The champion newspaper. (Decatur, GA) 19??-current, January 02, 2020, Image 6
LOCAL THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, THURSDAY, JAN. 2 - 8, 2020 • PAGE 6 Continued From Page 5 of DeKalb History Center in Decatur, public safety officials from various departments were in attendance to pay homage to fallen officers. The newest name added to the list of fallen officers was DeKalb County Police South Precinct Officer Edgar Flores. Flores died in 2018 after he was shot by a suspect during a traffic stop in Decatur. The Flores family attended the ceremony. Green to step down as superintendent DeKalb County School District Superintendent R. Stephen Green announced that he will remain in his position through the 2019-2020 school year, but will not extend his contract afterward. “The DeKalb County Schools community is truly inspirational. I am proud to have the opportunity to help lead our students to achieve educational excellence alongside our exceptional teachers and staff,” said Green. “I’m excited to see what the future holds for our district and our students—both have limitless potential.” Green said his departure is for personal reasons, “after thoughtful consideration with [his] family.” His last day as DCSD superintendent will be June 30, 2020. “We are grateful to Superintendent Green for his service to our district for the last four years. He is a dynamic leader with a strong focus on student achievement leading to higher education, work and life-long learning,” said Michael Erwin, chair of the DeKalb County Board of Education. JUNE The Champion again recognized for excellence in journalism For the 10th consecutive year, The Champion was awarded first place in General Excellence by judges of Georgia Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest as awards were announced May 31 at The Jekyll Island Club. Representing The Champion at the awards banquet were publishers Carolyn Glenn and Dr. Earl Glenn along with local news editor Horace Holloman and his wife Carneshia. First-place awards were given in the categories of Multimedia Journalism, Breaking News Writing, Local News Coverage, Enterprise Story, Headline Writing, Investigative Reporting, Lifestyle Coverage, Special Issues, Sports Feature Story and Spot News Photograph. Community mourns student death A DeKalb County School District (DCSD) student died June 10 after collapsing on a school track during dance team training. The funeral of Elyse Purefoy, 17, was held June 17 at Saint Philip AME Church in Decatur. Family, friends, dancers, students and members of Arabia Mountain High School band and drumline gathered to share memories and words of comfort. “She was soft-spoken but very strong at the same time,” a friend of Purefoy said. “I would not be the same young lady today without [her] love.” Another friend of Purefoy’s said she would “scream” Purefoy’s name during their graduation in May when school officials call graduates to walk across the stage. Purefoy—affectionately known as “Weezie”—recently made Arabia Mountain High School’s dance team. As she participated in a summer workout with the team, she collapsed on the school’s track. She was rushed to the hospital where she later died. Purefoy was a rising senior and would have begun her senior year at the school in the fall. Decatur reviewing options for e-scooter ordinance Cities such as Marietta, Athens and Alpharetta have taken a hard stance on shareable dockless mobility devices, also known as e-scooters, by banning them completely within city limits, but Decatur officials are still weighing their options. According to a city spokesperson, Decatur officials and community leaders have been drafting an ordinance regulating e-scooter use. “We held community input sessions, both online and in person, to get feedback from the community on various components such as how many shared mobility devices should be allowed per company in the city, should the age limit for operating be lowered to 16, should helmets be required, etc.,” said Decatur spokesperson Renae Madison in an email to The Champion. Two e-scooter companies, Lime and Bird, operated in the city in the fall of 2018, according to Ash Kumar, local government manager fellow for Decatur. Decatur officials drafted an interim operating agreement for e-scooter companies in January that some residents felt was too restrictive. Bird has since removed its scooters from Decatur. JULY As meters are replaced, residents still feel drained DeKalb County officials recently announced that its water meter replacement program is underway. According to the county, DeKalb is on track to replace 30,000 water meters during the first year of the New Day Water Meter Exchange and Upgrade Initiative. The exchange and upgrade initiative is part of an effort by DeKalb County Watershed Management to replace an estimated 55 percent of the county’s water meters that may contribute to inaccurate water bills. The meter replacement program was originally slated to begin in 2017, but stalled until April of 2019 due to a litigation process, county officials said. DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said the three-year program will eventually replace 102,000 aging and potentially defective water meters. The county has reached 10 percent of its goal to replace 30,000 meters in the first year of the program, according to a statement from DeKalb County. Shooting death of gay man alarms LGBTQ community Ronald Grant, a man who lived in DeKalb County for more than two decades and recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue a singing career, said he was angered when he heard the news of a gay man being shot to death in a suspected hate crime in Decatur. “It’s just more senseless violence,” Grant said. “It’s hard living as a gay Black man because you never know what’s going to happen.” According to police reports, Ronald Peters, 28, was shot to death in front of his partner while Peters was on his way to work. Witnesses at the scene said Peters was walking along Orchard Circle in Decatur when two men jumped out of a truck, put on masks and told the victim to “give me your bag, faggot.” AUGUST Organization plans to sue DeKalb over sewer system In 2010, after years of sanitary sewer overflow issues, DeKalb County was told by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to clean up its act. DeKalb signed a consent decree almost a decade ago that requires the county to clean, repair, enlarge and maintain its sanitary sewer pipes so sewer overflows are reduced. The deadline to implement changes under the guidelines of the consent decree is mid-2020. Officials with the South River Watershed Alliance (SRWA) said DeKalb will not implement the changes by 2020 and plans to sue the county. SEE YIR ON PAGE 8