WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM • FRIDAY,
OCT. 26
, 2012 • VOL. 15, NO. 31 •FREE
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• A PUBLICATION OF ACE III COMMUNICATIONS •
Amateur archaeologists joined professional ones in a dig at
the pre-Civil War Lyon farmhouse near Lithonia as part of anoutreach program by the state’s Historic Preservation Division.Archaeologists are trying to determine the purpose of an out-building near the farmhouse. Photos by Andrew Cauthen
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Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.
See Archaeologists on Page 15A
by Andrew Cauthenandrew@dekalbchamp.com
A
mateur archaeolo-gists had a chanceto dig up somehistory Oct. 20-21at a pre-Civil War farm inDeKalb County.“I’ve always been fasci-nated with archaeology, oldthings, history and I kindof wanted to be an archae-ologist and I didn’t make itso I’m doing the amateur thing,” said
Becky
Baldwin
of Decatur a volunteer fromamong four groups that par-ticipated in a public archaeol-ogy project at the Lyon Farmnear Lithonia.Archaeologists with theHistoric Preservation Divi-sion of the Georgia Depart-ment of Natural Resources partnered with the ArabiaMountain Heritage Area Al-liance Inc. to hold the publicdigs.During the public dig,Baldwin said she learned that“there’s a lot more to it thanone might think.”“For people who think they’re always going to findsomething really cool—a but-ton or a coin or somethinglike that—you have to gothrough a lot of work anddocumentation along the way before you can get to that point where you have some-thing exciting,” Baldwin said.She said it was interestingto watch the process of mark-ing off the areas to be dug,drawing maps and document-ing everything.“It’s interesting, but Ilove screening the best,”Baldwin said. “It’s kind of like a little hunt. I like look-
Amateurarchaeologistslook for history
ing for things. You kind of make progress and you findlittle bits. While it may not be anything monumental, it’sstill gratifying.”
Rachel Black
, a deputystate archaeologist, said the purpose of the project is “todo public outreach and toget the public involved andto help teach people what itis that archaeologists do andgive them a chance to getsome hands-on experience.”The original house was-constructed before the CivilWar. Black said it was oc-cupied from the early 1800sthrough the 1950s and maybethrough the 1980s. Originally built on a land grant of ap- proximately 100 acres, the property was owned by theLyon family which acquiredmore land and “at the heightof use of the farm, it wasclose to 400 acres,” Black said.
The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 Page 2A
Local News
DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis reminds youof the Best Practices for Proper Disposal of
Plumbing and sanitary sewer systems are simply not designed to handle the F.O.G. that accumulatesin pipes. When it gets into the pipes and hardens, blockages occur and cause sewage to backup and
overow out of manholes or into homes.
This is expensive for you, and for the County.
The damages caused by fats, oils and grease in the sewer system are costly to repair. Over time,they increase the costs of our water and sewer services.
F.O.G. enters plumbing through garbage disposals, sinks and toilets. It coats the inside of plumbing
pipes and also empties into DeKalb County’s sewer system. Here are three simple guidelines to help
keep F.O.G. out of our pipes and sewers:
1.2.3.
POUR
fats, oils or grease into a sealable container, allow it to cool and throw itin the trash. Do not pour down the drain or toilet.
SCRAPE
plates and cookware before washing. Do not throw scraps of any kinddown the drain. Instead, place them in waste containers or garbage bags.
WIPE
excess grease from all plates, pots, pans, utensils, and surfaces with apaper towel before washing. Throw the greasy paper towel away.
AutumnFest, the Avondale Arts Alliance’s annual arts and music festival, featuredartists, bands and a mobile “reptile zoo” during the Oct. 20-21 event. Photos byDavid Dicristina
Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway
Question:
What do a Greek fra-ternity, a civil rights organization,the DeKalb School system and thestate legislature have in common?
Answer:
The Martin Luther KingJr. Parkway in DeKalb County, thefirst street named for the humanrights icon in our east of Atlantacommunity.A formal dedication ceremonywas held Oct. 18 to commemoratethe renaming of Snapfinger Roadto MLK Jr. Parkway from the inter-section of Wesley Chapel Road allthe way to the Henry County line.It was an impressive gathering anda fun, upbeat time. Congressman
Hank Johnson
, DeKalb Com-missioners
Larry Johnson
and
Lee May
, School Superintendent
Cheryl Atkinson,
school boardmember
Jay Cunningham
, StateSenators
Emanuel Jones
and
Ron-ald Ramsey
and
NAACP President
John Evans
were present.
LanceHammonds
, vice president of theDeKalb NAACP and a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity Inc.spearheaded the event. The newlynamed parkway runs in front of theschool named in Dr. King’s honor.MLK principal
Vivian Terry
wel-comed the guests, who ranged fromstudents and parents to school offi-cials and current and former electedofficials
.
Rev.
Dexter Roland,
pastor of Little Piney Grove Church thatsits on the newly designated park-way, brought words of inspirationafter MLK student
Alexis Breed
thrilled us with a spine-tinglingrendition of
The
Star Spangled Banner,
which is often a challengefor seasoned professionals whosometimes forget lyrics and missnotes. Not this young lady. Speaker after speaker praised her remark-able talent, including Dr. Atkinsonand Congressman Johnson whoaimed his remarks to the studentsgiving them a lengthy sermon onthe mount challenging them to liveup to the academic excellence andnon-violent creed of their school’snamesake and of the new parkwaydesignation.The idea to rename Snapfinger Road came initially from
Freddie
West
, a member of the Decatur chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha and whoas young man helped desegregatelunch counters and was on hand for the 1963 March on Washington. Hetook the idea to Lance Hammondswho ran with it to John Evans atthe NAACP who passed the batonto state Senator Ronald Ramsey.Senator Ramsey sponsored Sen-ate Resolution (SR) 667 which wasco-sponsored by Senators EmanuelJones,
Steve Henson
and
GloriaButler
of DeKalb.Following the reading of anumber of “whereases” from SR 667 by Senators Ramsey and Jones,the MLK band, led by
Travis Kim-ber
, struck up a jazzed up rendi-tion of
We Shall Overcome.
MLK student
Alexis McDonald
thenunveiled the new parkway sign.Five questions were asked of thedignitaries by the freshman govern-ment students under the guidance of Dr
. Thomas Smith
, also a member of the state Martin Luther King Ad-visory Committee. The 200 or soattendees then made the trek up thehill on the MLK campus to unveilthe sign on the former Snapfinger Road to the new Martin Luther King Parkway.That’s not the end of the story.Work has begun to involve the com-munity in maintaining the parkwaywith the creation of a citizens’ ad-visory council. And, school boardmember Cunningham drew loudcheers when he announced work would begin immediately on newclassrooms at MLK to rid the schoolof the dozen or so trailers the stu-dents and faculty have had to put upwith. What a positive step in a newdirection—new classrooms and anew parkway. There were smiles allaround. A pleasant interlude in the breakneck and hectic pace we oftenkeep.SR 667:
“So be it resolved, that the entire length of Snapfinger Road in DeKalb County from its intersec-tion with Wesley Chapel Road tothe Henry County line is dedicated as the Martin Luther King Jr. Park-way.”
Sounds good. Sounds realgood. DeKalb now joins hundredsof cities with roads and highwaysnamed after one of Georgia’s most prominent native sons.
Steen Miles, The Newslady, is aretired journalist and former Geor- gia state senator. Contact Steen Miles at Steen@dekalbchamp.com.
Page 4A The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 26 , 2012
Opinion
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