Chamblee police have identified the body of a Mexican man found stabbed near a makeshift park by the intersection of Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Cumberland Drive. Galdino Cruz Salina, 45, was stabbed to death June 24, police said. Officers were able to identify him after someone called his mother in Mexico and told her that her son was dead. The woman then called a friend in Chamblee, who contacted police.

CLAYTON COUNTY

Sixth-grade school uniforms required

Clayton County sixth-graders will be required to wear uniforms this school year. Last week, Superintendent John Thompson announced that elementary school and some middle school students will be required to dress in khaki, navy blue and white. On Tuesday, the district expanded the list to include all sixth-grade students, district spokesman Charles White said. Seven middle schools also will require seventh- and eighth-graders to wear uniform dress. They include: Flint River, Jonesboro, Morrow, North Clayton, Pointe South, Rex Mill and Sequoyah middle schools. Students may wear navy or khaki-colored pants, shorts, skirts or jumpers, paired with polo-style shirts in white and/or school colors.

Pakistani father declares innocence

A Pakistani man accused of killing his daughter because she wanted out of her arranged marriage was teary-eyed in court Tuesday and told a Clayton County magistrate he was innocent. "I have done nothing wrong," Chaudhry Rashid told Chief Magistrate Daphne Walker through interpreter Younis Farhat. Farhat said Rashid speaks primarily Urdu and Punjabi. Police say Rashid, 54, used a bungee cord to strangle Sandeela Kanwal, 25, early Sunday morning in the family's Utah Drive home in Jonesboro. Rashid's wife, Gina Rashid, told police the father and daughter argued over Kanwal wanting to end her arranged marriage.

In court, Rashid told Walker he was mourning the loss of his daughter and didn't have any questions about the case. Rashid is being held without bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. Aug. 4.

Fourth of six rec centers begun

Clayton County officials broke ground on a fourth county recreation center Tuesday morning. County commissioners promised residents six recreation centers in 2003 when voters approved a $240 million special purpose local option sales tax. Three have been built. The new recreation center will be built at 1935 McDonough Road, Hampton. Construction will take about nine months and will cost about $8 million, Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell said Tuesday.

COBB COUNTY

Officer on leave after man killed

A Cobb County officer has been placed on routine administrative leave as investigators examine his account of a shooting Monday night that left a Bartow County man dead. Cobb 911 received a call around 9:15 p.m. from the clerk at a Kennesaw service station who said Justin Kennedy, 33, had tried to pass a counterfeit bill. Officer D.P. Rogers was dispatched to the scene; he said Kennedy ignored his instructions and then turned violent. After a brief struggle, Kennedy dashed from the station, Cobb police spokeswoman Cassie Reece said. Rogers followed, drew his weapon and ordered Kennedy to stop. Reece said the suspect refused, and as he reached for his handgun, Rogers shot him. Kennedy died on the scene.

West Cobb to get first roundabout

Cobb County's first government-built traffic circle is coming to west Cobb. The roundabout will be at Villa Rica and West Sandtown roads and cost about $825,000, based on the contract awarded Tuesday to Butch Thompson Enterprises by the County Commission. The single-lane circle will have a diameter of about 115 feet and replace a four-way stop sign.

LITHONIA

Affordable housing project approved

Lithonia leaders have OK'd a new affordable housing project just days after their delays threatened the redevelopment. The proposed 90-unit Terraces at Parkview had briefly united members of the City Council and the mayor, all of whom opposed the all-rental project in favor of more efforts at homeownership. After a raccous and heated 30-minute discussion Monday night, a divided council authorized Mayor Joyce McKibben to send the final paperwork to DeKalb County so the project can begin. Councilman Marcus Lloyd, who heads the zoning committee, said developers had agreed to pay $50 per unit for administrative costs, bringing $4,500 into city coffers just days after officials had to move $35,000 from other accounts to cover daily expenses. The project is a joint effort between Mercy Housing SouthEast and the Lithonia Housing Authority.

KENNESAW

Depot area study adopted by council

The Kennesaw City Council voted unanimously Monday night to adopt a depot area development study. The five-member council approved up to $30,000 to conduct four studies of the Sardis Street extension, the key to traffic flow in the area. They also stipulated that those studies be completed in about 90 days.