Community News

City of Atlanta

Hall wants input on Poncey-Highland plan

Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall has scheduled a workshop starting at 9 a.m. today to hear from residents, particularly young people, about a master plan for the Poncey-Highland neighborhood.

The workshop will be at Druid Hills Baptist Church, 1085 Ponce de Leon Ave. N.E.

Hall is working with the neighborhood on a long-range plan to improve transportation, preserve and expand green space, and to determine the best use of land in that community.

The plan will eventually go to the City Council for its approval. ERIC STIRGUS

NFL players to appear at cheerleading camp

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White is among about a dozen NFL players who may appear at a football fundamentals and cheerleading camp today at Anderson Park.

The camp is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the park, 142 Anderson Ave. N.W. It’s being organized by Atlanta native and New Orleans Saints cornerback Leigh Torrence. Other sponsors include the Atlanta Police Athletic League and the city.

The camp is free for children ages 8 to 18. All campers are required to sign a parental permission form.

ERIC STIRGUS

Cobb

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

Cobb SCLC to hold AIDS awareness music festival

The Cobb County SCLC will hold a “Silence is Sinful” gospel and jazz festival July 11 to increase awareness of the HIV/AIDS problem in the black community.

The festival will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Turner Chapel AME Recreation Center, 545 Kenneth E. Marcus Way, Marietta.

Musicians wishing to entertain, vendors and people wanting to contribute should contact the Cobb SCLC office at 770-509-3535 or the Cobb SCLC president, the Rev. Dwight Graves, at 770-422-3268. RALPH ELLIS

Home invasion suspect arrested after standoff

An Atlanta home invasion suspect is in custody after barricading himself inside a Marietta home for three hours Friday morning, police said.

Police said the suspect attempted to invade the house at 2821 Revere St. in south Atlanta and exchanged gunfire with the residents. Despite being shot, he fled to a home at 414 Chester St., Marietta, around 4 a.m., Marietta Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Murphy said.

After receiving a tip from Atlanta police, Marietta police SWAT and hostage negotiation teams surrounded the house.

The suspect at first refused to come out, but hostage negotiators convinced him to surrender around 7 a.m., Murphy said. He was taken into custody without incident and turned over to investigators in Atlanta, where he faces several charges.

The man is being treated at Grady Memorial Hospital for a gunshot wound to his shoulder, Atlanta Police spokesman Officer Otis Redmond said. Redmond did not have the suspect’s name or details about the shootout.

MEGAN MATTEUCCI

DeKalb

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

Decatur mayor to head state cities group

Members of the Georgia Municipal Association have elected Decatur’s mayor as their new president.

Bill Floyd, who has been mayor since 1998, has served on the GMA Board of Directors for several years and is also a past president of the Metro Atlanta Mayors’ Association.

Floyd will serve for one year as leader of the non-profit group that offers help to about 500 cities across Georgia.

Decatur City Commissioner Kecia Cunningham and City Attorney Bryan Downs were elected to the group’s board of directors. Other metro area leaders elected to the board are Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Snellville Mayor Gerry Oberholtzer, Chamblee Mayor Eric Clarkson, Marietta City Councilman Anthony Coleman, McDonough Mayor Billy Copeland, Union City Mayor Ralph Moore, Acworth Mayor Pro Tem Bob Weatherford, and Atlanta Councilwoman Mary Norwood. APRIL HUNT

Avondale hopes to send geese on their way

In response to some resident complaints, Avondale Estates has a new contract to help move geese from its centerpiece lake.

The city has a $1,000 contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to trap and relocate Canada geese from Lake Avondale.

Some residents have complained that the birds were being aggressive, while others have expressed health and environmental concerns about goose droppings. APRIL HUNT

Mayday, mayday … Oh, never mind

No, it’s not an invasion, and there’s no emergency. Those are amateur radio operators you will see in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards around DeKalb County this weekend.

“Ham radio” enthusiasts from Stone Mountain’s Alford Memorial Radio Club will observe national amateur radio “field day” today and Sunday with demonstrations of old and new communications technology that citizen communicators have rolled out during real emergencies, such as Hurricane Katrina. TY TAGAMI

Police look for suspect in teen’s fatal shooting

DeKalb Police are looking for a second suspect in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy.

Antonio Bennett was shot Wednesday afternoon at Rebecca and Melody lanes in south DeKalb, police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said.

On Thursday, officers arrested Edward L. Fanning, 38, on murder charges. Fanning, of Ellenwood, is being held in DeKalb County jail. No description of the second suspect was available.

Bennett was found shot near an abandoned house around 3 p.m. Wednesday. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Parish said.

Parish said the shooting is under investigation, and she did not have information on the motive or the relationship between the victim and suspects

Court records show Fanning was convicted of animal cruelty in Clayton County in 2001.

MEGAN MATTEUCCI

Fulton

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

‘Hams’ to the rescue in field day exercise

Local amateur radio enthusiasts will host a field day this afternoon in northern Fulton County to showcase their skills in emergencies.

Also called “Ham” radio operators, the volunteers are often called upon to assist when natural disasters or other events disable other communications.

The North Fulton Amateur Radio League will host its field day beginning at 2 p.m. today at the Waller Park extension in Roswell. For additional information, visit www.nfarl.org.

APRIL HUNT

Gwinnett

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

Gwinnett students win in science contests

Gwinnett County Schools science whizzes won top honors at summer tournaments.

A team of five Parkview High School students —- Murat Johnson, Dipesh Patel, Timmy Philip, Siddhartha Deep Datta Roy, and Josh Wong —- won the 2009 State Science Bowl Competition championship title. The Parkview team will represent Georgia in the national competition.

