District Attorney Investigates Test Cheating

The DeKalb County district attorney's office is investigating allegations that two elementary school administrators changed answers on Georgia standardized tests to improve students' scores. Don Geary, assistant to the district attorney, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday that those responsible could be charged with tampering with state documents, which is a felony. The cheating came to light in a state audit released last week, revealing discrepancies on the fifth-grade math Criterion-Referenced Competency Test answer sheets in four school districts. State officials do not believe students are to blame. The audit led to the resignation of Atherton Elementary principal James Berry and the reassignment of assistant principal Doretha Alexander. Neither has returned repeated requests for comment.

(Associated Press)

CRCT Cheating Probe Leads To Resignation

The principal of one of the schools under state investigation for cheating on Georgia standardized tests has resigned. James Berry gave up his job as principal of Atherton Elementary in DeKalb County. In addition, the school’s assistant principal has been reassigned pending the probe’s outcome. A DeKalb County school official says the two administrators changed answers on fifth grade CRCT math tests last summer to help students improve scores and help the school meet federal standards. The DeKalb school is one of four being investigated by the state for cheating.

Military School On Hold

The DeKalb County school district has put on hold plans to open a military academy in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps. Spokesman Dale Davis said in a news release Friday that the project is "not feasible for either party" right now. The 100,000-student district in suburban Atlanta planned to open the school this fall with 150 cadets. Davis and schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis did not immediately return a call for comment. U.S. Marine Corps spokeswoman 1st Lt. Joy Crabaugh also did not return a call for comment. The proposed school has drawn protests and threats of lawsuits from parents and community members who say it would be a recruiting tool for the military.

(Associated Press)

Divided Court Upholds Murder Conviction

A divided Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction and life prison sentence given to a man who shot and killed his girlfriend after learning of her affair with a DeKalb County police officer. Michael S. Shields was convicted of murdering Denise Hill in 2002. He had appealed the conviction on several grounds, including concerns that the trial court gave the jury incomplete instructions regarding adultery. The majority decision in the Georgia Supreme Court's 4-3 decision Monday found Shields' challenges to "be without merit." Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein disagreed in a dissent, concluding that she would reverse the conviction because of the erroneous jury charge.

(Associated Press)

10,000 Foreclosed Properties on Market in April

EquityDepot.net says more than 10,000 foreclosed properties are scheduled to be sold on courthouse steps in the Atlanta area in April.

EquityDepot.net, which tracks foreclosures, says the 10,130 figure breaks the previous record of 8,425 that were scheduled for sale in March.

In the new foreclosure numbers, Fulton County leads with 2,181 properties scheduled for sale, followed by Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties.

The Georgia Labor Department says the jobless rate in metro Atlanta is 8.7 percent, the highest rate reported since the measurement was standardized in 1976.

Foreclosure sales are held on courthouse steps the first Tuesday of each month.
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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
http://www.ajc.com

(AP)

Arming officers with Tasers

A metro Atlanta police chief wants to arm his officers with Tasers. DeKalb County police chief Terrell Bolton would give Tasers to more than 1,000 patrol officers. He plans to pay for the Tasers with more than a million dollars from confiscated drug assets. The DeKalb County commission would have to approve the idea.

(Associated Press)

Georgia's newest city opens

Georgia's newest city is wrapping up its first business day. Dunwoody outside of Atlanta officially began operating as a city at midnight. An area in the Atlanta suburbs has become Georgia's newest city. City hall opened for the first time at 8 a.m. in a temporary office space in neighboring Sandy Springs. Four months ago, residents voted overwhelmingly to form a city in what was once just a part of DeKalb County. Dunwoody will continue to get its fire, 911, water and sewer service from the county, but the city is hoping to form its own police department.

(Associated Press)

DeKalb investigators net one arrest in suspicious fires

DeKalb County investigators have made one arrest in connection to a recent string of suspicious fires along a stretch of the Memorial Drive corridor. 21-year-old Jeremy Tremaine Sprowl is charged with one count of first-degree arson for allegedly setting fire to a used car dealership. Fire investigators are still trying to determine how nine other fires in the area were set. During a 24-hour period from Sunday into Monday, firefighters responded to 11 suspicious fires along a two-mile stretch of Memorial Drive. Various businesses and a church were targeted.

Reward offered in DeKalb fires investigation

The state’s Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner’s Office has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of an arsonist in DeKalb County.

A dozen fires broke-out over a recent 24-hour period in the county, along the Memorial Drive corridor. State officials said one of those fires was arson--a blaze that destroyed a building on the property of a church in the area. Other businesses damaged or destroyed have not yet been ruled arson, but officials believe that is a strong possibility. Three persons of interest were taken into custody Monday night, in connection with a stolen vehicle with a possible connection to the fires.

