WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM • FRIDAY,
SEPT. 28
, 2012 • VOL. 15, NO. 27 •FREE
F
REE
P
RESS
• A PUBLICATION OF ACE III COMMUNICATIONS •
County planning park at old Johns’ family site
www.facebook.com/ championnewspaper
www.championnewspaper.com
www.twitter.com/ championnews
Follow us.
Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.
Nearly 200 years old, the Johns homestead, located on Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker, is part of 50 acres that DeKalb County is planning to develop into a park. The housewas occupied by Johns family descendants until the 1980s. Photos by Andrew CauthenDucks, beavers, geese and other wildlife populate the Twin Brothers Lake property, part of the tract the county plans to develop.
See House on Page 13A
by Andrew Cauthenandrew@dekalbchamp.com
W
hen the Johnsfamily received itsland grant in ap- proximately 1827,the property was 202.5 acresalong what is now Lawrencev-ille Highway in Tucker.The family built a house onthe property and Johns’ familydescendants farmed the landuntil the 1980s, according to
Dave
Butler
, DeKalb County’sgreenspace environmental man-ager. Now DeKalb County,which purchased the last 23acres of the Johns family prop-erty in 2004 at a cost of $4.72million, is planning a park atthe site located at 3071 Law-renceville Highway. In 2006,the county purchased the ad- joining Twin Brothers Lakes property for $2.31 million,making the park approximately50 acres in all, including other smaller acquisitions.What was the family’soriginal acreage now containsthe Floral Hills cemetery, Re-hoboth Baptist Church and sev-eral neighborhoods.The Johns’ family assistedwith the construction of the firstchurch building at Rehoboth, a
The Champion Free Press, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 Page 2A
Local News
Sneidermanallowed to attendsynagogue
Proposed Substantial Amendment to the 2008-2012Consolidated Plan, including the 2008 Annual Action PlanFor
the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 1
The DeKalb County Human and Community Development Department is proposing asubstantial amendment to the 2008-2012 Consolidated Plan, including the 2008 Annual Action Plan. This substantial amendment will amend the budget of NeighborhoodStabilization Program 1 (NSP1) Application submitted to HUD in 2008. In accordancewith the Housing and Economic Recovery Act 2008, the Department of Housing andUrban Development has allocated $18,545,013 in emergency funding for assistancewith the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed properties.The purpose of this amendment is to revise the budget to show the planned use of additional program income and any subsequent changes that may be necessary on theuse of NSP1 funds. The budget categories include acquisition, rehabilitation anddisposition of foreclosed homes; establishment of land banks; demolition of blightedstructures; redevelopment of vacant properties; and, complying with all NeighborhoodStabilization Program 1 (NSP-1) requirements. All citizens are invited to review the Proposed Substantial Amendment to the 2008-2012Consolidated Plan, including the 2008 Annual Action Plan for the NeighborhoodStabilization Program 1 from
September 13, 2012 – September 28, 2012
on theDeKalb County website, http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/commdev/publicNotices.html, andat the location identified below.
DeKalb County Human and Community Development Department150 East Ponce de Leon Avenue, Suite 330, Decatur, Georgia 30030Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Comment forms may be obtained and completed at the above listed location. Commentsmay also be faxed or emailed to the Human and Community Development Department
.
Fax: (404) 286-3337Email: amitchell@dekalbcountyga.gov
Help complete your child’s future by encouraging them to geta college degree. Call the Hispanic Scholarship Fund today at
1-877-HSF-INFO or visit
YourWordsToday.org
to learn more.
Their tomorrow depends on your words today.
My child is goingto college at
.
