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Mayor blasts McKie
McKie
“This condition violates city
budget ordinances and may
place elected officals in personal
- financial jeopardy.”
DeVaney
“This report is designed to try
to make Butch McKie look good
at the expense of others.”
Rhonda Y. Maree and Frederick Benjamin
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writers
AUGUSTA
Mayor Charles DeVaney came out blasting
with both barrels this week in response to a
county report that the city was broke and over
$8 million in debt.
The mayor’s blast was aimed directly at Rich
mond County Comptroller Butch McKie for both
the contents of and the manner in which the
report was brought before the public.
“This report is designed to try to make Butch
McKie look good at the expense of others,” Mr.
DeVaney charged. “You can’t have a $1.5 mil
lion surplus last week and somebody else claim
an $8 million deficit this week. The tone of Mr.
McKie’s letter is accusatory, and his attacks on
our independent, outside auditors are inexcus
able,” he said. Mr. DeVaney made his remarks
at the regular Consolidation Transition. Task.
Force meeting on Wednesday. i
Mr. McKie circulated his report to county
commissioners the previous day at Tuesday’s
regular meeting without first discussing it with
city officials. In the report Mr. McKie wrote:
“While I regret omitting the courtesy of notifica
tion to Mayor DeVaney, I could not justify delay
of this report to you. Rumors are already flying
and it would serve no good purpose to delay and
cause embarrassment to you by tardiness on my
part.”
Not only is the city out of cash, Mr. McKie
suggests in the report, but the real scope of the
problem has been withheld from the city coun
cil.
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Story on page 10
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RACE MATTERS
SRR,
Environmental racism charged
M Suit filed against
Greensboro charges
city was negligent in
protecting African
Americans.
GREENSBORO
(AP) Greensboro residents
have not been fully protected
from the environmental haz
ards of a landfill because they
are black, a lawsuit filed
against city leaders alleges.
A homeowner’s association is
seeking financial compensation
because of the city’s decision to
locate an addition to a dump
across the street from the
Nealtown Farms subdivision.
Neighborhood residents said
they sued because negotiations
with city officiais over a settle
ment have dragged on for sev
eral months. The expansion has
been planned since the mid
1980s, but the plaintiffs said
they just learned about it late
last year.
“We feel the city didn’t Lan
dle the situation professional
ly,” said Myra Johnson,a mem
ber of the Nealtown Farms
Homeowners Association,
which represents 45 to 50 fam
Your local newspaper sponsored by your local grocer.
November 16 - 22, 1995 VOL. XV NO. 725
b L L “\ ‘QE’,@:&“\“ S e
‘Metro Augusta’s Finest Weekly Newspaper
DeVaney denies city has
$8 million runaway debt.
“An in-depth analysis of all
financial issues facing the city
apparently has not been pre
sented to elected officials,” Mr.
McKie wrote. He accused city
officials of “not being fully aware
of existing conditions.”
Mr. DeVaney bristled at the
accusation.
“I suppose he disputes the
word of two reputable CPA firms
ilies, most of them African-
American. “We tried to work
with them.”
The lawsuit, filed Friday
against the Greensboro city
council and the municipal Hu
man Relations Commission,
seeks damages for losses in
property value, threats to
health and aggravations stem
ming from increased noise, odor
and rodents. The association
also wants a Guilford County
Superior Court judge to stop
the expansion.
“The action of the city and
City Council of expanding the
landfill has the effect, if not the
intent, of discrimination against
the members ofthe homeowners
association because of their
race,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit defines environ
mental racism as “the failure of
the city and the City Council to
equally protect persons from en
vironmental and health hazards
because of their race.” The com
mission is accused of not doing
enough to investigate the prej
udice claims.
A public-private partnership
began developing the neighbor
hood five years ago on city
owned land not needed for the
in order, for whatever reasons,
to ingratiate himself with the
new commission-council in an
effort to become indispensable,”
Mr. DeVaney said. “We must
not allow a few ambitious de
partment heads to derail con
solidation and the good feelings
that we are trying to encour
age.”
For the past several months
See CITY, page 3
landfill expansion. The city sub
sidized the lot prices to help
residents with down payments
and closing costs.
The city took no formal steps
to make sure buyers in the new
neighborhood were told about
the expansion, something some
city officials regret. The Hu
man Relations Commission re
jected the claims of racism in
September, but said the city
had breached “a special confi
dence and trust” in failing to
make sure all residents of the
110-lot neighbor hood knew
about the landfill.
