YOUTH
MINISTRY
Columbia High grad Zion Moore will open for R&B sensation Silk’s March 28 performance at Cobb Energy Center. 5
A new radio talk show, “Beneath the Surface with Lillie Shaw,” is already filling the airwaves with meaningful discussions. 6
Silky smooth opening
Airtime for relevant issues
Let’s Keep DeKalb Peachy Clean Please Don’t Litter Our Streets and Highways
EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER • STONECREST
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January 27, 2018
Volume 23, Number 39
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Sam’s Club closing raises boycott threats, legality questions By Lyle V. Harris
The abrupt closure of the Sam’s Club in Stonecrest is prompting calls for a boycott of the retail chain by South DeKalb customers and raising questions about whether the company possibly violated federal law. DeKalb Commissioner Greg Adams told a crowd of about 150 people at a Jan. 22 town hall meeting at Lou Walker Senior Center that he is ready to take a stand. “I will not be shopping [at Sam’s Club] any longer because we need to send them a strong message,” he said to applause. Stonecrest resident Faye Coffield agreed. “We keep begging stores like Kmart
outlets nationwide would be going dark. Walmart officials claim the Stonecrest location was “underperforming” and failed to meet sales goals, but declined to offer specifics. A smaller Walmart Neighborhood Market store at Panola Road and Covington Highway is also going out of business after only four years on Jan. 30. It announced its intention on Jan. 5. But was the Sam’s Club closing done legally? CrossRoadsNews has asked the company whether its decision fully complied with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act – known as WARN.
The WARN law, passed by Congress in 1988, requires companies with 100 or more employees, which would include the South DeKalb Sam’s Club, to give 60-day notice of closure. and Walmart and they keep leaving us with nothing,” she said. “The bottom line is to get into their pockets. We have to let them know we have a voice.” The town hall meeting was organized by DeKalb District 5 Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson following Sam’s Mereda D. Johnson
Club’s abrupt closure on Jan. 11 after more than a decade at that location. Since then, once loyal and longtime customers have been expressing outrage by cancelling their paid memberships and threatening a boycott. Neither customers nor the store’s nearly 200 employees were given prior notice that the store would be closing as part of a larger corporate shakeup. Walmart Stores Inc., which is Sam’s Club’s parent company, announced Jan. 11 that 63 of its popular big-box Please see SAM’S CLUB, page 2
Stonecrest Babies’R’Us among 182 to close Store closing trend reflects change in retail landscape
The 32,000square-foot Babys”R”Us, which opened in the Stonecrest MarketPlace in March 2010, is scheduled to close in the spring.
By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
The Stonecrest Babies“R”Us store is closing. It is among eight in Georgia, one of two in DeKalb County, and among 182 Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores nationwide that the children’s retailer is closing this spring. In a 106-page motion filed in bankruptcy court on Jan. 23, Toys“R”Us said it has “faced a challenging commercial environment exacerbated by increased competition from traditional competitors and a shift in consumer preferences away from shopping at brick and mortar stores to online retail channels.” “These factors have left the debtors with a significant number of stores operating at sub-optimal performance levels,” it said. The 32,000-square-foot store in the Stonecrest MarketPlace, at 8160 Mall Parkway, is the latest retailer in Stonecrest to announce its departure. Sam’s Club closed abruptly on Jan. 11. The Walmart Neighborhood Market at Covington Highway and Panola Road is closing on Jan. 30. The Sears at the Mall at Stonecrest is also closing Jan. 30. Stonecrest Councilman Jimmy Clanton Jr., who represents District 1, home to three of the stores closing, said the departures have more to do with the reshaping of the retail landscape than Jimmy Clanton being city-specific. “What is hurtful is that it’s in our backyard,” he said. “As a city, this is not the end of our story. It’s an opportunity for additional growth.” Clanton said that while the city will be working to make sure that these vacant buildings don’t become blighted, residents
Sharif Ffrench-Williams / CrossRoadsNews
