Community News

ATLANTA

Morris Brown works on financial help

Troubled Morris Brown College is counting on help from church and state to meet its immediate financial needs.

The Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials will have a conference on campus this weekend with attendees on notice to be ready to donate $1,000 each.

And the college plans a Church Day —- or a religious institution day —- on March 29 to ask congregations of all faiths and denominations to collect offerings for Morris Brown.

The black college needs all the help it can get. Interim President Stanley Pritchett said Monday that the school needs about $350,000 a month to operate, but its monthly income is less than $175,000. Faculty and staff are several paychecks behind, he said, and utility bills are “a challenge.”

Two Atlanta City Council members made donations on Monday to kick off the campaign urging elected officials to help bail out the institution. Councilmen C. T. Martin and Ivory Lee Young Jr. heeded the call by Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta), president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials.

—- Gayle White

Atlanta Christian College picks leader

Atlanta Christian College has tapped Dean Collins to be the school’s next president.

Collins, a 1979 graduate of the school, has served as the college’s interim president since early 2006, leading the school’s expansion to beyond 500 students for the first time in the school’s 72-year history.

In other ACC news, the school announced Monday that it would not be increasing its tuition rates for traditional students for the 2009-10 school year.

—- John Hollis

CLAYTON COUNTY

Police remove board member from meeting

Police removed Michael King from the Clayton County school board Monday night, accusing him of no longer being able to serve in his District 4 seat.

King said his rights were violated and he plans to not only appeal his removal, but file a lawsuit against the Jonesboro police.

The board said nothing publicly as King was escorted out of his seat. The district attorney declined to comment.

On Feb. 11, the ethics commission voted unanimously to remove King, accusing him of violating the board’s conflict of interest policy. King, an attorney, represented a former Clayton teacher who sued the district before he was elected.

Earlier Monday, a State Court judge removed King from an unrelated conflict of interest case. That case involved James Portlock, who was arrested outside North Clayton Middle School in October on charges of public drunkenness, obstruction, disorderly conduct and simple assault. Clayton Solicitor General Tasha Mosley said King should not be involved in the case, since several school employees would serve as witnesses. King said he plans to file an appeal.

—- Megan Matteucci

Trial set for March on airport sex charges

A jury will decide next month if Clayton County’s former financial adviser had sex in a Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport bathroom.

Edmund Wall, who was fired as the county’s investment banker last month, and Michael Reid Pettry were arrested in March 2007 on charges of public indecency.

Last week, Pettry, of Indianapolis, pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, a $500 fine and 64 hours of community service, according to court records.

Wall requested a jury trial, scheduled for March 24 in Clayton County State Court, court records show.

Wall’s attorney, Steven Sadow, declined to comment. Pettry’s attorney, Michael Abbott, did not return two phone calls nor an e-mail.

Wall initially pleaded not guilty in the case. At the time of his arrest, Wall served as chairman of the MARTA board. He has since resigned as chair, but remains on the board.

—- Megan Matteucci

Also …

> Apartment fire: Clayton County firefighters fought an apartment blaze Monday afternoon that displaced 32 people. Battalion Chief Landry Merkison said the fire started about 3 p.m. at the Highland Grande Apartments off Tara Boulevard. Of the seven families who lived there, no one was home at the time.

—- Chris Reinolds

COBB COUNTY

Opening statements set in murder trial

Opening statements are expected today in the murder trial of a Marietta woman accused of shooting another more than two years ago.

On Dec. 7, 2006, Natasha Wynetta Demery called a 911 emergency operator early that morning to report woman had been shot at the Cobbelstone apartments on Pat Mell Road, police said.

When investigators got there, they found Alisha Florine Lea dead. Apparently the two women had been arguing when Demerty allegedly shot Lea, the police reported.

—- Rhonda Cook

Childers Road project faces county review

Plans for road and safety improvements to Childers Road go before the County Commission this evening.

The approximately 1-mile project would add sidewalks and turn lanes along the corridor from Childers Road at the Fulton County line to Shallowford Road in northeast Cobb.

The project is part of the 2005 Transportation Improvement Program. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2010.

The commission meets at 100 Cherokee St. in Marietta beginning at 7 p.m.

—- Kent A. Miles

Meeting to spotlight charter school plans

Charter Schools USA will host a community meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the West Cobb Regional Library.

The group is tentatively planning to petition the Cobb County school board for the right to open a charter school for the 2010-11 school year. The library is at 1750 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw.

—- Alexis Stevens

Also …

> Shakespeare: Pebblebrook High School students Nickie Kadri and Alyssa Caputo won first place for Best Scene in Saturday’s Georgia Shakespeare high school acting competition.

—- Alexis Stevens

DEKALB COUNTY

Last chance at budget input this morning

The public has one last chance to comment about DeKalb County government’s proposed 2009 budget.

The $601 million plan from Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis is 5 percent less than DeKalb spent last year. He blames the weak economy and the creation of the city of Dunwoody, among other things, for the county’s dwindling revenues.

County commissioners can amend the budget, but must approve a balanced one before March 1. The commission’s last regular meeting is today.

A member of the commission’s three-person budget committee, Sharon Barnes-Sutton, said Ellis’ proposal to create a Cabinet-level director of public safety position will be a focus of discussion.

