Complaints Filed with EPD, EPA Over Allegations Toxic Wastes Buried at Reed Bingham Park

According to the Moultrie Observer, a complaint has been filed over the illegal dumping of possibly toxic chemicals at Reed Bingham State Park. The complaint was filed with both federal and state environmental agencies. A park employee has reportedly given statements to the Department of Natural Resource officials that the dumping did take place. The dumping involves used motor oil and paint. It is important to note that this park has been embroiled in a myriad of hot issues recently.

An initial complaint of buried toxic wastes was filed in recent days with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Shortly afterward, the complaint was received at the state’s Environmental Protection Division. An EPD spokesman in Atlanta said he had referred the case to the regional EPD office in Albany. Ken Shepard, of the Albany EPD office, said the complaint “will be investigated soon.”

The dumping issue is just one of several hot topics that has embroiled Reed Bingham State Park recently. The firing of park manager Chet Powell after he opposed clear cutting of timber at the state park has drawn a storm of protests from “Friends of Reed Bingham,” a volunteer group that has worked closely with Powell on significant improvements at the park. Sources told The Observer that the dumping took place before Powell was appointed.

Earlier, Becky Kelley, head of the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division, referred to Powell and his management as “past baggage” in a letter to the editor printed recently in The Moultrie Observer. She encouraged the public to support the new management at the park. DNR has not offered specifics to the public about why Powell was fired except that it has charged he misused state funds.

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Rajaan Bennett, Vanderbilt University Football Recruit, Shot & Killed by Mother's Ex-Boyfriend

 

Rajaan Bennett, Fox Sports

Rajaan Bennett, a McEachern High School senior and football standout, was shot and killed early Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide at his home in Powder Springs, Ga. Bennett, 18, had recently committed to play running back for the Vanderbilt football team this fall. Police identified the decedents as Rajaan, who had recently signed to play football in the fall at Vanderbilt University and shooter Clifton O'Neal Steger, the former boyfriend of Bennett's mother. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a third person was wounded in the shooting.

Police were called to the Bennett's home around 2:30 a.m. Thursday after a caller to 911 whispered they needed help. Officers arrived about four minutes later, and "as they approached and knocked on the door, they heard several gunshots," Powder Springs Police Maj. Charles Spann told the AJC. Immediately after the four or five shots were fired, Narjaketha Bennett, 37, and her brother, Taiwan Hunter, 32, ran from the house,  police said. Hunter had been struck by at least one gunshot, Boyd said. Shortly thereafter, two juveniles emerged from the home uninjured. Source: AJC

The AJC said Bennett was an all-state running back in Class AAAAA and was number 25 on the AJC's "Fab 50″ list of recruits published earlier this month. He also earned three letters in track. What a sad turn of events for this young man.

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Study: Metro Atlanta Among Healthiest Areas in Georgia

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Craig Schneider reports that Metro Atlanta is among the healthiest areas to live in the state, according to a report released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The metro area -- in particular the counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett -- ranked among the top counties in the state for health outcomes such as long life, as well as health factors such as access to health facilities.

Gwinnett and Cobb ranked especially high in the category of long life, coming in at fourth and fifth, respectively, in a comparison of 157 of the state's 159 counties. DeKalb ranked 13th and Fulton was 22nd.
Metro Atlanta counties also ranked consistently high in the area of health behaviors, which measured smoking, diet and exercise, alcohol use and risky sex behavior. Cobb and Fulton came in at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively. Gwinnett was seventh and DeKalb was 16th.


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Troup County School Board Mulls Cutting 2010-2011 Calendar

From Troup County's Ledger-Enquirer


Troup County students might find themselves in school for fewer days next year as a tightening state budget has put the screws to area education officials.

The Troup County School Board is mulling over a 2010-2011 calendar proposal that would save more than half a million dollars and have 15 fewer school days than the traditional 180-day school calendar. Since the state requires students log a certain amount of class time, the school day would be extended to make up for the days without school. But some instructional time would still be lost.

For example, the proposal would lengthen a high school student’s day by 25 minutes, which during the course of the year equals one day of instruction time lost. For middle school students, the day will be 20 minutes longer and result in 5.1 days of instruction gone. Elementary school students, who will see an extension of 45 minutes, will actually gain 7.5 days of instruction.