need to shop local. “This is not a reflection of our sales habit and as long as we continue to shop in our city and take care of the businesses in our community, more businesses will come,” he said. Toys“R”Us, which has about 880 U.S. stores and 1,600 worldwide, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. Dave Brandon, Toys“R”Us chairman and CEO, said in a letter posted on the company’s website that the reinvention of the company’s brands requires that “we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus.” He said the store closures come after a top-to-bottom assessment of their business. “We also intend to convert a number of locations into co-branded Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores,” he said. “The actions
we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company that will provide the level of service and experience you should expect from a market leader.” The company also operates a 50,000square-foot Toys“R”Us store in the Turner Hill MarketPlace at 2940 Turner Hill Road. Kevin Donegan of RCG Ventures, which operates the shopping center, said Wednesday that store is staying open. “They are not closing us,” he said. “It’s not the one on the list.” The Stonecrest Babies“R”Us, which opened in March 2010, is one of seven anchors in the 264,609-square-foot Stonecrest MarketPlace shopping center overlooking the Mall at Stonecrest. Other tenants in the center, owned by Colliers International,
include Staples, Petco, Big Lots, DSW, Ross and Marshalls. The three other Babies“R”Us and four Toys“R”Us closing in Georgia are: n Babies“R”Us, 1155 Mt. Vernon Highway, Dunwoody. n Babies“R”Us, 6380 North Point Parkway, Alpharetta. n Babies“R”Us, 6875 Douglas Blvd., Douglasville. n Toys“R”Us, 221 Newnan Crossing Bypass, Newnan, n Toys“R”Us, 132 Pavilion Parkway, Fayetteville. n Toys “R”Us, 2955 Cobb Parkway, Smyrna. n Toys“R”Us, 2601 Dawson Road, Albany. Going-out-of-business sales are scheduled to begin in February and be completed in April.
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Community
CrossRoadsNews
January 27, 2018
“John Evans has historically always been loyal and dedicated in his contribution to civil rights and justice.”
Friends, supporters hosting 85th birthday bash for John Evans
Friends, colleagues, and civil rights foot soldiers will celebrate John Evans’ 85th birthday on Jan. 28 at the Sights and Sounds Black Cultural Museum at North DeKalb Mall. The celebration, hosted by the DeKalb chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), takes place 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Evans, a longtime DeKalb civil rights activist, was the first African American to serve on the DeKalb Board of Commissioners in 1983. He served as president of the DeKalb NAACP for decades and is the founder of Operation LEAD, an organization that fights for civil and human rights. Evans has been ailing for months and
has been in and out of the hospital. Nathan Knight, president of the DeKalb chapter of SCLC, said Evans is worthy of celebration. “John Evans has historically always been loyal and dedicated in his contribution to civil rights and justice,” Knight said. “The DeKalb County Chapter of
the SCLC honors and commends John Evans.” To attend the celebration, RSVP to dekalbsclc@gmail.com. The Sights and Sounds Back Cultutal Musuem is inside the mall at 2050 Lawrenceville Highway in Decatur. For more information call Nathan Knight at 404-781-1770. John Evans
WARN Act requires employers to give 60-day notice when closing SAM’S CLUB,
from page
1
The law, passed by Congress in 1988, requires companies with 100 or more employees, which would include the South DeKalb Sam’s Club, to give 60-day notice of closure. Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, the WARN Act “offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. This notice must be provided to either affected workers or their representatives (e.g., a labor union); to the State dislocated worker unit; and to the appropriate unit of local government.” The Georgia Department of Economic Development, which tracks WARN notices statewide, lists March 16, 2018, as the date for the Sam’s Club closing on its website. That date suggests the company should have notified stakeholders of the impending closure by Jan. 18, but the store had already been shuttered and padlocked seven days earlier. A spokeswoman for the state agency said it received formal notice from the company on Jan. 11, and could not explain the discrepancy between the actual closing and the date listed on its website. Walmart spokesman Phillip Keene said
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the company had notified Lithonia Mayor Deborah Jackson of its impending action by mail on Jan. 11 and is “in full compliance with the WARN Act. Our associates will not be terminated until more than 60 days after our notice of Phillip Keene closure was given.” Jackson confirmed that she had received the company’s letter, which should have instead been sent to elected officials in neighboring Stonecrest where the store is located. Walmart says its laid-off employees will get up to a $1,000 bonus and 60 days of pay. Affected employees at the Stonecrest location were also promised double pay until Jan. 26 and efforts are underway to find jobs for them at other stores. However, violations of the WARN Act can also trigger civil penalties amounting to $500 a day for failing to alert local officials in a timely fashion. If a complaint was filed against the company, those fines could total $30,000 for missing the 60-day notification window. Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary said he wasn’t notified by Walmart and was unfamiliar with the WARN Act. “I heard about Sam’s Club on the same
