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SECTION A: VOL. 27 NO. 10
The Official Legal Organ ofDeKalb County, GA. Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker, Stonecrest and Stone Mountain.
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Z>Z>I>I>1IFESTY1E FEATURE STORY: Contemplate America’s dark moment at 911 Museum 6R
The large tree shown above was growing out of a concrete sewer box, causing the Aug. 23 spill into Snapfinger
Creek.
UP A CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE
Members of the Justice for Veterans
organization met outside of the Maloof Building
in downtown Decatur to hold a press conference
and request a meeting with DeKalb County CEO
Michael Thurmond.
Veterans
request
meeting with
Sewer spills plague
DeKalb County
BY HORACE HOLLOMAN
horace@dekalbchamp.com
DeKalb County workers are attempting
to make permanent repairs at the site of a
major sewer spill.
The spill, located at Snapfinger Creek
which resulted in an estimated 6.4
million-gallon leak, was contained Aug.
26 by repairing the damaged concrete
junction box and installing two temporary,
redundant bypass systems at the creek
crossing, according to DeKalb County
officials.
CEO Michael Thurmond said the county
will focus on making permanent repairs
and regular maintenance to the sewer
system.
"Our crews have been working around
the clock to repair this system and contain
the spill,"Thurmond said. "We will now turn
our attention to permanent repairs and the
regular inspection and maintenance of our
sewer infrastructure."
A 16-inch-diameter tree growing out
of a sewer pipe and concrete junction box
caused the spill, which was discovered Aug.
23 near Eagle's Beek Circle, Lithonia, on a
54-inch creek crossing, just north of the
Snapfinger Wastewater Treatment Plant, a
DeKalb County official said.
According to the county, the
Department of Watershed Management
(DWM) workers began source-tracking
of the spill on July 13 after detecting
DeKalb County workers make repairs at the
site of a major spill at Snapfinger Creek in the
unincorporated Lithonia area.
high bacteria counts in the creek.The
spill initially was reported on Aug. 24 by
DeKalb County to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and Georgia
Environmental Protection Division.
Thurmond has instructed the DWM
to inspect all pipes along Snapfinger
and Nancy creeks, conduct emergency
inspections of creek crossings and
implement a plan of regular inspections of
sewer lines.
► SEE SEWER ON PAGE 5A
DeKalb CEO
BY HORACE HOLLOMAN
horace@dekalbchamp.com
A group of retired veterans stood
outside the Maloof Building in
downtown Decatur to deliver
a unified message to the county's
CEO—"we want to meet."
On Aug. 29, several members of
the Justice for Veterans held a brief
press conference to discuss their
concerns regarding the treatment
of veterans in DeKalb County.
Members said they want CEO Michael
Thurmond to address mental illness
in veterans.
"We tried to meet with the CEO,
along with the police chief, to find
out what their plan of action is to
stop the next killing of a veteran. They
just need help and we want to know
what the police plan to do," said Amos
King, president of Justice for Veterans.
King said the situation involving
the shooting death of DeKalb resident
Quintas Harris could have ended
differently had a plan been in place to
address veterans with mental illness.
Harris, a veteran who suffered from
post traumatic stress disorder, bipolar
disorder and schizophrenia, was killed
by DeKalb County Police Officers after
Harris opened fire on officers, injuring
one officer in the hand.
King also served as a spokesperson
for the family of Anthony Hill— a
DeKalb man who was shot and killed
by a DeKalb County Police officer after
police responded to a call of a naked
man acting erratic outside of an
► SEE CEO ON PAGE 5A