COBB
Case tossed against ex-CEO of Cobb EMC
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday upheld the dismissal of a criminal indictment against the former chief executive officer of Cobb EMC, even though he still faces charges in another indictment. The court said the Jan. 6, 2011, indictment against Dwight T. Brown, who is accused of operating the utility as a for-profit company that benefited its leaders, was not returned “in a place that was open to the public.”
After the initial indictment was thrown out by a Cobb judge, prosecutors went back to the grand jury in July 2012 and obtained a new indictment against him. Brown faces 31 counts. Bill Rankin
Ramp reopens after package threat
A Cobb County interstate ramp has reopened after being shut down for more than an hour during Monday’s morning commute while authorities investigated a suspicious package.
Georgia State Patrol troopers blocked the ramp from Canton Highway to I-75 southbound before 8 a.m. Monday. The Cobb County Police bomb squad was also on the scene.
The all-clear was sounded and the ramp reopened at 9:05 a.m., according to the State Patrol. Mike Morris
Orchestra to move to Marietta High
The Georgia Symphony Orchestra will move to the new performing arts center at Marietta High School after this year’s 2013-2014 season.
The orchestra will also work with the school’s performing arts students. The 70-member orchestra, currently based at Mount Paran Christian School in Kennesaw, will continue some performances at Kennesaw State University.
Information: www.georgiasymphony.org.
Tucker McQueen
Computer Basics taught at libraries
Three free computer basics classes will be offered 3 to 4 p.m. today and Thursday at South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road, Mableton and 11 a.m. to noon Monday at Mountain View Regional Library, 3320 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta.
Registration is required.
Register: South Cobb, 678-398-5828 or Mountain View, 770-509-2725. Carolyn Cunningham for the AJC
Race to benefit cleft charity scheduled
A 5K race to benefit Smile Train, a non-profit organization that performs free cleft surgeries for children, will take place at 8 a.m. Saturday at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2922 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta.
Registration is $25. Information: www.hotlipshustle5k.com or www.smiletrain.org.
Mea Watkins
Cobb retired educators to meet Thursday
The Cobb Marietta Retired Educators Association will meet at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the Freeman Poole Multipurpose Center, 4025 S. Hurt Road, Smyrna.
Kary Brownlee of Freedom Wealth Partners will speak on the topic, “You’re Retired. Now What?”
Lunch will be provided by Mother’s Finest for $10 per person. To make a reservation contact Debby Overstreet at debbybob@comcast.net.
Information: 770-801-3400, www.cmrea.org. Mea Watkins
GWINNETT
Death sentence tossed in restaurant slayings
A judge has thrown out the death sentence imposed against Joaquin Enrique Arevalo for the 1998 armed robbery and slayings of two workers at Tanner’s Rotisserie Chicken in Lawrenceville.
Superior Court Judge Dane Perkins found that Arevalo’s trial attorneys failed to investigate and president evidence of Arevalo’s mental retardation, post-traumatic stress disorder and organic brain damage. Restaurant manager Marc Ratthaus and cook Adolpho Gonzales were killed by Arevalo, his brother and another man. Prosecutors said Arevalo had been fired from Tanner’s for refusing to take out the trash. Bill Rankin
Review begins of curriculum materials
Officials with Gwinnett public schools are asking parents and members of the community to join GCPS staff in reviewing proposed curriculum materials through Sept. 21. The review covers student textbooks and associated teacher resources for grades K-5 and for two new high school mathematics courses.
Information: 678-301-6828.
Nancy Badertscher
Workshop on teen societal issues set
The Lilburn Woman’s Club will host a free workshop on societal issues affecting teens for educators, parents and others who work with children 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 21 at Mountain Park United Methodist Church, 1405 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain. Topics include understanding legal consequences, preventing youth sexual abuse, effective response to bullying, learning the truth about dating violence and identifying suicidal tendencies.
Reservations are required.
Information: www.mountainparkumc.org or 770-921-8512. Veronica Fields Johnson
Suwanee to dedicate 9/11 artifact sculpture
Suwanee will hold a brief dedication ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Town Center Park, for an artistic display created to memorialize 9-11-2001. The sculptural display, created by Statesboro artist Marc Moulton, features a 1,628-pound damaged, twisted relic from one of the World Trade Center towers, which was given to a Suwanee couple by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Since unveiling the artifact two years ago, the City has worked to determine a permanent location and create an appropriate display for the artifact, which was part of an exterior steel panel from floors 101-104 of one of the twin towers.
