Community News

City of Atlanta

Superintendent Hall honored at ceremony

The Atlanta Partners for Education on Tuesday gave a special award to Atlanta schools Superintendent Beverly Hall.

The honor was part of the 19th annual A+ Awards ceremony, held at the Georgia Aquarium.

The American Association of School Administrators named Hall in February its 2009 superintendent of the year.

Atlanta Partners for Education is a joint partnership between the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Atlanta Public Schools. ERIC STIRGUS

Mayor and council candidate forum tonight

Georgia Equality, Log Cabin Republicans, Stonewall Democrats and Young Democrats of Atlanta are organizing a forum for Atlanta’s mayoral and City Council candidates this evening. The forum is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Amsterdam Cafe, 502 Amsterdam Ave. N.E. ERIC STIRGUS

Center Hill Park opens new sprayground today

Atlanta officials have scheduled a grand opening today for a water sprayground at Center Hill Park.

The sprayground, which looks much like the water jets at Centennial Olympic Park, is the first such facility in Atlanta’s park system, city officials said.

Officials will also unveil a public art tribute to the late civil rights attorney Donald Lee Hollowell.

The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the park, 2305 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway N.W. ERIC STIRGUS

Cobb

Acworth * Austell * Kennesaw * Mableton * Marietta * Powder * Springs * Smyrna * Vinings

Marietta to waive some late fees on traffic fines

Marietta is offering to waive some late fees for red light camera violations. Drivers charged before Dec. 31 can settle with the city by paying the original $70 fine plus a $100 late fee ($25 per month since Dec. 31). Late fees from previous months will be waived.

The amnesty program runs through June. The city sent out about 153,000 violation notices from June 2004 until Dec. 31, 2008, and has about 20,000 unresolved cases, said Pamela Allen, city municipal court administrator. RALPH ELLIS

DeKalb

Avondale Estates * Chamblee * Clarkston * Decatur * Doraville * Dunwoody * Lithonia * Pine Lake * Stone Mountain * Tucker

Downtown Decatur could get historic listing

Decatur is vying for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places for its center city. To be considered, buildings must be at least 50 years old and be associated with past development or events. Earning the listing will qualify properties for preservation grants, tax abatements and other incentives.

“It’s just like AARP: it says you’re 50 years or older and instead of qualifying for hotel discounts, you qualify for tax incentives,” said Regina Brewer, the city’s preservation planner.

Applying will cost $10,000, 60 percent of which will be covered by a state grant for the project. The city will fund the rest.

Decatur is already home to several National Register landmarks and districts, including its 150-year-old cemetery and the Old County Courthouse. APRIL HUNT

DeKalb gets more stimulus money

The Stone Mountain-based Friends of Disabled Adults will be among those benefiting from a $1.5 million federal community development block grant accepted by DeKalb County commissioners this week.

About a sixth of the grant will cover renovation costs for the disabled group’s facility. The rest will pay for sidewalks, trails and walkways in Doraville, Decatur, Stone Mountain and the Chamblee MARTA station, plus the renovation of fire station 10 on Constitution Road. About $155,000 will go toward “administration,” according to documents submitted to the county.

Commissioners accepted the money in a 7-0 vote at their meeting Tuesday. TY TAGAMI

Cuts coming for DeKalb’s budget

DeKalb County officials will have to revisit their 2009 budget because of declining revenues.

County commissioners postponed a decision this week on whether to advertise a nearly 4 percent increase in the property tax rate. They’re expected to take up the issue again in June, with a deadline of June 23 to adopt a final rate.

County Commissioner Connie Stokes said that the already slim budget still must shrink further. TY TAGAMI

Dunwoody hires finance director

Dunwoody has hired Christopher Pike as the city’s new finance director.

He currently works as assistant finance director of the Greater Orlando (Fla.) Aviation Authority. Pike was previously finance director for Griffin and Morrow in Georgia. He is a certified public accountant with degrees from Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga. RALPH ELLIS

Fulton

Alpharetta * Chattahoochee * Hills College Park * East Point * Fairburnhapeville * Johns Creek * Milton * Palmetto * Roswell * Sandy Springs * Union City

Freemont named new president of SFMC

Dr. James M. Freemont has been named president of the medical staff at South Fulton Medical Center in East Point.

