Newspaper Page Text
Oct. 2 - Oct. 8, 2003
Y0L.23 No. 1126
FIFTY CENTS
www.augustafocus.com
Tennis legend,
Gibson dies
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Sports pioneer, Althea
Gibson, died Sunday,
September 28 at the
age of 76. Gibson
broke the color barrier
in tennis in the 1950’s
as the first black to
win Wimbledon and
the U.S. national title.
See details on page
2A.
AP Photo/Susan Ragan.
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Greek dance troupe,
Hellas Dancers, is
among those sched
vled to perform during
a weekend celebrating
Greek food, folks and
culture.
Story on page 1B
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Mocha baby gets into
mischief as Mocha
Moms come together to
support one another.
The national organiza
tion has an active local
chapter.
Story on page 10 A
Photo by H. Dunbar
Republican plan for HOPE scholarship a h0ax..... See editorial on page 8A
Augusta Foens
Activist charges Augusta @ nunng neid”
Citys homicide rate doubles
By Theresa Minor
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff
Writer
AUGUSTA
With the murder rate
already more than dou
ble that of 2002, Augus
ta-Richmond County
has become a “killing
field” charges a com
munity activist. Bar
bara Thurmond, presi
dent of Blacks Against
Black Crime, blames a
silent community for
perpetuating this dis
turbing trend.
Last year, the homi
cide rate dipped to a low
of 11 — compared to 23
currently — nearly all
involving African-Amer
ican males. Four of the
murder cases this year
remain unsolved. They
include two whose vic
tims had barely reached
puberty. Fifteen-year
old Larry L. Drayton
Roast honors commissioner’s
achievements, service
By Theresa Minor
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
From quips to accolades,
the roast recognizing the
achievements of commission
er Lee Beard ran the gamut.
It left the honoree nearly
speechless — thanking his
admirers “for the memories.”
A packed house of about
400 people was on hand Sep
tember 25, 2003 to hear little
known and mostly embar
rassing facts about Beard
including his childhood nick
name of “Sneaky” The
turnout to honor his career
comes just weeks after Beard
went public about his battle
with cancer.
His roasters came from all
walks of life from judges to
teachers and the lieutenant
governor, coming in from des
tinations including Chicago
and Atlanta; however, the
tributes were similar for the
“small, soft spoken” “ice
man” with the lion heart.
“He’s not afraid to stand up
for what he believes in. There
are few people with that trait.
We would all be blessed to have
the strength and courage that
he has,” said former Augusta
fire chief, Ronnie Few.
Kolb receives international
acclaim for successful career
By Haley A. Dunbar
AUGUSTA FOCUS staff writer
AUGUSTA
The City of Augusta
received world wide acco
lades recently when city
administrator George Kolb
was recognized by the Inter
national City/ County Man
agement Association (ICMA)
for his 30 years of service in
local government.
Mr. Kolb was honored dur
ing the organization’s annu
al conference of nearly 3,000
local government officials
and city managers held
recently in Charlotte, North
Carolina. In addition to
being recognized for his
achievements, the city
administrator was also a fea
tured speaker at the event,
addressing convention atten-
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34
A
Mikael J. Frails
and 16-year-old Renal
do Newton are counted
among the open murder
cases. Both were
gunned down in their
neighborhoods.
Rewards of $2,000
each for information
leading to arrests
have been offered, but
they have produced no
solid leads according
to sheriff’s depart
ment officials.
“If somebody comes
forward and wishes to
remain anonymous,
that’s what would be
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Commissioner Beard greets friends during dinner
Photo by H. Dunbar
Augusta Focus publisher,
Charles Walker, mirrored
Few’s sentiment.
“He does not talk a lot but
he gets a lot done. He has that
bulldog tenacity. Not many
men can hold a candle to Lee
Beard,” said Walker.
The tributes were topped off
by the announcement that a
street is being named for
Beard. Linden Drive will now
become Lee Beard Way. Rich
mond County school board
member Marion Barnes pre
sented the first “Lee Beard
Way” street sign to a crowd
who by then were on their feet
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A three decade career garners recognition for city
adminstrator George Kolb. File photo
See Kolb honor, page 3A
i RICHMOND COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICH
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| A 52.000.00 CASH REWARD s being offered for information
| leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the Vil IKDER
' of Lary Drayton. 15 year old Larry was shot to death near his
| residence on September 21* 2003 at about 11 P.M.
