Community News

Atlanta

City Council approves notes to cover expenses

The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to issue nearly $60 million in tax anticipation notes to help pay for city operations in lieu of money expected later this year from property taxes and other revenues.

The notes must be repaid by Dec. 31, according to the legislation passed. The interest rate is 1.75 percent, finance officials said. ERIC STIRGUS

Mentors sought for African-American males

Mentors and life-skill coaches are needed for at-risk young African-American males who are participating in the Priority Male Program, which works to help young men between the ages of 18 and 28 reach their full potential academically, vocationally, economically and personally through a series of workshops.

Mentoring training will be provided.

For more information, call 404-935-5859 or contact the Community Council of Metropolitan Atlanta at ccmacorp@aol.com. GRACIE BONDS STAPLES

Cobb

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

Haven Academy to get help with greenhouse

Haven Academy, a Cobb County school for students with autism and severe emotional behavior disorders, will be receiving a $4,200 grant today to help fund the school’s new greenhouse outdoor learning center. The center will provide a place for the students to learn practical, hands-on life skills by growing and tending to plants, fruits and vegetables. It is located on West Atlanta Road in Smyrna. NANCY BARDERTSCHER

Acworth to sponsor first citywide recycling day

Acworth is hosting its inaugural citywide recycling day downtown on Saturday.

The event will be at the Acworth branch library, 4569 Dallas St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Most materials made primarily of metal will be accepted, even washing machines. All recycling is free except for a $20 fee for televisions. Money generated from the fee and donations will help buy computers for the Acworth Achievers after-school program at the Roberts School Community and Education Center.

For more information, call the Parks and Recreation Office at 770-917-1234. SHANE BLATT

DeKalb

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

Senate hearing set on farm-to-school foods

Advocates for feeding local-grown food to schoolchildren can watch proceedings of the U.S. Senate’s Agricultural Committee on Friday, when officials will hear testimony in DeKalb County about the benefits of “farm-to-school” projects.

Dr. David Satcher, a former U.S. surgeon general, will be among those speaking at the event, which is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Roybal Campus near Emory University.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican from Moultrie, is expected to attend with Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa. The campus is at 1600 Clifton Road N.E. The event will be in the Harkin Global Communication Center, Auditorium A. Photo identifcation is required for entry, and large objects such as backpacks are prohibited beyond the parking lot. TY TAGAMI

Fulton

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

Ceremony to honor fallen safety officers

Fulton County public safety officials will honor officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice serving Fulton County residents during a memorial service May 21 at 10 a.m. The service will be at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at 48 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Atlanta.

Fallen officers and deputies from the Fulton County Marshal’s Department, the Fulton County Police Department, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and the Fulton County Fire Department will be remembered. Fire Chief Larry Few, Marshal Antonio Johnson, police Chief Cassandra Jones and Sheriff Ted Jackson will lead the community in paying respects to public servants who lost their lives in the line of duty. The Fulton County Fire Department has lost three firefighters in the line of duty. The county also has had one marshal, three police officers and seven deputies killed. The public is invited to attend and support the ceremony. For more information, contact Tracy Flanagan at 404-612-5497. D.L. BENNETT

Input to be gathered on school plan

Plans for a new public elementary school on Feldwood Road in College Park will be presented at a community meeting today in Union City. The meeting, hosted by Fulton County school board member Catherine Maddox, is set for 9 a.m. at Gullatt Elementary School at 6110 Dodson Road in Union City. NANCY BADERTSCHER

Grady Health System awarded for stroke work

Grady Health System has received the American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines—-Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Grady’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care for at least 24 months according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. Grady is situated in the heart of the stroke belt —- an area in the southeastern United States that sees more strokes and stroke-related deaths than other parts of the country.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the GWTG-Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award addresses the important element of time,” said Dr. Michael Frankel, Grady’s chief of neurology and the director of the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center at Grady.

“Grady Health System has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.”

Bernie Marcus, a co-founder of Home Depot and the force behind the Georgia Aquarium, recently committed $20 million of his financial might to expand Grady’s trauma center and stroke care. CRAIG SCHNEIDER

Gwinnett

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

Study to look at possible routes for light rail

Gwinnett County business districts have won a $30,000 grant to study the cost and possible routes of a light-rail line to connect Norcross, Gwinnett Village, Indian Trail, Gwinnett Place and the Gwinnett Arena. The districts will pitch in an equal amount to match the grant.

Gwinnett Village-Gwinnett Place, Spalding County, Norcross, Forest Park and four other cities won grants from the Atlanta Regional Commission to help plan more livable community layouts. The program is designed to reduce car travel by building places where walking is easier, and homes, businesses and leisure spots are closer together.

ARC, metro Atlanta’s official planning agency, announced $204,000 Wednesday for the program. The awards are meant to advance plans already under way and come on top of other grants already awarded to the communities. ARIEL HART

Clean and Beautiful calls off court appeal

The attorney for Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful said he is filing papers to withdraw the organization’s appeal to an injunction that prohibited it from implementing the county’s solid waste plan.

“If we win the appeal, we lose,” Michael Tennent said, pointing out that Clean and Beautiful no longer has a contract with the county. He added that Clean and Beautiful is not conceding the legal points of the case.

