Community News

ATLANTA

Council president sets town meeting today

Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders is hosting a town hall meeting from 7-9 p.m. today where residents will be able to discuss concerns about crime and public safety with senior police and fire department officials.

The meeting will be held at Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Road SW.

—- Eric Stirgus

Study: Homeless percentage drops

A smaller percentage of Georgians were homeless in 2007 than there were in 2005, according to a study recently released by the National Alliance To End Homelessness.

The study found 21 of every 10,000 Georgians were homeless in 2007. In 2005, about 30 of every 10,000 Georgians were homeless, the study reported.

Researchers found there were 6,832 homeless people in the city of Atlanta and DeKalb and Fulton counties in 2005. There were 6,840 homeless people in those jurisdictions in 2007, according to the study.

—- Eric Stirgus

Also …

> Lane closures: Sewer repairs have caysed lane closures on Avon Avenue between Elizabeth Avenue and Lockwood Drive. The work is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Feb. 13.

CLAYTON COUNTY

Schools get help to meet feds’ standards

Students at five Clayton County schools may have to attend Saturday or after school tutorials after the schools failed to meet federal academic standards.

On Monday, school officials listed the tutorials, along with more teacher training and school materials, as steps to help the schools get off of the “Needs Improvement” list. Forest Park, Point South, Lovejoy and Kendrick Middle Schools, along with Mount Zion High School, were ordered to make changes after they failed to make “Adequate Yearly Progress” under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Officials have also decided to hire outside experts to help the schools meet a federal corrective action plan, said Sharon Brown, the district’s grants director.

—- Megan Matteucci

University appoints interim president

Thomas J. “Tim” Hynes Jr., provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, has been named interim president of Clayton State University. His appointment is effective June 1 when Thomas K. Harden, Clayton State’s president, is scheduled to retire.

Hynes has twice has served as acting president at West Georgia since taking a position there in 1996.

—- Gayle White

COBB COUNTY

Clarke school board picks Cobb official

The Clarke County school board has named its top choice for its next superintendent —- Cobb area assistant superintendent Philip Lanoue.

Smyrna resident Lanoue, 52, has served as the area superintendent for the South Cobb and Pebblebrook high school clusters since joining the system in 2005.

“I’m excited and honored,” Lanoue said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity.”

—- Alexis Stevens

Commission approves purchase of ex-plaza

Tuesday, Cobb County commissioners approved the $5.75 million purchase of Powder Springs Station , 90,000-square-foot former shopping plaza. It will be renovated for use as a senior services center and to house the county’s property management and community development offices located on Lawrence Street in downtown Marietta.

The commission voted in October to buy the plaza for $6.25 million, an amount reduced after negotiations with the owner. Plans hit a snag over a parking easement held by a nearby church. The easement gives the church rights to use all of the plaza’s nearly 500 parking spaces.

Missionary Church Assembly of God has agreed to share the parking easement with the county. The church can use a limited number of spaces during county business hours and all spaces on weekends.

—- Kent A. Miles

DEKALB COUNTY

Suspect arrested in May fatal shooting

DeKalb County sheriff’s deputies and Cobb County police SWAT officers have arrested a suspect in a May 30, 2008, shooting on Moreland Avenue that killed one man and paralyzed another.

The Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that Terrance Brooks, 27, who was listed as homeless, was arrested Jan. 21 at an Austell address. He and Corinthian Zachery, 28, of Atlanta, who was arrested last October, are charged with murder in the death of Demario Allison, 26.

Allison was fatally shot outside the Game Room restaurant. Three other men were injured, including one paralyzed.

Both suspects remained jailed without bond Wednesday.

—- David Simpson

Fund-raiser for those who lost job to fire

A fund-raiser Friday will help 5th Earl Market employees who were left jobless when a fire gutted the sandwich shop last week. The blaze also destroyed the Trackside Tavern, which is holding an event in March to help its workers.

On Friday, Parker’s on Ponce will donate a portion of the evening’s proceeds to 5th Earl workers and will host employees for drinks and dinner. Bartenders also will accept checks on behalf of the workers, most of whom have worked at the 5th Earl since it opened two years ago, said co-owner David Bressler.

Donations also can be sent to the 5th Earl Employee Fund at Decatur First Bank, 1120 Commerce Drive, Decatur.

Bressler said the shop will be closed indefinitely but that he intends to rebuild.

—- April Hunt

FULTON COUNTY

Burglary suspect escapes in police car

A burglary suspect being chased on foot by a Fairburn police officer made his way back to the officer’s car, jumped in and sped off early Wednesday. The police cruiser was later found, but the suspect remained at large later Wednesday.

Police dispatchers said the stolen patrol car was found in the Summerwood subdivision near downtown Fairburn, in south Fulton County. Dispatchers would not comment further. According to news reports, the incident began when a Fairburn officer stopped a suspicious vehicle.

