault, domestic violence and victim advocates, family violence intervention program providers, law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, faith leaders, counselors and community members were in attendance.

Waindle was honored for implementing the first formal firearms protocol to retrieve firearms from misdemeanor probationers

in Georgia in 2014. The protocol helps enforce the ban on convicted domestic violence offenders owning firearms.

DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston said her entire team is proud of Waindle’s accomplishments.

“This award is a reflection of her passion and commitment to the victims and survivors for whom we advocate,” Boston said. “We are fortunate to have her on our team.”

Waindle, a 2005 graduate of Georgia State University, has a B.A. in psychology and sociology. She began her career as a DeKalb County probation officer before joining the District Attorney’s Office where she oversees policies and practices focused on enhancing victim safety and defendant accountability.

Former MARTA exec pleads guilty to theft charges Joseph J. Erves, former senior director of operations at MARTA, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the transit system he worked for more than 24 years.

Erves, 52, who lives in Lithonia, pleaded guilty Joseph J. Erves in federal court on Sept.

20 for orchestrating a false invoice scheme that resulted in MARTA paying more than $500,000 for maintenance work on 40 projects that was never performed and for funneling most of the money back into his personal bank accounts.

The case against him showed that Erves operated the scheme between June 2010 and

December 2016, and used the money he got to buy a Porsche 911 and multiple products at high-end department stores.

He was charged on Aug. 24.

U.S. Attorney John A. Horn called Erves’ theft from MARTA “a blatant display of his desire for self-enrichment at the expense of the public interest.”

Erves worked at MARTA from 1993 to 2017. When he became senior director of operations, he oversaw the maintenance of all of MARTA’s buses and rail cars and had the authority to approve payments up to $10,000 to vendors for work performed for the transit system.

As outlined in the case against him, Erves retained three different vendors purportedly to perform maintenance projects for

MARTA, including repairing brake testing equipment and fixing various MARTA tools and equipment. From approximately June 2010 to December 2016, Erves had fake invoices prepared on behalf of the three vendors for more than 40 maintenance projects for which no work was performed.

He then used the false invoices as bases to authorize payments to the three vendors. In many cases, Erves personally approved payments knowing that the vendors had not performed any work for MARTA. After being paid, the three vendors funneled most of the money received from MARTA into Erves’ personal bank accounts. Subsequently, Erves used the money deposited into his accounts to pay personal expenses.

The case was investigated by the FBI and MARTA police, and prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Alison Prout.

Former nightclub operator gets 11 years for drug trafficking Former DeKalb County resident and nightclub operator Christopher Dixon, a/k/a “Yardman,” is going to prison for 11 years after pleading guilty to a conspiratorial drug trafficking charge on June 16.

Dixon, 44, had been a fugitive for almost six years. He was arrested in November 2016 on obstruction and marijuana trafficking charges in Franklin County, Ga. Dixon was sentenced to prison for trafficking over 1,000 pounds of marijuana and approximately 25,000 pills of MDMA (ecstasy) and BZP (a drug similar to ecstasy).

His 11-year sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney John A. Horn said Dixon was involved with a drug organization that distributed over 1

million pills of MDMA and BZP. “Dixon, and the drug organization that he worked with, distributed a staggering amount of drugs in this district,” Horn said Sept. 19. “Fortunately, after years on the lam, Dixon has been brought to justice, and will serve his sentence like the other defendants in this case.”

Horn said that between late 2009 to late 2010, several state, federal, and international agencies investigated an Atlanta drug trafficking organization that used corrupt law enforcement officers to further its illegal activities. The investigation resulted in the arrest, indictment, and conviction of more than 15 defendants, including Dixon.

Dixon was accused of executing count-

less drug transactions and supervising several lowerlevel drug traffickers, while simultaneously running Club Xpose, a nightclub in Stone Mountain.