morning that they closed and I was just as surprised as the customers and their employees,” he said. Lary added that he would direct the city’s attorney to determine whether legal action is warranted. The DeKalb County government also issued a statement acknowledging that it was not notified of the Sam’s Club closure and was “unaware of any confirmed violations of state or federal law.” In the meantime, county officials said they are working on forward-looking strategies to address the recent tide of store closings that have left frustrated South DeKalb residents with fewer, and often lower-quality shopping choices. In the last several years, the area has experienced an exodus of major retail nameplates including Target, Best Buy, Walmart, Publix, Kroger, Sears and Kohl’s. On Jan. 24, Toys“R”Us announced it was shutting down its Babies“R”Us store on Mall Parkway across from Stonecrest Mall as part of a move that will affect seven other stores in Georgia and 182 of its locations nationwide. In many cases, the store closures in South DeKalb are casualties of the ongoing “retail apocalypse” that is massively disrupting conventional buying habits and the national economy. Bargain-conscious consumers are
increasingly flocking online to purchase a wide range of products rather than patronizing malls and traditional brick-andmortar stores. At the Jan. 22 community meeting, Andrew Baker, DeKalb County’s Director of Planning and Sustainability, said his department is working on a comprehensive strategy to prevent more retail stores from leaving the area and to attract others willing to make long-term commitments to local customers. “We need to get in front of this trend so we’re not surprised like this anymore,” Baker said, adding that the planning department will launch a survey seeking input from South DeKalb residents. But Commissioner Johnson echoed sentiments of many residents at the meeting and described the suddenness of the Sam’s Club closing as “a punch in the gut.” “It was totally disrespectful to do what they did and it was wrong,” she said. “I’m not bashing Walmart, but I’m bashing the way they handled us.” When told of Johnson’s remarks, Keene defended the company’s decision. “We’ve been part of this community for years and our thought process and approach was not meant to single out the community,” he said. “No offense was intended.”
January 27, 2018
Community
CrossRoadsNews
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“These incredible acts of courage and heroism are testaments to the training, commitment and courage of our public safety employees.”
DeKalb firefighters recognized for bravery in apartment fire
DeKalb County
DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond and the DeKalb Board of Commissioners recodgnized firefighters and other Fire Rescue staff for their heroic efforts druing the Avondale Forest Apartments fire and proclaimed Jan. 23 as “DeKalb County Fire Rescue Day” in their honor.
The DeKalb firefighters who rescued families from burning Avondale Forest Apartments on Jan. 3, were applauded by the county for their bravery on Jan. 22. DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and the Board of Commissioners recognized the men and women for saving the 100 residents at the BOC meeting, where Michael Thurmond they also proclaimed Jan. 23 as “DeKalb County Fire Rescue Day” in their honor. Thurmond said he was extremely proud of fire department, 911 operators and ad-
ministrative staff who do an extraordinary job every day protecting the county. “These incredible acts of courage and heroism during the Avondale Forest Apartments fire are testaments to the training, commitment and courage of our public safety employees,” Thurmond said. Several families, including children, were trapped in the burning apartment building when firefighters arrived on Jan. 3. More than 60 firefighters from across the county coordinated the rescue efforts that saved a woman confined to a wheelchair, newborn twins, and a 4-year-old girl who was thrown from a ladder into the arms of Capt. Scott Stroup on the ground. Assistant Chief Jeff Crump, Capt. Jovan
Film about McNair’s Tuff up for Oscar A film inspired by the 911 call during which Antoinette Tuff talked an armed intruder into surrendering at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, is nominated in the Best Live Action Short Film category.
