Newspaper Page Text
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VanderEls Hearing Scheduled for June 13
Leigh VanderEls, a lesbian
mother who lost custody of her |
seven year-old son in January,
1987, to her ex-husband, will
be back in court on June 13 as
part of her ongoing struggle to
find justice in lie Georgia
judicial system Tie tearing,
scheduled for 9:00 AM in
Gayton County Superior
Court, will determine
whether or not Judge
William Isoa who ruled
against VandcrHs in ha-
attempt to retain custody of
her son, exhibited "actual
and personal bias and
prejudice against the
appellant" in his decision
Leigh VanderEls
The Georgia Supreme Court decided last month that
Ison may have been prejudiced due to an alleged phone
conversation he had with VandeiHs' forma employer,
Anne Plant, Directorofthe Clayton County Department
of Family and Children Services (DFCS). In the alleged
conversation Ison told Pant details of the custody
hearing, including VanderEls' sexual orientation and
suggested that VanderEls be removed from ha position
as a caseworker for fosta and adoptive children He
reportedly told Rant that DFCS did not need "people like
that" woridng with children As a result, VanderEls was
constructively terminated from her job by being
transferred to an inferior position with the agency
considoing her past experience and training.
I
author 1
lul
interview; with people affected by ADS-PWAs, PWARCs,
pm, tickets are $1S. Call 874-7926 for reservations.
•Rights & Reaction- A film concerning New York City's
636-5410.
•Fund Raiser for GI Robison-candidale for House fl
9:00 pm. at Club Rio. $10
ion. F '
. .
,, : :
Friday, June 24th
et Haverim-is sponsoring a pot-luck sader dinner at 7 A0
pm. at the Quaker House, followed at 8:30 with a lesbian &
gay liberation service. Call 642-3467 for farther information
Oat T _ ^
o^uirflay, June *
lay,.
ade of racists are we?
_.e. 2:00 pm. $3.584-9671
•Sunrise Interfaith Sarvice-6;30 am at Trinity United
Methodist Church, 265 Washington Street
242-2342
■Marehl-1:30 pm Mach from the Atlanta Civic Center to
KedmontPaik. 200-9:00 speakers, entertainment, music,
food, beverages, booths, tables and a concert.
•AIIS Memorial Service-All Saints Episcopal Church,
634 W. Peachtree St, 44X56:00 pm
Monday, June 27th
■The Company We Keep-presents Doric Wibao’s Street
Theater. Georgia Pacific Auditorium, 8:00 pm. $10.
8757500. The 19th anniversary of Stonewall -foe night the
gays fought back, a D-Day in gay history. A LEGAL benefit
for the Democratic Convention,
Voices Carry...
The word is out on ComQuest,
the matching service for men:
• No fees over $30
• Satisfaction guaranteed
• A detailed application form
Cal! for free brochure and application.
EamSaaaS
The Computerized Gay Matching Service
1-800-633-6969
(24 hours a day. 7 days a week.)
In April, 1987 Ison
denied VanderEls’
original
motion to recuse
(remove) himself from
toe case when she filed
foran appeal foranew
hearing. At that hearing,
Ison also refused to let
Plant testify to their
alleged phone
conversation, saying it
was only "hearsay" that
the conversation
occurred. The June 13
hearing will determine
whetoaornotlsonwas
prejudiced in his rating
in April
. If Ison is found to have been prejudiced^ new
custody tearing will be scheduled and totae is a
possibility that VanderEls will get temporary custody of
her son until toe new hearing Michael Hauptman,
attorney for VandoEls, is optimistic about toe outcome
of toe hearing.
If either VanderEls a ha ex-husband appeal toe
decision, the case will revert to the Georgia Supreme
Court.
"Creature Patrol"
from Page 1
Officers Brown and Jackson were getting into
their squad car to leave. After letting his
passenger out of the car at the comer, Ray
turned south onto Cypress. Startling the
crowd, Ray’s car was forced to stop and pull
into the adjacent parking lot His passenger,
who had started to walk back toward the car
after being let out, was apprehended after
starting to walk away from the car.
Ray was arrested for driving without a
license and impeding traffic. Ray tried
explaining to Officer Brown that his
checkbook and license had been recently
stolen, at which time Brown was overiheard to
remark "Well, isn't that special." Although
Ray had his license number memorized,
neither officer would check with Central
Records to confirm his account The
passenger was reported to have been arrested
for impeding traffic, as well. The charges of
impeding traffic apparently arose because
Ray stopped and his passenger got out of the
car.
The third man arrested, Ron Ledford,
became involved when he passed near the
squad car on the way to his car to retrieve a
package of cigarettes. As he passed by, Ray
told the officers that Ledford could
corroborate his identity. Ledford complied
with Officer Brown's request to identify Ray.