Horn said that on June 21, 2010, based on wiretapped calls and a covert surveillance operation, law enforcement officers caught Dixon in a stolen car with approximately 4,000 pills of MDMA and BZP and loaded handgun. During the course of the conspiracy, Dixon used former DeKalb County Police Officer Donald Bristol to obtain sensitive law enforcement information. Bristol was previously sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his conduct.

On December 15, 2010, officers executed a series of coordinated arrests, including an attempt to arrest Dixon, and also had him contacted via telephone. Nevertheless, Dixon failed to turn himself in and remained a fugitive from justice for almost six years.

Deadline looms for Officers Down 5k State had threatened Runners and walkers have until Sept. 24 to register for the Officers Down 5k Run/ Walk in Tucker.

The event takes place 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 7 at DeKalb Police Headquarters, 1960 West Exchange Place.

It is part of a nationwide event that celebrates officers who protect communities and those who have died in the line of work.

DeKalb County Police is the first agency in the state to host an Officers Down 5k.

The day will be full of activites, including K-9 demonstrations, family activities, live music and lunch.

Participants can register online at https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/Tucker/ od5kga.

Interested sponsors can email info@OfficersDown5K.com.

to shut down service STREETCAR,

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riders $1 per trip, ridership plummeted to 371,041..

Built with $47.6 million in federal grants, the streetcar was designed to eventually connect to more than its 12 existing downtown stops.

Plans call for it to go to MARTA’s Bankhead station and to Piedmont Park about 1.6 miles east of the current loop, connecting to the Atlanta Beltline.

The city of Atlanta has applied for more federal grants to fund a $62.7 million expansion. Funding also comes from the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, advertising revenue, fares, and some Atlanta taxes.

Atlanta said Sept. 19 that “future lines are planned and project developers intend to expand service to additional neighborhoods and other popular destinations around the city.”

MARTA has helped the city administer its federal funds for the streetcar.

In a May 23, 2016, letter to both Reed and MARTA chief executive Keith Parker, state officials threatened to shut down the streetcar unless the city fixed several problems, including safety issues, which had been outlined in previous audits.

Since then the city and MARTA have worked to address those issues.

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September 23, 2017

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T:16”

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Ministry

CrossRoadsNews

September 23, 2017

For more than a decade, the Ray of Hope Holiday Store has provided gifts including coats, toys, and bicycles to the Dunaire school community.

Scholar preacher at Greenforest Women’s Day

Turner to speak Holiday Store seeking volunteers Ray of Hope is accepting volunteers Holiday Store has provided gifts including at First Baptist through Oct. 1 for its annual Hope Holi- coats, toys, and bicycles to the Dunaire day Store, which provides gifts to children school community. on Gresham Volunteer orientation is Oct. 7 from 9:30 in need at Dunaire Elementary in Stone

Scholar, preacher and hospitality consultant Allison M. Henderson-Brooks will be the featured speaker at Greenforest Community Baptist Church Women’s Day service on Sept. 24.

Brooks, who is youth coordinator at New Life Presbyterian Church in College Park, will speak at the church’s 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. services on influential women who nurture, sacrifice, and provide A. Henderson-Brooks for their families.

Greenforest Women’s Day Choir led by Shirley Pearson and the Women’s Day Dance Ministry led by Minister Edie Hopewell will perform.

The church is at 3250 Rainbow Drive.

For more information, visit www.greenforest.org or call 404-486-1120.

DeKalb School Board member Vickie Turner will bring the message, “Woman of Faith: Trusting in Perilous Times” at First Baptist Church on Gresham’s Women’s Day Program on Sept. 24.

Turner, who represents District 5, Vickie Turner was elected to the school board in May 2014.

A woman of God, Turner is a former co-pastor of Augustine Chapel with her husband Rob, who is now a Stonecrest City Councilman. She will speak at the 10:30 a.m. service.

The church, whose pastor is Norman Thomas, is at 2394 Gresham Road in Atlanta.

Mountain.

Volunteers can be 12 years and older. Duties will include assisting with gift shopping and wrapping, and they will take inventory, help set up the holiday store and more.

For more than a decade, the Ray of Hope

to 10:30 a.m.

