FREE VOLUME 24 NUMBER 16
JUNE 9, 2018
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National search to find successor for New Birth after Bishop Stephen A. Davis steps down By Valerie J. Morgan
No hands allowed— while driving New “Hands Free Law’ for mobile devices begins July 1
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eorgia drivers will need to go hands-free on their mobiles while behind the wheel. Staring July 1, it will be illegal for drivers to use or hold their phones while operating a vehicle. Gov. Nathan Deal recently signed House Bill 673, also known as the “Hands Free Law,” making it illegal for drivers to hold or support a phone with their body while driving. The law states the following: • A driver cannot have a phone in their hand or use any part of their body to support their phone. Drivers can only use their phones to make or receive phone calls by using speakerphone, earpiece, wireless headphone, phone is connected to vehicle or an electronic watch. GPS navigation devices are allowed. • Headsets and earpieces can only be worn for communication purposes and not for listening to music or other entertainment. • A driver may not send or read any text-based communication unless using voice-based communication that automatically converts message to a written text or is being used for navigation or GPS • A driver may not send or read any e-mails, social media or other internet content • A driver may not watch a video unless it is for navigation. • A driver may not record a video (continuously running dash cams are exempt) The fines for infraction to the law will be: $50 fine for the first conviction and one point on a license; $100 fine for the second conviction and two points on a license; and $150 fine for the third and subsequent convictions and three points on a license. According to Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, there have been significant increases in vehicle traffic crashes, fatalities and bodily injury. The vast majority of these increases have been in rear-end crashes, single-car crashes and crashes by drivers from 15 to 25-years-old. State and local law enforcement have stated that these incidents are a clear indication of driver inattention. The 15 states that have passed hands-free driving laws saw a 16 percent decrease in traffic fatalities in the two years after the law was passed. For a complete list of details and exemptions, visit www.gahighwaysafety. org.
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national search will be conducted to find a successor for Bishop Stephen A. Davis who has resigned from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Church officials announced Davis’ resignation on June 6, saying that he resigned to concentrate on the two churches he founded in Alabama. Thomas W. Dortch Jr., chairman of the church’s board of directors, told On Common Ground News that Davis was challenged in making the weekly drive to Stonecrest while trying to oversee his church in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. “It was a lot for him. We appreciate what he did. He was never brought on as a permanent successor. We need a full-time pastor and we’re going to do a national search so that New Birth can continue to grow,” said Dortch. Dortch said he has asked Bishop Dale C. Bronner of Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Austell; Pastor John Gray of Relentless Church in Greenville, S.C.; Bishop Neil C. Ellis of Global United Fellowship located in the Bahamas; Elder Vanessa Long, the wife of the late Bishop Eddie Long; and the head of the Deacons Board to be a part of the team. He said others would be added. “We’re not going to rush out and get someone in a few weeks. We’re going to take the time needed to find the right person to lead New Birth,” Dortch said. Dortch said “listening sessions”
Photo by Travis Hudgons
Bishop Stephen A. Davis and his wife Darlene
also would be held to get input from the congregation on what members would like to see in their new pastor. In the meantime, prominent guests pastors will alternate leading the church’s worship services. “I’ve asked Bishop Bronner, Bishop Ellis and others to come,” said Dortch, adding that he would like to also see Edward Long, Bishop Long’s son, nurtured and have a more active role at New Birth. Elder Vanessa Long broke the news that Bishop Davis had resigned to the congregation at its mid-week service. Davis had served as interim senior pastor of New Birth since the
death of Bishop Eddie L. Long in January 2017. Elder Long said she is thankful Davis stepped in for the 16-month period he served at New Birth following her late husband’s death. Bishop Long died last year of cancer at 63. “I am so grateful that Bishop Davis honored the wishes of my late husband by serving New Birth at a time of need. We pray God’s Blessings over him, his wife, First Lady Darlene, and the Birmingham church family,” said Elder Long. Bishop Davis said he would continue to be a part of the New Birth family, although he would no longer lead services in the city of Stonecrest. “I love my New Birth Family both in Birmingham and Stonecrest. However, at this time my wife, my children and the New Birth Birmingham family need my full attention,” Davis said. “We will remain a New Birth Church in Birmingham and maintain a relationship with the New Birth Stonecrest congregation.”
DCSC sues City of Atlanta over Emory annexation DeKalb County School District (DCSD) has filed a lawsuit against the City of Atlanta over the annexation of Emory University, the CDC and areas totaling 744 acres in DeKalb County into the City of Atlanta. The proposed annexation is the largest by Atlanta in 65 years, since Buckhead was annexed in 1952. District officials say city officials quietly made a change to the annexation plan after the Atlanta City Council approved the ordinance last year. District officials said they were initially told the plan would not impact the DeKalb County School District, prohibiting the extension of the boundaries of Atlanta Public Schools (APS) into the annexed area. The change, however, now means that the DeKalb school district would transfer more than $2 million in tax revenue and nine students who are eligible to attend APS. “After APS threatened to oppose the annexation ordinance if it did not receive the property tax money from the annexed area, the
DeKalb Superintendent R. Stephen Green Photo by Travis Hudgons
mayor asked the City Council to reverse itself on the school district issue, resulting in a complete rewrite of the ordinance to extend the boundaries of APS throughout the entire annexed area,” the district said. The district said it is seeking an immediate injunction against the expansion of APS boundaries into the annexed area, and a permanent injunction invalidating the annexation ordinance. The lawsuit follows failed efforts to reach an agreement with APS, the district said. “Back in July 2017, we were shown an ordinance that included in its title a prohibition on expansion
of APS into the annexed area and lobbied to support the annexation on the basis. We were assured that, in exchange for our support, the annexation would not adversely impact our schools in any way,” said DCSD Superintendent Stephen Green. “We upheld our side of the bargain and publicly supported the annexation. Then, the former mayor conspired with APS to amend the ordinance and unjustly enrich APS at the expense of DeKalb County and our School District. How could a City Council engage in such a blatant bait and switch? We hope a court will right this wrong. I regret the entire annexation is now in jeopardy, but our efforts to find a negotiated solution were rejected out of hand. No one thinks what happened is right or fair, but to date nothing has been done to fix a clear injustice. I call on the new mayor to reject the back room political deal cut by her predecessor just to get this annexation completed before he left office, and help the parties find a workable solution before the annexation is voided.”