Barnes-Sutton, who also chairs the commission’s public safety committee, questions what the county will get in return for the cost of the office, which the CEO has placed at $284,000.

Barnes-Sutton said she would rather see the money used to restore cuts proposed by Ellis.

A public hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. at the Manuel Maloof auditorium at 1300 Commerce Drive in downtown Decatur.

—- Ty Tagami

DA examines claims against former coach

The DeKalb County district attorney’s office is reviewing allegations of “inappropriate messages” between Redan High School boys basketball coach Dalton Greene and a 14-year-old female student.

No charges have been filed and the matter is “open and ongoing,” said Jada Hudspeth, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Greene resigned his job Feb. 3 after school police with the DeKalb system began investigating allegations that Greene and the student had been in contact on the popular social networking site Facebook, according to a police report released by the school system. Greene, a physical education teacher, had worked for DeKalb since 1993.

—- Kristina Torres

Victim’s memorial to be at Carter Center

The memorial service for cancer researcher Eugenia “Jeanne” Calle will be held this afternoon at the Carter Center.

The 2 p.m. service is not open to the public or news media, according to Becky Steinmark Erwin, a spokeswoman for Calle’s former employer, American Cancer Society.

Calle, 57, was found dead Feb. 17 in her high-rise condo at the Aqua building in Midtown. She died from a blow to the back of her head.

Atlanta police arrested Shamal Thompson, 22, on Thursday, charging him with killing Calle while posing as a potential buyer for her 20th-floor condo.

—- Tim Eberly

Also …

> History salute: The DeKalb History Center will host its Black History Celebration dubbed “A Salute to Civil Rights Leaders” from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Old Courthouse on the Square in downtown Decatur. Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond will emcee. Tickets are $30 for history center members and $35 for nonmembers and includes the lunch. For information, call 404-373-1088 or visit www.dekalbhistory.org.

—- April Hunt

FULTON COUNTY

Milton residents unite to help community

Milton is planning on a communitywide work day in April.

Volunteer leaders have come up with a list of several projects, such as beautifying fire stations and cleaning up Birmingham Park by removing dead trees and fencing, and rehabilitating old buildings, said City Manager Chris Lagerbloom. The final list has yet to be settled on.

Organizers hope to have as many as 200 people involved, including members of civic organizations, churches as well as individuals.

For more information, e-mail info@cityofmiltonga.us.

—- Doug Nurse

GWINNETT COUNTY

Police: Fraud suspect on the lam with child

Duluth police are looking for a 33-year-old man who allegedly absconded with his young child to avoid being prosecuted on a slew of identity fraud charges.

Investigators believe Brian Augustus Dalyrimple and Laborah Milison Crawford, 28, orchestrated financial thefts totaling up to $1 million dollars from more than 145 victims in Duluth and 115 victims in other jurisdictions.

Crawford was arrested last month, said Duluth police spokesman Maj. Don Woodruff. Her son’s father, Dalyrimple, allegedly took the boy from his maternal grandmother, who was the custodial guardian, when he disappeared.

Crawford and Dalyrimple are accused of using stolen identities to set up fraudulent checking and credit card accounts and bank loans. Identity theft-related charges also are pending against the couple in Greene County, Woodruff said.

—- Andria Simmons

2nd escapee from work detail caught

The second of two inmates who escaped from a minimum security work detail in Gwinnett County last week was recaptured Sunday, authorities said.

Robert C. Summey, 29, surrendered to police on Sunday morning near his hometown of Ringold in Catoosa County, said Jeff Sligar, deputy warden for the Gwinnett County Department of Corrections.

Police tracked down the other inmate, Mark Flenniken 28, on Friday at the home of an acquaintance in Buford.

Flenniken and Summey allegedly walked away from the Gwinnett Recycling Plant in Duluth about 1 p.m. Thursday. The two were nonviolent offenders serving short sentences, however both men have since been charged with felony escape. If convicted, they could serve up to 10 years in prison.

—- Andria Simmons

GREATER ATLANTA

Henry men charged in separate arsons

Henry County police investigating half a dozen suspicious fires have charged two men with arson.

Eddie Leon Gholston, 20, of Ellenwood was arrested last Friday and charged in the Nov. 27 arson and burglary of a house on Scarborough Road in Ellenwood.

Charles Edward Baker, 22, was arrested Feb. 12 and charged in the Dec. 1 burglary and arson of a house on Davis Road in Stockbridge. Henry police Capt. Jason Bolton said Baker burglarized the house and returned to set it ablaze.

Bolton said the two arrests are not related.

He also said investigators have taken out warrants for two other men in other fires. Bolton did not identify those men.

The Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commission is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonists. The Henry Police and Fire departments formed a joint task force to investigate the arsons.

—- Kathy Jefcoats

Also …

> Dog debate: The Forsyth County Commission is slated today to reopen the debate on outlawing the chaining of dogs. The commission considered such a move in 2007, but took no formal action. At that time, the commission —- under pressure from animal rights advocates —- considered revamping the animal control ordinance to require each dog have a minimum of 150 feet of enclosed space for exercising.

—- Nancy Badertscher