Community News

City of Atlanta

Youth hit by car while fleeing pit bull

A teenager being chased by a pit bulldog was hit by a car Thursday morning in southwest Atlanta. The incident happened about 8 a.m. on Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard near Mitchell Street.

Atlanta police spokesman Otis Redmond said the 14-year-old, whose name and gender weren’t available, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in stable condition. The driver that struck the teen stopped after the accident, according to police dispatchers. MIKE MORRIS

GSU hosts law school summer camp

About 25 high school students from metro Atlanta are attending a three-week law school summer camp at Georgia State University.

The Justice Robert Benham Law Camp aims to encourage more minority students to consider legal careers. During the program, which started this week, students learn about the profession, prepare for mock trials, meet with minority lawyers and judges and tour the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals.

GSU’s College of Law, Clark Atlanta University and the Gate City Bar Association run the program. LAURA DIAMOND

Cobb

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

Cost cuts avert tax hike, layoffs for Marietta

The Marietta City Council adopted a budget with no tax hikes, employee layoffs or decreases in service levels. The city’s general fund is $48.9 million, a $1.86 million decrease from last year. City departments cut expenses an average of 15 percent. A hiring freeze remains.

Marietta budget manager Lori Duncan said the city reduced travel and training for employees and eliminated one-time purchases for items such as office equipment. Marietta’s $300,000 capital contingency budget only provides for the replacement of vehicles and equipment that break.

The city millage rate remains 2.788 mills. If revenues continue to slow down, the city will adjust and reduce spending to avoid a deficit, Duncan said. RALPH ELLIS

Mayor drops reprimand idea for councilman

Marietta Mayor Bill Dunaway has changed course and decided not to seek a reprimand against council member Anthony Coleman.

Dunaway complained Coleman disrupted several meetings by speaking out of turn and not following Robert’s Rules of Order. Dunaway said he would ask the other council members to reprimand Coleman unless Coleman apologized.

But council members showed no support for Dunaway’s idea during a May 27 work session and Coleman, who did not return calls Thursday seeking comment, did not apologize.

On Wednesday night, the mayor issued a statement, saying: “Since the council has chosen not to discipline themselves, I will not do the discipline for them.” RALPH ELLIS

DeKalb

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

Avondale Estates plays host to artful fest

More than 100 artists and musicians are holding the second annual Art-B-Que this weekend, to highlight the emerging art scene in Avondale Estates.

A survey by the city’s downtown development authority revealed that nearly 100 painters, sculptors, musicians and writers lived and worked in the city of 2,800.

The party to honor that growing scene kicks off at 7 tonight at the Alcove on East College Avenue. The launch party features work by Sergio Mora and music by Liers in Wait.

The daylong picnic begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Bart Webb Studios on Franklin Street and features art, music, food and drink. APRIL HUNT

Former probation officer pleads guilty

A former DeKalb County State Court Probation Officer has pleaded guilty to federal extortion charges.

Natalie Nicole Dunn, 32, of Ellenwood entered her guilty plea Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Federal prosecutors said she tried to operate a bribery scheme that traded lenient prison terms for cash.

In March, Dunn and co-defendant Keith L. Hughes, coordinator of DeKalb’s Office of Pretrial Services, were ensnared in an FBI investigation with the help of a drug-trafficking suspect who said he was told he could get his case dismissed or get a reduced sentence in exchange for $25,000. Hughes has pleaded not guilty. BILL RANKIN

Dates changed for Dunwoody confabs

Dunwoody has changed the date of a meeting to get public input as city officials prepare a comprehensive plan. The June 23 meeting has been changed to June 24. Meetings will also be held July 7, Aug. 3 and Sept. 24 at the Dunwoody United Methodist Church at 1548 Mount Vernon Road. All meetings are to begin at 7 p.m.

For more information, visit www.dunwoodyga.gov or contact Jennifer Peterson at jennifer.peterson @dunwoodyga.gov. RALPH ELLIS

Fulton

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

Stimulus money boosts sidewalk project

The federal government is giving Sandy Springs more money than expected for one of its sidewalk programs.

The city already received about $540,000 to put sidewalks in along Roswell Road, between Dalrymple and Northridge roads. The federal stimulus package will give the city an additional $147,000 for the work.

The city expects to have a vendor under contract by July 1 to do the design and surveying work needed on the project. Construction could begin this year. APRIL HUNT

Gwinnett

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

Soup kitchen for pets could be on last legs

A Lawrenceville-based nonprofit group that doles out pet food to cash-strapped owners is in danger of losing its warehouse.

Daffy’s Pet Soup Kitchen has learned that its warehouse sponsor can no longer afford to help cover lease expenses. That could force Daffy’s to shutter the facility by Sept. 1, said Tom Wargo, director of the all-volunteer group with locations in eight states.

Wargo is organizing a fund-raising party from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday to keep the warehouse open. It will be at 2160 Oakland Industrial Court, Suite 100, in Lawrenceville. For more information, visit www.daffyspetsoupkitchen.com. SHANE BLATT

Girl found unharmed in Maryland, dad nabbed

A 4-year-old Gwinnett County girl who was the subject of a nationwide alert after her father reportedly abducted her this week was found unharmed in Maryland.

