Newspaper Page Text
Rev. J.R. Hatney announces bid for school board
By Timothy Cox
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
. AUGUSTA
Local minister and former Au
gusta City Councilman Johnny
Ray Hatney, has thrown his pro
verbial hatin theringtobeelected
to the Richmond County School
Board.
Alongtime Augusta-Richmond
County resident, Rev. Hatney,
known affectionately as “J.R.,” is
a 19-year pastor of Good Hope
Baptist Church. As minister, Rev.
Hatney has watched his east Au
gusta church grow from less than
100 members to a congregation of
more than 1,500. Since leaving
formal politics after the consolida
tion of Richmond County and Au
gusta city governments in 1996,
Rev. Hatney said he’s prepared to
take his leadership abilities to
another level — in support of chil
dren and a better society.
As a District 1 candidate, Rev.
Hatney vies to replace current
From page one
Mr. Cooks, 33, earned a market
ing-business administration de
gree from Delaware State Univer
sity, ahistorically black institution
in Dover, Del. He came to Atlanta
in 1992 as a loan development of
ficer for the Georgia Housing and
Finance Authority. Since 1995, he’s
worked for Atlanta Neighborhood
Development Partnership, a pri
vate, not-for-profit agency versed
in assisting low-to-moderate in
come Atlanta residents. As direc
tor of lending and equity, his job
entails managing community real
estate and equity funding. He has
also increased the agency’s loan
portfolio from $3.7 million to $7
million. After completing required
contract and personnel logistics,
Mr. Cooks’ annual salary with A
NIC could range between SIIO,OOO
Witness describes how fight started
ATLANTA
(AP) A friend of two men killed
after a Super Bowl melee testified
Wednesday he lid not see NFL
star Ray Lewis or his two co-defen
dants holding a knife during the
fight that led to the stabbings.
Chris Shinholster, who knew
both victims in his hometown of
Akron, Ohio, told jurors he saw
another unidentified man holding
a knife. And although he was just
steps away from the stabbings,
Shinholstersaid hedid not see who
actually stabbed the two men.
Shinholster also bolstered the
defense claim that Lewis acted as
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Rev.J.R.Hatneyseekstowinthe
District 1 Richmond County
School Board seat. (Photoby Timothy
Cox)
board member Adna Stein who
has opted not to run for a third
term. The eight-year board mem
berhasretired fromthe U.S. Army
and from ateaching position. Stein,
72, said he wants to “really enjoy”
retirement this time and has no
and $125,000, sources said. State
Rep.and A-NlCmember Ben Allen
said he welcomes the new appoin
tee and fully supports A-NlC’s se
lection. The couple’s son, Brandon,
11, was unable to make the trip.
Interim executive director
Charles DeVaney will continue
in atransitional role through Au
gust before entering the London
School of Economics in England.
“This was a wonderful opportu
nity. I'll miss it, but I'm certain
Robert will do a great job,” said
the former Augusta mayor who
chose not to reapply for the job.
Mr. Cooks is upbeat about his
new role. “This is an opportunity
to help build on a public-private
partnership. I anticipate coming
to Augusta-Richmond County,”
said the Stone Mountain resident.
A-NlCwasestablished last year
as a nonprofit corporation
charged with rehabilitating
Augusta’s inner city neighbor
hoods, including the historic
Laney Walker district.
peacemaker, saying he told Lewis
to “grab your boy” to avoid a fight
between two groups of men that
met outside an Atlanta nightclub
early the morning of Jan. 31.
Shinholster said hedidn’t see Lewis
punch, kick or grab any of the
victims.
Lewis, a Baltimore Ravens line
backer and the leading tackler in
the NFL last year, is charged with
murderalong with friends Reginald
Oakley and Joseph Sweeting.
Jacinth Bakerand Richard Lollar
of Decatur died of multiple stab
wounds. Lewis, 25, was in town to
take part in Super Bowl activities.
