Community News

ATLANTA: Professor of the year is specialist at Tech

A Georgia Tech specialist in Latin American politics has been named the 2008 Georgia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Kirk Bowman, 47, was selected from about 300 top professors in the United States. The Carnegie Foundation and CASE named winners in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. Faculty members were nominated by their colleges and universities.

Bowman, who lives in Midtown, is an associate professor in Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and a member of an interdisciplinary team researching conservation, economic development and drug discovery in Fiji.

—- Gayle White

Police have suspect, need more evidence

Atlanta police believe they have identified the suspect in the killing of a beer delivery man earlier this week, but need more evidence to arrest him.

Detective A.C. Smith declined to be specific about what investigative angles he is pursuing to solve the shooting death of 26-year-old Frantz Jean-Pierre.

Jean-Pierre, a Haitian immigrant who co-founded a custom clothing company, was fatally shot in the stomach Monday while delivering beer to a gas station.

As Jean-Pierre was getting beer from his truck, the suspect demanded money from him. Jean-Pierre refused and the two began arguing, which escalated into a fistfight.

The suspect pulled out a gun, shot Jean-Pierre once and ran away.

—- Tim Eberly

CLAYTON COUNTY

County honors 62 of its top teachers

Sixty-two Clayton County teachers were honored Thursday night for outstanding service.

The educators were selected as “teacher of the year” for each of the county’s schools.

Babb Middle School teacher Melissa Marie Colon received the top honor as the district’s teacher of the year. She will now compete for the state’s teacher of the year. Babb has taught health and physical education in Clayton for six years.

—- Megan Matteucci

Morrow welcomes park this weekend

Morrow residents will a get new park this weekend.

The city will dedicate the Melvin & Jean Newnan Neighborhood Park on Saturday at noon. The 3-acre park at Old Rex Morrow Road and Reagan Chase includes a playground, picnic tables, park benches and a walking trail, said Jeff Eady, the city’s director of public works.

—- Megan Matteucci

COBB COUNTY

Several schools get ‘platinum’ honor

Seven Cobb County schools and one Marietta school received top “platinum” honors from the Governor’s Office for Student Achievement, the office announced Thursday.

Schools honored for highest performance include Lassiter High, Walton High, Mount Bethel Elementary, Timber Ridge Elementary and Tritt Elementary in Cobb, and the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics in the city school system.

Cobb’s Durham Middle and Eastvalley Elementary were honored for making the greatest gains.

Both the performance awards and progress awards have four honor levels —- bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

—- Alexis Stevens

Time running out to contact teachers

Parents needing to e-mail a teacher or other Cobb County school system employee —- or check grades online —- should do so before 5 p.m. today.

That’s when a major electrical upgrade is scheduled to begin. All information technology services, including Internet and e-mail, will be disabled. All IT services are scheduled to resume at 6 a.m. Dec. 1.

Schools will be closed Monday through Friday of next week for Thanksgiving.

—- Alexis Stevens

University gets noted author’s homestead

Kennesaw State University has been given a 56-acre homestead near Cartersville that belonged to Corra Harris, a noted author and World War I correspondent. Cartersville business leader and preservationist Jodie Hill donated the property, known as “In the Valley,” to the university. Hill purchased the property in 1996 to preserve Harris’ legacy.

Harris (1869-1935) wrote 250 articles and short stories and 20 books, including the best-selling novel “A Circuit Rider’s Wife” which was turned into the 1951 movie “I’d Climb the Highest Mountain.” Harris’ farm consists of two homes wrapped into one with original furniture and tools used in the early 1900s. KSU students will be able to study the farm’s archaeological, environmental, social and literary history. Grade-school students, too, will be able to visit the farm. The property also will serve as a retreat, conference and research center for the university and the surrounding community.

—- Dan Chapman

DEKALB COUNTY

System can compete for lucrative prize

DeKalb County officials said Thursday they are eligible to compete next year for the annual $2 million Broad Prize for education, which includes the largest award in the country given to a single school district.

