Community News

ATLANTA

Washington High principal put on leave

Atlanta school officials placed the principal of Washington High on administrative leave and this week appointed an interim principal to run the school.

Officials refused to discuss why Carter Coleman was placed on leave saying it is a personnel matter, district spokesman Joe Manguno said.

Coleman, a schools employee since 1979, could not be reached for comment.

Robert Robbins is the interim principal at the school, which has about 1,300 students.

—- Laura Diamond

CLAYTON COUNTY

Discount drug cards available in Riverdale

Riverdale residents can save 20 percent on prescription drugs starting Monday.

The city is offering free prescription discount cards to all Riverdale residents.

The program, which is administered through the National League of Cities, has no restriction on age, income level or insurance coverage. The cards are available at the Riverdale Fire Department, 6690 Church St., and can be used at about 30 pharmacies in Riverdale.

—- Megan Matteucci

COBB COUNTY

Mayor of Kennesaw to deliver address

Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews will deliver his state of the city address Tuesday at a Kennesaw Business Association luncheon which is open to the public.

The buffet is available at 11:30 a.m., and the mayor’s talk begins at noon. The state of the city luncheon is being held at the Kennesaw State University continuing education building at 3333 Busbee Drive.

Reservations can be made at kba@kennesawbusiness.org or at 770-423-1330.

—- Kay Powell

Improvements sought for biking, walking

The Cobb County Department of Transportation is in the middle of a 15-month project to identify where the county can improve bicycling and walking conditions.

The county DOT has scheduled a public meeting at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Cobb County Central Library to answer questions about the project.

—- Kay Powell

Commission chair to give state of county

Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens delivers his State of the County address Monday morning at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

The speech is at 7:30 at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest.

Olens, who was unopposed in November’s election for another term as chairman, will look back at what was accomplished in the county in 2008.

—- Kent A. Miles

Also …

> Business: On Feb. 11, marketing, communication and publicity experts will discuss how a business can promote its unique competitive advantages to customers. The 10:30 a.m. session will be held at the at the Kennesaw State University Center. Register by calling 770-423-6450.

—- Kay Powell

DEKALB COUNTY

Job fair: Calling all health care workers

Health care workers looking for a job can head to the DeKalb Medical Career Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at the hospital’s Bobbie Bailey Tower, 2701 North Decatur Road, in Decatur.

Qualified candidates could potentially be hired the same day, hospital officials said in a press release. The fair is open to all registered nurses and registered health care professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, medical technologist generalists, respiratory therapists, MRI technicians, CT technicians, dosimetrists and medical physicists.

Applications can also be made online at www.dekalbmedical.org. Registered nurses can contact a nurse recruiter directly at 404-501-5010, or DMRN@dekalbmedical.org.

—- Donna Williams Lewis

Two Dekalb colleges make best value list

Two private institutions in DeKalb County have made a list of the 100 “best value colleges” in America.

Princeton Review, a publisher of college guidebooks, rated Agnes Scott College in Decatur and Emory University among the 50 best-value private schools for undergraduates based on cost, financial aid and academics.

Georgia Tech in Atlanta made a similar list of 50 public schools, along with the University of Georgia in Athens and Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville.

The criteria included cost, financial aid and academics, and was based on surveys of administrators and students. The results included a ranking for only the top 10 in each category. No Georgia private schools made the short list, but the University of Georgia was ranked ninth among public schools.

Agnes Scott was one of only four women’s colleges in the country to make the list. More than half the school’s students got a “hefty” financial aid package, the review notes.

Emory, meanwhile, met the financial needs for 84 percent of students who applied for financial aid, though the review says fewer than half the students there asked for aid.

—- Ty Tagami

FULTON COUNTY

Roswell intersection work starts Monday

Construction of intersection improvements to Crabapple Road at Chaffin Road in Roswell are scheduled to begin Monday.

Construction on Crabapple will begin at Strickland Road and extend about 400 feet north of Chaffin Road.

Construction on Chaffin will begin at Crabapple Road and extend about 300 feet west.

The project will realign Strickland Road, add bike lanes and sidewalks and install drainage improvements.

Motorists should expect delays, although the work will be scheduled between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to try to reduce the impact on rush hours.

