VOLUME 22 NUMBER 29
FREE
OCTOBER 22, 2016
Published Since April 1995 Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties • www.facebook.com/ocgnews
Boazman calls on men to search for alleged rapist of 10-year-old girl ATLANTA--Community activist and former Atlanta City Derrick Boazman held a news conference calling on all men to meet him on Oct. 20, 1 p.m., at Mozley Park, 1565 M.L. King Jr. Drive to hunt down an alleged rapist of a 10-year-old girl. The group of men went doorto-door passing out fliers of a police sketch of the alleged rapist and asking anyone with information to come forward. The child was raped while walking home from school. Boazman stated the reason for the call of men, “The rape of this 10-year-old baby has saddened and angered us as a community,” Boazman said. “We want to send a strong message to this thug that he can not live among us after what he has done. We are asking him, his family, friends, acquaintances, to turn him in TODAY to the Atlanta Police or else. We also want this little girl to know that as a community of men, we love her and we will not rest until we bring her rapist to justice!” The Atlanta Police Department and Crimestoppers are offering a $2,000 reward. The group of men added $,5000 of their own money to the reward. Anyone with information should call 404-577-8477.
Thousands in DeKalb, Rockdale head to the polls for early voting
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housands in DeKalb and Rockdale counties flocked to the polls on Oct. 17, energizing the first day of early voting ahead of the historic Nov. 8 General Election, which includes Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. DeKalb County Supervisor of Elections Maxine Daniels reported that over 12,000 residents cast their ballots on Day 1. Daniels said that when she arrived at 6 a.m., voters were already standing in line waiting for the polls to open. More than 12,000 ballots were tallied by the end of the day. DeKalb has a total of 493,147 registered voters. “I wasn’t surprised by it. Anytime you have an open presidential office it will be phenomenal,” said Daniels. Daniels said other than periodic long lines, there were no problems reported. She said the backup was caused by voters filling out the forms to cast their ballot. Congressman Hank Johnson, who rep-
resents Georgia’s Fourth District, and his wife, DeKalb County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson, were among those who participated on the first day of early voting. They posted a picture of themselves on Facebook after they voted. Johnson and Congressman John Lewis kicked off the day by campaigning for Hillary Clinton. Lewis joined Fulton County ChairSee Early Voting page 8
New business incubator in Conyers to host open house CONYERS--Scott Hartsell has big plans to help start-up businesses grow into solid, thriving companies and he’s using Olde Town as a launching pad. Hartsell has transformed office space at 909 Commercial St. into a business incubator called (e)station Conyers, Inc., playing off the building’s location near the city’s former train depot. The incubator, Hartsell says, will be the first in east metro Atlanta. He cites Cornerstone (Lawrenceville); The Suite Spot (Sugar Hill; eHub (Gwinnett) and 438 Grayson Parkway in Grayson as the closest coworking incubator near Conyers. At (e)station Conyers, entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to not only lease office space, but also take advantage of training and other amenities that will be offered to incubator members. Hartsell said studies show that more than 80 percent of all businesses that fail go out of business within the first two years, namely because they lack the resources and the information they need to be successful. “The idea is to bring businesses to Olde Town and provide start-ups with the tools and services they need in one place to succeed,” said Hartsell, director of (e)station Conyers. “We will offer workshops and a variety of experienced people to provide legal assistance, human resources, financing, and classes such as accounting, how to use Word Press, marketing and more. Businesses will graduate from our program in two to three years.” Hartsell said (e)station is hosting an open house on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., to give visitors a chance to learn more about the public-private partnership, which allows the offices to operate off of the leases. Hartsell is partnering with
the Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Piedmont Technical College, Rockdale Career Academy, Conyers Downtown Development, SBDC/UGA and SCORE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping small businesses, to provide expert training, mentors and other resources. Hartsell describes the two-story (e) station building as eclectic with its hardwood floors, concrete and painted walls, exposed pipes and a phone booth designed after the call boxes in the TV show “Dr. Who.” The 5,000-square-foot building was formerly the law offices of Jorge Luis Flores. “I like the Dr. Who phone booth. It’s fun. We wanted to create an environment that fosters creativity and connectivity,” Hartsell said about the renovations. “There are co-working spaces and private offices People will have the opportunity to network and share ideas as well as work independently.” The incubator will serve four businesses at a time in its upstairs offices, while the downstairs will house a co-working space where member businesses can have access to a workspace and small conference room. There also will be eight spaces for daily drop-in users, a bar offering complimentary coffee and tea and 20 hot desks with large monitors, USB charging ports, AC power and high speed Wi-Fi. Coworking spaces such as the one at (e)station are becoming more and more popular for professionals, technologists, programmers and other creative types who work at home, on their laptops or even on their cell phones. Hartsell said the number of global coworking facilities has been doubling in number each year as digital professionals seek to avoid isolation. Small Business
Scott Hartsell poses at the e-station small business incubator at 909 Commercial Street in Conyers. The offices will provide co-working spaces, classes and the chance to network with other entrepreneurs. Photo by Glenn L. Morgan
Labs project that some 12,000 global co-working spaces are expected to be operating in 2018. Hartsell said (e)station Conyers will be open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Memberships start at $95 a month, depending on amenities.