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White Workers Sue Kennesaw Over E-mail Search, Say Black Workers Weren't Subjected to Same Search

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Four Kennesaw employees said the city violated their civil rights by searching e-mail archives for racially offensive messages and disciplining them, while not doing the same to minority employees. The employees – two white police officers and two white 911 center workers – filed a federal lawsuit last week against the city, Mayor Mark Mathews, City Manager Steve Kennedy and Richard Klein, who was the human resources director. City officials declined comment Monday, saying they hadn’t been served yet.

E-mails also were part of a racial harassment lawsuit filed last March against the city by two African-American employees in the Public Works Department and a former public works employee who was a native of Korea. That lawsuit alleged racist jokes, such as a depiction of a “Ghetto Wedding,” were forwarded to numerous people through the city e-mail system. Another e-mail linked to an interactive online video game called “Border Patrol,” in which players shot at illegal aliens.

The workers also said they were subjected to racial slurs and other insults. The suit was settled in July for $1.8 million. John Dowdy, who resigned from the city council, was accused of sending e-mails with racial jokes and stereotypes to the public works director. The four white employees said the filing of that racial harassment lawsuit set off a “witch hunt” as city officials tried to prove they wouldn’t tolerate racial harassment. The city information technology director was ordered to search the e-mail archives, the suit said.

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Kinaya Byrd, 2nd Grade Teacher, Stabbed to Death by Boyfriend Dana McFarlane During Altercation

Dana McFarlane, stabbed his girlfriend, Kinaya Schenese Byrd, to death Friday during an altercation in her home in Stockbridge, Ga. Byrd, 34, was a second grade teacher at River's Edge Elementary School in Clayton County. McFarlane, who has been charged with murder, is sitting in the Henry County jail.

According to WSB-TV, Jason Bolton, Henry County police captain, said McFarlane was driving in Rockdale County when he stopped a sheriff's lieutenant and turned himself in.

Kinaya Byrd,'s funeral will be held on Friday. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family. Domestic violence continues to cut across all socioeconomic levels. It continues to be a real problem in our society. This is such a tragedy.

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Atlanta Police Officer Mike Vogt Shot & Killed With High-Powered Weapon, Suspect Still at Large

I am always deeply saddened when a police officer is killed. According to Channel 2 Action News, Officer Mike Vogt, was shot on Vernon Grove Road, in Chattahoochee Hills, Atlanta, and he later died at Grady Memorial Hospital. The officer noticed something amiss as he traveled on Vernon Grove Road. He stopped to talk to a group of people and was shot with a high-powered weapon, Col. Jeff Holmes told reporter Jeff Dore. The officer was able to drive away from the scene and call for help.

Police told Channel 2 that they looking for a '90s model, brown Chrysler in connection with the incident.e Hills Mayor Don Hayes told reporters that Vogt had been with the department for two years and was recently promoted to lieutenant. Hayes also said there were 14 police officers on the Chattahoochee Hills police force. Officer Vogt's death marks the first time the department has lost an officer in the line of duty.

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Brandon Harris Dies in Emory Sleep Center, Mom Says He Pleaded for Help

Brandon Harris, 25, died during a sleep study at Emory. His family has maintained that he pleaded for help that never came. Harris, a medical assistant, reportedly entered the sleep center on January 22, after attending an Atlanta Hawks basketball game. He was dead by the next morning, his mother Renee "Sunshine" Lewis told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

According to the AJC, Ms. Lewis states she received a telephone call informing her that her son's oxygen level was falling. When she arrived at the hospital he had already died. It is interesting to note, the mother said her son was healthy and was not sick. She also added that he had Type 2 diabetes for which he was receiving medical treatment and he was overweight. The hospital contends that his medical conditions were the cause of his death, but his family begs to differ.

Harris' uncle, John Lewis, told the AJC that the hospital allowed him to watch video footage taken while his nephew was at the sleep center. Lewis said video footage shows that his nephew waved at least seven times to those working in the sleep center, trying to alert them that he needed help. He said when Harris was finally able to sit up in bed, he attempted to put his feet on the ground before he collapsed. EMS officials came and tried to resuscitate Brandon Harris for 40 minutes before transferring him to the hospital's emergency room where he was pronounced dead.

Photo credit:  Brandon Harris, family photo, AJC

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