Celebrating 16 Years In The Community
Serving DeKalb & Metro Atlanta Volume 17 Number 2
www.ocgnews.com
APRIL 15, 2011
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Former DeKalb clerk of Superior Court sues long-time friend over job By Valerie J. Morgan
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Former Superior Court Clerk Linda Carter
n a bizarre turn of events, DeKalb County’s former clerk of Superior Court Linda Carter has hired Atlanta attorney A. Lee Parks, who specializes in unemployment discrimination, to fight for her return to office. Carter is battling early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and Parks says she was duped into signing a letter of resignation in March giving
Debra DeBerry stands in a storage room at the DeKalb Superior Court, where she has taken helm as the top clerk. Photo by Glenn L. Morgan/OGC News
Aloha, Hawaii!
See Lawyers, page 6
Long distance field trips open a world of learning for Bouie ‘Discovery’ students
Bouie Principal, Dr. Audrey Brooks, and Assistant Principals Penny Mosley and Mark Bryant pose for the camera after their return home. Photo by Glenn L. Morgan/OGC News
By Valerie J. Morgan How many kids from Atlanta can say they’ve traveled to the birth state of President Obama? How many have visited the ruins of a volcano? How many know that in some places, the alphabet contains INSIDE
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only 12 letters? Students at Bouie Theme School can proudly say they have been there, done that, know that. Twenty-seven students in the Lithonia school’s Discovery Program visited Hawaii during a pre-Spring Break trip in March that exposed them to Hawaii’s culture, food, history and people. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, located on an island 30 miles from Hilo. Discovery program teachers Rozalyn M. Todd and Tamara Burdette plan many of their long distance trips around national parks to expose students to awesome wonders of the world. “We want them to witness
up her elected office. Carter, 58, filed a lawsuit in DeKalb Superior Court on April 14 against her successor, Debra DeBerry, a woman who has been her long-time friend and who formerly held the No. 2 spot in her office as chief deputy clerk. Attorney James Radford, Jr., who is working with Parks on Carter’s case, said DeBerry took advantage of Carter’s disability by fraudulently writing a letter of resignation on her behalf and naming herself as Carter’s replacement. “Ms. Carter did not know what she was signing,” Radford told On Common Ground News. With the resignation, Carter forfeited the chance to become vested and collect her full compensation and benefits, which she needs to
firsthand the places that they’ve learned about through books and the internet,” Todd said. “It’s living history. I wish that all of our students could experience such field trips.” “We are creating lifetime experiences. This was a trip they will never forget,” Burdette said. “When they read about Pearl Harbor, they will be able to say ‘I’ve been to Hawaii, where the attack happened.” The group drove past President Obama’s grandmother’s apartment and the school he attended in Honolulu’s island of Oahu. Todd said she was inspired to write television’s Oprah Winfrey about her students’ experience after a park ranger
Students who went on the trip 1. Trinity D. Colbert 2. Brendan Reid 3. Justus Demery 4. Jameer Alves 5. Miles Lee 6. Kamora Reynolds 7. Valerie Quarshie 8. Bryston Lee 9. Amelia Davis 10. Jairus Gilbert 11. Ariel Haughton 12. Sekaye Goodings 13. Marquis Carter 14. Onyekachukwu Obeki
on her show mentioned that few African Americans visit them. Todd and Burdette are making sure students in Bouie’s Discovery program not only visit but become junior rangers with the National Parks. Through junior ranger activities, games and puzzles, participants ages 6-14 learn all about a specific national park and earn badges, patches, pins, and stickers. Todd said Discovery program students have traveled near and far. “We have gone skiing in Magee Valley, North Carolina; toured the majestic Hoover Dam in Nevada; the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert and the Grand Canyon, all in Arizona; and Yosemite National
15. Aniyah Vassall 16. Shawn Windom 17. G’Kai Allen 18. Caleb Cummings 19. Idris Abdur Rahman 20. Jordan Holmes 21. Kennedy Segars 22. Jazmine Callaway 23. Mikayla Alves 24. Nadia Bent 25. Ahjadin Grigg 26. Kelis Johnson 27. Endure McTier
Park in California,” Todd said. Dr. Audrey Brooks, Bouie’s principal, commended Todd and Burdette for their hard work. “I was very proud of the way our students conducted themselves and I was very impressed with the research and planning that our teachers did for the trip,” said Brooks, who also went on the trip. Along with the 27 students and three schools’ officials, 18 parents went on the trip to Hawaii. Each student raised $1,750 to go on the seven-day excursion, which was planned with the help of The Travel Store. “I am very grateful that my family and others helped to pay See Trip, page 6