City / Region
interestinreelection. School board
elections are non partisan.
At 61, Rev. Hatney’s political
engineis againrevved up. Consid
ered a fire-and-brimstone style of
pastor with a reputation for mov
ing the people, the minister said
his three-pronged platform will
jump start his campaign.
“My platform includesthe home,
schools and the faith community.
I've always been a champion for
education and children. I'm con
vinced academicexcellence is nec
essary in our high tech society.
I'm also convinced our children
havebeendealt apretty bad hand,
considering everything that’s out
there. Children didn’t have any
thing to do with drugs, crime or
lack of discipline. They didn’t or
chestrate that. It was grown folk
who caused and created those prob
lems,” said Rev. Hatney.
Mr. Marion Barnes, a retired
principal at T.W. Josey, will op
pose Rev. Hatney, according to
o
Republican
From page one
his Greene Street offices.
In his upcoming role as a Bush
supporter, he'll serve as one of 21
at-large Georgia Republican del
egates elected duringa GOP state
level meeting in Savannah, May
20. Georgia will have 54 total del
egates at the convention includ
ing Richmond County Republi
can Party chairman Dave Barbee.
Mayor Pro Tem Willie Mays will
head the county commissioners
meeting and tend to city business
in the mayor’s absence.
Now that his Republican affili
ationis known, the mayor doesn’t
feel it will have any negative ef
fects on nonpartisan county com
missioners and how they vote on
issues involving the city and
county. “I think the voters in the
county already know of the com-
Shinholster said the fight started
after both groups traded insults
and Baker then hit Oakley over
the head with a champagne bottle.
Shinholster tried to get between
Baker and Oakley and hoped that
Lewis would pull Oakley away. “It
allhappened so fast,” he said. “The
next thing I know, Oakley’s stand
ing over Baker in the street.”
When cross-examined,
Shinholster conceded he told po
licethat Oakley appeared surprised
that Baker had been stabbed.
In opening statements Tuesday,
District Attorney Paul Howard said
the blood from one of the victims
information obtained from the
Richmond County Board of Elec
tions. The elections are set for
November. Rev. Hatney is a na
tive of Myers Mill, S.C. — a town
that was demolished along with
“0Old” Ellenton when the Depart
ment of Energy constructed the
Savannah River Site in 1949. Af
ter brieflylivingin Blackville,S.C.,
as afreshman, young Hatney and
family moved to Augusta in 1953
and he graduated from Lucy C.
Laney High School in 1957.
“Education is necessary today,”
said the preacher. “Children are
the key to the future of our com
munities, therefore, more focus
needs to be on developing them
wholly, as in the entire person,”
he said. Concerning incorporat
ing prayerinschools, Rev. Hatney
is convinced the home is where
prayer must be reintroduced.
“That would then take care of
whatever problems occur within
the schools,” he added.
missioners’ political affiliation,”
said the mayor.
In explaining why he supports
Bush over vice president and
Democrat Al Gore, the mayor
said, “He (Bush) is a refreshing
change from (Bill) Clinton and
Gore. Bush has the experience
on a state level in dealing with
issues we deal with on a city and
county level and I'm committed
to his election as the next presi
dent of the United States,” he
added. The mayor said he’s an
“independent voter,” consider
ing that in Georgia, individuals
are not required to register with '
any specific party affiliation.
After describing his delegate
status as an achieved goal, the
mayor discounted the action asa
move toward political aspira
tions in state or national poli
tics. “I'm just being the mayor of
Augusta. But, I don’t think it
hurts for local officials to be in a
position toinfluence state or fed
eral policy,” he said.
was found in Lewis’ limousine af
ter a fight that led to the stabbing
deaths.
“You will be able to follow a blood
trail from the scene of the crime all
the way back to Ray Lewis’ hotel
room,” Howard said.
Some prosecution witnesses
Tuesday seemed to actually help
the defense case.