—- Mary MacDonald

Alpharetta training more for disaster

The city of Alpharetta is planning to train another 100 residents how to handle a natural disaster in their neighborhood.

Armed with a new Georgia Emergency Management Agency grant of $11,000, the city will launch another round of classes later this year to expand its Community Emergency Response Teams.

Participants will go through an eight-week course in which they learn first aid, search and rescue, disaster preparedness and fire safety.

The city has received similar grants over the past three or four years, resulting in the training of 168 people, said Amanda Day, city grants administrator.

People interested in the training should call 678-297-6309.

—- Doug Nurse

Also …

> King award: On Jan. 19, Sandy Springs will name the recipient of the third annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award. The award is meant to honor a person who embodies the humanitarian spirit of the civil rights leader.

GWINNETT COUNTY

Murder trial expected to begin Monday

An Atlanta man charged with murder in the stabbing death of a 19-year-old at an extended-stay motel is expected to go on trial next week in Gwinnett County.

Jury selection is scheduled Monday for Larry Donnell Daniely, accused of fatally stabbing Michael Anthony Black Jr. of Covington during an April 1, 2008, confrontation at the Extended Stay America motel on Pelican Drive near Norcross.

Daniely is charged with one count of murder and one count of felony aggravated assault.

—- Andria Simmons

County violent crime dropped in 2008

Gwinnett police released statistics Friday showing there were fewer violent crimes committed in 2008 than in the previous year. Gwinnett County Police Chief Charles Walters attributed the decline to hard work and collaboration with the community.

Homicides declined 19 percent from 42 in 2007 to 34 in 2008. Aggravated assaults slid 9 percent from 745 to 682 and robberies dipped 4 percent from 1,263 to 1,210.

There was also a 24 percent decline in traffic fatalities from 65 to 49, which the department attributed to increased traffic enforcement and more DUI arrests.

—- Andria Simmons

Copper thieves target parks, rec facilities

Gwinnett police are asking the public’s help to solve a spate of copper wiring thefts at county parks and recreational facilities.

Since August 2008, individuals have entered parks after closing eight times to steal copper wiring from light fixtures. The thefts are mainly occurring at locations that have athletic fields with large illuminating lights, such as the tennis center at Best Friend Park in Norcross and George Pierce Park in Suwanee.

Police have increased patrols at night in response to the thefts, but the culprits are still unidentified, said Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. David Schiralli.

“We encourage the public who visit the county parks to report any suspicious or unusual activity,” Schiralli said.

Anyone with information about the thefts is urged to contact Gwinnett police investigators at 770-513-5300.

—- Andria Simmons

Discarded Christmas trees provide shelter

It’ll be Christmas all year long for the animals at the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn.

Ranch president Codi Reeves said the attraction is collecting discarded Christmas trees to provide shelter for the rabbits, squirrels and deer that roam its 24 acres. The trees also will be used to line the property and help prevent erosion where the land slopes down to the Yellow River.

The ranch offers humans a chance to mingle with animals in a natural environment. For more information on donating a tree, call 770-972-6643.

—- Associated Press

GREATER ATLANTA

Canton man arrested on child porn charges

A 42-year-old Canton man has been arrested on charges of having child pornography on his home computer.

Bobby Louis Gravley is facing 10 counts of exploitation of children after Cherokee County investigators executed a search warrant at his home Thursday and found videos on his home computer, said Sgt. Jay Baker, spokesman for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

—- Nancy Badertscher

Arts center honors Henry County teacher

A Henry County teacher has been honored by the Woodruff Arts Center.

Luella Elementary School art teacher Christine Thompson is among the four honorees in the second Woodruff Salutes Georgia Arts in Education Leaders series. The program is designed to honor teachers, school and arts administrators, community leaders and volunteers throughout the state “who have championed and demonstrated the ability of the arts to impact positively the lives and learning of young people from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.”

Thompson was chosen from among 120 nominees in 48 Georgia counties. Honorees, who will each receive $2,500 to contribute to the arts program of their choice, were chosen by the Woodruff Arts Center Education Committee.

For more information about Woodruff Salutes, visit www.woodruffcenter.org.

—- John Hollis