Newspaper Page Text
Page 6A
LOCAL
The Champion, Thursday, June 25 - July 1, 2015
EAMON WILLIAMS Weed
Decatur High School senior
Eamon Williams has been vol
unteering since he was years
old. From the Atlanta Commu
nity Food Bank to the Pensacola
Homeless Food Shelter, Williams
and his father would work togeth
er as a bonding activity.
Starting last school year how
ever, Williams began working at a
local ice cream parlor, and his job
has taken a considerable amount
of his free time, which means less
time to volunteer with his father.
“We still do volunteer it’s just
not as often. I miss getting to
spend time with him but volun
teering really brought us together,”
recalled Williams.
Williams, originally from Pen
sacola, began volunteering at the
Pensacola Homeless Shelter, where
he set up the tables for people to
eat.
“Their faces would light up
from excitement just being able
to eat. It would leave me with this
feeling in my stomach for the rest
of the night and it was indescrib
able,” he said?
The Atlanta Community Food
Bank collects food and groceries
and distributes them groceries to
more than 600 agencies that serve
families across Atlanta. In the past,
ACFB has worked with more than
1,700 volunteers, with Williams
and his father being two of them.
“Me and my dad would go
down to Atlanta just to volunteer
at least once a month. It was just
our thing,” Williams said “There’s
nothing that I would enjoy more.”
Although volunteering is his
hobby, Williams plans on going to
Tulane University in New Orleans.
“I really want to be able to help
people everywhere. Even if it’s just
a little,” he said.
-Chenoa Tyehimba
If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a future Champion of the Week, please contact Andrew Cauthen
at andrew@dekaibchamp.com or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 117.
Brothers targeting elderly
victims sentenced to 20 years
Two brothers who
scammed seniors out of tens
of thousands of dollars have
been sentenced to 20 years
to serve 10 behind bars and
repay $100,000 in restitu
tion.
Keith and Jeffrey Ogles
solicited roofing work from
four elderly homeowners
and grossly overcharged
them for the work, while
damaging their roofs in the
process, according to a news
release from the DeKalb
County District Attorneys
Office. One of the victims
was threatened when he
refused to make any more
payments. Another victim
suffers from short-term
memory loss, and the de
fendants took advantage
of that disability to repeat
edly charge her for the same
work.
“This pair deliberately
preyed on elderly victims,
who were all in their 80s,
and demanded payments
that reached over $130,000,”
said DeKalb County District
Attorney Robert James.
“This was a calculated
scheme that targeted and
exploited elderly homeown
ers. The Ogleses lined their
pockets with the money
many of our victims worked
a lifetime to accumulate.”
In November 2014,
Keith
Wells Fargo alerted authori
ties to possible exploitation
of an 89-year-old customer,
according to a news release.
The elderly woman, who
suffers from memory loss,
had attempted to withdraw
$16,000 in cash to pay her
roofer, Keith Ogles, who was
in the parking lot because
he had driven her to the
bank. The Atlanta Police
Department fraud unit re
sponded and discovered that
the customer had paid the
Ogles brothers more than
$40,000 for roofing work
valued at less than $1,500.
Further, the defendants
damaged her roof and did
the repair work incorrectly.
Further investigations
led officers to another vic
tim, an 85-year-old man
who lives near Emory Uni-
Jeffrey
versity, according to the
news release.
“Jeffrey Ogles ap
proached the victim and
convinced him that he
needed repairs, despite the
fact that he had recently
had a new roof installed.
Over a four-month period,
this victim paid $72,000 to
Jeffrey and Keith Ogles for
work that did not need to be
done and which was worth
approximately $1,500,” said
Deputy Chief Assistant Dis
trict Attorney Jeanne Cana-
van who oversees the elder
exploitation unit in DeKalb
County. “When the victim
tried to refuse further pay
ments, the Ogles told him
that if he didn’t pay, their
See Brothers on page 18A
NOTICE OF
PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The City of Brookhaven has tentatively
adopted a millage rate for the General Fund
which will require an increase in property
taxes by 15.78 percent over the Rollback
Millage rate. This increase is due solely to the
revaluation of real property tax assessments.
All concerned citizens are invited to the
public hearings on this tax increase to be held
at Brookhaven City Hall at 4362 Peachtree
Road, Brookhaven, GA 30319. The first public
hearing will be held at 7:00 p.m. on June 9,
2015.
The second public hearing will be at special
called meeting on June 16, 2015 at 6:00 p.m.
A final public hearing will be held July 7, 2015
at 7:00 p.m. After the final public hearing, the
millage rate will be formally adopted.
The tentative increase will result in a millage
rate of 2.795 mills, a millage rate equivalent
increase of .381 mills. Without this tentative
tax increase, the millage rate will be no
more than 2.414 mills. The proposed tax
increase for a home with a fair market value
of $300,000 is approximately $43 and the
proposed tax increase for non-homestead
property with a fair market value of $200,000
is approximately $31.