By Tekia L. Parks
“DeKalb Elementary,” a short film inspired by the actual 911 call placed during a 2013 activeshooter incident at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, has been nomi- Antoinette Tuff nated for an Oscar. The 21-minute drama, written and directed by Reed Van Dyk, stars Shinelle Azoroh, John Brockus and Michael Brown. The film, released in March 2017 is one of five nominated Jan. 23 in the Best Live Action Short Film category. It tells the story of McNair bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff, who talked down 21-yearold gunman Michael Brandon Hill on Aug. 20, 2013, when he entered the school armed with an AK-47 and 500 rounds of ammunition, firing at the ground and declaring “I’m not afraid to die.” The movie showed how Tuff calmly spoke to police and convinced Hill, who engaged in gunfire with the police, to surrender. She begins by telling him of her own struggles, including raising a disabled child and losing her husband. Tuff reassured Hill by telling him that he
didn’t hurt anyone, hadn’t harmed her, and could still surrender peacefully. “We’re not gonna hate you, baby,” she tells him in the 911 tapes. “It’s a good thing that you’re giving up.” After she had Michael B. Hill him put his weapons and ammunition on the counter, Tuff told Hill she loved him and would pray for him. In 2014 Hill, who had a history of mental health issues, was sentenced to 40 years – 20 years in prison and 20 years of probation. Tuff wrote “Prepared for a Purpose: an inspiring true story of faith, courage and compassion in crisis” about her experience. “DeKalb Elementary” has already garnered 16 awards, including the Grand Prix at the 2017 Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival and a Special Jury Award at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. The other Live Action Short Film nominees are “The Eleven O’Clock,” “My Nephew Emmett,” “The Silent Child,” and “Watu Wote/All of Us.” The 90th Academy Awards takes place March 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.
Carter and Capt. Jackie Peckrul also were singled out for their heroic acts of service to the citizens of DeKalb County. Stroup said he didn’t have time to think when the parent tossed the 4-yeat-old girl and just did what had to be done. “I’ve been doing firefighting for 26 years.,” he told WSB-TV. “That scene right there was probably one of the most emotionally disturbing.” The catch also made national news.
Capt. Scott Stroup (lower left) waits to catch a 4-yearold girl who was thrown from a ladder during a fire at the Avondale Forest Apartments. DeKalb County Fire Rescue
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Forum 2346 Candler Rd. Decatur, GA 30032 404-284-1888 Fax: 404-284-5007 www.crossroadsnews.com editor@crossroadsnews.com
Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker Staff Writers Jennifer Ffrench Parker Tekia L. Parks Editorial Intern Rosie Manins Front Office Manager Catherine Guy Multimedia Editor Sharif Williams
CrossRoadsNews is published every Saturday by CrossRoadsNews, Inc. We welcome articles on neighborhood issues and news of local happenings. The opinions expressed by writers and contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher, nor those of any advertisers. The concept, design and content of CrossRoadsNews are copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the written permission of the publisher. Advertisements are published upon the representation that the advertiser is authorized to publish the submitted material. The advertiser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless from and against any loss or expenses resulting from any disputes or legal claims based upon the contents or subject matter of such advertisements, including claims of suits for libel, violation of privacy, plagiarism and copyright infringement. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement.
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January 27, 2018
We need businesses that produce or add value, and less of those that sell low-quality products.
Residents don’t need to be victims of retailers who close
By Ed Williams
Residents want to know why the businesses are leaving when they were led to believe that creating a new city would bring economic development and prosperity. Cityhood creators said give them power and they would protect us. Now residents want to know who is minding the stores? Who is the wizard behind the curtain pulling the strings? Retailers are leaving our community, and dollar discount stores like Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Roses, and fast food and convenience stores. are moving in all over the place. Our politicians and elected officials are behind the Ed Williams eight-ball, and a day late and a dollar short. Now, they are running around holding town hall meetings with no answers. The cityhood movement was disguised as a local grassroots movement for self-determination. However, it has been nothing of the kind. Cityhood is the colonization of unincorporated areas, and the privatization of the services that will lead to the exploitation of the workers. Many of the businesses in our community, we do not even own. The lesson we should learn is that we have to create our own stores in our community, then we wouldn’t have to be reactionary to the outside performance measures that we cannot see or control. It is strange to see how the community has reacted differently to the store closing of a Sam’s Club, but did not react the same way when Sears, Best Buy, Phoebe’s and Kohl’s gave advance notice. South DeKalb residents are frustrated with the quality of businesses and type of jobs being created in our communities. The foundation of capitalism and economic development is related to who controls the land, the resources, finance, manufacturing and building, controls the distribution, receives the training, jobs, and disposable income. Many of the jobs in our community are service-related and retail. There is very little
