Celebrating 19 years
Community
Community
DeKalb sets basketball camps with Atlanta Hawks ....page 5
Mayor Reed kicks off summer reading for kids ....page 8
SERVING DEKALB, FULTON, GWINNETT, HENRY AND ROCKDALE COUNTIES
VOLUME 20 NUMBER 11
Community
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DeKalb County Police receive CALEA accreditation ....page 9
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JUNE 14, 2014
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DeKalb commissioners at odds over proposal to buy South DeKalb YMCA
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By Joshua Smith
eKalb County’s Board of Commissioners are divided over a proposal to spend $4.5 million for the South DeKalb
YMCA. While three commissioners are pushing for the purchase--Larry Johnson, Stan Watson and Sharon Barnes Sutton, the other three commissioners-- Jeff Rader, Kathie Gannon and Elaine Boyer—are against the purchase. For now, the proposed deal is stalled. Commissioner Rader abstain from voting at the board’s June 10 meeting, avoiding a tie that would have required a tie to be
broken by DeKalb’s interim CEO Lee May. The issue could, however, come up again at the next County Commission meeting on Tuesday, June 24. Under the proposed deal, the county would buy the South DeKalb YMCA at 2565 Snapfinger Road in Decatur with taxpayer-backed green space bonds for just under $4.5 million, and then lease the property back to the Y for $1 a year over the next 50 years. The money from the sale would go to renovate the Y and expand programming. Metro Atlanta YMCA Chief Operating Officer Eston Hood said he’s See YMCA, page 7
Photo by Joshua Smith/OCG News
Lithonia resident Clinton Raines joined a group of passionate supporters who want the county to buy the South DeKalb YMCA.
Photos by Joshua Smith/OCG News
Family Fest brings fun for all Georgia Piedmont Technical College’s Annual Family Fun and Food Fest provided dozens of families with carnival favorites such as cotton candy and snow cones to cool off in the hot summer sun. This was the third annual event for the college. GPTC also unveiled a new walking trail for the community and students during the June 7 festival in Covington. For more on this story, visit www.ocgnews.com
Rockdale Fire Department recruiting firefighters
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ockdale County Fire Rescue is recruiting firefighters. The department hopes to hire about 10 firefighters by the end of the year. “We are a little understaffed for different reasons–retirements, firefighters moving to other careers or other departments. We are about eight people short and we have two people expected to retire in July, said RCFR Deputy Chief of Operations Joel Yonder, who announced the recruiting effort on June 10 at the Board of Commissioners meeting. Job candidates must be willing to work in all types of weather and overnight shifts. “You have to be willing to work 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shifts, so you will be away from your home and family for 24 hours at a time and that can be difficult for a lot of families if your shift is on something like Christmas or on a birthday,” Yonder said.
State requirements are: Being at least 18, having a good driving record, passing a criminal background check and having a high school diploma or Rockdale Fire Chief GED. Candidates Dan Morgan also must pass an agility test. Fire Chief Dan Morgan says he hopes will receive as many as 300 to 400 applicants. “From that pool of people, we expect 200 will go through a series of exams, 150 to 200 will make it through the physical agility test and 75 to 100 will make it to the interview process,” said Chief Morgan. “From that process, we ultimately hope to hire 10 to 12 people for entry-level positions. The hiring process is expected to last
through October, with a tentative start date for those selected in early November. Because of the number of applicants expected and the amount of testing involved in the hiring process, it will take that long to select the best candidates.” RCFR will host an open house for interested applicants on Monday, June 16, 1 to 8 p.m. at its headquarters, 1496 Rockbridge Road, Conyers. This will be an opportunity for interested parties to ask any questions regarding the regarding the hiring process, the career as a firefighter, as
well as any other questions they may have. There will be computers available with Internet connection so that anyone interested may apply for the position during the open house. There will also be human resources staff members present to answer any additional questions regarding benefits, or any other human resource type questions. “This is something we are really excited about and we hope it goes over well with a large attendance. At the open house, we hope to meet people who are hard working, ambitious, are good at communicating with staff and people out in the community, as well as be eager to learn new things,” said Deputy Chief Yonder. In March, Rockdale Commissioner Oz Nesbitt criticized Rockdale’s Fire Department after it hired 16 firefighters, none of whom were African American. See Firefighers, page 6