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Andrew Cauthen

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Major’s complaint leads to rotation of top DeKalb Police brass

A hostile work environment complaint by a DeKalb Police major triggered the department to proceed with a planned rotation of top brass. Chief William O’Brien signed a personnel order on April 20 that called for the four assistant police chiefs to r...

Interim director running medical examiner’s office after demotion

DeKalb County is still without a permanent director for its medical examiner’s office after the former director was demoted in November for insubordination. Patrick Bailey worked as director of the medical examiner’s office for a year before the ...

County to save money by turning trash to gas to cash

DeKalb County bolstered its claim of being “the greenest urban county in America” with the opening April 16 of its $9 million renewable fuels facility at the county’s landfill. “We’re a little bit greener,” said DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. ...

Emory University to focus on renewing two communities

Since 1975, DeKalb County has used federal funding for various neighborhood projects such as constructing swimming pools, paving streets, home renovation and constructing senior housing, and community and recreation centers. These are great uses of t...

‘Pit bull’ may be removed from county ordinance

Pit bulls may no longer be mentioned in DeKalb County’s ordinance if a proposed text amendment passes the Board of Commissioners next month. Marian Eisenberg, zoning administrator, told commissioners April 10 that the intent of the amendment is to ...

DeKalb commissioners want their own public information officer

DeKalb County’s chief executive officer, district attorney, solicitor general, police department and sheriff’s office all have public information officers. But not the Board of Commissioners. Commissioners want “to be able to give the transpare...

DeKalb CEO imposes hiring freeze, budget cuts

A hiring freeze is now in effect for all vacant county positions except police recruits, according to an April 19 memo from DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis to county department heads. Ellis stated that the move was necessary because “the county currently ...

Accused rapist pleads not guilty, awaits trial

A Decatur man charged with raping three women and assaulting two others late last year waived arraignment in court April 19. His attorney will file motions in the case before April 29. Gary Wendale Mincey, 35, of Decatur, was indicted by a grand jury...

DeKalb school district discovers non-workers on payroll

An audit of employees by the DeKalb County School District has found $47,500 in payroll discrepancies, according to an April 21 press release. The employee verification process was ordered by school Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson in February in conju...

Students working to save history in Lithonia cemetery

Arabia Mountain High School students in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps spend a day cataloguing tombstones at a Lithonia cemetery. The students are helping to identify veterans buried in the cemetery in time for a citywide Veteran’s Day celebration in November. Photo by Andrew Cauthen
On a chilly morning in Lithonia, 35 high schools students combed an old cemetery looking for war veterans by recording the names on tombstones, many faded and broken. “Because this is an old cemetery and a lot of people don’t visit here anymore, ...