The community has reacted differently to the store closing of a Sam’s Club, but did not react the same way when Sears, Best Buy, Phoebe’s and Kohl’s gave advance notice. Sharif Williams / CrossRoadsNews
manufacturing or engineering. The businesses in our community should be businesses in which we have equity and ownership – not those that transfer wealth out of our community and make us sick. We need businesses that produce or add value, and less of those that sell low-quality products. There are some who believe that government services should be privatized to cut costs and increase efficiency for competition, but these same people believe that public money should be used for funding mega projects. When the project costs are expensive they believe that the public should help finance projects like nuclear plants, stadiums, hospitals, and train stations. The special interests and lobbyists want to get their hands on the bonds and sales tax revenues to fund their pet projects at the expense of the taxpayers. Just recently, the city of Stonecrest signed a $16 million contract for 68 months with Colorado-based CH2M to manage and hire employees to run the city of Stonecrest. We are being led to believe that more government will bring us economic development and growth. But the goal is to privatize government services and to use contract workers to reduce the power of workers and to eliminate unions. There is a trend to create temporary contractor jobs without benefits so the worker is not an employee of the government. In this transformation, there will be fewer government workers hired, while technology will be used to replace workers and reduce costs. Property taxes will increase as profits go to forprofit corporations. In this transformation, as the government grows and developers consume
the land, many homeowners will no longer be able to afford their homes, and gentrification will consume those who are unable to afford the property taxes and other fees. We should not want to bring businesses into our communities that do not pay taxes in exchange for low-wage jobs. Residents should look at the existing cities, such as Lithonia, Stone Mountain, Pine Lake, East Point, College Park, Riverdale, Avondale, Union City, Doraville, Chamblee, Clarkston, including Atlanta on the Southside, and tell me what significant economic development has occurred within these cities. Ninety percent of the development, including construction of all the malls, in DeKalb County occurred without being in a city. The truth of the matter is that economic development is not related to whether or not there is a city. It has to do with many of other factors, such land, resources, labor, capital, location, education, climate, and demographic diversity. Over 95 percent of the taxable property in unincorporated DeKalb is residential, which means that homeowners will pay heavily to fund local projects. Dollar stores will not be able to fund major projects. What does a Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Department, Planning Department, Business Alliance, Improvement District do when we still have these kinds of problems in our community and they apparently do not know what’s happening and have no solution? We should take the blame because we are not doing enough to stop it. Ed Williams is chairman of Concerned Citizens For Effective Government. He lives in Lithonia.
January 27, 2018
Youth
CrossRoadsNews
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“This is the new wave of education. Browns Mills wants to be part of the new cutting-edge technology.”
$15,000 in STEM grants awarded to three DeKalb schools By Tekia L. Parks
Three DeKalb schools have landed $15,000 in grants for their STEM programs. Browns Mill and Rock Chapel elementaries in Lithonia, and Chapel Hill Middle School in Decatur, each received $5,000 from the nonprofit Dart Foundation in December. Rock Chapel Elementary will use its grant funds to start science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) based classrooms and a Robotics R Us program. Browns Mill Elementary will buy virtual reality kits for its students, and Chapel Hill Middle will start a Teen Girls in Technology, or TGI Tech, project. The Dart Foundation, based in Mason, Mich., is a private family foundation established by William A. and Claire T. Dart in
1984 to support education, journalism, community service, health and the arts. Kameelah Chase, a Browns Mill technology teacher, says the school in Lithonia, will buy virtual reality kits to introduce students to 3D reality. “This is the new wave of education,” she said Jan. 22. “Browns Mills wants to be part of the new cutting-edge technology.” Chase said that the kits will be enable students to merge traditional text with digital content using a smartphone or a gaming console, and an app which plays video. She said the grant will help buy 3D goggles and headsets for the students to use, and with virtual reality students will be able to visit any location that the teacher is discussing – including the solar system or the Atlantic Ocean – Tekia L. Parks / CrossRoadsNews from their classroom seat. “This grant will provide an opportunity that Browns Mill technology teacher Kameelah Chase says new virtual reality kits will give students a will last a lifetime,” she said. 3-D view of areas under discussion without leaving their seats.
Columbia grad Zion Moore to open for Silk at Cobb Energy Center Zion Moore, who has been wowing audiences with his music and “hopping and ticking” moves since he was a 10th-grader, will be opening up for Silk on March 28 at the Cobb Energy Center. Moore, a 2017 Columbia High School graduate, beat out 20 competitors on Jan. 20 for the honor of being part of the legendary R&B group’s opening act. Silk is celebrating its 25th anniversary in the music industry. Corliss Moore, a Columbia High teacher and Zion’s mother, said he performed his own song, “All I Want to Be,” which he wrote about his desire to be an entertainer.
