Community News

CITY OF ATLANTA

Texas woman sues Perry over ‘Mad’ film

Atlantan Tyler Perry went to court in Texas to face allegations that he stole material from someone else for his blockbuster film “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.”

Donna West is suing the actor-screenwriter for copyright infringement in U.S. District Court and wants a jury to award her family all profits made from the film.

“I can’t put my play on because the stories are basically the same and nobody wants to see that again,” she said.

West testified Tuesday that she developed a script titled “Fantasy of a Black Woman” based primarily on her own experiences. With her in the starring role, the play was performed in July 1991 at the Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Dallas Convention Center.

“The play was opened to the public. Anyone could have attended,” West said.

Perry’s movie, which earned about $50 million, came out in 2005. Jurors on Tuesday watched the film and listened to a reading of the script from West’s play.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis told jurors he anticipates the case will be completed by next Tuesday.

—- Associated Press

Man arrested in death of beer truck driver

Atlanta police on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of killing a beer delivery truck driver last month, authorities said.

A tipster helped police identify Jerry Lee Jones, who is accused of fatally shooting Haitian immigrant Frantz Jean-Pierre during a robbery attempt.

Jones, 28, was arrested about 1 p.m. in southwest Atlanta and was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault, Atlanta police spokesman Eric Schwartz said.

—- Marcus K. Garner

Lane closures planned for DeKalb Avenue

City officials are warning motorists that there may be occasional lane closures from 7 a.m. to noon Wednesday along DeKalb Avenue between Ferguson Street and Waverly Way. The city is evaluating area sewer lines in the area.

—- Eric Stirgus

Also …

> GMA window: “Good Morning America” will showcase a holiday window display of Atlanta in its broadcast this morning on ABC. The display designed by Abeom Inc. is based on a concept created by Bette Sammons with the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. It features Centennial Olympic Park, Macy’s Pink Pig ride and other notable city landmarks.

—- Eric Stirgus

COBB COUNTY

Suspect sought in death of woman

Marietta police are looking for a suspect in the killing of a 24-year-old woman found in her apartment Tuesday.

The body of Marcia Gardner was found at the Concepts 21 complex, on Bentley Road near Delk Road, after a call was made to 911. Police did not give details on how she died. They also would not release information on who placed the emergency call.

Police ask anyone with information to call 770-794-5334.

—- Derrick Mahone

Anderson Farm Road closed for two weeks

Anderson Farm Road will be closed from Monday through Dec. 22 between Powder Springs and Flint Hill roads due to road construction.

Motorists detouring from Anderson Farm Road at Powder Springs Road west will turn left onto Flint Hill Road, make a right onto Ewing Road, turn left on Flint Hill Road and continue to Anderson Farm Road.

To follow the detour route from Anderson Farm Road at Flint Hill Road west, motorists will make a right on Ewing Road, turn left on Flint Hill Road, then right on Powder Springs Road to Anderson Farm Road.

—- Kent A. Miles

DEKALB COUNTY

School system alters plans for Emory house

DeKalb County school system officials this week backed away from plans to buy a house in the historic Emory Grove neighborhood near Emory University.

The school system had been under contract to buy the house, which has a backyard that adjoins the system’s Druid Hills High School campus. Neighbors feared the house would be razed for a new driveway or tennis courts as part of a planned renovation of the school.

At a meeting this week, neighborhood representatives said school officials acknowledged the campus —- which dates to 1927 —- has limited parking and that renovations won’t begin until they address the issue.

However, instead of buying the house, system officials said they are talking with representatives of nearby Emory Presbyterian Church to lease their lot for faculty parking. They also are talking with university officials about shared parking next to the high school.

—- Kristina Torres

DeKalb man’s killer given death sentence

A Chattanooga judge on Wednesday ordered death for a Georgia man who abducted and killed a DeKalb County restaurant owner in Tennessee, the first person to get a federal death sentence in that state.

The judge did not allow Rejon Taylor, 24, to make any statement, saying he used that opportunity with the jury.

The predominantly white jury in September took less than four hours to convict Taylor, who is black, in the slaying of French national and Atlanta restaurant owner Guy Luck. Previously, Taylor’s lead attorney asked for a mistrial after a majority of jurors told the judge they were aware of media reports in which a prosecutor said Taylor described them as “racist rednecks.” The request was denied.

Acting at Taylor’s request, the judge said he likely will appoint one of his trial attorneys to the team that will handle appeals.

Taylor’s mother, Reba Taylor, is charged with helping Taylor and several others attempt to escape a jail in April 2006. The trial is set Feb. 2.

—- Associated Press

Kid Rock sings blues over judge’s denial

Kid Rock is upset that he can’t pick the good deed that will serve as his punishment for a brawl at a DeKalb County Waffle House last October.

In a post on his Web site, the rocker blasts Georgia State Court Judge Alvin T. Wong for denying his request to serve his 80 hours of community service by performing for U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East.

“Apparently he thinks it’s more important that I do something else rather than sing, shake hands, take pictures and spend time with the men and women who put themselves in harms [sic] way to protect the very freedom he and all of us live by,” the singer wrote in a holiday message posted on his site.