Started in 2002 by the philanthropic Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the prize honors urban school districts that make the greatest improvements in student achievement while closing academic gaps among students of different racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds.

Systems cannot apply to compete. Rather, the foundation determines whether they meet certain criteria related to size, poverty and urban characteristics. Once determined to be eligible, systems undergo a full review. Several metro Atlanta systems qualified this year, including Atlanta city, and Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties.This year’s prize winner is the Brownsville Independent School District in Texas. Past winners include New York City and Boston. The overall winner gets $1 million. Four other systems determined to be finalists each receive $250,000.

—- Kristina Torres

Tuition up a little bit at Agnes Scott

The cost of a year at Agnes Scott College in Decatur is going up, but not much.

The overall cost of tuition, fees, room and board for the 2009-2010 school year will be $39,955, compared to $38,910 this year, officials said.

The college’s trustees approved new financial aid plans to ensure that top students can afford to attend Agnes Scott. The Agnes Solution, for example, guarantees $64,200 in merit aid over four years to Georgia students eligible for the HOPE scholarship.

To keep costs down, the women’s college will be sending out holiday greetings via e-mail and forgoing the big rented tent for graduation, said president Elizabeth Kiss. Some hires also will be postponed.

—- Gayle White

FULTON COUNTY

Poet Abyss to jam at library hip-hop event

The Southwest Regional Library will host HBO “Def Poet” Abyss and friends Monday as they demonstrate African elements of hip-hop culture through the spoken and written word. Special guest poets, speakers, musicians and visual artists will perform from 6 to 8 p.m.

The library is at 3665 Cascade Road S.W. in Atlanta. For more information, call 404-699-6363.

—- D.L. Bennett

GWINNETT COUNTY

Residents offer input on downtown Duluth

Duluth already has decided the fate of the old City Hall and adjacent museum. What’s next is how to redevelop the downtown block while preserving the area’s historic sensibility.

That was the big question for about 50 residents who turned out Wednesday to offer input on plans for a mixed-use development along the old City Hall block.

Mayor Nancy Harris, who moderated the public hearing in Duluth’s new City Hall, said that the property “is the core piece of the downtown area.”

The key issue is what the development will “look like, be like and feel like.”

The public hearing was the latest in a monthslong debate over the property, which is flanked by West Lawrenceville Street, Hill Street, Ga. 120 and Main Street. Based on the Downtown Development Authority’s recommendation, the City Council in September approved allowing the developer to push forward with plans without saving the buildings because it wasn’t deemed economically feasible to salvage them.

—- Shane Blatt

Minister kisses pig to help feed needy

This was the deal: raise $3,500 and the Rev. Alan Morris would kiss a pig. “That was the big incentive,” said Morris.

It was so big students at First Baptist Church Duluth not only met the wager, they exceeded it by $800 bringing the grand total to $4,300.

And because they did, 70 needy families will receive Thanksgiving dinner through the church’s Project Feed the Need program.

Morris made the deal during Vacation Bible school in June and within a week the students had gathered enough donations to put them over the top. The pig kiss was a first, he said, but this was the third year students have rallied to raise money for Project: Feed the Need.

—- Gracie Bonds Staples

GREATER ATLANTA

Forsyth targets bond market for projects

Forsyth County is at the bond markets this week, looking to borrow $118 million.

The county wants $83 million to start work on a $100 million parks, recreation and green space program approved by voters in February.

The remaining $35 million is being sought to jump start projects slated to be funded with a five-year extension of the county’s special purpose local option sales tax. Tax collections have been much less than expected.

The county initially expected to go to the bond market by October. But since September, the municipal bond market has been slammed by the crisis on Wall Street.

County Attorney Ken Jarrard said the county will have to go back to the bond market next year, at least for the $17 million for the park projects.

He said that, because of market conditions, county officials thought it best to only pursue money for the most immediate needs.

—- Nancy Badertscher