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2016 DeKalb HS football preview#
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The Official Legal Organ of DeKalb County, GA. Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doravllle, Dunwoody, Lithonla, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.
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SECTION A: VOL 26 NO. 6
AUG. 11 -17,2016
500
Remembering Michael
The crowd holds up their cellphones to honor Coach Michael Tanks who died Aug. 3 of complications related to a
stroke. Photos by Carla Parker
Family, SWD community remember late football coach
A student signs a poster with Michael Tanks’ photo.
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
Michael Tanks, described
as an outstanding teacher and
coach, was remembered Aug.
7 during a vigil at Southwest
DeKalb High School.
Tanks, 48, died Aug. 3—a
day before his birthday—after
suffering a stroke at his home
on July 25. Tanks, a 1985
Southwest DeKalb graduate, was
the head football coach for three
years. Tanks’ family, coworkers,
players and former classmates
gathered to remember the man
known as “Big Sexy” with words,
song and a cellphone light salute.
Tanks’ Southwest DeKalb
classmate Gary Campbell said
Tanks was a true competitor.
“When we played marbles,
jacks, football....he was a
competitor,” Campbell said.
“He was a gentle giant. He
was definitely a distinguished
gentleman. He was a visionary.”
Campbell mentioned a phone
conversation he had with Tanks
two weeks before his death when
he asked Tanks about the team’s
progress.
“[Tanks] said, They’re good,
but they’re not great yet. They
have to believe that they’re great.
They have that in them but they
have to believe it.’ Guys, I’m
charging you with this—take that
seriously,” Campbell said. “You’re
good, but you’re great and you
have to believe.”
Another classmate,
James Brown, said he and
others believe Tanks made a
contribution to the well-being of
Southwest DeKalb High School
through his gifts.
“Through that very gift that
God planted in him before the
foundation of the world,” Brown
said. “That very gift began to
manifest itself when he became
a son, then a student, then a
student-athlete. The same gift
began to manifest itself when
he came back to be an assistant
coach and teacher; and then a
head coach and mentor.”
DeKalb County School Board
member Vickie Turner, who
spoke on behalf of the school
district, said Tanks’ legacy will
live on.
“I look at these fine athletes
back here and I thank you for
being here to honor your coach,”
Turner said. “He will live on as
you do what you were brought
to the earth to do. My prayer for
you is that you live a life that not
only pleases God but pleases the
memory of your coach.”
Tanks’ wife, Nichelle,
said the service was another
opportunity to honor the life and
legacy of her “Big Daddy.”
See Vigil on Page 5A
County working
to remove
blighted houses
by Horace Holloman
horace@dekalbchamp.com
Corlis Starr, a 27-year resident of
DeKalb County, said she was tired of
looking at the damaged and poorly
managed property at 1541 Walnut Ridge
Court in Stone Mountain.
The property was in need of repair
after being damaged by a fire. The house
was also overrun with uncut grass.
On Aug. 4, Starr finally got her wish as
DeKalb County officials demolished the
residence as part of a collective effort to
rid the county of blighted houses.
Starr said the property has been a
nuisance in the neighborhood for more
than a decade.
“I’m so happy to see this done. I’ve
been waiting on it and I had made plans
to see if I could contact somebody to see
if I could get it taken care of,” Starr said.
Starr, a grandmother of four, said
the property affects others in the
See Blight on Page 5A
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