“He simply blew the judges and audience away,” she said. Zion will join Dru Hill, 112, KC of Jodeci and Raheem Devaughn for Silk’s opening acts. On Sept. 20, 2017, he also won first place at “Amateur Night at the Apollo” in New York. Because of his busy schedule since graduation last May, Zion delayed entering Clark Atlanta University until August. He plans to study mass communications and broadcasting. Zion’s music is available on iTunes and CDbaby.com.
Night of empowerment at Redan High Parents, students, staff and stakeholders can attend a night of empowerment, support and celebration on Jan. 30 at Redan High School. The DeKalb School District’s second annual Creative Engagement Symposium – which includes dinner, professional speakers, student performances and a chance to engage with Region 3 administrators – begins at 4 p.m. Speakers are experts in the fields of read-
ing, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), college and career readiness, socio-emotional well-being and other notable, timely and relevant disciplines. Students from Shadow Rock, E.L. Miller and Redan elementaries and Redan Middle and Redan High will perform. Dinner will be served promptly at 4:30 p.m. The program begins at 5 p.m. Redan High School is at 5247 Redan Road in Stone Mountain.
School Choice enrollment period extended three days to Feb. 12 Open enrollment in DeKalb School Choice programs for the 2018-2019 school year has been extended to Feb. 12. The enrollment period, which was originally set to end on Feb. 9, was extended because snow closed schools Jan. 17-19. Families can pick from charter schools, dual-immersion language programs, and magnet programs. Students currently enrolled in the district need their student ID number and a parent’s email address. New, private- or home-
schooled students need a parent’s email, proof of residence, a birth certificate, a 2016 fall semester report card, a DCSD-issued affidavit of residence, and for magnet programs, the student’s latest MAP test scores. Parents with questions or needing help applying can make appointments with the Parent Support Center at 2562 Lawrenceville Highway in Decatur, by calling 678-676-0050 or 678-676-0035. Students can also apply at www.dekalbschoolsga.org/school-choice.
Zion Moore auditioned to open for Silk with his own song, “All I Want to Be,” which talks about his desire to be an entertainer.
Francesco Lo Castro
Students to start making up snow days DeKalb students will make up two of this month’s four snow days on Feb. 16 and March 9. The district will survey parents and staff about the other two days lost this month because of inclement weather. So far this month, schools closed Jan. 8 and Jan. 17, 18 and 19. DeKalb Schools Superintendent Dr. R. Stephen Green said Jan. 22 that protecting instructional time is key to supporting student achievement. “Making up lost time on those dates is prudent and the least disruptive of the options that were considered,” he said. “For the third and fourth day, we will diligently survey a cross section of parents, teachers, principals, teacher organizations, parent-teacher organizations,
parent council groups, and school council members to determine the best option for our students and families.” The district says make-up options could include a virtual learning day, and the addition of a learning period to the regular school day, among others. It also says it wants to remain flexible in case more inclement weather days are needed in the future. “Winter is not over yet,” Green said. “We may face this situation again if we are forced to close. We want to ensure students get their classroom learning time while maintaining our options.” A release date for the survey has not yet been set. When it is ready, Green said it will be found at www.dekalbschoolsga.org, or on the district’s social media pages.
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Ministry
CrossRoadsNews
January 27, 2018
“I realized I didn’t have to do ministry in a stereotypical conventional way in a robe behind a pulpit.”
‘Beneath the Surface’ sparks real community conversations
By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
In a mere three weeks, Minister Lillie Shaw Lomax has had the internet and Atlanta airwaves abuzz with meaningful conversations. Her new talk show, “Beneath the Surface with Lillie Shaw,” which debuted on Facebook Live and Beasley Radio on Jan. 6, has explored the black economy, food deserts, and the state of mental health in the black comLillie Shaw Lomax munity. The show’s fourth episode, coming up on Jan. 27, will feature a panel of fierce “Black Millennials” who are making names for themselves in academia, the church, and politics. Panelists will include author, chaplain, and pastor April Wesley; pastor Rev. Rose Reddick Archer; community organizer, school counselor and former Atlanta City Council candidate Minister Jonathan Whitfield; and Shamir Yates, a master’s degree candidate at Savannah State University who was brutally beaten by police. Wesley and Whitfield are doctoral candidates at Emory and Clark-Atlanta universities. Archer co-pastor of St. Paul’s CME Church and St. Mary’s CME Church in Elberton, Ga. Listeners can plug in on Facebook Live on Saturdays at 9 a.m. and on WWWE The Real 1100 AM Atlanta radio on Mondays
Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews
Lillie Shaw Lomax (right) launched her new talk show, “Beneath the Surface with Lillie Shaw,” so she could expand ministry beyond the walls of the church.