Flyers announcing a $2,000 reward are
being posted in Drayton’s neighborhood
to entice anyone with information about
the youth’s murder.
done,” appealed investi
gator Major Ken Autry.
Thurmond and vol
unteers have been out
in the neighborhoods
in a standing ovation. Beard
was visibly moved by the ges
ture.
“On November 6, 1935
who would have thought
that the 12th child born in a
family of 13 would be hon
ored like this tonight,” said
Beard. “Thank you for the
memories [ can carry with
me for many years.”
Beard also shared the hon
ors with his wife, Betty, who
he credited for making his
career aspirations possible by
handling the “home front.”
The couple has been married
for 43 years.
where the murders took
place, trying to persuade
a mute community to
turn the killers over to
law enforcement.
Educators against No
Child Left Behind,
HOPE changes
By Theresa Minor
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Members of the Georgia
Association of Educators
(GAE) are taking a stand
against two high profile
education initiatives, the
No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) and planned
changes for the HOPE
scholarship.
In town during a recent
state tour, Merchuria
Chase Williams, GAE pres
ident criticized the NCLB
as an “unfunded man
date.” She says the testing
component alone has
chalked up a bill ranging
from $1.5 to $5.3 billion
nationally.
“And sometimes I think
the No Child Left Behind
Act really means no dis
trict is left solvent — no
school left standing,” said
Williams. “School systems
are going to have to let
something go that may
have been beneficial to
fund a federal mandate
that came without money.”
Williams says the deter
mination as to whether a
school system is passing or
failing should not rest on
one test as is currently
being done. She believes
teacher assessments and
student portfolios should
also be counted. She fur
ther states that if teachers
are going to be held
accountable for the school
making adequate yearly
progress, they should be
better compensated.
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“The people we're
trying to reach who we
feel have some informa
tion, they’re not reading
the newspapers and
they’re not watching
the news. So we've got
to be foot soldiers and
get into these areas,”
said Thurmond. “We
can’t allow our chil
dren’s deaths to go
unanswered.”
In addition to being
the victims, young black
males are increasingly
See homicide rate, page 3A
Top Ladies award Top Teen scholarship
Lawrence Dantae Robertson,
an Augusta Top Teen, was
awarded a $2,000 scholarship at
the recent national meeting of
Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.
in Arlington, Virginia. The
selection process is based on
academic achievement, Top
Teens involvement and overall
individual diversity.
Dantae is a graduate of John S.
Davidson Fine Arts Magnet
School and he is currently enrolled
at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He is
the son of Mrs. Thelma Robertson.
Lady Johnetta Williams is the immediate past Top
Teens advisor; Lady Faye Johnson is the current advi
sor; and Lady Yvonne Shaw is the chapter president.
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PAID
ATIGUSTA GA
MIT NO 302
being charged as the
perpetrators. Recently,
Richmond County sher
iffs deputies arrested
18-year-old Mikael
Frails and 17-year-old
Eric Allen. Both have
been jailed stemming
from an incident in
which they allegedly
pulled a gun on mem
bers of the TW. Josey
Cross Country team.
Sheriff’'s department
officials suspect the inci
dent is the result of a
gang turf war.
“To call black males
endangered would not
be an overstatement.
We have too many
African Americans who
are refusing to
acknowledge that.
They are in denial. And
that’s a real problem,”
said Thurmond.
Blacks Against Black
“We did not have a salary
increase last year We want
a salary increase this year.
Governor Perdue can find
the money for everything
else that he deems impor
tant. He’s supposed to be
an education governor. The
least he can do is give us a
raise,” she said.
A proposed change in eli
gibility requirements for
the HOPE scholarship is
also coming under attack
by the organization. Gov
ernor Perdue is testing the
waters, suggesting that a
minimum SAT score along
with the current B grade
average be the require
ments for students to
obtain the scholarship.
“I think if he has a cut
off (SAT) score it will elim
inate many kids who are
underexposed, those from
the lower socio-economic
communities, some
minorities. Even the col
lege board states that the
scores should not be used
to rank or grade schools or
states because the test is
not an indicator that you
have mastered the skills
you have been taught,”
states Williams.
She says the impartial
way to determine eligibili
ty is to award the scholar
ship based on need. Origi
nally, the lottery funded
scholarship program was
designed to give college
assistance to students in
households with an
income of SIOO,OOO or less.
There is currently no
income cap.