Sept.13, 2014

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Celebrating

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Rockdale Democrats rally for Doreen Williams ....page 3

Let’s Move! DeKalb to host annual community walk ....page 4

SERVING DEKALB, FULTON, GWINNETT, HENRY AND ROCKDALE COUNTIES

VOLUME 20 NUMBER 24

WWW.OCGNEWS.COM

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SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

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Sunday voting plan causes uproar

D Lela Bemis

Mother sentenced to life for suffocating 3-year-old daughter A 21-year-old Stone Mountain mother will spend the rest of her life behind bars for murdering her 3-year-old daughter after breaking up with her boyfriend. Meriel Bemis accepted a life sentence before DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Adams on Sept. 11 after pleading guilty to felony murder and aggravated assault. Prosecutors said Meriel Bemis she suffocated Lela Bemis on Feb. 23. “As a mother, I could not begin to understand how and why [Meriel] would take the life of her innocent child in such a vicious way,” said Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dalia Racine, who served as lead prosecutor in the case. “As the prosecutor in this case, I fought for the child who no longer has a voice and for the child whose future was snatched from her by the acts of her very own mother.” Bemis, who lived in Stone Mountain, was involved in an argument with her boyfriend, Troy Walker. After Walker left the residence, Bemis contacted him and confessed to murdering her daughter. Walker returned to the residence where he found Lela’s lifeless body. He called 911 and attempted to administer CPR. Walker is not the father of Bemis’ daughter. The child was pronounced dead at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. An autopsy revealed she died from suffocation. “This sentence will never bring Lela back, however, there is justice in the fact that Meriel has assumed some level of responsibility and will serve a life sentence for her malicious acts,” added Racine.

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Atlanta mourns S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A ...page 10

Photo Joshua Smith/OCG News

DeKalb County Director of Voter Registration and Elections Maxine Daniels examines a map showing the three locations selected for Sunday voting in DeKalb.

By Joshua Smith

eKalb County’s plan to roll out Sunday voting—a new quest to boost voter turnout—has sparked an uproar among Republicans who say the move will give Democrats an unfair edge. DeKalb, particularly South DeKalb, is largely Democrat and many say the Sunday voting day will prompt a surge, especially if pastors urge congregations to go to the polls. Three DeKalb precincts will be open on Sunday, Oct. 26, noon to 5 p.m., during the early voting period. The General Election is Nov. 4. DeKalb’s Board of Registrations and Elections passed the Sunday plan 3-2 on Sept. 11. The five-member board’s two Democrats and one Independent approved the plan with the two Republicans on the board voting against it. DeKalb follows Lowndes

County, which approved Sunday voting on Sept. 9. Fulton County also is giving the nod as other counties in Georgia study the measure. Rockdale County officials were supposed to discuss Sunday voting on Sept. 11 but canceled its meeting after one of the three board members became ill. “We haven’t established when the meeting will be rescheduled to as of yet, but Sunday voting will be on the agenda for discussion,” said Cynthia Welch, director of Rockdale’s Board of Elections and Voter Registration. DeKalb made national news this week after Republican State Sen. Fran Millar blasted DeKalb officials for the Sunday voting plan. Millar said the plan favors the Democratic Party and that he would like to see “more educated voters” rather than those who are less informed on the issues. His Facebook page was inundated with See Sunday voting, page 6

DeKalb pastors to county leaders:

‘We’re watching you’

Concerned pastors from throughout DeKalb County unite to voice concerns over turmoil in DeKalb government.

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By Joshua Smith and Valerie J. Morgan

ed up with negative news reports about DeKalb County’s elected officials, a coalition of pastors is demanding more accountability from them. As the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners met for its Sept. 9 meeting, the group of 11 pastors representing some of DeKalb’s largest congregations held a press conference outside the Old DeKalb Courthouse in downtown Decatur to call the board members on the carpet for ethics allegations each is facing. “We want accountability. We’ve been concerned for a while now. We’re watching you (B.O.C.). Not a day

Photo by Glenn L. Morgan/OCG News

goes by that some negative article is in the paper about DeKalb County,” said Pastor Quincy Lavelle Carswell of the Covenant Church in Decatur. “We are not judging anybody. We’re just saying that we’re concerned and we would like to see a change in the current direction.” Carswell said the group plans to meet with the Board of Commissioners by the end of the month to discuss strategies to help get the county on track. The outcry from pastors comes on the heels of former Commissioner Elaine Boyer, pleading guilty Sept. 3 to federal charges of wire and mail fraud. Boyer faces a maximum 40-year sentence and a $500,000 fine. She will See Pastors, page 8


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Sept.13, 2014 by On Common Ground News - Issuu