Newspaper Page Text
The CHAMPION
The official legal organ of DeKalb County, EA. Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Uthonia, Pine Lake, Tucker, Stonecrest and Stone Mountain, | 50$
JANUARY 6 - 12, 2022 www.THECHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.com VOL. 31 • NO. 28
DeKalb County sees spike in positive COVID-19 cases going into 2022
DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond talks to a resident getting a
vaccine and gift card at one of the drive-thru vaccination events the
county organized throughout 2021. File Photo
BY CHRISTINE FONVILLE
CHRISTINE@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
Holiday gatherings and
the rise of the Omicron
variant means more DeKalb
County residents will
likely be entering 2022 as
COVID-19 positive.
On Dec. 23, DeKalb
County officials activated
a Federal Emergency
Management Agency
(FEMA) warning that alerted
residents and visitors of
the spiking Omicron variant
across metro-Atlanta as
shoppers converged on
stores and families started
traveling for the holidays.
The alert also asked
residents and visitors alike
to protect themselves and
each other by wearing
masks in public places,
practicing social distancing,
avoiding large gatherings,
getting tested and getting
vaccinated.
"COVID case numbers
are increasing daily, and the
Omicron variant is spreading
faster than any previous
variant," stated officials on
the Georgia Department
of Public Health's (DPH)
website.
According to the DeKalb
Board of Health's latest
data, reported on Dec. 27,
every zip code in DeKalb
County saw an increase
of 5 percent or greater in
positive COVID-19 cases
between Nov. 23 and Dec.
20.
"The Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) uses
genomic sequencing data
to project current variant
proportions and now
estimates Omicron accounts
for more than 73 percent
of new COVID cases in the
United States. Given the
rapid transmissibility of the
Omicron variant, the current
proportion of Omicron in
Georgia is likely similar
to that of the national
estimate, and presumably
will account for all new
COVID cases in the state in
the coming weeks," stated
DPH officials.
If measures taken by
DeKalb County officials at
the end of 2021 are any
indication of what is likely to
happen in 2022, the focus
will be incentivizing people
SEE COVID ON PAGE 6
From left, Jason Little, India Ali, and Omari Crawford are DCSD alumni bringing internships and scholarship
opportunities to Southwest DeKalb, Martin Luther King Jr., and Miller Grove High Schools. Submitted photo
DeKalb County School District’s spring semester began virtually due to a
rising number of COVID cases in DeKalb County. File photo
DeKalb alumni bringing scholarships,
internships to south DeKalb
BY JAY PHILLIPS
JAY@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
A group of DeKalb County School
District alumni started a scholarship
program—Learning Is For Everyone—and
plans to step up the program in 2022 by
connecting scholarship recipients from
several high schools with internship
opportunities in DeKalb County.
Omari Crawford, India Ali, and Jason
Little are the alumni involved with the
initiative. Crawford said it began as a
scholarship fund and a way to give back
to the group's hometown community.
However, when reflecting on his experience
DCSD begins
semester virtually
BY JAY PHILLIPS
JAY@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
DeKalb County School District (DCSD) students began
the spring semester of the 2021-22 school year with virtual
learning Jan. 5 through Jan. 7, 2022, "due to the rising
SEE SCHOLARSHIP ON PAGE 6
SEE SEMESTER ON PAGE 6
64116
00001
Book tells colorful stories of those
who helped shape Georgia
PAGE 8
Preserve’s 50th anniversary a time to
restart programs and address challenges
PAGE 12
