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.

To read the entire article, click here.

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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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Dekalb Fire Department Admits Firefighters Failed to Follow Procedures in death of Elderly Woman Ann Bartlett

Ann Bartlett, an elderly woman residing in Dekalb county, Ga., lost her life due to the negligence of the Fire Department. Ms. Bartlett called 911 to report a fire in her home in Dunwoody. The firefighters dispatched to her home didn't see smoke and didn't bother getting out of their truck to knock on her door to see whether or not there was an actual fire. Well, Ms. Bartlett's house in literally reduced to a smoldering heap within a few short hours. What's worst, her body was found in the garage.

The Fire Department had no choice but to admit that the firefighters involved didn't follow proper procedures.

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WEB EXTRA: DeKalb Fire Investigation Report, WSB-TV

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This is a disgrace and Ms. Bartlett's life may have been saved if these firefighters had just done their jobs and investigated to see if there was an actual fire. According to WSB-TV, Ann Bartlett tried to escape the blaze through her garage, but the fire knocked out power to her electric garage door opener.

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Sharon Barnes Sutton, Commissioner in Dekalb County, Ga., Plagued by Bad Checks, Foreclosure, Unpaid Bills

Why is Sharon Barnes Sutton still a commissioner in Dekalb County, Ga? Ms. Sutton, who is charged with the task of overseeing a $600 million budget is a hot mess. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, she has written several bad checks, lost her home to foreclosure and has had her wages garnished. What's shocking is that Ms. Sutton had four outstanding warrants for writing four bad checks, for $300 to $400 each, to a Costco warehouse in Gwinnett county in 2007. She was involved in a minor traffic accident Wednesday night and the police officer did not see that she had these open warrants. Why was she allowed to leave the scene of the accident? She has since paid a little over $1,000 to satisfy the checks and a judge has recalled the warrants. She said, in an interview with the AJC, that she has made some mistakes, but her financial struggles help her better relate to taxpayers. Really? How many people have a history of bouncing checks and have had warrants out for their arrest because of such acts?

She claims that she can't remember writing the checks to Costco and further, she said she has contacted her attorney to look into the matter for her. Here's my two cents. If this was the first time this happened to her, one could give her a pass, but this isn't the first time. She was pleaded no contest in 1996 for writing a bad check to West Building Supply in Stone Mountain and she reportedly received a citation for writing another bad check to Advance Income Services in Lawrenceville.

DeKalb court records show she was sued by Atlanta Gynecology & Obstetrics in 1995 for not paying $1,817. She also had suits filed against her by a Tucker dentist and Atlanta Addictive Disease & Psychiatric for not paying bills.

Her wages were garnished for the Addictive Disease bill, but that case has since been closed, according to court records. The case with the dentist is ongoing.

Sutton is now paying $6,950 to Primus Automotive Financial Services after defaulting on payments for her Lexus. Since 2008, Primus has been garnishing her wages from DeKalb public schools, where Sutton teaches business and career technology. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

The reality is that due to the challenging economic conditions, most of us are struggling to make ends meet, but this woman seems to be the extreme. She needs to step down from her job as a commissioner.  She is clearly not the best person to represent Dekalb county in these tough economic times. If she can't handle how own finances, how in the world can she manage the county's budget? She basically ignored the parties to whom she wrote those bad checks and forced them to seek redress from the courts. That is bad and she does not deserve to be sitting in such a job. Ms. Sutton was elected in 2008 to represent District 4.

Please, email Ms. Sutton at sbsutton@co.dekalb.ga.us to express your concern with her fiscal responsibility. You may also contact her at 404-371-4907.

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Court Knowingly Incarcerates Frank Hatley Over Non-Payment of Child Support for Son that Isn't His Biological Child

Frank Hatley has been sitting in a south Georgia prison since June 25, 2008, because he failed to reimburse the state for all the public assistance his so-called son received over the past two decades. The only problem with this is that the son in question isn't his biological child. What is unconscionable is that the special assistant state attorney and a judge knew that, but they threw him in jail anyway.

Hatley, who is currently incarcerated in the Adel county jail, is costing the county between $35 to $40 daily, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Hartey paid thousands of dollars to the state even after learning that he was not the biological father of the child. This is a classic case of the court system trying to "squeeze water from a rock." Even after losing his job and becoming homeless, Hatley still reportedly made payments out of his unemployment benefits.

According to the AJC, Hatley had a relationship with Essie Lee Morrison, who became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Travon, in 1987. The couple split up shortly after the birth. Morrison applied for public assistance for her son in 1989. The state then moved to get Hatley to reimburse the cost of Travon's support. Hatley agreed to make payments because he believed the child was his. According to court records, DNA samples taken from Hatley and Travon in 2000 showed that the two are not related. Another DNA test was recently done that confirms the findings of the earlier test.


This is a disgrace and he should turn around, once released from prison, and sue the county and the mother of this child. To read the entire article in the Atlanta Journal, CLICK HERE.

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