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Rockdale teen honored for quick thinking in saving umpire’s life....page 3
DeKalb resident earns Eagle Scout ....page 6
SERVING DEKALB, FULTON, GWINNETT, HENRY AND ROCKDALE COUNTIES
VOLUME 19 NUMBER 52
DeKalb D.A. reviewing commissioner’s spending By Valerie J. Morgan
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James is reviewing the financial records of DeKalb Commissioner Elaine Boyer after recent news reports revealed DeKalb County Commissioner that Boyer used Elaine Boyer her county credit card to make more than $12,000 in personal purchases. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spent months investigating Boyer’s expenses and uncovered that she and her chief of staff, Robert Lundsten, spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on personal items, including $11,000 at restaurants, in 2012 and 2013. Boyer also used the card for airline tickets, Kroger and Wal-mart purchases among other things. “We are aware of this and we are looking into the matter,” said the D.A.’s spokesman, Erik Burton. Boyer said she apologized to the Board of Commissioners. She said she takes full responsibility for improperly using the card. She said she did not realize that she was not supposed to use the card for personal purchases, even though she has served as a commissioner for 20 years and signed an agreement stating the card was not for personal expenses. Boyer is longestserving commissioner on the board. Boyer said this week she has repaid the money in question. The repayment, however, does not mean that the District Attorney cannot pursue an indictment for criminal charges. See Boyer , page 6
Healthcare
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Healthcare enrollment events help constituents beat deadline....page 6
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Immigration activists bring food fast to Atlanta
Supporters of “Fast for Families” unite in prayer in the shadow of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on March 26 in Atlanta.
By Valerie J. Morgan and Joshua Smith
ATLANTA – Immigration rights activists who started a food fast in Los Angeles a month ago brought their campaign to Atlanta to demand immigration reform that would provide a path for citizenship for an estimated 11 million people now considered illegal in this country. Eliseo Medina was flanked by a rainbow coalition of supporters for the March 26 “Fast for Families” demonstration at the steps of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue. “We cannot afford to have more people die on the border because there is no legal way to get here, except for working in the dessert in the heat of the day and the cold of night,” said Medina, a former international Union executive. “We cannot afford to have more families torn apart and more
children made orphans because of deportation. That’s not the America we all love. We are a better people than that.” As Medina brought his campaign to Atlanta, Congressman Hank Johnson, who represents Georgia’s Fourth District, was among dozens of legislators who signed a petition on the same day in Washington, D.C. demanding a vote on H.R. 15. For months, the Republican Party, headed by House Speaker John Boehner, has blocked the bi-partisan legislation for immigration reform. The bill has 200 co-sponsors. Said Johnson: “It is time for Speaker Boehner to stop blocking this sensible bipartisan reform, and allow a vote to create jobs, empower our small businesses, fuel innovation, reduce the deficit and energize the economy. It is time for us to fix our broken immigration system, and build a system
Photo by Joshua Smith/OCG News
that respects our history and our values as a nation.” State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), who joined Medina and other activists at Ebenezer for the demonstration, said it’s time for Congress to act. “The time has come. This movement for freedom, justice and equality for immigrants is tied directly to the movement for civil rights. Dr. King’s dream of freedom, justice and equality is a dream that lives on to this very hour,” Fort said. “We are a nation of immigrants. We are going to tell Speaker Boehner to move out of the way. We know that Fasting for Families, the dreamers, are on the right side of history. ” Medina said his group’s fight is similar to the Civil Rights Movement. “There are parallels between See Food , page 6
Initiative to help delinquent dads kicks off in DeKalb
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By Joshua Smith
tate officials are launching a new initiative in DeKalb County to help delinquent dads catch up on the millions they collectively owe in unpaid child support. DeKalb’s Division of Family and Children Services will host a workshop, “Readiness for Workshop Organizer Battle,” on Wednesday, April Adika Trimble 2, 1 p.m., at the Shirley Trussell Building, 178 Sams St., Decatur. State officials want fathers and those who support them to learn about resources that are available to them. Robert Riddle, director of the Georgia Department of Human Resources’ Office of Child Support Enforcement, said the initiative is about bringing people together to help dads get on the
right track. “Some fathers who don’t earn enough to pay court-ordered child support can get on their feet and fulfill their obligations – if the right mix of public and private agencies cooperate to help them,” said Robert Riddle, director of the Georgia Department of Human Resources’ Office of Child Support Enforcement. “We have moved from just enforcing child support orders to addressing the reasons why some parents who sincerely wish to support their children are unable to do so, whether it be substance abuse, mental health problems, lack of transportation or a history of incarceration.” The kickoff event will link fathers to representatives from organizations who specialize in community resources such as counseling, legal services and employment resources, including reentry into the workforce programs and job training. “This is a call to action. We are sounding the horn on the war against negative labels like delinquent dads or welfare moms. We feel there is no such thing. Our community needs to stop perpetuating these terms,” said workshop organizer Adika Trimble.
“There are some fathers, whether unemployed or not, who continue to share, educate, support, nourish and protect their children. We want to hear from fathers in our region who want to be involved with their children but may need our support.” Although fathers are targeted for the upcoming event, anyone in the community may attend including mothers, members of the faith-based community, human services staff, government officials and nonprofit organizations that are looking to help. “This event is focused on resources that can support fathers who have gone down the wrong path, as well as fathers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to circumnavigate systemic bias and roadblocks so that they can parent their children,” said Trimble. Trimble says the “Readiness for Battle” initiative plans to host a lunch and learn for fathers at the end of April, a fatherhood resource fair and monthly information sessions. No registration is required. For more information, call Adika Trimble at 678-205-4167 or email cltrimble@dhr.state.ga.us.