Archive for March, 2009

Charles R. Drew High School will make its Riverdale debut in August, and has residents and students alike excited about its potential.

Drew intends to set the bar high from the start. Among other things, students will be required to wear uniforms, and parents are expected to be active participants in their child’s education and discipline, if necessary.

The school will focus on biotechnical/health occupations, but also offers a culinary arts program, a full service bank for students to learn finance, public safety and engineering programs. A full athletic program will be offered eventually. The new 5,000 seat athletic stadium built next door will be shared with all county high schools. Only freshmen and sophomores will attend initially, and the Class of 2012 will be Drew’s first graduates.

This could be the beginning of good things for the Riverdale area. If this school succeeds, it could be used as a model for others statewide and bring some positive publicity and energy …

Continue reading Charles R. Drew High School will set the bar high »

Who says new businesses won’t come to Clayton County?

During a time when jobs are being lost, it is great to know that businesses are opening, creating jobs and stimulating the economy right in our backyard.

According to an AJC article, QT Kitchens brought 227 jobs to Clayton and, hopefully, our residents got first dibs on those positions. The Ellenwood and Lovejoy areas have slowly been blossoming for awhile now with businesses that appear here to stay.

Another newbie is “Da Dancing Pig” (1489 Mundys Mill Road, Jonesboro, 770.210.8844, 12-8pm Tues-Sat.), where hickory smoked pork slab ribs are the specialty. Owner Jasper Roundtree actually lives in DeKalb, but found Clayton “more suitable than DeKalb county” for his business.

“This is a very diverse neighborhood and community here,” says Roundtree. “You just have to put roots down and go for it wherever the opportunity looks best.” Says Clayton resident and repeat customer Julie Brown, “The food is really …

Continue reading Will new business come to Clayton? »

Good decision to fire John Thompson by our board of education. They identified a cancer and cut it out before it spread and caused more damage.

Given his reputation before being hired as corrective superintendent last spring, it’s no surprise that he was difficult to work with. But Thompson wasn’t supposed to even consider taking this job permanently as per his contract with the ousted board. Although he spent (wasted?) a lot of time telling anyone within earshot that he was technically the superintendent per Georgia law, he was hired specifically to help get accreditation back and then leave.

But don’t cry for Thompson. He walks away with a nice chunk of change at our expense in salary and benefits. All he’ll do is trash CCPS in general on his next interview and probably get hired eventually.

SACS’ Mark Elgart was right on about our BOE changing direction and the way business is done. Slowly but surely, it is happening and the purging of bad decisions made by the …

Continue reading Did Clayton board make the right decision? »