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Andrew Cauthen

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County mulling $2 million purchase for firemen’s air packs

DeKalb County Fire Rescue officials are rushing to replace 300 faulty air masks. The department asked the county’s Board of Commissioners on July 10 to approve $2 million for the purchase of 300 self-contained breathing apparatuses, 640 air bottles...

Forum features county candidates

Jerome Edmondson, one of three candidates for DeKalb County CEO, was the only CEO candidate who participated in a question-and-answer session during a July 12 forum. Edmonson brought a manipulated photo of current CEO Burrell Ellis in a soapbox car, as he criticized a project touted by Ellis. Photo by Andrew Cauthen
Of the three candidates running for DeKalb County chief executive officer, Jerome Edmondson was alone onstage during a July 12 question-and-answer forum. CEO candidate Gregory Adams, who is the pastor of True Church of God in Christ in Austell, was a...

Judge candidate indicted for theft

A candidate for DeKalb Superior Court has some legal problems of his own. Michael Rothenberg was indicted by a DeKalb County grand jury July 17 on six felony counts of theft by taking, according to a statement by the office of DeKalb County District ...

Ellis, planning director named in lawsuit

A lawsuit filed July 3 against three county officials over a land displacement permit calls into question the DeKalb CEO’s hiring of an interim planning director. Bobby Buckler and Anthony McCullar filed the lawsuit “because they won’t let us p...

Blacks on bikes: Club promotes cycling in metro Atlanta

What began with eight Black south DeKalb cyclists in 1984 has grown into a 61-member Atlanta cycling organization. The Metro Atlanta Cycling Club (MACC), a predominantly Black group of male and female cyclists, exists to “promote cycling in the Bla...

DeKalb officer learns lessons after off-duty crash

After taking a year to recuperate from an off-duty car accident, DeKalb Police officer Chase Trammell said he has learned his lesson: “Definitely don’t sleep and drive.” Photo by Andrew Cauthen
DeKalb County Police Officer Chase Trammell grinned when asked what lessons he has learned in the 360 days after an off-duty car accident nearly killed him. Trammell fell asleep at the wheel while on the 75-minute drive from the North DeKalb precinct...

Church rape victim recounts crime

It was a crime that DeKalb District Attorney Robert James called “extremely violent and vicious.” The victim of a February 2011 rape inside a Stone Mountain church said her “life was impacted unforgettably.” Church congregants and supporters ...

Faulty fire department air pack causes ‘near miss’

  A DeKalb County firefighter was forced to jump out of a two-story building after his air pack malfunctioned during a fire. According to DeKalb County Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Norman Augustin, the firefighter was on a call at Woody Court at 9:45 p....

Stone Mountain commercial district votes to expand

A year after it formed, the Stone Mountain Community Improvement District (CID) is expanding. The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted June 16 to expand the Stone Mountain CID, which began last year with of 88 property owners with a total prop...

Refugee cultures on display during Clarkston event

The dances, music, fashion and food of refugee cultures were showcased as World Refugee Day was celebrated in Clarkston June 20. “It’s a great way to be immersed among all the cultures,” said participant Chell Ramirez. Photo by Andrew Cauthen
Napo Kpandja, 35, came from Huntsville, Ala, with his wife and daughter to be naturalized during World Refugee Day in Clarkston June 20. “It is a powerful experience,” said Kpandja, who was born in the Togolese Republic. “Anybody from a foreign...