In this role, he will be a liaison between the administration, medical staff and governing board. He succeeded Dr. Patrick Egbe.

Freemont has a private practice in obstetrics and gynecology and has been on the hospital staff for 31 years. South Fulton Medical Center, part of Tenet Georgia, has 338 beds and serves residents of South Fulton, Coweta, Fayette, Clayton and Douglas counties. SHELIA M. POOLE

Fulton Schools name teacher of the year

Meredith Reddy, a ninth-grade literature and composition teacher at Milton High School, has been named Fulton County’s 2009-10 Overall Teacher of the Year. Reddy, a 16-year teaching veteran, describes herself as a “very physical teacher” who encourages the same of her students. “I make them sing, talk, dance, act, read and show me their special talents early on. Of course, I am right there beside them, stepping outside of my comfort zone.” NANCY BADERTSCHER

Gwinnett

Berkeley Lake * Buford * Dacula * Duluth * Grayson * Lawrenceville * Lilburn * Norcross * Snellville * Sugar Hill * Suwanee

Medical center denied heart surgery request

The state Department of Community Health on Wednesday denied a request by Gwinnett Medical Center to perform open heart surgery, hospital officials said.

The agency had initially approved the measure last June, but several objections were filed by area hospitals.

Gwinnett Medical Center officials say they will file an appeal with the agency.

“It is concerning that this appeal stands to deny the members of our community timely access to an open heart program,” said Phil Wolfe, CEO of Gwinnett Medical Center. “Simply put, the people of Gwinnett need better access to critical open heart surgery services, and we’ve been working diligently on their behalf to bring those services to the community.” CRAIG SCHNEIDER

School administrator honored for work

A Gwinnett County Schools veteran administrator was recently honored for his dedication in serving the counseling and academic needs of students.

Dale Carter, Gwinnett Schools’ director of psychological services has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Association of School Psychologists. He was nominated for the recognition because of his record of service to students.

Carter, who came to Gwinnett Schools 26 years ago, will be retiring from the district in June. He has been director of psychological services for 14 years and worked as a school psychologist in the district before that. D. AILEEN DODD

Christian teen band to perform, record CD

A Duluth-based teen band will perform a free concert and record its first live CD tonight in Norcross.

The Oswald Brothers, a Christian pop/rock group, is made up of Zach, 18, Jacob, 16, Nich, 14, and friend Zack Bennett, 17. They recently were selected as one of the top three bands out of hundreds that entered the CBS Singing Family Face Off Competition on “The Early Show.”

The concert will be at 7 p.m. at Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, 4480 Peachtree Corners Circle. For information, call 770-448-1313. SHANE BLATT

County commissioners OK Grayson park deal

County Commissioners Tuesday approved a request by the City of Loganville to annex 3-4 acres of land off of Old Loganville Road for a municipal park.

The city is already in the midst of converting the property into “Destination Park.” The purchase will be paid for through the city’s portion of SPLOST funds. PATRICK FOX

Greater Atlanta

Cherokee * Coweta * Douglas * Fayette * Forsyth * Henry * Paulding * Rockdale

MS Society gets $20,000 donation from company

Massachusetts-based EMD Serono Inc. put a new spin on fund-raising during the 2009 BIO International Convention.

The company donated $20,000 to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Georgia Chapter. Each time a visitor stopped by its booth at the Georgia World Congress Center, the company donated $5. A cap was set at $20,000.

“This is certainly a very important donation for us,” said Arney Rosenblat, a spokeswoman for the national MS Society in New York. She said there are more than 8,500 people in Georgia with MS.

EMD Serono, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, in Germany, develops treatment for MS and other neurodegenerative diseases. SHELIA M. POOLE

Forsyth students go green over yellow pages

They’re going green in Forsyth County over the yellow pages. Students from 25 of the county’s schools participated in the annual telephone book recycling contest, sponsored by Keep Forsyth County Beautiful (KFCB). They collected 14,915 phone books, exceeding the 2008 collections by more than 5,000 books. Honors for collecting the most phone books went to Chattahoochee Elementary, followed by Big Creek Elementary and North Forsyth Middle School. NANCY BADERTSCHER