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Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties
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www.facebook.com/ocgnews Volume 19 Number 11
www.ocgnews.com September 1, 2013
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Decatur hero Antoinette Tuff riding tidal wave as celebrity By Joshua Smith and Valerie J. Morgan
DECATUR—A few weeks ago, Antoinette Tuff started out having an ordinary day at McNair Discovery Learning Academy, doing the work that bookkeepers usually do. But now the Decatur resident is making plans to help needy kids through a new foundation that has raised more than $100,000 in her honor in seven days. Over 2,000 people have donated to the online host site, gofundme.com. Tuff’s fame is ever growing. Supporters have created an “Antoinette Tuff the Hero” Facebook page, and her own personal Facebook page has grown to 2,404 friends, with words of encouragement coming from as far away as Belize The 47-year-old is a hero in the hearts of people she doesn’t even know because she talked down a school intruder who was armed with an AK-47 rifle. She made national news on Aug. 20 when she diffused the dangerous situation, saving the lives of over 800 students and faculty at the elementary school where she works. “I was just praying on the inside saying ‘God, what do I do now? What should I say next?” said Tuff. “I thought about all the children and trying to keep him (Michael
Brandon Hill), in the office away from the children. I wanted them to remain safe. I couldn’t show on the outside what I was feeling on the inside, or the outcome of all this would have been different.” Principal Brian Bolden said school staff members regularly train for dangerous situations involving trespassers and emergency protocol, but he said Tuff deserved praise for going the extra mile to empathize with the intruder. “Her name, Antoinette Tuff, says everything about her. Tough. She has always been that way from the first time I met her. The school’s existing safety procedures will remain the same while the investigation takes place,” said Bolden. Tuff talked Hill into surrendering to police after he fired his gun and police returned fire. No one was injured in the shooting. Hill, 20, faces multiple charges and is being held in the DeKalb County Jail. His preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 5. Timothy Hill told authorities his brother has some mental problems. “I give honor to God. As we know, it wasn’t me and I don’t take any credit for it, because in all reality, I was terrified,” Tuff said. See Tuff, page 5
Photo by Joshua Smith/OCG News
911 operator Kendra McCray and bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff join DeKalb County first responders in being honored by government officials on Aug. 27.
DeKalb faith leaders, police partner to launch ‘Right Choice’ after-school program
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By Valerie J. Morgan
coalition of pastors say they plan to launch an after-school program that will initially target boys at risk of dropping out of high school. The pastors’ partnership with the DeKalb Police Department and the DeKalb County School District was announced Aug. 29, following a shooting on Aug. 20 at McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur. About a dozen DeKalb faith leaders, DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander and DeKalb schools chief legal officer Ronald Ramsey announced The Right Choice afterschool program. “What we’re basically saying is ‘the walls of our churches are down See Churches, page 6
Photo by Glenn L. Morgan/OCG News
A coalition of DeKalb pastors flank DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander and DeKalb schools chief legal officer Ronald Ramsey at a press conference to announce a new after-school program.
Railroad attraction to open at Rockdale horse park
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By Joshua Smith
ockdale County is preparing to welcome the Conyers & Hightower Trail Railroad, an attraction that officially opens on Nov. 2 near the Steeple Chase Grounds at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers. The North Georgia Live Steamers (NGLS), a group of train enthusiasts who have spent the last four years constructing the railroad for the miniature train rides, is hosting a golf fundraiser tournament on Sept. 25 to complete the work. “We are so excited about showing off our railroad to the community,” said NGLS President Norm Wizner. “We are now looking at putting the finishing touches on construction and hope to begin to schedule regular public run days.” The group is raising money to complete the installation of a threetrack hydraulic lift, which will be used to load the heavy train cars onto the track. Each car weighs at least 750 pounds, volunteers say.
All Aboard The North Georgia Live Steamers is hosting its fundraising golf tournament, “Full Steam Ahead,” on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Cherokee Run Golf Club in Conyers. The cost is $75 per person. The fee includes cart, bucket of balls, playing fees and a buffet lunch. Proceeds from the tournament will go toward the costs of finalizing construction of the railroad. At the grand opening and spike ceremony, visitors can check out live steam locomotives, learn about how railroad systems work and, of course, ride the trains from 1 to 5 p.m. The fee is $1 per ride. There’s no cost for admission, if you want to simply tour the track and the facility.
The railroad features 6,000 feet of aluminum track, which runs through scenic wooded and grassy areas, and includes more than 50 switches, a hydraulic loading rack and five steaming bays. “We’ve been building the track as a club for four years, clearing the land, building a bridge and drainage
system, carefully putting in every bolt and screw, laying tons of gravel and concrete, building sections of the track in 10-foot piece sections. This is a hand-built track with hand-built switches and hand-built turn tables,” said NGLS Board Member LaVay Sheldon. “We plan to add more track in the future.” The railroad sits on 35 acres at 1632 Centennial Olympic Parkway in Conyers. The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners gave the nonprofit train organization permission to use the tract after it was forced to leave Duluth in 2008. The Southeast Rail and Transportation Museum moved to a new location, leaving the NGLS without a home for its track. Winzer worked with Conyers City Manager Tony Lucas to bring the railroad to the horse park in Rockdale. Construction began in 2009 behind the Steeplechase area, across from Hawthorne Suites. Tons and tons of fill dirt was donated to the group and Photo by Joshua Smith/OCG News used to level the ground. The group of NGLS Board member LaVay Sheldon leads a group See Train, page 6
of riders at the 7th Annual Big Haynes Creek Wildlife Festival in Rockdale County.