Mayank Tahilrahami of Peachtree Ridge High won $2,000 as a second-place award winner at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Reno, Nev. Parkview’s Courtney Reed placed fourth, earning $500.

More than 50 Gwinnett students participated in the 2009 Georgia Science and Engineering Fair. First-place winners in the senior division were: Rashmi Anand of Peachtree Ridge High in behavioral science; Ella Carr of Peachtree Ridge High in physics; Ashley Hoffman of Collins Hill High in environmental management; Andrea Kuklenyik of Collins Hill High in engineering; and Emily Summerbell of Collins Hill High in behavioral and social science.

First-place winners in the junior division were: Arturo Diaz of J.P. McConnell Middle in mathematics; Sam Gauspohl of Trickum Middle in aeronautical science; and Erika Ikizake of Shiloh Middle in medicine and health. Student Cory Bhowmik of Trickum Middle also won first place and was the division’s grand award recipient. D. AILEEN DODD

Student picked for leadership summit

A Gwinnett County Schools honor student has been selected to attend a national leadership summit.

Urji Tesfaye Nemera of Berkmar High will join students from across the nation and world at the 2009 Congressional Student Leadership Conference on Medicine & Healthcare at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

During the 10-day leadership training conference, participants will study the work of healthcare professionals and learn about case management and treatment options for the sick. Students will interact with robotic simulators that look and respond like patients to practice what they have learned. D. AILEEN DODD

Greater Atlanta

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

Summer graduates get their diplomas Monday

Fulton County Schools seniors who completed graduation requirements during summer session classes will receive their diplomas Monday.

Seven students from Banneker High in College Park and 19 students from Centennial High in Roswell will graduate in ceremonies at 6 p.m. in their school auditoriums.

The campuses hosted the Summer Accelerated Learning Experience program in June for metro Atlanta students looking to work ahead or make up credits for graduation. D. AILEEN DODD

Reinhardt approved for certified police academy

Reinhardt College has been approved to start offering the basic law enforcement training required by the Georgia Peace Officer Standard and Training Council (POST).

The college is launching a pilot program with the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety and its volunteer reserve officers in July. Academy classes will start in September.

“This really is a big development,” said Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood, Reinhardt’s president. “It opens a new chapter in the history of the college, and we are enthusiastic about addressing the training and educational needs of students seeking careers in law enforcement.”

The police academy will be located at the College’s North Fulton Center on Old Milton Parkway in Alpharetta. NANCY BADERTSCHER

3 arrested in robbery; 4th suspect is sought

Three suspects have been arrested following an armed robbery at a Dollar General store, while a fourth suspect remained at large Friday, according to Henry County police.

Police said 20-year-old Lauren Mickens acted as a “look-out” and entered the Dollar General in Ellenwood around 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Then, two 18-year-olds, Terence Johnson and Jarria Lewis, were wearing bandanas on their faces when they entered the store, at 1786 Panola Road, according to witnesses.

Johnson was armed with a handgun, and Lewis removed an undisclosed amount of money from the store’s safe, according to police.

Lewis is still on the loose, Capt. Jason Bolton with the Henry County Police Department said Friday afternoon.

A fourth suspect, 18-year-old Shakia Harris, apparently helped plan the robbery, police said. Harris, Mickens and Johnson were all arrested the night of the robberies, according to police. ALEXIS STEVENS

Man asleep at the wheel leads to marijuana find

Paulding County deputies say they have seized $30,000 worth of marijuana from a Hiram house.

Ryan Fish, 25, is in the county jail, they said. He is charged with drug trafficking and possession of marijuana.

The investigation began June 8 when a deputy found Fish asleep at the wheel on Ga. 120, Paulding Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Brandon Gurley said Friday.

The Haralson-Paulding Drug Task Force later served a search warrant at Fish’s Hiram Sudie Road home, where they found 25 pounds of marijuana and items used for distribution, Gurley said.

Investigators say Fish is a convicted felon. MEGAN MATTEUCCI

State

Two die when aircraft crashes near Cedartown

Two people were killed when a light sport airplane crashed near Cedartown late Thursday afternoon.

Kathleen Bergen of the Federal Aviation Administration said officials are unsure exactly when the plane went down, but 911 calls about a low-flying aircraft were received about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The two victims were found Friday morning by authorities with the help of a witness.

Polk County sheriff’s officials identified the victims as John Keith, 44, of Cedartown and John Edgeworth, 46, of Bowdon.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating what caused the crash.

Bergen said the plane is a Quikr registered to Atlanta Sport Aviation Inc. of Cedartown, in northeast Georgia. The company’s phone number is not listed. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Judicial nominating panel gets new member

Gov. Sonny Perdue has appointed a former federal prosecutor to the panel that vets judicial nominees after another member recused himself because he is a candidate for Georgia’s top court.

Perdue appointed Spence Pryor to the Judicial Nominating Commission. He replaces James P. Kelly III, who recused himself from the proceedings because he is a candidate for the Georgia Supreme Court appointment.

Perdue will soon nominate a replacement for Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who is stepping down at the end of the month. Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein will take her spot as the court’s chief judge.

Pryor is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. He is now a partner with the Alston & Bird law firm.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Judge clears way for transgender lawsuit

A federal judge has cleared the way for a discrimination lawsuit a filed by a former state employee who asserted she was fired because she was undergoing a sex-change procedure.

U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story on Friday denied an attempt by Georgia legislators to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that it could lead to court scrutiny of public employees.

Vandy Beth Glenn claimed in the complaint that she was fired from her job as a legislative editor for the General Assembly because she told her boss she was going to live as a woman full time.

Lambda Legal, which filed the lawsuit, said Story’s decision is a signal that the state Legislature can be challenged “for violating her constitutional rights.”