by Daniel Beauregarddaniel@dekalbchamp.com
Andrea Sneiderman
,who was arrested Aug. 2and charged as an accom- plice in the 2010 murder of her husband
Rusty Sneider-man
,
recently won two mi-nor court victories on Sept.19 and 20.Superior Court Judge
Gregory Adams
signed amotion Sept. 20 allowingSneiderman to leave her home to attend a synagogueapproximately a mile-and-a-half from her parents’ home,where she is currently livingunder house arrest.Sneiderman, who was re-leased on $500,000 bond inAugust, is accused of havingan affair with
Hemy Neu-man
and conspiring withhim to murder her husbandfor his approximately $2.2million in assets. Neumanlater admitted to the murder and was charged and is serv-ing a life sentence withoutthe possibility of parole.“In addition to the high-holidays, we have asked permission for her to attend
the rst candlelight service
of Chanukah which is Dec.8,” Sneiderman’s attorney
John Petrey
said. “She has been out on bond just shortof a month now and she hascomplied with each and ev-ery individual order in rela-tion to that.”Adams granted the mo-tion, which Chief DeputyDistrict Attorney
DonGeary
and District Attorney
Robert James
didn’t con-test.Prior to attending any of the services, Sneiderman isrequired to contact the anklemonitoring company and letit know the address and ex-act times of each service.“I’m going to give her permission with the under-standing that she will needto depart 15 minutes prior to attending the service andreturn within 15 minutes of leaving the service,” Adamssaid.On Sept. 19, lawyers for
Sneiderman led a motion
to contest the freezing of the$2.2 million in assets, whichshe received from the deathof her late husband. When
Sneiderman was rst taken
into custody the court frozeher assets. Sneiderman’slawyers argued that sincethe bank that controlledthose assets, Bank of New York Mellon, didn’thave a branch in DeKalbCounty, the court had no jurisdiction.However, Geary didn’tcontest the motion andinformed the court thata second freeze was be-ing granted by a judgein Fulton County, wherethere is a branch of the bank. Meanwhile,
EstherPanitch
, the attorneyfor Rusty Sneiderman’s brother
Steve Sneider-man
, led a motion Sept.
19 asserting a claim for the insurance money,which he reportedlydoesn’t want “wasted” onlawyer fees for AndreaSneiderman.Judge Adams dis-missed the motion, rulingit a “moot” point due tothe freeze order in FultonCounty. Yom Kippur,
Sept. 26, will be the rst
of several services Snei-derman has asked permis-sion to attend.Sneiderman is sched-uled to be arraigned inAdams’ courtroom Oct. 8at 8:30 a.m.
Andrea Sneiderman, shown here in an Aug. 2 bond hearing, has been granted permission to attendsynagogue while under house arrest. A DeKalb judge also released a freeze on $2 million in insurancemoney, but Fulton County still has a freeze on the funds. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, KentD. Johnson)
Page 3A The Champion Free Press, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012
Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper
NEWS BRIEFS
County names new toptechnology chief
DeKalb County CEO
Burrell
Ellis
has named
John
Matelski
as the county’s newchief informa-
tion ofcer
and director of informationtechnology.Matelski,who currentlyis the chief in-
formation of-
cer and direc-tor of Informa-tion Technology(IT) Servicesfor Gwinnett County, has morethan 25 years of professional ITexperience.Previously, he spent 11 yearsas the city of Orlando’s deputy
chief information ofcer andchief security ofcer. Matelski
has also served as the
man-agement information systemoperation director and senior network engineer for ColemanResearch Corporation, whichcontracted with the Departmentof Energy, NASA, Mobil Oiland others.“Matelski is known for managing a service-orientedteam that delivers exemplarycustomer service, education,troubleshooting and issue reso-lution with expertise and con-sideration,” Ellis said.Matelski graduated summacum laude from Arizona StateUniversity with bachelor of sci-ence and MBA degrees. Hisnew position is effective Sept.24.
DeKalb Animal Servicesgets new deputy director
DeKalb County CEO
Burrell
Ellis
has named
Betty
Xan
Rawls
to serve as director of Animal Services and En-forcement effective Oct. 1.Rawls served at the Young-Williams Animal Center inKnoxville, Tenn. as the shelter operations director and humanresources and compliance co-ordinator. Previously, Rawlsserved as the director of animalservices for Citrus County,Fla., and Brevard County, Fla.,as well as vice president for Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida.“Rawls brings more than25 years of progressively re-sponsible animal welfare ex- perience with her to DeKalbCounty,” Ellis said. “With her proven track record of success-ful programs based on externalaudits and satisfaction surveysas well as her commitment tothe health and wellbeing of animals, I am excited that sheis joining us in this critical ca- pacity.”In addition, Rawls served as president for the Florida Ani-mal Control Association andremains involved in the Societyof Animal Welfare Administra-tion, the Humane Society of theUnited States and the AmericanSociety of Prevention of Cru-elty to Animals.
