VOLUME 21 NUMBER 29
FREE
OCTOBER 17, 2015
Published Since April 1995 Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties • www.facebook.com/ocgnews
Crowd packs Lou Walker Senior Center town hall
DeKalb ICEO Lee May
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By Joshua Smith
hunderous applause filled the room as DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May walked into the packed Lou Walker Senior Center in Lithonia for a town hall meeting, his first in a series of scheduled meetings to address the findings in the Bowers-Hyde report examining government corruption. The reception was a stark contrast from a meeting attended by about 75 people at the Maloof Auditorium in downtown Decatur on Oct. 8. Although May canceled attending, DeKalb Commissioner Nancy Jester, who is calling
for May’s resignation as a result of the recently released corruption report, said the meeting would go on without May, and she held the meeting herself. She was joined by several people who wore T-shirts calling for May to step down. The climate, though, was different at the Oct. 13 meeting in South DeKalb where many among the estimated 250 attendees cheered May on, encouraging him to hang in there. Some supporters held signs: “Stay Strong May” and “We Believe in Lee.” May started his discussion off by apologizing for hiring former Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers and special investigator Richard Hyde to root out corruption in DeKalb. The investigation is one that has dogged May, who has come under heavy criticism for spending taxpayer dollars to conduct a special investigation that some say could have been performed by existing agencies. The Bowers/Hyde report, which included allegations against May, cost taxpayers $850,000 and May said that while it was “salacious,” the report shed no new light on corruption in the county. He said it mainly focused on “p-card” spending (the use of county purchasing cards), which county officials already knew about. The misuse of “p cards” came to light as a result of a WSB-TV investigation exposing former commissioner
The crowd sat attentively as DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May discussed his take on corruption and other issues the county is facing. Photos by Joshua Smith/OCG News
Elaine Boyer’s misuse of her p card. Boyer pleaded guilty to federal charges of bilking taxpayers of more than $85,000 in a scheme that included using her p card. She was sentenced in March to 14 months in prison for the scheme, which included her husband, John Boyer, who also went to prison. May said he expected Bowers to find problems beyond the misuse of p cards. “I take full responsibility. I have to
own up to that mistake. I felt like it was necessary to have this report to weed out corruption but I regret who I brought in to do it,” said May. “They released findings to the media hours before I could even see them. I regret hiring them. Their actions caused the very distraction I was trying to avoid.” See Supporters page 6
Oakhurst Medical celebrates the fight against breast cancer By Joshua Smith
O
akhurst Medical Center’s Rockdale County location was painted in pink as NFL players and community leaders came together on Oct. 13 to share stories, celebrate survivors and raise awareness for breast cancer. Janice Morris, who heads up community outreach at the center in Conyers, said the event was a great success.
L-R Dee Dawkins-Haigler, Janice Morris
“It was phenomenal. The goal was to reach as many women as we could. We were able to give 22 free mammograms to women and reach dozens more with education about breast cancer, risks and the importance of screenings,” said Morris. “What really touched me was that one wom-
an who was in her forties who came to the event and tackled her fear of getting tested for the first time. Those are the kind of things this event was all about.” State Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who is a breast cancer survivor, said she was very excited to be a part of the event. Dawkins-Haigler, who represents Georgia’s House District 91, says about eight and a half months ago, in the
middle of legislation at the Gold Dome she received her diagnosis from her physician. “I did not give up. I did not lose hope. God has a plan. You have to remember to pray, fight and then win because we are victorious in this journey,” said Dawkins-Haigler. “It takes a village to get past this ordeal. We are in this together. We have to fight together as one voice.” Eric Hubbard, director of
Outreach for U.S. Congressman Hank Johnson’s office, Rockdale County Magistrate Court Judge Phinia Aten and Pastor Billie Cox of Macedonia Baptist Church in Conyers were also at the event to help celebrate. Teaming up with Oakhurst to honor breast cancer survivors and raise awareness was Torell Troup, a defensive tackle who has played for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and is currently
a free agent. Troup is a graduate of Salem High School in Conyers. Former Falcon and linebacker, Christopher Draft, was at the event as well. The former NFL player has also played for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams and the Buffalo Bills. Draft lost his wife, Keasha, to lung cancer in 2012, one year after getting married. “It is truly a pleasure to be here. This is so much bigger than just wearing pink. Some players in this league know cancer all too well. It’s not just a cute thing and wearing pink, breast cancer has taken the lives of mothers, sisters and wives from players across the league,” said Draft. “It is so important for players to be advocates for breast cancer awareness. We have to go beyond just numbers and statistics and work together to support prevention but also detection to catch it and knock it out early.” Former NFL wide receiver Danny Buggs, who has played for several teams such as the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Oilers, joined See Oakhurst Medical, page 8