SERVING DEKALB, FULTON, GWINNETT, HENRY AND ROCKDALE COUNTIES
VOLUME 19 NUMBER 6
Photo by Joshua Smith/OCG News
Miller Grove High School basketball coach Sharman White (left) joins one of his starting guards, Kendall Williams, in front of three of their five championship title trophies and other achievements.
Miller Grove still awaiting championship rings By Joshua Smith
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hey’ve taken down the best in the state five years in a row. Despite its historic victories, however, the Miller Grove High School boys basketball team doesn’t have its state championship rings. “We don’t have an official sponsor. Some local businesses have done what they can, DeKalb County Athletics has helped. I’ve even been out straight begging on behalf of the team, but we still need a lot more,” said a frustrated Sharman White, the school’s head coach. The team must raise $5,000 to get the rings. Donations, White said, have come in slowly. The Miller Grove Wolverines made history on March 8 at the state tournament in Macon. The team became the first in Georgia to win five consecutive basketball state titles. Miller Grove defeated Gainesville 61-57 in the Class AAAAA State Championship game. But no matter how hard the team works on the court to continuously win, Coach White finds himself every year going doorto-door to scrape up the money for the team’s championship rings. White says it’s disheartening because the team works so hard all year. “They get about 20 to 30 days off and after that, we’re working all year round to beat their opponents,” said White. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has helped the team buy the rings every year. For two consecutive years, they paid for the purchases in its entirety, said White, who is a member of New Birth. “I appreciate the church for what it has done, but you can’t just keep hitting the same source over and over again,” said White. “I would like others in the community to step up to the plate and award these guys. Don’t do it for us. The coaches don’t need it. Do it for the kids. They have done everything right, bought in to everything I asked from them and the bottom line is they deserve to be rewarded for this great accomplishment.” One of those kids, starting point/shooting guard Kendall Williams, 16, says Coach White has been working just as hard off the court to raise funds as he does on the court to produce successful plays. “Coach White is like a father figure to all of us. He challenges us to our limits and then pushes us to do more, and it works,” said Williams, a rising eleventh grader, who has started since his freshman year in Miller Grove’s three-guard offense. The Miller Grove Wolverines finished this past season with an overall record of 30-3 and went an undefeated 9-0 in region competition. If you would like to make a financial contribution to the team, call Coach Sharman White at Miller Grove High School at 678-8751102. The school is located at 2645 DeKalb Medical Parkway, Lithonia. INSIDE: p Community
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JUNE 15, 2013
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Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas coming to Atlanta
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By Mackenzie Morgan
even months before springing to Olympic glory, Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas wanted to hang up her leotard for a job at Chick-Fil-A. Homesick, burned out from years of intense training and bruised by the racism that she sometimes experienced on the balance beam, Douglas sent her mom a text: “Gymnastics is not my passion anymore.” Douglas’ family encouraged her to stick it out. Today, Douglas is making appearances across the nation. In August, metro Atlanta residents will have a chance to meet her and hear her story, thanks to DeKalb County Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton, District 4. The commissioner is bringing the Olympic gold medalist to the 2013 DeKalb Youth Empowerment Breakfast on Saturday, Aug. 10, at
Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas
Sharon Barnes Sutton
the Stone Mountain Park Marriott Evergreen Resort. “We wanted to have her come because she is the epitome of dedication, sacrifice and excellence. It might not be an Olympic gold medal, but we want our youths to know they can certainly achieve greatness in any area of their choosing,” said Barnes Sutton. Douglas, now 17, made history last year at age 16 when she competed
and won two gold medals during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Douglas, who is the first woman of color and the first black gymnast to become the all-around champion, is also the first American gymnast to win gold in both, the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics. The ticketed breakfast featuring Douglas is a fundraiser for the DeKalb Youth Leadership Academy, an intensive year-round self-development program that prepares selected DeKalb high school students for college and the workforce. Every year, a new speaker is chosen to share an inspiring message of hope and to give youths sound advice to help them achieve excellence in academics as well as their personal development. “The breakfast is all about See Tickets, page 5
Rockdale emergency food pantry in state of emergency By Mackenzie Morgan
CONYERS–Ashley Roesler says it’s been seven years since she has seen the cupboard this bare. Roesler, executive director of the Rockdale Emergency Relief food pantry, said it was Fall 2006, just before the economic downturn, when the Rockdale County food bank experienced a similar shortage. Summertime, she says, is the pantry’s toughest time. She has put out pleas for food donations to replenish the shelves. “Summer giving is always lighter because the people who generally support us during the year go on vacation and big donors, such as the school system, are closed for summer break. On the other end, the volume of families needing our services increases,” said Roesler. She said with schools out for summer break, many parents who can’t afford summer camp opt to stay home. This means they have to provide meals that their children would have otherwise eaten at school. “We get a lot of support from local grocers, various faithbased organizations as well as other small groups and families. We’re really hoping to build some momentum before we run out completely,” Roesler said. Originally set up as a supplemental program to serve 100 families a month, the pantry now provides food services for more than 400 families a month. And the numbers keep rising. Just last year, the pantry provided food for some 3,800 families, Roesler said. “We have a lot more families enrolling for assistance, many of them for the first time. After
Photo by Mackenzie N. Morgan/OCG News
Rockdale Emergency Relief food pantry staff Irene Moore says food supply is running dangerously low.
the house and utilities are paid, people experiencing limited income usually have very little resources leftover. So food supply is compromised,” said Roesler. Roesler said the pantry comes in handy for low-income families who are not considered needy enough by federal standards to qualify for public assistance such as food stamps. Though the pantry is set up to supplement and provide a cushion to soften financial hardship, many of the people coming have limited to no resources to supplement, said Roesler. “People may be finding work, but ultimately haven’t begun to experience recovery. Their income is still low and they are having trouble making ends meet,” said Roesler. Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson experienced firsthand what it is like to survive off of $31.50 worth of food for a week, the average weekly benefit for a food stamp recipient. He recently launched a weeklong experiment to highlight his opposition to the proposed $20 billion in cuts to
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is part of the FY 2014 Farm Bill. “I think a lot of people have a misperception that being on Hank Johnson food stamps is somehow a gravy train,” said Johnson. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s hard to find nutritional food on such a limited budget. There are millions of people in the United States who go hungry every day and who rely on food stamps to get by. Taking the challenge not only highlights hunger in our country, it also gives me a better understanding of the daily reality of millions of Americans,” said Johnson, who bought oatmeal, bacon, milk, noodles, hotdogs, bananas, tea, waffles and syrup. He had broccoli in the shopping cart but had to put it See Foodbank, page 5
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