County by county news for Wednesday

Jamilah Franklin, of Marietta, was sentenced Monday to 3 years’ probation and ordered to pay $25,177 in restitution to the CDC.

From July 2009 to November 2010, Franklin stole from the agency by using checks and a government credit card, court documents say.

Bill Rankin

Cops: Mom on drugs wrecks SUV with toddler aboard

Mandee Roper White, 32, of a Powder Springs address, was arrested after a Wednesday night wreck on Lost Mountain Road in west Cobb.

Investigators believe White was under the influence of hydrocodone and Soma, both controlled substances that she was not legally prescribed, while driving a 2005 Acura MDX with her 2-year-old son aboard, according to police.

Neither White nor her son were seriously injured.

White was arrested and booked into the Cobb County jail on four felony counts of drug possession, in addition to misdemeanor charges of DUI, child endangerment and failure to maintain lane, booking records show. She was released the following night on her own recognizance, according to jail records. Alexis Stevens

YWCA to hold domestic violence vigil

A candlelight vigil to remember victims of domestic violence will be 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Glover Park on the Marietta Square. The vigil is sponsored by the YWCA of Northwest Georgia, the Cobb Circuit District Attorney’s office and the Cobb Solicitor General’s office. The Cobb YWCA runs the only domestic violence shelter in the county. Tucker McQueen for the AJC

Marietta recognizes historic school, library

Marietta will place a historical marker at the Lemon Street elementary school building, 350 Lemon St., the city’s former school for African American students 11 a.m. to noon Thursday

The Marietta Historic Preservation Commission will hold a ceremony at the former Clarke Library, 156 Church St., at 12:30 p.m. Friday. Tucker McQueen for the AJC

Cobb to hold forum on road project

The public will have a chance to look at a proposed project on Windy Hill Road at an open house 5 - 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, 240 Interstate North Parkway, Atlanta. The $25 million project from Powers Ferry Road to Cobb Parkway will include road widening, improved access, drainage and a possible retaining wall and will be funded by the 2011 SPLOST. Tucker McQueen

Hillgrove HS to host charter amendment forum

The Cobb County Association of Educators will hold a forum 6:30 p.m. today at Hillgrove High School’s Joseph Boland Theater on the charter school amendment which will be on the November ballot. The panel will feature CCAE president Connie Jackson, PTA members and Cobb school board member Alison Bartlett.

Information: 770-420-9198.

Daarel Burnette II

GWINNETT

Snellville jewelry store hit by smash-and-grabbers

Snellville police Tuesday were looking for three thieves who smashed their way into a jewelry store before daybreak.

Channel 2 Action News reported that the thieves used a manhole cover to smash through the front door of Barron’s Fine Jewelry on Scenic Highway around 4:40 a.m.

A store owner told Channel 2 that surveillance video showed that the three burglars were inside the store less than a minute, smashing eight glass counters and taking jewelry from the cases.

Mike Morris

Family history expo to be Nov. 9-10

The Georgia Family History Expo will be Nov. 9-10 at the Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Pkwy., Duluth. Professional family historians, genealogists and researchers will teach techniques to trace family roots and an oral historian will discuss the preservation of oral histories. Hours: Friday 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pre-registration is $89 for the two-day event, or $110 at the door. Single day registration is $60.

Information: www.FamilyHistoryExpos.com or 801-829-3295. Veronica Johnson

Police: Homicide victim killed in self-defense

A 22-year-old Gwinnett County man who found dead at a neighborhood park was killed in self-defense, police said.

Rashad Jones was found shot to death on Oct. 16 near the tennis courts in the River Stone neighborhood, located at Bridge Walk Drive and Oak Road, near Lawrenceville and Ronald Reagan Parkway, according to Gwinnett police.

Investigators had thought the shooting was the result of a rip-off scam gone bad. Neither Jones nor the alleged shooter lived in the neighborhood.

Police now believe Jones, who was found with an unloaded gun, was the aggressor and that the shooter, whose name was not released, acted in self-defense. Alexis Stevens

Mobile career lab coming to Gwinnett

The Atlanta Regional Workforce Board’s Mobile Career Lab is coming to the Lawrenceville and Norcross branches of the Gwinnett County Public Library two Mondays a month through Dec. 10. The mobile job center offers 13 computer workstations and three certified job coaches to help with on-line job searches, resume and cover letter development, on-line tutorials and individual assessments and exploration of training eligibility and options.

Information: www.gwinnettpl.org or 770-978-5154. Karen Huppertz

Five early voting sites available in Gwinnett

Early voting for the Nov. 6 general election is available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday through Nov. 2 at 455 Grayson Highway, Lawrenceville.

Beginning Monday through Nov. 2, voting is also available 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at locations in Dacula, Norcross, Snellville and Suwanee.

