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ATHENS, GA 30602-
Serving Metro Augusta,
South Carolina and The CSRA - .. A
May 13-19, 2004 Vol. 23, No. 1159
INSIDE
Justice for Emmitt
Justice may finally
come for 1955 mur
der victim Emmitt
Till. The U.S. Justice
Department ~
announced recently
that they will re-open
the investigation into
the 14 year old’s mur
der. Page 2A
Dying for oil
According to former
U.N. Ambassador
Andrew Young, Presi
dent Bush led the
U.S. to war to rake
control of the coun
try’s oil fields. Page
3A
OPINION
* Violence begets
violence o
- The recent photos of
Iragi prisoners being
-abused by Americans _
are gross and regret
tabmose pictures,
however, are surpassed
by the cold-blooded
brutality of the taped
beheading of an Ameri
can at the hands of ter
rorists. Page 8A
ARTBEAT
Bet on Bob
Just how did BET
founder Bob Johnson
take a $15,000 loan and
turn it into a muld-bil
lion dollar business?
Author Brett Pulley’s lat
est book details the
inside story behind
Johnson's success.
Page 1B |
- Hats off :
~ Savannah State Uni
versity professor Chel
* lu S. Chetty has been
_ selected by President
- Bush to receive an
. award for excellence
. in mentoring.
. PagedA
INDEX
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U.S.: Beheaded American
was urged to leave Iraq
BAGHDAD), Iraq (AP)- An American civilian who was behead
ed in a grisly video posted on an al-Qaida-linked website had been
warned to leave Iraq but refused, U.S. officials said Wednesday, May
12
The masked men who butchered him claimed they were angered
by coalition abuses of Iraqi prisoners.
The American captive identified himself as Nick Berg, 26, of West
Chester, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia. His body was found near a
highway overpass in Baghdad on Saturday, May 8 the same day he
was beheaded, a U.S. official said.
After pushing Berg to the floor, the men severed his head and held
it up for the camera on the video posted Tuesday, Mayll. It bore
the tide “Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American,”
referring to an associate of Osama bin Laden believed behind a wave
of suicide bombings in Iraq.
It wis unclear whether al-Zarqawi was shown in the video or sim
ply ordered the execution. Al-Zarqawi also is sought in the assassi
nation of a U.S. diplomat in Jordan in 2002. The United States has
offered a $lO million reward for information leading to his capture
or killing,
See Beheading page 12A
MCG dlosing in on Gilbert Manor buyout
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(Photos by Theresa Minor)
Residents at the Gilbert Manor public facility say they
want to make certain they won’t be left the short end
of the stick if MCG buys them out.
Godfather of Soul rresent
in spirit at music festival
By HALEY A. DUNBAR
Augusta Focus Staff Writer
A bronze replica of James
Brown may not have been
present for the 6th Annual
Garden City Music Festival.
The singer/ songwriter may
have been left out of the 11-
hour lineup of largely local acts.
But both artists and attendees
made certain that the “Godfa
ther of Soul” was there in spir
it.
“James Brown should be
here....he really should. We all
get into trouble from time to
time. We've all had our share of
troubles. But hes done so
many great things in music. So
we're gonna do this next song
for him,” said famed jazzman
Wycliffe Gordon to throngs of
screaming fans.
Gordon was the final act of
the festival — organized by the
Greater Augusta Arts Council
— that included two stages
andls bands. Music lovers
took seats on the grassy Augus
ta Common and surrounding
wall to hear Gordon play the
trombone . accompanied by a
bassist, adrummer and a trum
peter. The Waynesboro native
was also joined by vocalists.
But despite the highly enter
taining performance given by
the group, some festival goers
still noted how much more
they would have enjoyed the
event had James Brown been
Subscribe to the Augusta Focus, Call (706) 722-4222, extension 225
there.
“When you think Augusta
you think James Brown. So for
this type of event — a music fes
tival — to be going on here and
not include him just doesnt
make sense,” said Travis Tram
mell, an Adanta native who
recently relocated to the
Augusta area.
Trammell recounted stories
told to him by his grandfather,
an Augusta area native, about
Brown's early days in the Gar
den City. He said his grandfa
ther described how the singer
started out downtown shining
shoes and singing for anyone
who would listen.
“He would even sometimes
run people down to try to get
their attention. He worked
hard in this city and later for
this city. It’s a shame he wasnt
included in the festival,” he
said.