at 6 p.m. Lomax was a television reporter, anchor and radio talk show host for more than 30 years when she answered the call to ministry in 2006. She said she created “Beneath the Surface” as “truth talk radio for the community,” so she could do ministry beyond the walls of the church. She said the mix of “religio-social-justice, investigative, educational, and political programming” that she settled on had been revealing itself to her for the last 10 years. “Then the pieces began fitting together,” said Lomax, who is a chaplain at Emory Hospital, and first lady of First Afrikan Presbyterian Church. “I realized I didn’t have to do ministry in a stereotypical conventional way in a robe behind a pulpit.” Instead, after much prayer and conversa-
Williams, Lee to address Year of Vision Rev. Delwynn Williams and Dr. Kerwin Lee will share the Year of Vision on Jan. 28 and 31 at Greenforest Baptist Church. Williams, who is senior pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church Kerwin Lee in Panama City, Fla., will speak at the 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. services on Jan. 28. Lee is the senior pastor of Berean Christian Church in Stone Mountain. He will speak at 7 p.m. on Jan. 31. Greenforest Senior Pastor Dr. Emory Berry Jr. said the Year of Vision is about encouraging church members to have a vision for their lives, their families, their church and community.
“As black people we have to think bigger and broader,” Berry said. “We can’t lose hope in spite of who is in the White House.” Berry said the Year of Vision sermons are to do “some communiDelwynn Williams ty and family uplift.” “These two pastors can speak to how to do church socially,” he said. “A lot of churches have become comfortable with church as usual and are dying on the vine, but these pastors understand that God places church in the community for a reason. They are both visionaries and they can speak to putting a plan in place.” Greenforest Baptist is at 3250 Rainbow Drive in Decatur.
tions, she said God showed her how to address the human condition through the lens of religion, social justice and politics. “We are extending beyond what we are doing in church,” she said. Over her TV and radio career in Mississippi, South Carolina and Washington, D.C., Lomax interviewed the likes of Betty Shabazz, Bebe Moore Campbell, Colin Powell and U.S. Rep. John Lewis. She also had conversations with former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights leader Dorothy Height, authors Walter Mosley and Nikki Giovanni; and musicians Sister Soulja and Wynton and Branford Marsalis. Lomax, who lives in Stone Mountain, said she came to realize that the same skills she applied to corporate America could be applied to God’s work. So far, “Beneath the Surface” guests have include Lithonia Mayor Deborah Jackson, Minister Angela Brown, mental health
clinical director Dr. Stephanie Pearson Robinson, psychotherapist Belinda Lee, and urban farming guru and founder and CEO of the nonprofit Truly Living Well Center K. Rashid Nuri. In the discussions, Lomax and her guests seek to foster community involvement, and engagement in issues that affect and challenge the African American community. “We are vetting issues and addressing community concerns,” she said, “and we also ask for the solutions. Always, we are saying, ‘Now What?’ ” As a body of believers, Lomax said that we must understand that God has given us gifts that we can use to fix problems “even as God works in the midst of us.” “We ought not to walk by the hungry and do nothing,” she said. “Hundreds of people who look like us are disappearing weekly and the news media is not covering it, but should we?” Upcoming “Beneath the Surface” topics will range from women in the pulpit, sex trafficking, women spending in the black economy, church beyond the walls, the many faces of abuse, and afrocentric Christianity. And always, the conversation will be pointed. “Everything we do must connect to empowerment,” Lomax said. The show already is resonating with viewers. After listening last week, Janice James posted: “Thank you family for caring about our community.” For more information, visit www.beneaththesurfacewithlillieshaw.com or www. facebook.com/BTSwithLillieShaw/.
Call for singers for Resurrection Sunday Singers from all over can join Greenforest Baptist Church’s melodic choir at a Jan. 27 rehearsal as they prepare to Celebrate the Risen Savior on Resurrection Sunday. The church is calling all choir members and church family to be a part of the choir that will perform twice on April 1, at a 6 a.m. Sonrise service and at 10:45 a.m. service. Minister of Music William Calloway said that participants do not have to be a member of any choir at Greenforest or anywhere to participate. “Please come out and celebrate with us,
as we sing praises to our Mighty King,” he said. Calloway said he has no limit on the size of the choir. “We just want people to join us,” he said. “As many as come we will take them.” The choir will sing traditional gospel music. The Jan. 27 rehearsal takes place at 2:30 p.m. in the church chapel, at 3250 Rainbow Drive in Decatur. For more information, call William Calloway at 404-486-6754 or 414-699-5341.