To sign up to volunteer, email ROHHopestore@gmail.com or call 678-861-4673.

The church is at 2778 Snapfinger Road in Decatur. For more information, visit www. rayofhope.org or call 770-696-5100.

Pastors, leaders conference at Berean Conference leaders Dr. Jasmin “Jazz” Sculark and Rev. Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant will motivate church-goers about progressive ministry at the 2017 Pastors and Leaders Conference at Berean Christian Church in Stone Jasmin Sculark Mountain.

The conference, presented by the church and Kerwin B. Lee Ministries, takes place Oct. 4-6.

Sculark is the founder and pastor of Victory Grace Center in Maryland. Her ministry has reached Africa, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe. She is known for her powerful sermons on persevering through failures to get to God’s blessings.

Bryant is an innovative and radical founder of The Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, MD. His church has been one of the fastest growing since 2000 in the AME denomination. His goal is to “empower the world Jamal-Harrison Bryant through the world.”

The three-day conference, organized by Berean Christian Church, will feature a host of classes including ministry enhancement, outreach, church leadership and general sessions.

The conference is open to the public. The church is at 2201 Young Road.

Register at www.bereanchristianchurch. org or call Deirdre Miller at 770-255-5830.

Chefs Galore to dish at St. Philip AME More than 100 chefs will prepare and serve some of their finest dishes at St. Philip AME Church’s fifth annual Chefs Galore on Oct. 7.

The popular event which offers unlimited food tastings, takes place noon to 3 p.m. at the church at 240 Candler Road SE in Atlanta.

Registration for chefs and cooks ends Sept.23.

Ticket proceeds benefit youth-based initiatives including Angel Tree, Joyful Noise for Toys and Saint Philip AME College Scholarship Fund.

For more information or to register, visit www.saintphilip.org or call 404-371-0749.

CrossRoadsNews

September 23, 2017

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Legal Notices 09/02, 09/09, 09/16, 09/23

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8754 Tyanna Owens PLAINTIFF VS Marqious Muckle DEFENDANT To:

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Aug. 21, 2017. You are hereby notified that Aug. 15, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Tiyanna Owens, 2103 Lown Farm Lane, Lithonia, GA 30058.

Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Aug. 21, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Asha F. Jackson, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 23rd day of Aug., 2017 09/09, 09/16, 09/23, 09/30

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM8666-4 Megan Stewart PLAINTIFF VS Kenneth Stewart DEFENDANT To: 98 S. MLK, Apt. 123 Las Vegas, NV 89101

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Aug. 21, 2017. You are hereby notified that Aug.

11, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: 4070 Greenstone Ct., Decatur, GA 30035. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Aug. 21, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Gail C. Flake, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 28th day of Aug., 2017 09/23, 09/30, 10/07, 10/14

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM5931-1 Demetrius Parks PLAINTIFF VS Tiffany Parks

DEFENDANT To:

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Sept. 14, 2017. You are hereby notified that May 30, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Demetrius Parks, 6615 Rebecca Lou Lane, Lithonia, GA 30058. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Sept.

18, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Courtney L. Johnson, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 18th day of Sept., 2017 09/23, 09/30, 10/07, 10/14

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County

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of Sept. 14, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Asha F. Jackson, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 19th day of Sept., 2017

State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM3867-2 Lissett Beasley PLAINTIFF VS Ronald Jerry Beasley DEFENDANT To: Ronald Jerry Beasley Atl. Taskforce Shelter 477 Peachtree St. Atlanta, GA

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Sept. 14, 2017. You are hereby notified that Aug. 28, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Lissett Beasley, 6588 Bradford Court, Stone Mountain, GA. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days

09/23, 09/30, 10/07, 10/14

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of ADULT in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM9587-7 Helen Okhuos filed a petition on Sept.

08, 2017 in the DeKalb County Superior Court to change name from: Helen Okhuos to Helen Beulah Favor. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Sept. 05, 2017

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CrossRoadsNews

September 23, 2017