Gwinnett County police on Wednesday issued a Levi’s Call for Ingrid Guzman-Reyes after her mother told police the girl’s father failed to return the child and made threats against Ingrid.

Police in Maryland’s Prince George’s County apprehended Alejandro Humberto Guzman around midnight Wednesday, Gwinnett County police said in a news release. Guzman is being held in the Upper Marlboro detention center. He faces a charge of kidnapping in Gwinnett County, police said. Ingrid is in the care of the Maryland Department of Children and Family Services in Maryland, Gwinnett police said. KENT A. MILES

Shiloh High Junior ROTC earns a salute

Kudos are going to the Air Force Junior ROTC at Gwinnett County’s Shiloh High School. The school’s ROTC program has earned the Air Force Junior ROTC Distinguished Unit Award. The award recognizes the personal growth and accomplishments of the cadets, the contributions of the instructors as mentors of these students, and the support of the school and community. NANCY BADERTSCHER

County invites ideas for hazard response

Residents will have a chance to help plan ways to respond to natural and man-made hazards in the Gwinnett area. A meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday to offer an overview of the planning process and give the public a chance to offer recommendations.

“This will be a multi-jurisdictional plan to identify local hazards, assess the risks and plan ways to reduce loss of life and property damage in emergency situations,” said Greg Swanson, emergency services coordinator.

The final plan will be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for approval. The public meeting will be in Conference Room C on the second floor of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. PATRICK FOX

Greater Atlanta

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

Benoit’s in-laws sue doctor for damages

A Carrollton doctor who prescribed drugs to professional wrestler Chris Benoit should pay for the lives of the wrestler’s deceased wife and son, the victims’ family says.

The family filed a wrongful death suit in U.S. District Court against Dr. Phil Carroll Astin III and three unnamed drug distributors. The suit claims the doctor and distributors prescribed drugs that caused Benoit to strangle his wife, Nancy, and smother 7-year-old son Daniel inside their Fayette County home in 2007.

Astin is serving a 10-year prison sentence for illegally dispensing drugs. His lawyer, Natasha Perdew Silas, could not be immediately reached for comment. The suit seeks financial damages to cover the “full value” of the deceased lives, along with money for pain, suffering and expenses. Nancy Benoit’s parents, Maureen and Paul Toffoloni of Florida, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Newnan. MEGAN MATTEUCCI

No charges expected

in fatal head-on crash

Forsyth County authorities said Thursday they do not expect to file charges in a fatal head-on crash involving a gasoline tanker truck and a pickup.

Terry Rettig, 62, of Alpharetta died instantly in the wreck that shut down Dawsonville Highway for nearly four hours Wednesday. Ron Tomblin, a traffic specialist investigator with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, said Rettig was westbound on Dawsonville Highway at Porter Lane when his 1981 Isuzu Pup pickup crossed the center line and hit head-on with a 2006 Peterbilt tanker truck at about 2:45 p.m.

The tanker carried more than 450 gallons of diesel fuel, but only a small amount leaked, the sheriff’s office reported. The tanker truck driver, 31-year-old Jerry Lamar McClure of Gainesville, was not injured.

NANCY BADERTSCHER

State

Wii use may enhance Parkinson’s treatment

The Nintendo Wii may help treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, including depression, according to research at the Medical College of Georgia.

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative condition that impairs motor skills.

In an eight-week pilot study, 20 Parkinson’s patients spent an hour playing the Wii three times a week for four weeks.

The patients, all in a stage of the disease in which both body sides are affected but with no significant gait disturbance yet, played two games each of tennis and bowling and one game of boxing —- games entailing exercise, bilateral movement, balance and fast pace. Participants showed significant improvements in rigidity, movement, fine motor skills and energy levels. CRAIG SCHNEIDER

Watchdogs want spotlight on stimulus

A coalition of watchdog groups wants the state to be more open with how it spends federal stimulus money.

The Georgia Stimulus Transparency and Accountability Coalition is asking for more oversight on how money is spent on transportation, energy, public housing and other projects. It also wants to know how many jobs are created or saved and how much those workers are paid.

The coalition also wants a Web site that includes how each state agency will spend its share of the stimulus money. Members include Common Cause Georgia, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Georgia Watch and Georgians for Smart Energy.

A spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue said the state is working on a stimulus Web site that should be ready by the end of June. “The governor has given firm instructions that state agencies should spend stimulus dollars transparently,” spokesman Chris Schrimpf said.

KRISTI E. SWARTZ

Youth arthritis camp scheduled at state park

The Arthritis Foundation’s Camp J.A. will take place July 19-22 in Winder. The free camp was created especially for children ages 6-18 living with arthritis or a related disease.

The camp offers a range of activities, including fishing, archery and boating. Campers are also able to connect with other kids living with arthritis. Camp J.A. is at Camp Will-a-Way at Fort Yargo State Park. For more information, call 1-800-933-7023, Ext. 450, or visit www.arthritis.org /chapters/georgia. SHARISE M. DARBY