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LOCAL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9 - 16, 2018 • Page 7
COUNTYWIDE
Participants at Operation Take Back event in Decatur.
Attorney Mawuli Mel Davis
Of the Davis|Bozeman Law Firm
at the Porter Sanford Performing III Arts Center in Decatur.
Decatur-based attorney Mawuli
Davis at an
Operation Take Back event held
Program attempts to curb youth gang violence
BY HORACE HOLLOMAN
horace@dekalbchamp.com
Arabia Mountain High
School football player
Joshua Cook, 17, from Stone
Mountain, had a promising
college career ahead of him.
Cook was set to attend college
but was arrested last year, along
with two other teens, in the
shooting death of Jacquorrius
Madison. Cook, Terrance
Thornton, and Corey Bryant
were accused of trying to steal
marijuana from Madison.
Local activist and Decatur-
based attorney Mawuli Davis
said he wants to prevent teens
such as Cook from making
the wrong decisions in life,
which is why he partnered with
several nonprofit organizations
Aug. 2 to host Operation Take
Back.
Operation Take Back,
in partnership with DeKalb
County Department of
Recreation Parks and Cultural
Affairs, was held at the Porter
Sanford III Performing Arts
and Community Center in
Decatur.
Organizers of the program
said it was a chance for DeKalb
youth to learn more about
the harmful impacts of gang
violence in their community.
Davis spoke to a group
of teens at the program
in a seminar titled “The
Consequences of Thug Life.”
“The actual rate of arrest in
DeKalb County for a murder
is a little above 90 percent,”
Davis said. “When they [shoot]
somebody for whatever reason,
the gang or anger or whatever,
they don’t get away. About 96
percent of those who go to trial
for a murder get convicted. I’m
from Chicago, so I love a good
hustle, but [gang life] is not a
good hustle.”
The event also featured a
service provider fair where
youth could learn about
alternative activities to gangs
and violence.
National Action Network,
NAACP DeKalb Branch,
Beacon Hill Black Alliance for
Human Rights, Hank Stewart
Foundation, Sankofa Church,
NAACP Atlanta and the
DeKalb Chapter of 100 Black
Men were present during the
service provider fair.
Betty Muhammad Ali, a
representative of Family Life
Center, which serves areas of
DeKalb and Fulton county, said
she became involved with the
program after Davis contacted
the organization via email.
Ali, who is a registered
nurse, said the program is
important because it could save
someone’s life.
“This is a small thing we
can do to prevent violence in
our community,” Ali said.
Ali said the Family Life
Center, which was established
by Compassionate Nurses
Inc., also partners with other
organizations to provide a
conflict resolution hotline.
Approximately 50 people
attended the event, including
Decatur resident Kylon
Haugabook, who said he
wants to take a proactive stance
in preventing gang violence in
his community.
“There [have] been a lot
of shootings and violent
crimes in the area recently.
I just purchased a house [in
Decatur] and these crimes
are not only affecting our
youth, but affecting our
property value,” Haugabook
said. “The violence affects the
school system around here, it
affects the tourism, it affects
everything. I wanted to be a
part of something that’s trying
to change things.”
CLARKSTON
Barker to retire as city manager
BY CARLA PARKER
carla@dekalbchamp.com
Clarkston City Manager Keith
Barker has announced that he will
retire at the end of the year.
Barker announced his plans to retire
in December at the July 31 city council
work session, according to city officials.
The Champion contacted Barker asking
for further explanation on his reason
for retiring but those calls were not
returned.
At the work session, Barker thanked
those he has worked with during his
seven-year tenure as city manager.
“I have been very fortunate to have
worked with a long list of dedicated
elected officials throughout my career,
all of whom have given their time to
make their communities better and to
serve their constituents,” Barker said at
the work session. “I would especially
like to thank the many hard-working
and capable public employees that I
have had the pleasure to work alongside
throughout my career in public service.”
Barker was hired in 2011 as the
Clarkston’s first city manager after
Clarkston converted to a council-
manager form of government. He
has worked in city, county and state
government agencies in various
positions for 38 years.
Prior to his position in Clarkston,
Barker served as chief operating officer
for DeKalb County, assistant county
manager for Dougherty County,
assistant city manager for Decatur and
public service faculty member with
the University of Georgia Carl Vinson
Institute of Government.
Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry said in
a statement that Barker helped turn the
city around.
“He has brought vigorous
professionalism to our operations,
fiscal sustainability to the budget, and
deployed innovative strategies that
have elevated our communities to new
heights,” Terry said. “He will be sorely
missed, but greatly appreciated for
leaving Clarkston better off than he
found it.”
Terry said city council will hire
an executive search firm to recruit
applicants for the city manager
position.
“The process will include an
opportunity for elected officials, city
staff and the community to provide
input on the characteristics, skills,
knowledge and experience everyone
wants to see in a city manager,” Terry
said in a statement. “The city council
will make the final decision and we
are on schedule to appoint a new city
manager by December of this year.”