Ministry fair has work for volunteers Christians looking for ministry work won’t want to miss the Jan. 28 Hope for the World Ministry Fair at Ray of Hope Church. More than 40 ministries will be on display following the church’s 7:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. worship services. There will be music, refreshments, giveaways and door prizes. The church is at 2778 Snapfinger Road in Decatur. For more information, call 770-696-5100.
CrossRoadsNews
January 27, 2018
People
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The Nathaniel Mosby Humanitarian Award is named for DeKalb County’s second African-American commissioner.
Farmers Market owners get 1st Mosby Humanitarian Award
Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews
CEO Michael Thurmond (left) presents the inaugural Nathaniel Mosby Humanitarian Award to Robert Blazer, who co-founded Your DeKalb Farmer’s Market with his wife, Barbara.
Robert and Barbara Blazer, owners of Your DeKalb Farmer’s Market, are recipients of DeKalb County’s inaugural Nathaniel Mosby Humanitarian Award. Robert Blazer received the award on Jan. 12 at the county’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Maloof Audito- Barbara Blazer
rium. He said his wife was ill and unable to attend the ceremony. The Blazers, who founded the farmer’s market in June 1977 on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur, were recognized for embracing DeKalb’s unique cultural differences and growing the farmer’s market from 7,000 square feet to a 140,000-square-foot global icon. The Nathaniel Mosby Humanitarian Award is named for DeKalb County’s second
DeKalb County Photo
Members of Nathaniel Mosby’s family pose with elected and other officials at the presentation of the humanitarian award named in his honor.
African-American commissioner. Mosby, who served on the Board of Commissioners from 1989 to 1990, is the father of state Rep. Howard Mosby, Atlanta City Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong, Solomon’s Porch’s pastor Phillip Mosby, and business and political media consultant Warren Mosby. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance
Legal Notices 01/13, 01/20, 01/27, 02/03 01/06, 01/13, 01/20, 01/27
Notice of Petition in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia
Civil Action Case Number: 17FM10913-6 Brandy Christina Chavis PLAINTIFF
VS Lawrence Charles Chavis, Jr. DEFENDANT NOTICE OF PUBLICATION TO: Lawrence Charles Chavis, Jr. 7750 Pipers Ln., #103 San Antonio, TX 78251 By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Dec. 27, 2017. You are hereby notified that Dec. 18, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed
suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Brandy Chavis, 3234 Bunny Lane, Decatur, GA 30034. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Dec. 4, 2017. Witness the Honorable Daniel M. Coursey, Jr., Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court. This the 27th day of Dec., 2017
Notice of Petition in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia
Civil Action Case Number: 17FM12559 Chudhari Malcome PLAINTIFF VS Charles Allen
Bottoms helped Thurmond present Mosby’s widow, Gwendolyn Mosby, with a bouquet and a replica of the award. Warren Mosby said their father was a great public servant. “It is commendable that CEO Thurmond took the time to honor him in this way,” he said. Donna Joyce Vinson PLAINTIFF VS Charles Edward Battle DEFENDANT NOTICE OF PUBLICATION TO: Charles Edward Battle 953 Glynn Oaks Dr. Clarkston, GA 30021 By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Jan. 04, 2018. You are hereby notified that Oct. 04, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Donna Joyce Vinson, 953 Glynn Oaks Drive, Clarkston, GA 30021. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Jan. 04, 2018. Witness the Honorable J.P. Boulee, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court. This the 4th day of Jan., 2018
DEFENDANT NOTICE OF PUBLICATION TO: Charles Allen By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Jan. 02, 2018. You are hereby notified that Dec. 14, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Chaudhari Malcome, 2174 O’hara Pl., SE, Atlanta, GA 30315. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Jan. 02, 2018. Witness the Honorable J.P. Boulee, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court. This the 4th day of Jan., 2018 01/13, 01/20, 01/27, 02/03
Notice of Petition in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia
Civil Action Case Number: 17FM10437
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CrossRoadsNews
January 27, 2018