Two people inside the suspicious vehicle ran away, and when the officer gave chase, one of the suspects doubled back to the police car and stole it. Police dogs were being used to search for the man suspected of stealing the patrol car.

—- Mike Morris

Roswell schedules budget work sessions

Roswell is preparing to begin its budget deliberations. The first work session on the fiscal 2009-10 budget is Feb. 23 at City Hall. The work sessions will include council and mayor discussions of the spending priorities for the upcoming year. Mayor Jere Wood has already indicated his proposed budget will include a salary freeze for city employees, and no tax increase for property owners.

The city has scheduled a second budget work session on March 23, and a third on May 14. The new budget would take effect in July.

—- Mary MacDonald

GWINNETT COUNTY

Autopsy shows baby had previous factures

An infant girl who allegedly suffered a fatal brain injury at the hands of her mother also had suffered broken bones in the past, a Gwinnett police detective testified Wednesday.

An autopsy on 3-month-old Aubrey Graham found she had a broken leg and fractured ribs that were healing. Those injuries were less than three weeks old, according to Detective J. Richter. Richter testified during a probable cause hearing for the child’s mother, Erica Graham, to be charged with murder.

A magistrate judge found there was sufficient evidence to bind Graham over for trial.

The medical examiner concluded that the baby died on Jan. 6 from a head injury that caused bleeding in her brain, Richter said.

Graham, 21, was alone with Aubrey and her other 1-year-old daughter at their home on Level Creek Road in Buford when she called 911 to report Aubrey was not breathing.

—- Andria Simmons

Petraeus to speak at Gwinnett graduation

U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, head of Central Command, responsible for the movement of troops in the Middle East, will be the keynote speaker for graduation at Georgia Gwinnett College in May.

Petraeus is a four-star general who was appointed by President George W. Bush to lead Central Command, headquartered at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

He took over command of the multinational forces in Iraq in early 2007, overseeing the surge of 33,000 troops.

Gwinnett Community College officials say they are pleased the general accepted their invitation to address the Class of 2009 and that students will benefit from his vast experience.

—- Patrick Fox

Second meeting set on trash collection

Commissioner Mike Beaudreau will hold the second of five planned public meetings today to discuss development of a solid waste collection plan for Gwinnett County. Beaudreau, with consultation from the full board of commissioners, has selected a Blue Ribbon Committee to help formulate a program to replace the one suspended by a judge before it went into effect.

The meeting will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Conference Room A at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawerenceville.

—- Patrick Fox

Commission delays vote on retail proposal

The Gwinnett County Commission voted Tuesday night to delay consideration of a proposed retail development across the street from the new Gwinnett Braves baseball stadium.

Residents near the Buford Drive site requested the delay because Commissioner Kevin Kenerly, who represents the area, was unable to attend the meeting.

The commission denied a separate application for permission to exceed height standards to allow for a four-story hotel on the site. The remainder of the case, which involves rezoning the land from office and institutional to commercial, will be decided Feb. 3.

—- Michael Pearson

Also …

> Golf: The Gwinnett County Commission has again delayed action on a request from the Springbrook Golf Commission to secure the county’s backing on a $250,000 loan request. The golf commission, which operates the Collins Hill Golf Club, is seeking the bank loan for capital improvements.

—- Patrick Fox

> Academic win: Two Academic Bowl teams from Gwinnett County middle schools will advance to finals in Milledgeville. Teams of scholars from Duluth Middle and Lanier Middle are among four statewide to win a spot in the Academic Bowl competition’s final round.

—- D. Aileen Dodd

GREATER ATLANTA

Canton to lay off 15 to save $500,000

The city of Canton is joining the list of governments cutting staff to cut costs. On Tuesday, 15 employees were notified that they’re being laid off in a move that will save the city about $500,000 in salaries and benefits, Mayor Gene Hobgood said Wednesday. The police and fire departments were spared, but the chiefs in those departments are looking to see if they can make cuts, Hobgood said.

—- Nancy Badertscher

Fayette school staff to take two-day furlough

All Fayette County school custodians, secretaries and office staff will have to take two unpaid days off before June 30 to offset a projected deficit.

The Fayette County school board on Tuesday unanimously approved the two-day mandatory furloughs, including a request for administrators to take voluntary furloughs.

Superintendents, principals and directors are asked to take five days. Assistant principals are asked to take four days. No teachers are affected.

The furloughs are necessary to meet a $240,300 projected deficit for this school year, Comptroller Laura Brock said. The administrative staff is under contract and cannot be ordered to take furloughs, but many have already agreed to the loss in workdays, Brock said.

If all employees take the furloughs, the district will save $303,000.

In addition to the furloughs, the board is also counting on $3.5 million of tax revenue to come in by June 30, Brock said.

—- Megan Matteucci