MelissaKeeler,whowatched the
killing from her apartment win
dow, described the vicious attack
on the two victims but could not
link any of the defendants to the
attack.
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Academy nurtures
future leaders
From page one |
ing in computer engineering,” he
added. “Until a speaker came in
and talked to us. He told me some
things that made me more inter
ested, and made me want to be in
the dental field.”
Julia Green, a senior at A.R.
Johnson high school, has been in
the program since its inception,
and is one of three Albany State
University Presidential Scholar
ship winners.
To qualify for the scholarship,
students must have a 3.5 grade
point average and score an 1140 or
higher on their SAT’s.
“Right now I want to major in
chemistry and pre-med,” Green,
17, optimistically stated after the
academy’s graduation ceremony.
And pushing minority students,
who are normally high academic
achievers but often get left out of
medical college arenas, to sharpen
their math, science and analytical
skills in preparation for careers in
medicine, is the whole point of the
program, Sykes-Brown, a director
ofeducation enrichment programs
at MCQG, said.
“So far 80 percent of the seniors
who have gone through the acad
emy are moving on to careers in
medicine,” she added.
Two Saturdays a month, from
Septemberto May, dedicated ninth
through 12th grade students, from
Lucy Craft Laney, T.W. Josey, and
A.R. Johnson High Schools, along
with many of their parents, made
the trek to Laney.
Students took advanced courses
in critical thinking, calculus, alge
bra, and preparation courses for
the SAT’s and college curriculum.
“I know its not easy to wake up
on a Saturday, after waking up
every morning to go to school all
week, onlytocometoschool again,”
Sykes-Brown said before the cer
emony started. “This program
takes a lot of commitment, and
that’s exactly what these students
have demonstrated.”
More parents, however, need to
demonstrate that same commit
ment, in order for students outside
of the program to exceed just as
well, according to Reverend Larry
Fryer, founder of the New Hope
Community Center. ;
He encouraged African-Ameri
can parents to re-enforce old-fash
ioned standards“thathaven’t been
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ioned standards“thathaven'tbeen
seen in schools for decades,” dur
ing an inspirational portion of the
ceremony.
“I remember a time when par
entsand teacherswerealwaystalk
ing to one another about their
children’s progressinschool,” Fryer
said. “Parents have to get more
involved. Don’t just come to schoo!
when the principal calls you, and
tells you that your son or daughter
is getting expelled. Come to school
when you see your child’s grades
are slipping to try to pull them
back up.”
MCG was one of the first medical
universities in the country to be
awarded a five year $300,000 grant
tostart an academic“pipeline” pro
gram like the Saturday Learning
Academy. ‘
Seven students from the acad:
emy have already been accepted
into MCG’s summer program, and
several others will participate in
various HBCU (Historically Black
Colleges and Universities) sum
mer study workshops.
Yet despite the program’s suc
cess, the Academy of American
Medical Colleges (AAMC), MCG"s
main fundingsource, iscuttingthe
grant, originally partofthe AAMC’s
3000 by 2000 endeavor, leaving
theschool, and the academy to find
other funding sources or end the
“I guess they figure that after
five years, school’s should have
their own funding source,” Sykes-
Brownsaid. “Wehave gotten some
outside funding, but we may have
to cut down on the program if we
intend to keep it.”
MCGhasdonated $40,000 ayear
for the last four years to the pro
gram, but if that is the only future
funding source, academy coordi
nators may be forced to drastically
reduce the number of studentsthey
allow in the program.
“I'm not making any definite
decisions yet,” Sykes-Brown said.
“Idon’t exactly know what is going
to happen, but most likely we still
will have the program.”
The five year grant from AAMC
will last until January 1, 2001.
MCG coordinators are alreadylook
ing for outside sources.
“We have partnerships with
HBCUs, and they have helped a
great deal in the past, with sum
mer programs, so whatever hap
pens, one way or another, when
this grant runs out, we will have a
program,” Sykes-Brown said.
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