Ray devalued Ledford's identification when
he shouted "Hey Ron, it's me, Ronny," as
Brown and Ledford approached the car.
Despite the fact that Ledford could also
identify Ray by his surname, Brown
GAPACommentary
"1 + M = PP"*
I received a direct mail
appeal today, as professional
and slick as they come. (I must be on
everyone's list as a world-class easy "tap",
because I seem to get them all.)
This one was from ACT UP (AIDS
Coalition to Unleash Power), and signed by
Harvey Fierstein, author of Torch Song
Trilogy. Now, 1 don't know a lot about
ACT UP, and less about Fierstein, but what
I've heard is that they share at least one
thing in common: a low tolerance of the
unacceptable, and a usually very effective
way of throwing a fit, to gain attention and
rectify the situation.
As much as I wince at the bombardment
of these pleading envelopes, it's great to see
this kind of solicitation. It’s a national
effort, on an issue specific to our
community. It's a grass-roots mobilization
which, if effective, will not allow the mass
disregard of our community that showed in
the (lack of) coverage last October in
Washington D.C. Indeed, ACT UP has
seemed extremely effective in gaining
attention and results in AIDS issues. More
encouraging still, they seem responsible in
how they go about it.
Recently, the Human Rights Campaign
Fund (HRCF, the national gay political
action committee) held a
dismissed Ledford.
After being dismissed by the officer,
Ledford reported to Southern Voice that he
rhetorically demanded of Brown, "What the
hell am I supposed to do? F*ck!" He was
immediately arrested and charged with
disorderly conduct while under the influence
and interfering with the lawful occupation of
another. Ledford claimed that he was never
drunk during the event. He showed no visible
signs of intoxication at the time of his arrest
Ledford, whose court date is ironically set
for June 24th, said of Officer Brown, "The
man has got a problem, a definite problem.
From what I experienced, he can't do his job
properly. He showed a definite bias "
"I intend to fight this with everything Tve
got," he said. "If they can harass people like
that, then we live in a sad, sad world."
Cathy Woolard, president of the Lesbian
and Gay Rights Chapter of the ACLU- Ga,
called the charges "excessive." She stressed
the importance of witnesses of the night's
events coming forward to assist in the men’s
defense. She urged the community to contact
Napper’s office to express their feelings about
the way this matter was conducted as well as
attend Ledford's court hearing. That hearing
will take place Friday, June 24th at 1:30 pan.
in the Atlanta City Courthouse. Woolard's
phone number is 377-8312. Napper’s office
number is 658-7845.
-Chris Duncan
First Existentialist Church
of Atlanta
«70 CANDLES PAM DRIVE. NX ATLANTA. GEORGIA 30307
378-5570
R. Lanier Clance, Minister
Services 11:00 AM, Sunday
Circle of Healing, 3:45 PM
1st & 3rd Sundays
$ 150/person fundraiser here
in Atlanta. Well supported
by the political, civil rights, and gay
communities, it raised tens of thousands of
dollars to support our causes. Locally,
GAPAC (gay'-pack, your local gay PAQ
sponsors fundraisers at various per person
costs ($5 in June, around $15-20 in July,
$75-$ 100 in November), in an effort to
encourage everyone's participation in
support of our work on local issues.
What does all this mean to us? Several
things, among them: budgeting time is
here. Put your money where your
sympathies are. Money does talk, in that it
funds those who talk - and act - on our
behalf. It means that, locally and
nationally, we've come of age as a
community in acknowledging and acting
on this. It means that AIDS does have a
positive aspect, at least in the respect that
it's booted our community to awareness of
how we choose to live and take care of
ourselves. And at least in this regard, it's
comforting to know that our friends,
lovers, brothers, and yes, our sisters,
haven't dies in vain.
For those of us with interest beyond the
crucial AIDS dilemma, there arc many
organizations that desperately need your
help. And no matter which ones you
choose to contribute money and/or time to,
remember this: though all the results
sought may be in different areas (health,
political, religious, social) the net result of
all our contributions will be the gradual
education of American society to tolerate,
and finally accept, us as whole persons.
Nothing different, scary, weirder than
usual. Just plain old people. Sounds like
nirvana to me.
I had meant for this inaugural column to
be generic, an introduction to what we'll be
discussing here: all the intrigue, gossip,
speculation and, oh yes, above all, the facts
of what's going down politically as it
applies to our lives. Some of this reality
will out-do the "soaps" - so incredible it'd
never play on prime time. But it will play
here, in Southern Voice and in the
quarterly GAPAC News, which will be
distributed with the Voice. Stay tuned!
And budget!
-Marie Murray
Marie Murray is Chair of GAPAC
(Greater Atlanta Political Action
Committee).
The views expressed in this column are those of the
author and may not necessarily reflect those of
Southern Voice.
^Information+Money=Political Power
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jamie richardson
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2911 piedmont
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