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Archive for 2011

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DeKalb High School Sports Highlights

BOYS BASKETBALL   Miller Grove: The three-time defending Class AAAA state champions opened the season with an 86-51 win over Redan on Nov. 29. Tony Parker led the Wolverines with 26 points and 14 rebounds; Brandon Morris had 13 points and eight rebo...

Community prosecutor to tackle ‘frequent flyers’

Sonja Brown, DeKalb’s new community prosecutor working with Solicitor General Sherry Boston, says her priority is to address the “frequent flyers” in the court system—repeat offenders who are nuisances to communities. Photo by Andrew Cauthen
Immediately before joining the office of DeKalb’s Solicitor General Sherry Boston as a community prosecutor, Sonja Brown found working with victims of abuse to be extremely satisfying work. “When you give a victim of abuse an opportunity to be he...

Planners: Quarry, plaza key to Lithonia rebirth

The Georgia Conservancy, a group studying revitalization in Lithonia, says developing the land around the city’s rock quarry could spur economic growth in the area. More than a century ago, Lithonia was founded as workers moved into the area to work in the quarry. Photo by Andrew Cauthen
For decades, it was Lithonia’s raison d’etre and the 83-acre quarry area could once again be an economic engine for the south DeKalb city. “Since the quarry was the economic heart of Lithonia and the reason why the city was here, we propose bri...

County Line/Ellenwood community feels forgotten by DeKalb

Ronald Johnson, president of the County Line/Ellenwood Coumunity group, points to 15 acres bought by DeKalb County across from Seminole Landfill. The county has a state permit to take dirt from the land to use in the landfill. Johnson and other residents want the county to use the land to expand a small, adjoining neighborhood park. Photo by Andrew Cauthen
Located in the southern part of DeKalb County, along the DeKalb-Henry county line, is a community of residents who feel they are the forgotten ones. It’s the community that has to put up with the smells of the Seminole Landfill, where the county du...

Friends School partners with universities to implement new science curriculum

Dan Kalman, an associate professor at Emory University, said the scientific community is in a crisis due to lack of funding and public awareness, and one way to curb it is to change the way science is taught in classrooms. Kalman, who works in the de...

No reason to be famished in Philadelphia

Geno’s Steaks, has been slinging its famous cheesesteaks from the same location for 40 years. Like Pat’s, Geno’s is also open daily around the clock. Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC; Left, Pat’s King of Steaks, which sits at 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue just across the street from rival Geno’s Steaks, is open around the clock, seven days a week. Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC
I visited Philadelphia with a simple goal—report on historic and cultural sites that might interest travelers. That article is coming, I promise. However, while engaged in sightseeing—by car, double-decker bus, taxi and on foot—I kept getting h...

Decatur housing unit will have state-of-the-art rainwater collection system

A new complex being built by the Decatur Housing Authority will feature a state-of-the-art rainwater collection system. Photo by John Hewitt
For Bob Drew, recycling rainwater is one of the oldest ideas on the books, but today it seems old-fashioned. “The ancient Romans and Egyptians did it, its nothing new,” Drew said. “What’s new now is that there are some technologies that make ...

Families and county officials celebrate National Adoption Day

Radio personality Wanda Smith said she adores her three sons, but for years felt a little disappointed that she had no daughter whose hair she could style and with whom she could shop for frilly clothes. Then Kennedy came into her life. One of the sp...

County’s bond ratings restored for ‘healthy’ operation

DeKalb County’s water and sewer system has a healthy outlook—financially speaking. On Nov. 23 Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) gave the county’s various existing water and sewer revenue bonds and revenue refunding bonds its AA...

Doraville forced to schedule special election to fill vacant council seat

The city of Doraville has unanimously passed an ordinance to hold a special election on March 6, during the presidential primary, to fill a council seat left vacant by current Mayor Donna Pittman. In November, Doraville City Councilman Bob Roche (Dis...