Woman sentenced to 20years for theft at church
A woman was sentenced to20 years and ordered to repay$143,955 to Dunwoody BaptistChurch for funds stolen be-tween 2006 and 2009.On Sept. 21, Judge
Tangela
Barrie
accepted
Patricia
Padgett
’s guilty plea to four counts of theft by taking.Padgett will spend three yearsin prison and the remainder of her 20-year sentence on proba-tion.“The defendant knowinglyand willfully deceived her for-mer employer and stole morethan $140,000 over a three year period,” said DeKalb CountyDistrict Attorney
Robert
James
. “We are encouraged bythe outcome of this case and by the prospect that the parish-ioners of Dunwoody BaptistChurch will recoup a portionof the funds stolen by PatriciaPadgett.”Padgett was the former ac-counts payable manager for Dunwoody Baptist Church. Shewas responsible for collectingthe income from the church’svarious activities, includingcash collected at Sunday ser-vices, the day care facility, the
tness facility, and mission
trips. Padgett’s duties includeddepositing that money in thechurch’s bank account.Assistant District Attorney
Angel
Riley
served as lead prosecutor.
Suspect shot in attemptedbank robbery
A man was shot when he pulled out a toy gun during anattempted bank robbery Sept.19.The incident occurred atCitizens Trust Bank at 2592 S.Hairston Road shortly after the bank opened.According to the DeKalbCounty Police Department, “asuspect armed with what ap- peared to be a handgun enteredthe bank, aggressively makingdemands of the employees andcustomers already present.”“An armed security guardemployed by the bank con-fronted the suspect,” accord-ing to Lt.
Pam Kunz
, of theDeKalb County Police Depart-ment. “The suspect made anaggressive movement toward
the guard and the guard red
multiple shots at the suspect.The suspect was struck in theknee. He was taken into custo-dy and has been transported toa local hospital for treatment.”A bank employee was hit bydebris or shrapnel during theincident. She has been treatedand released from the hospital,according to the police state-ment.The incident is being inves-tigated by the Federal Bureauof Investigation, which willrelease the suspect’s identity
when federal charges are led.
Johnson recognized forcontribution
Rep.
Hank
Johnson
(D-Ga)received the Vanguard Awardfrom the Movement is LifeSteering Committee at the 2012Caucus on Arthritis & Muscu-loskeletal Health Disparities.Johnson received the awardat the group’s annual confer-ence in Washington for hisdedication to health care reformand reducing health disparities,“Having access to qual-ity care when dealing withmy own health issues, I think everyone deserves the right toquality, affordable healthcare,”said Johnson, who fought and beat hepatitis C. “It’s the mis-sion of Movement is Life thatmakes a difference in the livesof individuals and their families battling health issues related toobesity. I’m proud to receivethis honor.”Johnson was the southeastregional whip during the pushfor President
Barack
Obama
’sAffordable Care Act (ACA) in2010, which is designed to in-sure 30 million Americans.“The entire group thanksCongressman Johnson for helping to pass the Afford-able Care Act and closing thehealth gap,” the Caucus statedin a media release. “The ACAis a major part of what Move-ment is Life is working toward.Besides providing access toquality healthcare for our un-derserved communities, it also provides new opportunities for community intervention pro-grams that many of our stake-holders hope to participate in aswe move forward.”
DCSD uses federalgrant money tosend administratorsback to school
by Daniel Beauregarddaniel@dekalbchamp.comThe DeKalb County School District (DCSD)is planning to send several administrators back to college using Race to the Top grants.DeKalb schools spokesman
Jeff Dicker-son
said the district is using approximately$345,000 in Race to the Top leadership devel-
opment funds, which are specically designat-
ed for such training.“This is part of a larger program that willhelp provide leadership and development train-ing to more than 200 employees,” Dickersonsaid.Dickerson said the funds, which are a frac-tion of the approximately $34 million in Raceto the Top money the district will receive over the next few years, will be used to send eightadministrators to Mercer University.“It’s an experiment but it’s an interestingone,” Dickerson said.Each staff member attending the programhas been an administrator for more than 10years, Dickerson said. The program at Mercer is tailored for DeKalb County school adminis-
trators and is specic to the district, which will benet both the administrators as well as those
teaching them.“It helps the researchers focus on training
educators in a way that’s specic for the school
district,” Dickerson said.
Carl Martray
, dean of the Tift College of Education and a professor at Mercer, said theadministrators are enrolled in a Ph. D. programin educational leadership, which focuses oncurrent trends and research worldwide.“It’s heavily research based and the studentsin it will be mixing with administrators fromother districts because that’s the best way for them to learn from each other,” Martray said.Martray said the program started as an edu-cational leadership master’s program, which blossomed into the Ph. D. program approxi-mately seven years ago. Over the three years,Martray said, the DCSD administrators willhave the chance to work with each other on aregular basis, in some cases collaborating onresearch projects that relate directly to DCSD.“We’ve had very good success with it sofar,” Martray said.
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
More From This User
Notes
Load more