Wednesday’s action comes one day after Gwinnett County dropped its appeal of the court order. The court granted the injunction Dec. 18, two weeks before the county and Clean and Beautiful were to implement the new plan. Superior Court Judge Michael Clark ruled the county acted improperly by giving Clean and Beautiful governmental powers. Advanced Disposal, one of two waste haulers awarded exclusive franchises under the plan, also appealed the judge’s ruling. It is not considering withdrawing at this time, said Mary O’Brien, chief marketing officer. PATRICK FOX

Improvements unveiled for JCB-Singleton Road

The Georgia Department of Transportation presented plans Tuesday for intersection improvements at Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Singleton Road in Norcross.

Plans call for adding right-turn lanes to westbound Singleton and northbound and southbound Jimmy Carter. Additional left-turn lanes will be added to westbound Singleton and northbound Jimmy Carter.

The project also provides for additional sidewalks on all four approaches to the intersection with improved crosswalks.

The plans were presented at an open house Tuesday at Global Mall in Norcross. Comments about the improvements can be made by visiting www.dot.ga.gov. PATRICK FOX

Police to seek recruits at job fair on Saturday

The Gwinnett County Police Department is having a job fair for police officers from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Gwinnett County Police Training Center at 854 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville.

Starting salary for a police officer trainee is $35,023. Starting salary for candidates who are already state certified is $37,648. The Gwinnett County Police Department also offers an incremental $2,000 hiring incentive, an educational differential, and up to a $1,500 relocation allowance.

A preliminary orientation will be held at the job fair, and testing will be conducted. All applicants are encouraged to apply online before attending the job fair, although applications will be accepted on site.

To find out more, visit www.gwinnettpolicejobs.com. ANDRIA SIMMONS

Greater Atlanta

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

Growth in H1N1 cases focused in Henry County

The number of confirmed H1N1 virus cases in Georgia has grown to eight, according to federal and state health officials, with all the new cases in Henry County.

Additionally, there are 10 probable cases of people infected with the disease in the state.

Many of the cases have links to Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, although they are not necessarily students or parents.

The private school closed briefly after a 14-year-old student was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as swine flu. A second student later tested positive for the virus. School officials could not be reached for comment.

Initially, the cases were found among students at ELCA who traveled together domestically. Later cases occurred among household contacts and other students.

Officials are not recommending that the school close again because none of the affected are hospitalized and the disease is treatable, said Belen Moran, state health risk communicator for the Georgia Department of Human Resources. SHELIA POOLE

Two Forest Park men charged in Henry bust

Two Forest Park men are in jail on charges they sold methamphetamine to undercover police at a Henry County hotel.

Francisco Alfredo Roldan Altamirano, 29, and Alejandro Ramiro Sanchez, 36, were arrested Tuesday night. Henry County police Capt. Jason Bolton said the men sold about 3 ounces of the illegal drug to the officers.

The suspects are being held in the Henry County jail on two counts of trafficking methamphetamine and one count of sale of methamphetamine.

Officers also seized a 2000 Ford Mustang and a 2004 Ford Excursion, along with $5,600 in cash from the suspects, Bolton said.

The arrests are part of an ongoing operation between narcotics officers in Henry and Clayton counties, Bolton said. BILL RANKIN

Georgia

Virginia prisoner found 27 years after escape

A fugitive who escaped from a Virginia prison in 1982 was captured Wednesday in North Georgia, the FBI said.

Ronald Reagan was in the second year of his presidency when Richard Boucher escaped from the Chesapeake, Va., prison where he was serving a 10-year sentence for robbery.

The 56-year-old fugitive’s time on the run came to an end Wednesday morning in the small Murray County town of Eton, population about 350.

“Boucher, utilizing the alias name of Eric Coleman, had been living in Murray County for most of the last 27 years,” FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett said.

Arrested with Boucher was his wife, Debbie Boucher, 53, who had been living under the alias Debbie Coleman.

Both were arrested without incident at their home in Eton, Emmett said. MIKE MORRIS

Trooper honored for bravery at crash scene

Early last year, Georgia State Patrol trooper Scott Short was driving home along Ga. 98 in Madison County when he came upon a head-on collision between a car and a log truck.

Short found the driver trapped in the cab of the truck, which was in flames. Short climbed under the truck, used four fire extinguishers to put out the blaze and then, with the help of another man, pulled the driver out of the cab. “Miraculously, he had only minor scratches,” Short said of the trucker.

On Wednesday, Short, a sergeant first class, was honored for his heroism. At the 755 Club at Turner Field, he received the George T. Davis Award in recognition of being named “Officer of the Year” by the Greater Atlanta Chapter of ASIS International. BILL RANKIN

Program identifies Flint as in need of protection

The National Fish Habitat on Wednesday designated the Flint River as one of 10 “Waters to Watch.” The designation could bring funding for key habitat protection and restoration projects for the Flint, which was named in April as the second-most-endangered river in the nation by American Rivers because of the threat of new dams.

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan is a comprehensive effort to protect and restore critical fish habitat. American Rivers has played a lead role supporting federal funding for the plan’s conservation efforts.

Jenny Hoffner, director of the water supply program for American Rivers, welcomed the designation, saying it “strengthens the argument against building costly and destructive dams on the Flint.”

“Spending hundreds of millions of dollars to dam the Flint River simply doesn’t make sense when we are already spending taxpayer dollars to restore the river’s health,” Hoffner said. “What’s more, there are water efficiency options available that are far cheaper, would deliver faster results, and would not harm local economies, fish and wildlife.” STAFF REPORTS