Rash of fires in DeKalb County 'suspicious'

DeKalb County firefighters have been battling nearly a dozen blazes along the corridor of Memorial Drive in that county over the past 12 hours. No injuries have been reported, but officials believe these fires were intentionally set. One blaze destroyed a preschool in the area, another severely damaged a church, and others burned a rental car and auto sales business. DeKalb officials say the fires broke-out within two miles of one another.

DeKalb Co. loses millions of dollars in traffic tickets

Internal court e-mails show that the DeKalb County Recorders Court has lost track of hundreds of thousands of citations, costing the county and state possibly tens of millions of dollars in uncollected fines.

The e-mails, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Georgia Open Records Act, show that a two-year communications failure in the computer system has caused citations to sit unresolved in case databases.

No one knows how many unresolved citations exist, but an internal memo from a consultant estimated the value of uncollected fines at $90 million to $135 million. Recorders court officials
dispute the figures, but had no idea how much money was lost.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of court-related issues.

(AP)

West Nile shows up in donated blood

The West Nile virus has been detected in blood donated by a man in DeKalb County. Health officials say the infected pint of blood was found before it reached the general blood supply. Officials say the 61-year-old man shows no symptoms from the virus. State officials say it’s the third case of West Nile found in a blood donation this year in Georgia.

DeKalb officials meet to address foreclosure problem

Metro Atlanta’s DeKalb County has one of the highest foreclosure rates in Georgia--today, county commissioners will vote on a package of measures to fight the problem. Recommendations include urging the state to increase the length of time between when a homeowner learns of foreclosure action and the actual sale. Also recommended is the creation of a county Office of Consumer Affairs to help affected families. DeKalb County has a 6.4 percent foreclosure rate.

Early voting continues strong

Early voting in Georgia continues to be strong, now exactly two weeks from the general election. The Secretary of State’s office reports more than 690,000 people have cast ballots ahead of November 4th--that represents nearly 12.5 percent of registered voters in Georgia. More women than men have turned-out early, about 56 percent. DeKalb leads the list of top counties for early voting turnout, followed by three other metro Atlanta counties. Chatham County has had the fifth highest turnout.

DeKalb schools weighing painful cuts

DeKalb County schools are grappling with pending job cuts. The system's proposal puts more than 200 employees in danger of losing their jobs in the county’s effort to save money. Three different options are being considered for the job cuts--ranging from mid-level administrators, to groundskeepers, to drivers-education instructors. Cuts are NOT being considered for teachers positions, janitors and media specialists. The moves could be made as early as December.

Dekalb schools to offer buyouts to some

The DeKalb County school system will offer buyouts to nearly 200 veteran employees. Faced with budget cuts and rising fuel prices, the district's school board is expected to approve the plan at a meeting Monday. Employees must have at least 30 years experience or be age 60 with at least 10 years of time with the district to qualify for a buyout.

Storms thunder through Atlanta, briefly closing airport

Airport officials Saturday night briefly stopped arrivals and departures at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport due to thunderstorms that swept through the area.

The National Weather Service says that 50 m.p.h. wind gusts blew across the tarmac, causing about 100 Delta and AirTran flights to be diverted to nearby airports, according to a report in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

Georgia Power told the newspaper that about 143,000 customers lost electricity at about 10:45 p.m. Officials say they hope to restore power to the majority of customers by 5 a.m. Sunday morning.

Downed trees and power lines were reported mainly in Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Cherokee counties.

The southbound lane of I-85 near Tuskeegee Airmen Parkway was closed from downed trees, and some damage and debris was reported downtown.

Water advisory remains for DeKalb County

Dekalb County officials have extended a boil water advisory for residents in Decatur, Avondale, Chamblee, and Doraville for at least the next two days. Residents are being told to continue boiling their tap water before drinking, bathing, cooking, or brushing teeth. The advisory was first issued Tuesday after severe storms knocked out power at the Scott Chandler Water Plant. The outage resulted in a loss of water pressure. For more information go to www.dekalbwatershed.com

Former lawmaker pleads guilty

A former Georgia lawmaker has pleaded guilty to secretly obtaining a $250,000 loan using as collateral property that belonged to the church he led. State Rep. Ron Sailor already pleaded guilty in March to laundering $375,000 in drug money for an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer. Sailor is a Democrat who represented parts of DeKalb and Rockdale Counties. He was fired by the Greater New Light Missionary Baptist Church after church members discovered the secret mortgage.

Judge to consider colleague's objectivity

A DeKalb County Superior Court judge will hear a motion by Brian Nichols' lawyers seeking to remove the judge presiding over the case. Nichols' lawyers want Superior Court Judge James Bodiford off the case because he told a newspaper he was friends with a judge Nichols' is charged with killing. The judge was among four people killed in March 2005 in a shooting spree that started at the Fulton County Courthouse.