Community News

COBB COUNTY

Two burglary suspects arrested after chase

Cobb County police arrested two men Thursday suspected of burglaries in Cobb and Fulton counties.

Caudrey Denard Laboard, 24, of Norcross and Andrew Jermal Morris, 25, of Stone Mountain, are charged with burglary and other offenses. They’re being held at the county detention center, police said.

Officers responding to a report of a burglary in the River Heights Crossing apartments off Columns Drive in Cobb County approached a car with out-of-state license plates.

Officers arrested two men after a brief chase. A search of nearby woods turned up property believed to have been stolen from burglarized homes. Sandy Spring police will question Laboard and Morris about burglaries in their city.

—- Kent A. Miles

Band donations climb for inauguration trip

Donations totaling $124,357 have been contributed to the South Cobb High School Blue Eagle marching band’s trip to Washington to perform in the inaugural parade of President-elect Barack Obama.

The 95-member band was selected to represent Georgia in the Jan. 20 parade. Donations will be used to defray expenses of the band members and chaperones.

Contributions have come in from every part of the community including Bert Show listeners on WWWQ-FM 99.7 radio, corporations and elementary school students.

Lassiter, Walton high singers perform today

The Lassiter High School concert chorale and the Walton High School a cappella choir—-110 students strong—- perform with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra today at Woodruff Arts Center. Performances are at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Kay Powell

Also …

> Blood drive: A holiday blood drive will be held at the Cobb Civic Center in the Hudgins Hall mezzanine on Monday, Dec. 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to schedule an appointment or go to www.givelife.org and use “cobb-civic” as a password. Walk-ins are welcome.

DEKALB COUNTY

Four arrested in string of bank robberies

Four suspects have been charged with a string of DeKalb and Gwinnett county bank robberies.

The FBI said one suspect, 22-year-old Shantavia Glass of Lithonia, turned herself in to DeKalb police after surveillance photos were released Wednesday. Three others were arrested in McComb, Miss., on Friday.

One of the suspects is 16 years old and was not identified by the FBI. The others arrested in Mississippi are William Berk Harrold, 18, of Lithonia and Zachery Antonio Harris, 20, of Ellenwood.

The four are suspected in Wednesday’s robbery of the Bank of America on Panola Road in south DeKalb and three earlier robberies —- two in south DeKalb and one in the Duluth area in Gwinnett.

The FBI said tips from the public helped authorities track the 16-year-old, Harrold and Harris to McComb, where local police stopped a car containing Harrold at 4 a.m. Friday. The McComb SWAT team then arrested the other suspects in a nearby hotel room.

All the suspects were expected to be transferred to federal custody.

—- David Simpson

Settlement puts bike path back on track

Construction on the disputed bicycle and pedestrian path through Medlock and Mason Mill parks can be completed now that DeKalb County and nearby residents have reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit to stop the project.

Judge Gregory Adams signed an order Wednesday that allows construction to continue on an elevated wooden walkway through the trees. A group of residents calling themselves the Three Forks Heritage Alliance had sued, saying the project required the destruction of too many trees and would give criminals access to their homes.

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Brian Daughdrill, argued that the path was illegal because it strayed near a stream and because the county never competitively bid the contract. Adams’ order said the county lacked the proper permits but that the project could continue under the settlement. The agreement requires the county to pay $45,000 attorney fees and to spend $50,000 moving hardwood trees to screen the plaintiffs’ view of the path.

—-Ty Tagami

Dunwoody contracts for city operations

Dunwoody has signed two large contracts with outside vendors who will run basic city operations.

The city council on Thursday approved a $1.5 million deal with Clark Patterson Lee for community development work, which includes zoning, and a $1.8 million contract with Calvin Giordano and Associates for financial and administrative services such as payroll.

The council delayed a third contract, a $1.2 million deal with Lowe Engineering for public works services, until Dec. 29 because of questions about some costs.

Together, the vendors will help city manager Warren Hutmacher run Georgia’s newest city. Dunwoody also is hiring a small core staff, though it has yet to hire a finance director, city clerk or municipal city clerk.

—- April Hunt

FULTON COUNTY

Sports group starts drive to help families

The Sandy Springs Youth Sports organization is holding a donation drive today to help two families who were burned out of their apartments on Dec. 7.

Clothing, household items and financial contributions for the families are being sought from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donation bins have been set up at the administration building for the Morgan Falls Sports Complex, 450 Morgan Falls Place. Those wishing to make financial contributions should arrive at the park between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and make checks or money orders payable to Sandy Springs Football, which will be divided between the families.

Items needed for the children include: clothing for 12-year-old boy, (size Adult XL; 40/30 pant; size 11 shoe); clothing for 9-year-old boy, (size 10/12); clothing for 8-year-old girl (size L; 14-plus pant; size 5 1/2 shoe); clothing for a 6-year-old girl (size S/M).

The parents need: clothing for a man (size 34); clothing for a tall man (size 3XL; 54 pant; size 12 shoe); clothing for a woman (size 14); clothing for a woman (size 2XL; 18-20 pant; size 9 shoe)

Household items also are appreciated, as well as towels and linens.

—- Mary MacDonald

Apartment escapes cost of changing signs

Representatives of a Sandy Springs apartment complex neglected to contact city officials when they decided to update the message on three entrance signs.

The price of the design and permit oversight? About $120,000. That’s how much an attorney representing the owner of the Mosaic apartments said it would cost to switch the new face plates with something smaller, and more acceptable, under current city standards.

City council members, hearing the story Tuesday, agreed to let the signs stand.

Councilman Tibby DeJulio noted the same signs had stood there for about 30 years. Only the design of the face is changing. “How do we make a motion that we forget all this?” he asked.

City officials say the Roswell Road apartment complex, just south of I-285, will still have to settle the sign permit violation.

—-Mary MacDonald

Also …

> Mayor’s new role: Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker has been named head of the Revenue and Finance Policy Committee for the Georgia Municipal Association. The committee could play a key role in the coming legislative session as cities struggle to stay afloat financially. Among the hot issues expected to come up in the General Assembly is a proposed 3 percent cap on property assessments. Bodker also is chairman of the Metro-Atlanta Mayors Association. Johns Creek was founded Dec. 1, 2006.

—- Doug Nurse

GWINNETT COUNTY

School board meets today over regulation

The Gwinnett school board was scheduled to meet at 7:30 a.m. today to vote on a proposed framework some schools may follow to try to improve student performance if freed from some state regulation.

The school board recently approved a five-year contract with the state Department of Education that proposes freeing schools from state rules governing items such as teacher pay and class sizes. In return the schools promise to improve student achievement and to measure that improvement or to face consequences.

A special called meeting will be held Saturday at the Instructional Support Center in Suwanee for the new vote, which is part of the application process.

—- D. Aileen Dodd