The dedication ceremony will include a performance by the North Gwinnett High School Advanced Chamber Orchestra. www.suwanee.com. Karen Huppertz for the AJC
Seniors can register for computer classes
Gwinnett Senior Learning Center will hold fall registration for senior computer classes from 10 a.m. to noon today at the Bethesda Park Senior Center, 225 Bethesda Church Road, Lawrenceville and 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday at George Pierce Park Community Center, 55 Buford Highway, Suwanee. Classes will begin the week of Sept. 16.
Information: www.gsrlc.org or 770-564-4699.
Veronica Fields Johnson
NORTHSIDE
Cherokee considering voting precinct changes
The Cherokee County Elections and Voting Registration Department will hold a public hearing on proposed precinct changes at 7 p.m. Monday at the elections building, 400 E. Main St., Canton.
Officials are considering changes in precinct lines and voting locations reducing the current 42 precincts to 28, beginning with the May, 2014 primary.
Another public hearing and final adoption are set for Oct. 7.
Information: voter.cherokeega.com
Mark Woolsey for the AJC
Fatal wreck shuts down Ga. 400 Monday
All southbound lanes of Ga. 400 in Forsyth County were shut down Monday afternoon while authorities worked to clear a fatal wreck that happened around 11 a.m. just south of Pilgrim Mill Road.
A tractor-trailer hauling lumber, a van and a smaller vehicle were involved, and one woman died in the wreck, according to authorities.
The van burst into flames, and two bystanders pulled a man out of the burning vehicle.
Southbound traffic was being diverted off the highway at Pilgrim Mill, and northbound lanes, while open, were sluggish. Mike Morris
Free math tutoring available at library
Children in grades K-8 can receive free math tutoring 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays at the Ocee Library Branch, 5090 Abbotts Bridge Road, Johns Creek. Tutors will provide math instruction and students should bring an assignment or topic with which they are struggling.
Information: 770-362-8897.
Veronica Fields Johnson
Alpharetta Elementary PTO receives 38 iPads
Students at Alpharetta Elementary School will have more access to the Internet thanks to a donation of 38 iPads to the Parent Teacher Organization by AT&T Business Solutions on Friday. The iPads will be used to enrich student learning. Nancy Badertscher
Forsyth sets electronic recycling event
Keep Forsyth County Beautiful will hold an electronics recycling event 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Cumming Fairgrounds parking lot 3 off Castleberry Road. Laptops, CD players, cell phones and microwaves are among the items that will be accepted with a minimum donation of $5 per carload.
Information: forsythco.com Mark Woolsey for the AJC
Funk Heritage Center to host free symposium
History Beneath Our Feet: Archaeology and the Cherokee Trail of Tears will be the topic of a free symposium Sept. 21 at Funk Heritage Center of Reinhardt University, 7300 Reinhardt College Circle, Waleska.
The program features archaeologists who have worked in Cherokee archaeology. The audience will learn how archaeology has enhanced understanding of Cherokee history, including the Trail of Tears.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. for the event, which ends at 12:30 p.m. An optional pre-paid luncheon will follow. Due to limited seating, reservations are required.
Information: 770-720-5970 or www.reinhardt.edu/funkheritage. Mea Watkins
ATLANTA
Atlanta adult education makes gains
The adult education program in Atlanta Public Schools is being praised for making improvements.
Beverly Smith, assistant commissioner for the Technical College System of Georgia’s Office of Adult Education, said the program should share its practices with other struggling adult education programs across the state.
The adult education program implemented a plan to ensure educational gains for students after it was on a program improvement plan in 2013, according to the school district.
Mark Niesse
Georgia Boy Choir seeking memebers
The Georgia Boy Choir accepted 21 new members into their ranks on Saturday after recruiting them from schools such as Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, E. Rivers Elementary School and Nesbit Elementary School.
The choir, currently in its 5th season will serve as the Choir In Residence at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral this summer. Auditions are being held again Saturday at the Heiskell School at 4360 Northside Drive. Information: /www.georgiaboychoir.org/auditions or call 404-402-4083.
Nancy Badertscher
Library to offer adult literacy classes
Adult literacy classes will be offered 10 a.m. to noon Friday at the Martin Luther King Library Branch, 409 John Wesley Dobbs Dr. Help will be available for those who would like to improve their reading skills or those who want to learn how to read. Reservations are required. Information: 404-730-1185. Veronica Fields Johnson
Superintendent search group to meet
The group searching for Atlanta’s next schools superintendent will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday at the school district’s downtown headquarter. This is the first meeting since the school board hired a new company to find candidates.
