City of Atlanta
Burglar and dog killer gets 22 years in prison
The first member of a robbery crew that shot two dogs during a home invasion has been sentenced to 22 years in prison, with 17 years to serve, the Fulton County district attorney announced Friday. Reshad Harris, 19, and two others allegedly broke into a house in Chattahoochee Hills in August 2008 while the owners were away. The burglars killed two dogs, Maya and Ginger, according to the district attorney, who said that the dogs had not been threatening the intruders but were actually trying to run away from them.
MASHAUN D. SIMON
Hispanic engineers and Navy open essay contest
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Advancing Hispanic Excellence in Technology, Engineering, Math and Science and the U.S. Navy are inviting SHPE student members to enter the first Navy Diversity Essay Competition.
Entrants must have at least a 3.0 GPA and be 18 or older. The deadline to submit an essay on "Service to the Country as an Engineer" is Sept. 10. Three winners will be chosen and will get to choose among three prizes —- fly with the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, board an aircraft carrier or step onto a nuclear submarine. Information: www.ahetems.org.
GRACIE BONDS STAPLES
Ovarian cancer center
leads in tissue research
The Ovarian Cancer Institute in Atlanta recently logged its 1,000th tumor sample, making it one of the largest tissue banks for ovarian cancer in the world, its officials said. The samples are used for research toward better treatment for the disease.
The practice operates on a new patient with ovarian cancer almost daily. Ovarian cancer will strike almost 30,000 women this year, according to the institute.
CRAIG SCHNEIDER
Cobb
Acworth * Austell * Kennesaw * Mableton * Marietta * Powder Springs * Smyrna * Vinings
Austell's water service
will be down Monday
Water service in parts of Austell will be interrupted Monday starting at 8 a.m. and extending throughout most of the day. The areas to be affected include Flint Hill Road, Jones Road, Medford Lane, Perkerson Mill Road, Sumpter Place and Valley Lake Road.
The city says the interruption is necessary so a contractor can connect a new water line to existing water lines. When water service is restored, residents may notice discoloration. Before using the water, residents should flush their pipes by letting the water run several minutes.
Information: Austell Public Works at 770-944-4325 or e-mail to duane@austell.org. RALPH ELLIS
Sheriff's Corn Boilin'
to be held Monday
Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren will continue a 20-year tradition with a "Corn Boilin' " from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at Jim Miller Park in Cobb County.
The tradition started when former Sheriff Bill Hutson and Warren, then the chief deputy, decided to thank friends and political supporters by cooking a big pot of corn, along with other vegetables from the summer harvest.
The event evolved into a fund-raiser that benefits the Cobb County Youth Museum. The sheriff's department said the Corn Boilin' has raised more than $130,000 for the museum.
Admission is $20. Information, call 770-429-8287. RALPH ELLIS
DeKalb
Avondale Estates * Chamblee * Clarkston * Decatur * Doraville * Dunwoody * Lithonia * Pine Lake * Stone Mountain * Tucker
Emory prof to discuss
Leo Frank lynching
An Emory University professor will show clips of some of the programs that aired after the 1913 murder of Leo Frank during a discussion at the Georgia Center for the Book next week.
Matthew H. Bernstein will talk about the productions in relation to race, religion and law at the event. He also will have copies of his new book on the case, "Screening A Lynching."
The free event begins at 7:15 p.m. Monday at the Decatur Library on Sycamore Street.
APRIL HUNT
Doraville offering
water aerobics class
Doraville has begun offering water aerobics at the city pool four times a week for residents and nonresidents.
Morning sessions are every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m., while evening classes are at 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays. Classes are $3 per session.
Information: call instructor Elaine Adams at 770-458-4805.
APRIL HUNT
DeKalb school board reschedules meeting
The DeKalb County school board has rescheduled the meeting planned for Monday. Officials will now meet July 20 instead, at 6 p.m. at the school system's Robert R. Freeman Administrative Center, 3770 North Decatur Rd., near Decatur.
Fulton
Alpharetta * Chattahoochee Hills * College Park * East Point * Fairburn * Hapeville * Johns Creek * Milton * Palmetto * Roswell * Sandy Springs * Union City
Sandy Springs redesigning Web site
The city of Sandy Springs is redesigning its Web site to make it easier for residents to use. Part of the changes will come from results of surveys of randomly selected users. Those interested in offering ideas and opinions about the site, www.sandyspringsga.org, may also take the survey by clicking a link on the page.
The redesign is expected to be completed later this year.
APRIL HUNT
East Point hoping for grant to help housing
The East Point Housing Authority is asking for $8.4 million in federal money to help fix up at least 100 vacant and foreclosed homes in the city.
The money would go toward buying and renovating the houses to rent or sell to low- and moderate-income residents, housing authority director Kim Lemish said. A quarter of the properties would be set aside for families making less than half the median income, or about $35,000 a year for a family of four.
One in five East Point residents is at or below the poverty line, and the city has 400 homes in foreclosure. APRIL HUNT
Public hearings planned
on water and sewer plan
The Water Services Division of the Fulton County Department of Public Works is hosting five public meetings beginning on July 13, 2009, to listen to residents on the annual update of the county's water and sewer capital plan.
The meetings will be:
7 p.m. Monday, Sandy Springs Library, 395 Mount Vernon Highway NE, Sandy Springs;
7 p.m. Tuesday, South Fulton Service Center Auditorium, 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park.
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Northview High School, 10625 Parson Road, Johns Creek.
7 p.m. Thursday, Burdett Park, 2945 Burdett Road, College Park.
July 23 6:30 p.m., Roswell High School Media Center, 11595 King Road, Roswell.
