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The CHAMPION
The official legal organ of Mails County, EA. Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunmody, Uthonia, Pine Lake, Tucker, Stonecrest and Stone Mountain, | 50$
DECEMBER 23 - 29, 2021 www.THECHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.com VOL 31 • NO. 26
Congressman visits Lithonia quarry to
tout Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal
BY CHRISTINE FONVILLE
CHRISTINE@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
"This is where infrastructure begins,"
said Vice President of Permitting and
External Relations for Vulcan Materials
Company Jimmy Fleming during a meeting
with Congressman Hank Johnson about the
newly passed Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act. Surrounded by more-than-400-
foot-tall walls of rock and stone, Fleming
said quarries, like the Vulcan Materials
location in Lithonia, are the primary
ingredient to both infrastructure and
transportation across the nation.
"The average home in DeKalb County
uses about 400 tons of product from a pit
like this," Fleming said. According to Vulcan
Materials Company's website, their quarries
produce crushed stone, sand, and gravel.
The company is also a major producer of
construction materials, including asphalt
and ready-mixed concrete.
Johnson and other officials were
on hand at the quarry to talk about the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and how it
will be an investment throughout DeKalb
County and beyond.
"The nation has passed a $1.2 trillion
infrastructure bill and with this investment,
we'll be on the way towards building
back better, building more resiliently, and
SEE QUARRY ON PAGE 6
Congressman Hank Johnson was joined by officials at Vulcan
Materials Company in Lithonia to discuss the impact of the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Deal. Photos by Christine Fonville
Atlanta names director
of violence reduction
DeKalb County School District to
continue mask mandate in 2022
Atlanta Mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms
announced the Director
of the Mayor's Office of
Violence Reduction—
Jacquel Clemons
Moore—began her post
Dec. 1.
According to a
news release from city
of Atlanta, Bottoms'
Anti-Violence Advisory
Council was created
to address the current
wave of violent crime;
the council delivered
its recommendations
in July for immediate
and long-term actions.
The release states that
the recommendations
included the
establishment of a
Mayor's Office of Violence
Reduction to coordinate
non-enforcement
violence reduction efforts
SEE MAYOR ON PAGE 6
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
chose a director for the Mayor’s
Office of Violence Reduction, which
city officials said was created to
address the current wave of crime.
File photo
BY CHRISTINE FONVILLE
CHRISTINE@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
DeKalb County School District (DCSD)
students, teachers, and staff will continue
wearing masks for the remainder of the
2021-22 school year after community
feedback indicated support of a mask
mandate.
The school district sent a notification on
Dec. 15 announcing that a mask mandate
would remain in place when students and
staff return from winter break on Jan. 4,
2022.
"The DeKalb County School District is
committed to providing safe learning and
working environments for students and
staff. The district continues to monitor
trends in reported COVID-19 cases,
including the recently reported increase in
the spread of the Omicron variant," stated
the news release. According to the Georgia
Department of Public Health (DPH), the
Omicron variant has now been detected in
patients in at least 21 U.S. states, including
Georgia. Preliminary data shows that
DeKalb County School District (DCSD) students,
teachers, and staff will continue wearing masks
for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year after
community feedback indicated support of a mask
mandate. File Photo
Omicron may cause less severe illness, but
may spread more easily than the Delta
variant, said DPH officials.
"We value the stakeholder feedback
that we have received," stated DCSD
officials. "DCSD collected data from a
SEE MASK ON PAGE 6
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Leaders take on gun safety, secure
gun storage at the local level
3 3 PAGE 8
A new year is blank slate to learn
something new
3 PAGE 12
