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David T. Manuel charts new course at Porter Sanford Center....page 7
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Volume 19 Number 18
www.ocgnews.com
DECEMBER 15, 2013
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Attorneys seek release for former DeKalb schools chief
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By Valerie J. Morgan
ormer DeKalb Schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis is being held in isolation at the DeKalb County Jail, as his attorneys attempt to have his sentence reconsidered and have him released. Lewis’ attorneys are awaiting a bond hearing on Dec. 17. They say the judge violated a plea agreement by sentencing Lewis to jail instead of probation as recommended by the District Attorney. They want the judge to remove herself from the case if she refuses to reconsider the negotiated plea agreement. Meanwhile, as Lewis spent his fourth day in custody, one of his attorneys said he was holding up. “He is holding his own. He’s praying for the right outcome. He wants to be home with his family,” said Bernard Taylor, who, along with Mike Brown of
Crawford Lewis
Patricia “Pat” Reid
Tony Pope
Alston & Bird, is representing Lewis. DeKalb Sheriff Thomas Brown said he placed Lewis in isolation rather than with the general inmate population. “This is the first time in my entire career in law enforcement that I have seen anyone given this type of sentence for a misdemeanor, for hindering an
Metro Atlanta ready for the Christmas holiday
investigation,” said Brown. “In my opinion, when I look at him and talk to him, clearly, he’s a broken man. I am saddened by seeing him.” Superior Court Judge Cynthia Becker sentenced Lewis to 12 months in jail in exchange for his guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction, shocking Lewis, his attorneys and even District Attorney Robert James, who had recommended 12 months probation. The two people that Lewis testified against— former DeKalb schools executive Patricia “Pat” Reid and her ex-husband, Tony Pope—were sentenced to 15 years and 8 years respectively in the highlypublicized racketeering and corruption trial involving school construction contracts. See Judge, page 5
From an old-fashioned “Country Christmas” in Conyers to a dazzling towering Christmas tree on the lake in Avondale, cities are all decked out for Christmas. Check out more “Scenes of the Season” on page 6 and On CommonGround News’ Official Facebook page.
Photos by Joshua Smith/OCG News
Clarkston revives $5.7 million streetscape project in nick of time
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By Joshua Smith
he streets of Clarkston will boast new sidewalks, landscaping, decorative paving, and public artwork as a part of a $5.7 million, five-year streetscape project city officials plan to kick off next year. The project, which was shelved for nearly eight years, is finally getting off the ground, thanks to City Manager Keith Barker. Barker is Clarkston’s first city manager. In 2011, he discovered a $3.6 million federal grant that former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney had earmarked for the city in 2005 while investigating Clarkston’s finances. Barker began researching whether the city could still access the earmarked federal dollars and searching for a way to get the required matching funds. In February, the state’s Road & Tollway Authority awarded Clarkston a $2.1 million loan for the matching funds, paving the way for the city to launch the project. “We are not sure why the funds were never tapped into. When I came on in 2011, we began to look into all the funds and discovered that the funding was actually on the verge of de-obligation due to inactivity for nearly eight years,” said Barker. “From there, we had numerous meetings with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) to ensure the funding would not be lost and that we could in fact move the streetscape project forward.” Barker says he discovered a cardboard check for
“It was a miracle the city didn’t lose that money. Really, it was divine intervention.” – Clarkston City Manager Keith Barker the earmarked money in a closet at City Hall. “It was a miracle the city didn’t lose that money. Really, it was divine intervention,” Barker said. The streetscape will be on East Ponce De Leon Avenue between North Indian Creek Drive and Montreal Road. The city was able to put a construction project in action after meetings held last fall with ARC and GDOT, Barker said. The plan is officially called the ARC 2012-2017 Transportation Improvement Plan. As a result of those meetings, GDOT certified Clarkston to be able to self-manage federally-funded projects. The city has chose AMEC, an international engineering consulting firm to prepare the design plans. The firm has done work in several metro Atlanta cities.
Photo by Joshua Smith/OCG News
“The next phase will be getting feedback from the community, which will take about six months. Construction should begin in 2016,” said Ron Huffman, AMEC’s principal landscape architect. “There are a lot of requirements when you’re dealing with federal funds—permits, environmental procedures—but we are excited to take on the job. We have done Chamblee’s, Tifton’s Stone Mountain’s and are finishing Snellvile’s streetscape now.” See Public, page 5