Information: www.gwinnettcounty.com.

Karen Huppertz for the AJC

NORTHSIDE

Woodstock Council votes to raise fines, fees

The Woodstock City Council Monday night approved hiking a broad range of city fines and fees. Some criminal fines, such as for DUI, will rise steeply, with the fine for a DUI third offense going from $1,647 to $4,851.

Controlled substance possession fines will roughly double, from $728 to $1,415. Some speeding fines will jump by nearly a third; speeding 24 to 33 miles over the limit fines will go from $199 to $280. Illegal dumping fines will quadruple, from $100 to $400. Mark Woolsey for thhe AJC

Early voting, flu vaccine offered in Sandy Springs

Fulton County residents can cast ballots in the 2012 presidential race, then get their annual flu shots, all in one stop. One offering will be in north Fulton: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at the North Fulton Service Center, 7741 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs.

The county’s “Vote and Vax” program is geared to adults age 50 and older. Piedmont Healthcare and Grady Health System are donating the vaccine and providing staff to give the shots.

Information: 404-613-6000.

Johnny Edwards

City seeks input on intersection project

Milton is seeking resident input on improvements to the intersection of Hopewell and Birmingham roads. Those interested in offering opinions can either enter them online or attend an open house from 5 to 6 p.m. Nov. 14 in Suite 107E in City Hall.

The open house precedes a City Council work session in which the topic will be discussed.

The preliminary schedule includes acquiring right-of-way beginning mid-2013 with construction starting later in the year. Completion date is set for late 2014.

Information and comment: visit http://miltonintersectionprojects.com/birmingham-road-at-hopewell-road. Patrick Fox

Fulton assessor Rick Kenny resigns

Rick Kenny, a north Fulton appointee to the Fulton County Board of Assessors, has resigned, citing his move to Hall County. He was nominated six years ago by former Commissioner Lynne Riley, and the commission will name a replacement to finish his term ending June 30, 2013.

The assessors board oversees the setting of fair market values on properties throughout the county, which determines how much taxpayers get billed. During Kenny’s tenure, the commission asked him to resign after learning that the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board deemed him “negligent” in overvaluing a duplex in a private appraisal in 2005.

But the commission can’t compel a resignation over a private business matter, and Kenny refused.

Johnny Edwards

Milton doubles size of popular city park

Milton purchased 14 acres of land adjacent to popular Bell Memorial Park, 15245 Bell Park Road.

The $1.287 million purchase, funded from the city’s parks and land acquisition budget, more than doubles the park’s size.

Its precise use will be determined through public meetings. MICHAEL ALPERT FOR THE AJC

ATLANTA

Embattled assessor appeals license revocation

Fulton County Board of Assessors member Donald Johnson will continue his fight to keep his residential property appraiser’s license, which a state regulatory board revoked last month. The Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board slapped him for overvaluing three quadruplexes and a townhouse in areas of Atlanta rife with mortgage fraud between 2005 and 2007.

Johnson hired a new attorney and filed an appeal last week in Superior Court, asking a judge to let him keep working as a private appraiser while the case is pending. Johnny Edwards

AJC sponsors community forum on the future of pre-k

The second Atlanta Forward Community Forum will be 6:30 p.m. Thursdayat Georgia Public Broadcasting, 260 14th St. N.W. The forum, sponsored by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and PNC Bank, will feature a diverse panel of experts discussing the future of Georgia’s nationally recognized pre-k program. The event is free and open to the public. Information: www.ajc.com/go/ajcpncforum. Veronica Fields Johnson

Home Depot Foundation to transform veterans home

The Home Depot Foundation and its Team Depot volunteers will help transform the transitional housing facility run by Veterans Empowerment Organization of Georgia 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m Thursday at 373 West Lake Ave. NW. The event is part of Celebration of Service, the foundation’s two-month initiative to do more for U.S. military veterans. Sandra Marshall Murray

Nonprofit training conference this week

Clark Atlanta University’s Department of African-American Studies, Africana Women’s Studies and History and the Nonprofit Training Institute will sponsor the Working for the Good conference Thursday and Friday at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, 111 James P. Brawley Drive, S.W. The event will help nonprofit organizations identify resources and overcome challenges.

Information: nptiga.org/conference.htm. Veronica Fields Johnson

DEKALB

Suspect charged in shooting death of DeKalb man

Dearies Favors, 20, was arrested Monday and charged with felony murder and probation violation in the death of DeMarco Booker, 18.

Police received a report of the shooting around 4:30 a.m. in the 2100 block of Vineyard Walk at the Vineyard Walk Apartments near Flat Shoals Road. When officers arrived they found Booker dead in the driver’s seat of a late-model Jaguar. Fran Jeffries

Caregiver accused of stealing from 100-year-old

A warrant has been issued for 52-year-old Katherine Allen Carter on charges of theft by taking. Police suspect about $8,500 worth of jewelry was stolen.

