http://www.ajc.com The latest headlines from AJC en-us Copyright 2009, Cox Newspapers Inc., AJC Mon, 6 Jul 2009 05:44:29 EDT Newspapers COXnet RSS Generator v1.0 http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/08/17/52/image_1352178.jpg http://www.ajc.com 5 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/30/clayton_tax_increase.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/30/clayton_tax_increase.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:09:50 EDT Clayton County gave up its bragging rights to having some of the lowest taxes in metro Atlanta on Tuesday. The County Commission quickly passed a 3-mill increase in its property tax rate, but commissioners emphasized that their rate was not excessive for the metro region. "We ran a very skinny government for years," said Wole Ralph, vice chairman of the commission. "There has to be some property tax increase to ensure that citizens have the services they have come to depend on." http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/29/clayton_tax_hike.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/29/clayton_tax_hike.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:52:17 EDT Clayton County commissioners are considering raising property taxes above the rate that recently prompted a revolt in Gwinnett. Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell said the commission will have to raise property taxes by a 2.9 millage rate boost — putting the county's rate at 31.9 for the county and school board portions — and one of the highest rates in the region — if it is going to avoid furloughing county workers, including police and firefighters. Last week, the commission said it didn't support furloughs when it was facing a roomful of angry county employees and their supporters. "I think the public will go along with it," Bell said. "Local government can't cut its way out of this budget crisis and give the public the services they desire." http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/26/clayton_teens_shot.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/26/clayton_teens_shot.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:51:12 EDT A pair of Clayton County teens were shot and injured Friday night in an apparent argument, police said. Just before 10 p.m., the two 15-year-olds had an encounter with an unknown person. One of the males was shot in the leg, and the other was grazed by a bullet on his chest, Clayton County police Lt. Rebecca Brown said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/24/clayton_deputy_cut.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/24/clayton_deputy_cut.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:32:45 EDT A Riverdale man is in jail on charges he assaulted a Clayton County sheriff's deputy and then fled. Antonio D. Ladson, 22, was arrested Wednesday morning. Sheriff's deputies first encountered Ladson on Monday afternoon while trying to break up a domestic dispute, Clayton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Sonja Sanchez said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/23/clayton_commissioners_budget_deficit.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/23/clayton_commissioners_budget_deficit.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:23:33 EDT Clayton County commissioners faced a horde of riled-up employees Tuesday who demanded that the county not furlough to balance its budget. Now the officials have to decide if they want to face angry taxpayers instead. The commission may have to decide whether to raise taxes or cut employee hours by a half-day a week to make up for a shortfall in its $160 million budget. At Tuesday night's meeting, with more than 300 people overflowing from the commission chamber to the hallways, the speakers from the crowd clearly favored raising taxes over cutting services, especially public safety. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/21/twins_abandoned_mother.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/21/twins_abandoned_mother.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:22:13 EDT A Barnesville mother was arrested Saturday night after leaving her 4-month-old twins in her locked car while shopping at a Clayton County Wal-Mart. The infants, who weren't harmed, were discovered by another shopper who could hear their cries through the cracked windows of Janesia Williams' Toyota Scion. "I was in total shock," said Darlene Marshall, of Stockbridge, who was parked next to the Scion. She and her husband were leaving the Ellenwood store, a little after 10 p.m., when she discovered the twins. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/22/claytonmom_0622_web.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/22/claytonmom_0622_web.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:13:15 EDT A mother is out of jail after being charged with leaving her 4-month-old twins locked in a hot car while she shopped at a Clayton County Wal-Mart. A Clayton County magistrate court judge granted Janesia Williams a $3,000 bond. She was released early Monday. Police arrested Williams, 26, on charges of child cruelty on Saturday night after another shopper heard the babies' cries through the cracked windows at about 10 p.m.. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/22/no_clayton_furloughs.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/22/no_clayton_furloughs.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:14:25 EDT No Clayton County workers will be laid off or placed on furloughs, four county commissioners vowed Monday. Commissioners Wole Ralph, Sonna Singleton, Michael Edmondson and Gail Hambrick issued a joint statement Monday, saying they would vote against a proposed 2010 budget that calls for mandatory two-day furloughs for all employees and some layoffs. Last week, Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell issued a budget that calls for a 14 percent cut in the money budgeted for personnel. Bell said the county must mandate furloughs for all of the county's 2,042 employees or raise taxes. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/17/witness_saves_woman.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/17/witness_saves_woman.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:00:34 EDT One minute Dana Jones was working on her stalled Cadillac, the next she was under the car and being dragged down a Clayton County highway. The 20-year-old mother from Riverdale is in stable condition at Grady Memorial hospital. She became trapped when the car fell on her and dragged her about 300 feet. There are conflicting reports as to how she got trapped under her car. Initial police reports stated that she stopped to change her tire at the intersection of Ga. 138 and Jonesboro Road. However, Clayton County Police spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Brown said the woman stated she got under her car to knock on the starter. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/18/pot_bust.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/18/pot_bust.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:25:01 EDT A Wednesday afternoon traffic stop in Clayton County resulted in the confiscation of more than 100 pounds of marijuana. About 5 p.m., a Clayton police officer stopped a Ford van for making an improper lane change on Mt. Zion Road near Morrow, Clayton police Lt. Rebecca Brown said. "As the officer approached the driver side window, he observed that the driver was extremely nervous and that there was a strong smell coming from the vehicle that he identified as possibly being marijuana," Brown said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/15/calvin_johnson_exonerated.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/15/calvin_johnson_exonerated.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:27:58 EDT Leaning into a curve on a Georgia mountain highway, tearing through the wind like a bullet, Calvin Johnson can forget about the shackles that he wore. He and his friends ride their motorcycles for fun, for fellowship and because they just love the machines. But Johnson also gets something more out of it. Freedom. Limitless space. Payback for the 16 years he served in prison for a crime he didn't commit. "During all those years of prison, I grew up a lot," he says. "I had a lot of time to mature ... but I had to keep a little something from my past, something a little wild, a little dangerous at times." http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/17/car_pinned_woman.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/17/car_pinned_woman.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:27:13 EDT A Riverdale woman is in serious condition after her car fell on her while she was changing a tire and dragged her down a Clayton County highway. The woman stopped to change her tire Wednesday afternoon at the intersection of Ga. 138 and Jonesboro Road. A man was helping her make the repairs when she reached under her Cadillac, Clayton County Police spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Brown said. The car fell, pinned her underneath and started to roll. It dragged her about 300 feet down the busy road before passersby intervened, Brown said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/index.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/index.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:19:34 EDT http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/16/I_75_crash_clayton.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/16/I_75_crash_clayton.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:17:46 EDT Police reopened Interstate 75 in Clayton County around 5 p.m. Tuesday after cleaning up spilled dry cleaning chemicals. The spill forced hazardous materials crews to close all southbound lanes between Ga. 85 and Interstate 85 for about an hour. A truck carrying dry cleaning chemicals crashed into another vehicle, spilling chemicals into the roadway near Forest Parkway, Clayton County Police spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Brown said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/13/funeral_guardsman_beale.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/06/13/funeral_guardsman_beale.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:31:48 EDT Sgt. 1st Class John C. Beale was the last of the three. Three Georgia National Guardsmen died together on June 4. They came home together, each in his own flag-draped coffin. And they were buried within hours of each other: Beale, 39, on Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville; Maj. Kevin M. Jenrette, 37, in Lula near Gainesville on Saturday morning; and Spc. Jeffrey W. Jordan, 21, in Rome on Friday.