Although city elections were
scheduled shortly after the fil
ing of the suit, the homeowners
group said that did not directly
affect their decision to file the
lawsuit. The lawsuit caught city
officials by surprise.
“I'm concerned because I'm
still hopeful that some sort of
mutually satisfactory resolu
tion can be worked out,” said
City Manager Bill Carstarphen.
Council member Claudette
Burroughs-White, who repre
sents the district that includes
Nealtown Farms, said she had
no warning of the lawsuit.
“I guess they really lost their
patience with us,” she said.
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411 * Page 7
Government
shutdown not
without victims
B Applicants for
social security
benefits must
postpone receiv
ing aid during the
federal shutdown.
Compiled from staff
and wire reports
AUGUSTA
Hundreds ofthousands of
government workers re
ceived an unexpected vaca
tion this week as President
Clinton and the Republican
controlled Congress re
mained at an impasse over
the budget.
Treasury Secretary Rob
ert Rubin dipped into two
government trust funds to
avoiddefault. Chances were
slim that the partial gov
ernment shutdown that
began Tuesday would end
soon.
Local problems
In Augusta, all non-es
sential employees of the
Social Security Administra
“tio W IPETE K e ot oae
port to work and while re
tirees will continue to re
ceive their checks, the fed
eral holiday could work mis
chief for others.
Because of the federal
shutdown, those who are in
the midst or near the end of
the application process
must wait until the budget
crisis is resolved.
Those needing social se
curity cards foremployment
purposes may lose prospec
tivejobs while congress and
Marion Barry has
prostate cancer
WASHINGTON
(AP) Mayor Marion
Barry has prostate cancer
and is deciding whether to
fight it with radiation or
surgery. Either way, the
mayor said he was confi
dent of a speedy recovery.
~ Barry, 59, said Wednes
day the cancer was diag
nosed during his annual
physical exam Oct. 13 at
George Washington Uni
versity Hospital.
He said he would decide
on a treatment after more
tests next week.
“It will not impair his
ability to perform his job
and functions as the may
or,”said Dr. Albert Goldson
of Howard University Hos
pital, one of the mayor’s
doctors and a specialist in
prostate cancer.
“The good news is, I'm
looking for a speedy recov
ery,” a robust-looking
Barry said at a news con
ference, accompanied by
his wife, Cora, his mother,
Mattie Cummings, and his
minister, the Rev. Willie
Wilson. “I feel great. In fact,
I look good, too,” Barry
said, drawing a laugh. The
mayor said he was disclos-
the president fight it out.
Sources within the Social
Security office suggest that
state and otherlocal govern
mental agencies may be
bombarded with citizens at
tempting to get alternate
assistance until their social
security claims can be pro
cessed. Thisisespecially true
ofthose whoare in the midst
of applying for assistance
and are relying on friends
and relatives until their ap
plications are completed.
Wednesday’s chapter of
the war of words opened with
House Speaker Newt
Gingrich saying Republican
negotiators were ready to
renew talks but warning re
porters the crisis “could well
last 90 days.”
If that happens, he said,
Congress would remain in
session through Thanksgiv
ingand Christmas. Gingrich
said the House might act to
end the shutdown, along
with a provision committing
Clinton to a seven-year bal
anced budget.
The measure would be
stripped of a Medicare pre
mium increase that was in
~the bill Clinton vetoed,
Gingri¢h indicated. But
Majority Leader Richard
Armey, R-Texas, said no de
cision on timing had been
made.
Problems loom
Veterans benefits will not
beimmediately affected, but
the Department of Veterans
Affairs will be unable to is
sue its next batch of checks
on Dec. lifthedisputeisnot
See SHUTDOWN, page 3
“I'm confident
that whatever
treatment we
choose, be it
radiology or
surgery, that |
will have a total
and speedy re
covery,” he said.
ing the cancer because he
wanted to squelch rumors
about his health and en
courage men to have regu
lar checkups. “I'm confident
that whatever treatment
we choose, be it radiology
or surgery, that I will have
a total and speedy recov
ery,” he said.
After the mayor’s an
nouncement, Howard Uni
versity’s Cancer Center
announced it would offer
free prostate cancer screen
ing next month to Wash
ington residents.
According to the Ameri
can Cancer Society, 244,000
men are diagnosed with
prostate cancer each year.
See BARRY, page 3