Wong sees it differently. He noted that Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert J. Ritchie, had performed for the troops before and “would do so even if he was not under a sentence to perform community service.

“Besides, giving him credit for something he would otherwise love to do in front of a camera completely defeats the punitive purpose of performing community service,” Wong wrote.

—- Associated Press

Stone Mountain passes tax district

A tax allocation district covering most of the commercial area of Stone Mountain, is now under way in the city.

The City Council has passed a resolution creating the district, which was approved by voters last year.

Cities and counties across Georgia have used TADs to revitalize underdeveloped or blighted areas by tapping future increases in property tax revenue to finance bonds that help pay for new construction.

Stone Mountain officials hope to attract a greater variety of mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly structures and more green space to the redevelopment area covered by the TAD. Their next step is to work with local county and school system officials to seek their participation.

—- Donna Williams Lewis

FULTON COUNTY

Sandy Springs keeps Doraville jail contract

Sandy Springs has renewed a contract for housing its inmates in the Doraville city jail, which calls for a slight increase in the daily fee.

The City Council has agreed to pay $50 a day for each arrested person temporarily locked up in Doraville, up from the existing $45. The amount will be pro-rated, so Sandy Springs will only pay in four-hour increments when inmates are sheltered for less than a day, said City Attorney Wendell Willard. He told the council it was a good deal.

Sandy Springs also is negotiating with the city of Smyrna for short-term housing of inmates. Smyrna has proposed a slightly cheaper fee of $46.80 a day, but it’s a longer drive from Sandy Springs and may be used as a backup facility.

Sandy Springs spent about $486,000 last fiscal year on inmates for jail housing and medical expenses, according to assistant City Attorney Steve Rapson.

—-Mary MacDonald

GWINNETT COUNTY

Company to collect delinquent ticket fees

Snellville is cracking down on drivers who run red lights and don’t pay up.

The city is entering into a contract with Penn Credit Corp. to recoup more than $600,000 from scofflaws who have been issued citations at intersections with red-light cameras.

“I know these people would pay their red-light tickets, but they just forgot and this is to remind them,” Mayor Pro Tem Warren Auld said at a recent City Council meeting.

The city has eight cameras at three major intersections, including U.S. 78 and Grayson Highway. They were first installed in 2005.

Auld said the city’s intent isn’t revenue generation, but improved safety at what he said were dangerous intersections.

Police Chief Roy Whitehead said thanks to the cameras, the city saw a 35 percent decrease in accidents in 2007.

—- Shane Blatt

Gristmill restoration approved for new park

Gwinnett County has approved a contract to restore an historic gristmill for the first phase of a new park in Lawrenceville, Freeman’s Mill Park.

The old gristmill on the 12-acre site off Alcovy Road was used to grind grain as recently as 1986.

“It is a superb example of a typical rural gristmill found along rivers throughout Georgia in the mid-19th century,” said Phil Hoskins, community services director.

The mill, built on the Alcovy River between 1868 and 1879 by brothers John Griffin and Levi J. Loveless, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The county purchased the property in 2001 through the Georgia Greenspace Program.

The first job will be to raise the mill 5 feet to a level above the floodplain. Construction will include a new foundation and retaining wall, refurbishing the water wheel and windows, and adding a new roof, siding and doors. The $434,324 contract was awarded to Hogan Construction Group LLC. Funding comes from the 2005 SPLOST.

—- Patrick Fox

Parkview ROTC cadet earns national titles

A Parkview High School junior has earned two national titles for his expertise in terrain navigation.

Gwinnett County Schools officials announced Tuesday that John Williams, a cadet with the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, has been ranked nationally for his accomplishments in orienteering, a sport in which competitors use physical fitness, compasses and maps to search wooded areas to locate objects as fast as possible.

Williams earned first place in the U.S. Orienteering Championships in Wyoming and he won the title National Inter-Scholastic Orienteering Champion in the junior varsity level of a Texas tournament. Williams trains during the summer for competitions and has participated in contests in Sweden and Norway.

—- D. Aileen Dodd

Also …

> Conservation: County Administrator Jock Connell has received continued authority to manage Gwinnett County’s water conservation program —- including water use restrictions —- as drought conditions linger. Find details at www.gwinnettcounty.com or at 678-376-7100.

GREATER ATLANTA

Teacher charged in sexual assault

A Paulding County High School teacher was arrested late Tuesday night on sexual assault charges after Dallas police allegedly caught him in a parked car with a 17-year-old female student.

Eric Woodworth, 42, and the student, whose name was not released, were in Woodworth’s car about 11 p.m. at Sara Babb Park in Dallas when an officer approached the car, police said.

Under Georgia legal code, sexual contact between a student and teacher is considered sexual assault.

The 17-year-old was arrested for giving a false name and date of birth, said Cpl. Brandon Gurley of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. She was still in custody Wednesday evening.

Woodworth, who teaches physical education and coaches ninth-grade football, also was charged with obstruction after confirming the female’s false information. Woodworth is being held on bond. Paulding County school officials could not be reached Wednesday afternoon for comment.

—- Derrick Mahone