D.L. BENNETT
Gwinnett
Berkeley Lake * Buford * Dacula * Duluth * Grayson * Lawrenceville * Lilburn * Norcross * Snellville * Sugar Hill * Suwanee
Mountain Park school
set to open new wing
Mountain Park Elementary School will host a ribbon-cutting celebration for its new wing. The ceremony for the school, at 11895 Mountain Park Road in Roswell, will be at 3 p.m. Aug. 2. The new wing for Mountain Park cost about $3.7 million dollars and was funded by the SPLOST program. It features 16 classrooms and two teacher workrooms. The new space means that fourth- and fifth-graders won't have to learn in portable classrooms anymore.
AJC STAFF REPORT
State
Barnes sets up Web site for his gubernatorial bid
Roy Barnes, the once and potentially future Democratic Georgia governor, made his first major public foray into the 2010 race Friday with the launch of Roy2010, the campaign's official Web site. The site features updated photos and a video from Barnes, who lost his bid for re-election in 2002 to Gov. Sonny Perdue. Barnes announced in June that he would join the race for the Democratic nomination, but did not officially begin his campaign until this week. Barnes' entry to the race makes it a four-way primary for Democrats. Also running are Attorney General Thurbert Baker, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) and former Adjutant Gen. David Poythress. Anyone wanting to compare Barnes' site to the others' can try these URLs:
thurbertbaker.com
porterofgeorgia.com
poythressforgovernor.com
Albany officer's vest
prevents stab wound
An Albany Police officer's bulletproof vest has saved him from a knife attack at a nursing home. Patrolman McKinley Windom said he was lucky to be wearing the vest when a man attacked him with a steak knife inside a crowded room at Palmyra Nursing Home on Thursday in Albany. He and a fellow officer were able to arrest the man without anyone but the assailant suffering any injury. Police had been called to the nursing home to remove an unwanted guest. They said that, without warning, 47-year-old Marion Sweet pulled a steak knife from his pocket and attacked Windom. Officers later discovered that Sweet was wanted for parole violation, according to WALB-TV in Albany.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Atlanta appeals court
rejects bid for new trial
The federal appeals court in Atlanta has turned down a bid for a new trial by a man convicted of the shooting death of a Birmingham, Ala., woman in 1992. Michael Jeffrey Land claimed an incriminating statement he made after police coercion was improperly admitted at his first trial in the murder of Candace Brown, 30, who was missing for several days before hikers found her body in an abandoned limestone quarry on Brimingham's Ruffner Mountain. Land also claimed in a habeas corpus petition that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in both the guilt and penalty phases of the trial. A federal judge denied his petition, and a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision on Friday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Greater Atlanta
Cherokee * Clayton * Coweta * Douglas * Fayette * Forsyth * Henry * Paulding * Rockdale
Man gets 30 years
for second meth offense
A Canton man will serve 12 years in prison for his role as a supplier of methamphetamine in Cherokee County. Trenton David McWhirter pleaded guilty July 1 in Cherokee County Superior Court to trafficking in methamphetamine and narcotics possession, Cherokee authorities said Friday. A judge sentenced McWhirter, 37, to 30 years, of which he will serve 12 years in prison. County authorities arrested McWhirter in February with about 7 ounces of methamphetamine, Ecstasy and other narcotics in his possession. He had been on probation at the time for a meth offense in 2004. AJC STAFF REPORT
Forsyth invites folks
to Adopt-a-Stream
Keep Forsyth County Beautiful (KFCB) is hosting a series of two-part workshops on its Adopt-A-Stream program, in which people help monitor the health and water quality of local streams. "We hope the participants will walk away from the workshops with an understanding of the impact they can have on water quality in our community and the state as a whole," said Kevin Smith, the organization's community outreach specialist. To register for the workshops, contact Smith at 678-513-5892 or kdsmith@forsythco.com.
NANCY BADERTSCHER
Raccoon tests
positive for rabies
Authorities in Forsyth County said a raccoon that tried to bite a camper during the July 4 weekend tested positive for rabies. The 55-year-old man was camping by a creek on Cantrell Road on July 5 when he encountered the raccoon. He killed the animal and notified the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. In a press release Friday, Sheriff Ted Paxton said subsequent tests showed the raccoon had rabies.
NANCY BADERTSCHER
Store awards 3 students
$1,000 scholarships
Three Atlanta-area youths were recently honored by Kohl's department stores for their volunteer efforts.
Ansley Edenfield, Sterling Bright and Zayan Rahman were among 200 kids nationwide who received $1,000 scholarships.
Ansley, 17, of Loganville, raised $13,000 for breast cancer research; Sterling, 10, of Riverdale, collected and donated more than 250 toiletry bags to needy families; and Zayan, 8, of Woodstock, raised money to create free health care clinics.
Winners qualify for one of 10 national scholarships worth $5,000. The grand-prize winners will be announced at the end of this month.
GRACIE BONDS STAPLES
Charter school grants
available from state
Charter school operators strapped for cash may apply for a share of $2.2 million in grants to help offset their costs. Facility Grant Applications are available on the state Department of Education's Web site, www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_charter.aspx .
The funds can be used to buy property, build new facilities, make lease payments, furnish and equip schools, renovate and landscape campuses and buy school buses, as well as pay the salaries of janitors. The deadline for applications is Aug. 15. Funds must be spent by May 31, 2010.
Information, call the Charter School Division at 404 657-0515.
D. AILEEN DODD
Housing authority
in Clayton honored
The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment is honoring the Housing Authority of Clayton County for an apartment rehabilitation project.
The authority started work on the Premier Garden Apartment Homes in 2005. The project was renamed and rebranded and improved the property's management, quality of life, revenues and marketability, said Linda Valentine, executive director of the authority.
Authority board members will receive the award for "Program Innovation in Affordable Housing" next week at a conference in Portland, Ore. RALPH ELLIS
