Newspaper Page Text
PRSRT STD
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JANEWSPAPER, C S DEPT
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ATHENS, GA 30602-
Serving Metro Augusta,
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April 22-28, 2004 Vol. 23, No. 1156
.
Burk wins appeal
A Federal Court of
Appeals ruling has
struck down Augusta’s
protest ordinance.
The law went into
effect in response to
Martha Burk’s protest
of the Augusta
National in 2003.
Page 3A
. Lowery sued by
= SCLC
_ The Southern Chris
- tian Leadership Con
. ference is suing the
" man who co-founded
* it. The SCLC accuses
. Rev. Joseph Lowery of
E’ violating financial
. responsibility to the
§ organization. Page 3A
OPINION
. Investigate ~ senior
f program '
. A questionable deci
~ sion by the CSRA
Regiondd Develop:
. ment Center to award
. a lucrative contract to
.an out of stare firm
¢ should be investigated
"by the county com
~ mission. Page 8A
L '
. Tubman -gets in
. Tubman Middle
~ School has received a
. state grant to fund an
? artist-in-residence pro
. gram. Acclaimed
writer, poet, storyteller
. Cleaster Cotron will
_tutor students on the
~finer points of the fine
_ arts. Page 1A
~ Charles Walker wins
. The members of
“Alpha Kappa Alpha
* sorority have awarded
" Augusta Focus Pub
~ lisher Charles Walker
~ with its leadership
. award. Page 5A
INDEX
;/Amat SUNENENONS 1 B
;?“mm“...'.....-”
& c't'm ------3A
' Classifieds ......6B
# um nuuunu'“
_Nation/World ..2A
;fw uo\tAnnnman‘.
Arena push for SPLOST funds questioned
By HALEY A. DUNBAR
Augusta Focus Staff Writer
Developers of the proposed
Regency Mall site sports arena
are determined to see their
request for S6O million of
SPLOST V revenue granted.
The group presented the
county commission with a
memorandum of understand
ing meant to clear up any ques
tions about the project and win
the support of the entire board.
In the end, however, many
questions were left unanswered
and those opposing the project
secemed to dig their heels in
even further.
“Just like I said last week, if
yall think Commissioner
Mays is long-winded, if we
supplant infrastructure, fire sta
tions and libraries with a dis
cussion on the civic arena, y’all
haven’t seen anything com
pared to the length of time I'm
going to sit here and talk about
the oroblems in this citv and
I'll go line item by line item and street by street. We are so anx
ious to rush to this, that we have completely ignored other prob
lems in this city,” said Commissioner Andy Cheek.
Cheek K’s statement came on the heels of a presentation by Paul
Murders overshadow National
Crime Victim’s Rights Week.
By THERESA MINOR
Augusta Focus Staff Writer
Two murders, one
involving an expectant
mother, have cast a shad
ow over a week in which
Richmond County resi
dents are observing
National Crime Victim’s
Week.
Tamara Dunston, 29,
and Stephen Walker, 24,
are the county’s latest
homicide victims. Dun
ston’s lifeless body was
discovered Sunday, April
18, in a shallow grave in
Edgefield County.
According to police
reports, 25-year-old
Ronald Burke led lawmen
to the site. Burke, a fami
Tavis Smiley to speak at Paine College Commencement
Tavis Smiley, Nationally acclaimed television and radio
personality, will deliver Paine College’s Commencement
Convocation Address, Sunday, May 2nd, 9 a.m., Bell Audi
torium.
Subscribe to the Augusta Focus, Call (706) 722-4222, extension 225
et e
www.augustafocus.com FIFTY CENTS
SPLOST. 1 2R eferenum Pl
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more than § 60 M{TINORT
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Tamara Dunston
ly acquaintance, allegedly
strangled Dunston to
death when she encoun
tered him burglarizing her
mother’s Kipling Road
home. She was abducted
and had been missing sev
eral days before Sunday’s
Simon during the April 20 meeting of the Augusta-Richmond
County Commission. At the request of Mayor Bob Young,
Simon spoke to the group on behalf of Augusta Entertainment
grisly discovery.. Dunston
was three months preg
nant. Burke has been
indicted for not only
Dunston’s death, but is
also facing a malice mur
der charge in the death of
her unborn child.
Meanwhile, Terris Mur
ray, 25, is facing charges
in the shooting death of
his roommate, 24-year old
Stephen Walker. Walker’s
body was discovered out
side of his Third Street
apartment in Tuesday,
April 20 shot twice at
close range according to
police reports.
Murray is behind bars
and has been charged with
murder and possession of
a firearm during the com
Paine College will wel
come television and radio
talk show host and busi
ness entrepreneur, Tavis
Smiley, as the keynote
speaker for the Com
mencement Convocation
on May 2, 9:00 a.m. at
the Bell Auditorium.
Smiley hosts the Public
Broadcasting Station’s
Tavis Smiley, which is the
first program in the his
tory of PBS to be broad
cast from the West Coast.
He is heard on several
national radio broadcasts
to include: The Smiley
Report, a national and
daily program heard on
urban contemporary
radio stations; the
nationally syndicated
Tom Joyner Morning
( )NO
Sec SPLOST page 12A
mission of a crime and
simple battery. There
have been six murders so
far this year in Richmond
County.
A Crime Victim’s Rights
Ronaid Burke (i) and Terris Murray (r) are accused of com
mitting Richmond County’s latest murders. Burke faces
malice murder charges for killing an expectant mother
while Murray has been arrested for the shooting death of
his roommate.
Show, which he appears
on twice a week; and the
Tavis Smiley Show from
National Public Radio,
which . makes him the
first African American to
host his own signature
talk show in the history ,
of National Public Radio
He has used his populari
ty to encourage and
empower black youth in
America through his non
profit organization the
Tavis Smiley Foundation.
His community activism
has been profiled on 60
Minutes and TIME maga
zine cited him as one of
America’s 50 Most
Promising Young Lead
ers.
Newsweek profiled him
as one of the “20 people
® ¢ o
Redistricting
’ |
lines may
notbea
done deal
“If the court is saying we
cant have any population
deviation, there are at least
27 other states that will be
impacted.”
Charles Walker
By THERESA MINOR
Don't get oo used to the
be changing — again —if Geor
gia Artorney General Thurbert
Baker has anything to do with
it.
Baker has asked the U.S.
Supreme Court to reject redis
tricting line§ drawn up less
than a month ago by a federal
court map maker. A three
judge federal court panel
See Lines page 12A
Memorial Program will be
held on Saturday, April
24, 10 a.m. at the Beaulah
Grove Community Cen
ter, 1446 Lee Beard Way.
There is no admission.
o ,
piree
“90 A
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changing how Americans
get their news” and
dubbed him one of the
nation’s captains of the
airwaves.”
Smiley, a native of Los
Angeles and a graduate of
Indiana University, has
‘authored six books. His
most recent work, Keep
ing the Faith: Stories of
Love, Courage, Healing
and Hope from Black
America, is an inspiring
collection of personal
narratives about love, loss
and faith by African
Americans from all walks
of life.
For more information,
please call Director of
Public Relations, Paulette
Payne, (706)821-8323.