Synthia Roberson hired Carter to help her look after her 100-year-old mother, Florazelle Teele, who needs round-the-clock care.

Roberson said she started noticing that jewelry was missing. She notified Dunwoody police.

Carter was connected to the stolen jewelry when some of it was located at a pawn shop, police said.

Anyone with information should contact the Dunwoody Police Department at 678-382-6914. Angel K. Brooks

Large Decatur crowd mostly rejects annexation

Roughly 150 people, the largest Decatur city-hall gathering in recent memory, showed up Monday, mostly to voice displeasure over the city’s proposed annexation. About 75 percent of those residents speaking before the city commission were against the annexation of six areas north and east of the city.

Almost all cited increased property taxes as their predominant reason. The proposal would increase Decatur from 4.2 to 5 square miles and add 2,000 people to the current population of 19,000.

Bill Banks for the AJC

School board member to meet with the public

South DeKalb County school board member Donna Edler will speak at a meeting of the Les Chateaux Civic Association 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Timothy United Methodist Church, 5365 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain.

Edler represents schools feeding Clarkston, Columbia, Redan and Towers high schools. Ty Tagami

DeKalb NAACP gearing up for annual banquet

The DeKalb County branch of the NAACP is hosting its annual Freedom Fund awards and banquet 7 p.m. Saturday at the Courtyard by Marriott Decatur, 130 Clairemont Ave. Tickets are $75 and include a keynote speech by former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmon.

Information/tickets: 404-241-8006.April Hunt

DeKalb Medical gets new MRI maching

DeKalb Medical has installed a new MRI machine at the North Decatur campus. The DeKalb Medical Foundation announced it was made possible by a donation from philanthropist Dr. M. Bobbie Bailey.

The Skyra 3T MRI scanner is the most powerful open MRI machine clinically available. It will help diagnose a wide range of conditions, ranging from sprains and fractures to highly detailed breast tissue scans that allow early detection of cancer.

Information: www.dekalbmedical.org/foundation. Kenneth Musisi

SOUTHSIDE

Peachtree City assessment group meets Thursday

The public is invited to attend the Peachtree City Needs Assessment Committee’s meeting at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the City Hall Community Room.

The 13-member volunteer group is compiling opinions about municipal services and fiscal priorities to help shape the city’s FY2014 budget.

Information: www.peachtree-city.org/needs.

Jill Howard Church for the AJC

Day camp offered during Thanksgiving break

The Henry County Parks and Recreation Department is offering a day camp Nov. 19-21 during the holiday break week for Henry County schools. The cost for the camp is $75 per child and camp hours are from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. for ages 5 to 12. Camps will be held at Heritage Park in McDonough, the J. P. Moseley Recreation Center in Stockbridge and the Fairview Recreation Center in Stockbridge. Register online at www.hcprd.org. Information: 770-288-7300. Monroe Roark for the AJC

Lake Spivey road race set for early November

The Clayton County Parks and Recreation Department will host the 5th Annual Lake Spivey Road Race 8 a.m. Nov. 3. There is a 5k race, as well as a certified 15k race. The race will start and end at 2272 Walt Stephens Road, Jonesboro, with parking available at the First Christian Church of Jonesboro. Information: www.lakespiveyroadrace. Nancy Badertscher

Stop-smoking courses at Piedmont Henry

Piedmont Henry Hospital, which will become a smoke-free campus at the beginning of 2013, will offer several Fresh Start smoking cessation courses over the next three months. The four-week American Cancer Society program will run Nov. 6-27 (Tuesdays); Dec. 13-21 (Thursdays and Fridays); and Jan. 8-29 (Tuesdays).

Information: piedmonthenry.org/classes or 678-604-1040.Monroe Roark

Ola teacher honored by Georgia Power

Amanda Peabody, an architecture and engineering teacher at Ola High School, was among 44 Georgians to receive a New Teacher Assistance Grant recently from Georgia Power.

Eligible candidates must be a first-year teacher at a Georgia public school who was in the top 25 percent of his or her class academically.

Georgia Power has awarded the $1,000 grants annually since 2004 to help encourage new teachers to stay in the profession and to provide them with funds to purchase classroom supplies, equipment or materials not provided by their schools. Peabody is a University of Georgia graduate. Monroe Roark for the AJC

Jonesboro gets ready for Christmas fest

Food and arts/crafts vendors are needed for the 18th annual Parade and Street Fest, “Christmas in Jonesboro”, scheduled for noon to 7 p.m. Nov. 17 on Main Street in Jonesboro. Information: Jonesboro City Hall at 770-478-3800 or jdurrance@jonesboroga.com. Kenneth Musisi