This year the event was slat
ed to be re-named the James
Brown Music Festival in honor
of the God Father of Soul after
he received a Kennedy Center
Award in December. Augusta
Mayor Bob Young had also
begun work on having a statue
of Brown erected in the Augus
ta Common that was to be
unveiled during the festival.
Organizers rescinded the new
moniker and the replica was
put on ice, however, after
Brown was arrested and
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Nicholas Berg sits in front of his masked captors in this image from the video moments before
he was beheaded.
mml HERESA MINOR and
A. DUNBAR
Augusta Focus Seaff Witers
Kathy Sheppard, a single
mother, has lived in the Gilbert
Manor public housing com
plex for 13 years. She has often
heard talk of the Medical Col
lege of Georgias (MCG) inter
ot in acquiring the land on
which the complex is located.
She holds out hope that if and
when that day arrives, officials
will make sure that this com
munity of 274 families-mostly
poor mothers — will not be left
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James Brown
charged with criminal domes- i
tic violence in January follow- |
ing a dispute involving him |
and his wife, Tomi Rae.
Augusta native Darnell
Williams, who has followed
the unfolding drama surround
ing Brown, the festival and the
statue, explained that while he |
did enjoy the event, he believes J
it would have been better over
all with the singer’s presence.
“T've heard he puts on quite a
show. I'm sure having him per
form would have taken this fes
tival up a level or two,” he said.
While it is unclear at the
moment whether the council |
will include Brown in next ‘
years festival, it's evident that |
the #1 Soul Brother's support
ers will keep his spirit alive
there.
“They can't get away from
James. Hes had too much
influence on too much music
so even if he isnt here physical
ly, his presence is still felt on
stage,” said Williams.
www.augustafocus.com
to fend for themselves.
“I pray everyday that God
will make a way. I dont worry
about being put out in the
streets,” said Sheppard.
According to Sevi Roberson,
Director of the Augusta Hous
ing Authority (AHA), MCG
has been in talks with public
housing officials for about a
year in an effort to strike a deal
to acquire the site which bor
ders the university and hospital
complex. AHA has applied for
a Hope VI Grant, which would
fund a feasibility study into this
proposed transaction.
Middle schools ‘left
behind’ this summer
By THERESA MINOR
Augusta Focus Staff Writer
Richmond County mid
dle school students will
not be given the option of
summer school this year —
even though seven out of
10 of the county’s middle
schools are currently on
the state’s failing schools
list.
Instead of the six-week.
long summer school ses
sion, school system offi
cials have instead decided
to offer a two-week enrich
ment program. According
to a prepared Statement
released by Dr. Virginia
Bradshaw, Assistant Super
intendent for Instruction,
the “summer learning
opportunities for 2004
will provide mathematic
and science acceleration
with a literature compo
nent ... for students in
grades 6, 7 and 8.” The
statement goes on to assert
that the program will offer
a “head start for students
who need additional help
with understanding aca
demic content.” In an ear
lier meeting Bradshaw told
school board officials that
the district did not have
enough money to hire
teachers for all grade levels.
However, school officials
did not readily answer
FIFTY CENTS
“They (MCG) need the
property so they can continue
to expand. For the housing
authority, we have to consider
the residents first,” said Rober
son. “We have to take baby
steps because this is a HUD
funded agency.”
Officials have good reason to
approach this proposal with.
caution. An effort to dose
down Gilbert Manor for
MCG expansion during the
late ‘Bo°s sparked protests
among residents. This time
officials say they will be holding
See Gilbert Manor page 12A
questions from the Augusta
Focus as to how it could
justify scaling back the
summer school programs
for middle school students
in light of the fact that
many are struggling in
needs improvement
schools. At press time
school officials had failed
to respond to this specific
issue.
The so-called summer
learning opportunity will
be offered to 10 percent of
each school’s student pop
ulation. It will run
between June 9 and June
29 for a total of 15 days.
Students will be referred to
the program by their
teachers.
Meanwhile, summer
school will be available for
high school students
between June 1 and July
21. There has been an
increase in the per course
cost from $l7O to S2OO for
Richmond Cotinty stu
dents and from S2OO to
$250 for non-residents.
The session will be held at
Laney High School.
Elementary - school age
children will be offered a
19-day summer session
that will focus on “assist
ing struggling readers.”
That program will run
from June 1 through June
25;