BoardWalk Consulting plans to review preferences, priorities and next steps at the meeting. Mark Niesse
DEKALB
One dead in south DeKalb shooting
A fatal shooting happened just after 1 a.m. Monday in the 800 block of Arbor Crossing Drive. A 20-year-old male victim was visiting someone at the Arbor Crossing complex when he was shot. He later died at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Witnesses said they heard at least five gunshots, then saw someone running from the scene. Police have not released the victim’s name or a motive for the shooting. Mike Morris
DeKalb hits record school enrollment
DeKalb County Schools has hit a record enrollment, interim Superintendent Mike Thurmond told the school board Monday. The district had 99,703 students as of Sept. 4, reversing a trend of declining enrollment, Thurmond said.
He attributed it to “the confidence of parents” in the school system, which was placed on probation by the accrediting agency SACS in 2012 and had a majority of its school board members removed by the governor.
According to the district’s website, the enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year was about 98,700.
Nancy Badertscher
Public safety focus of interim CEO adress
DeKalb County’s public safety issues and outlook will be the focus of an address 2 p.m. Wednesday at the county’s Public Safety Headquarters, 1950 W. Exchange Place, Tucker. by interim CEO Lee May.
May plans to review the current status of police and fire in the county as well as discuss upcoming initiatives in the services. April Hunt
Jobs bus stops scheduled for this week
DeKalb County’s “jobs bus” – an RV outfitted with computers, private interview area and office gear for job seekers – will be stationed 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the St. Vincent de Paul Society, 4871 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain.; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at Department of Family and Children Services office, 178 Sams St., Decatur; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at Villages of East Lake, 460 East Lake Blvd., Atlanta.
April Hunt
Library sale focus of meeting
The DeKalb County Public Library will hold a community meeting 7 p.m. Wednesday at 2775 Briarcliff Road to discuss its plans to sell the former library branch. The library plans to have the property rezoned into office use for sale.
A Q and A session will give an opportunity for resident input.
April Hunt
5K Stroke Awareness Walk/Run at church
Saint Philip AME Church Health Ministry will host its annual Rev. George Moore Sr. Stroke Awareness Walk/Run and Wellness Festival 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 28 at 240 Candler Road. Registration: $20 through Sep. 15 and $25 after that.
The festival will feature over 50 vendors focusing on traditional and alternative medicine, cooking demonstrations, fitness and exercise, and more. The festival is free and the proceeds from the race will be donated to local stroke associations in honor of Rev. George Moore Sr., retired Senior Pastor of Saint Philip A.M.E. Church for 41 years. Information: www.active.com/ or 404-371-0749. Sandra Marshall Murray
SOUTHSIDE
Two people injured in Henry crash
Two people were injured in a Sunday afternoon accident on I-75 North in Henry County.
The crash closed all lanes of the highway before I-675, at exit 227, just after 1:30 p.m. All lanes reopened by 3:35 p.m.
The accident involved a GMC Sierra and a Saturn passenger car.
Smith said the female driver of the Saturn was extricated from her vehicle and air-lifted to Atlanta Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Another person was taken to Piedmont Henry Hospital. Arielle Kass
College Park library to offer GED testing
The College Park Library Branch will offer GED Testing at 9 a.m. Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 at the library, 3647 Main St., College Park. The GED consists of five tests.
Each test is $32 and the entire battery is $160. Each participant must bring a valid state ID and money order when registering. Information: 404-762-4060. Veronica Fields Johnson
Babysitting course offered in Fayette
A one-day babysitting training course for youths age 11 and older will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 at Piedmont Fayette hospital, 1279 Hwy. 54 West in Fayetteville. The Safe Sitter training includes first aid, CPR, child development, behavior issues and business practices.
Registration is $45; call 770-719-5815 or contact maria.lepage@piedmont.org.
Jill Howard Church for the AJC
Dutchtown receives grant to buy e-books
Henry County’s Dutchtown Elementary School recently received a $2,000 Youth Literacy grant from the Dollar General Literacy Organization. The grant will be used to purchase books that the students want to read in electronic format.
Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $84.9 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 4.8 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education. Nancy Badertscher
Fayette workshop helps explain Medicare
A free workshop called “Navigating Through the Medicare Maze” will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday at the Life Enrichment Center, 4 Center Drive in Fayetteville.
Co-sponsored by Piedmont Fayette Hospital’s Sixty Plus Services and Fayette Senior Services, the event will offer expert guidance about Medicare insurance and changes to the program.
Registration is required; call 770-461-0813.
Jill Howard Church for the AJC
Poster contest focuses on school bus safety
Entries are being accepted until Friday for the Henry County School Bus Safety Poster Contest.
It is open to all students in kindergarten through eighth grade enrolled in Henry County public schools. There are four categories: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and special education.
Every poster and slogan must harmonize with the 2013 poster contest theme: “At my Stop – You Stop!”
Information: www.henry.k12.ga.us.
Monroe Roark for the AJC
