DeKalb Schools Chief Spends Weekend in Jail on DUI Charge
Gentleman Jim
Friday and was scheduled to remain locked up until early Sunday as
part of his sentence for drunken driving.
Hallford turned himself in shortly after pleading guilty in State
Court. Judge Wayne Purdon ordered him to serve 43 hours in the DeKalb
County Jail, but he deducted the three hours Hallford spent at the
jail the night of his Dec. 20 arrest.
Hallford, 63, was being held separately from other inmates, Chief
Deputy Sheriff Louis Graham said.
The DeKalb Board of Education released a statement saying "we consider
the matter closed." The statement said Hallford has been forthright
with board members, including disclosing a 1995 DUI conviction. The
board had previously reprimanded Hallford.
The board soon will begin its search for a superintendent to replace
Hallford when his contract expires in June 2002, board Chairman Brad
Bryant said. Hallford, who makes about $160,000 a year, has said he
will retire when his contract is up.
In addition to jail time, Hallford will pay a $1,000 fine and be on
probation for a year.
His driver's license was suspended for 120 days, but he will apply for
limited driving privileges, said his lawyer, Bob Wilson. He will be
required to install a Breathalyzer in his car that he must breathe
into before starting the engine. He also will attend a risk-reduction
driver education program.
The judge also sentenced Hallford to 64 hours of community service and
required him to participate in Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar
program.
The sentence was typical for such cases, Purdon said.
Hallford has started an alcohol and drug intervention program run by
the county health department that meets for a dozen two-hour sessions.
He also submitted to an "alcohol assessment and clinical evaluation"
at the health department Jan. 2, according to an assessment report
provided by Wilson.
The report concluded that "with the history of two DUIs, there is a
potential for the development of a drinking problem."
Wilson said Hallford has not made excuses and is not in denial about
the seriousness of the matter. "Anytime you get a DUI, there is a
problem," Wilson said.
Hallford's blood alcohol content was .192 in the most recent incident
and .238 in the 1995 case, according to police reports.
Under current Georgia law, a driver can be convicted of a DUI with a
080 blood alcohol content if erratic driving is involved.
In 1995, Hallford pleaded guilty and paid a $653 fine.
Asked what lesson students should draw from Hallford's incarceration,
Wilson said: "No matter who you are, you still face consequences for
your actions."
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MorganPark
>Friday and was scheduled to remain locked up until early Sunday as
>part of his sentence for drunke
He is probably in the Luxury Suite where he has his own room at the jail.
Kev in Atlanta GA USA
Greg
support MUCH stricter and enforced jail time for those who commit this
crime. Still, I do have to wonder about one thing:
The black community in Dekalb has taken it upon themselves to make sure no
matter what, that this man is removed from position. While it did not
happen on school grounds, or during school hours, his school position should
be taken away, they say.
One would have to wonder what would happen if the school super in Dekalb
were black and this same thing happened. "They're having a witch hunt", or,
"They're picking on him because he's black", are two comments I'm sure would
be said over and over. Mayor Campbell is another example - if a white mayor
in a largely black city were to abuse the tax payer's money in the same
manner, the black community would march in the streets to have him
immediately removed and locked up. But Campbell, is a "hero", simply
because of the color of his skin, and having made it to a high position.
I think the Dekalb situation is nothing more than a "reverse" witch hunt,
and the black community will not stop until Hallford is replaced by someone
"of color", to fill the position. Color politics - 101.
|******
As far as Hallford goes... grow up, old man. If you can't hold off on the
bottle till you get home, give up the car and take a cab, geez. If you don't
have this amount of common sense at 63, you're an idiot (in life, but
perhaps not in job). Get a grip and get treatment before you kill someone.
"Gentleman Jim " <jim...@juno.com> wrote in message
news:3a607b27...@news.mindspring.com...
Paul Kallio
This is part of the same "Black Community" that didn't raise an
eyebrow of protest when Ralph David Abernathy Jr was caught
at Hartsfield smuggling grass in his underwear.
When it comes to negro public figures, there is an entirely different
set of more lenient standards to be applied.
Paul
MorganPark
>matter what, that this man is removed from position. While it did not
It is defintely racially motivated
Gentleman Jim
>>The black community in Dekalb has taken it upon themselves to make sure no
>>matter what, that this man is removed from position. While it did not
>
>It is defintely racially motivated.
I wonder if the DeKalb School Board members thought the same thing
when they gave Dr.Hallford a light reprimand and allowed him to keep
his job? It seems that race took precedent over the issue at hand, as
happens to just about every other issue around Atlanta. Why did
members of the DeKalb NAACP feel that it was incumbent upon this
organization to put their two cents worth in this controversy? NAACP?
It just seems disingenuous for this organization to get involved in
this controversy, where there was no infringement, or abridgement, of
basic civil rights. If the members of the DeKalb PTA were more
outspoken, and had demanded Dr.Hallford's ouster, then I think the
DeKalb School Board members would have acted more decisively. Does
DeKalb County schools have a PTA association?
Moreover, what disgusted me even more than Dr. Hallford's DUI
conviction, was the local media coverage and air time given to the
"civil rights activists" and the members of the DeKalb NAACP. Do the
media really and truly believe that White viewers would miss the
racial overtones when they interviewed "civil rights activists" and
members of the NAACP? How stupid do they really think that White
viewers and White parents in DeKalb County are? Why didn't the local
media go out of their way to interview a spokesman for the DeKalb PTA,
or any spokesman other than "civil rights activists," or members of
NAACP? Does anyone really believe that these organizations act and
react to any cotroversy that arises to something other than having to
do with somone's skin color? It's good to know that there aren't as
many stupid White people in Atlanta as the local news media would have
you to believe.
Aside from the racial overtones, I think Hallford should step down or
be fired from his position. His actions are disgraceful. It's one of
the reasons, after waiting in line for two hours at the polls last
November, that I eventually gave up voting for George W. Bush.
The two hour wait in line gave me some time to think about the
candidates. It gave me some time to consider GWB's 1976 DUI
conviction.
What message do you send to your impressionable young teenager,who is
learning how to drive, when you vote for someone such as George W.
Bush, or when you support the DeKalb School Board's decision to
lightly reprimand Dr. Hallford?
Gentleman Jim
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nation: Martin Luther King site trying to draw local interest
The Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site
By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press
ATLANTA (January 14, 2001 2:14 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - A
glance at the guest book at the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site
shows visitors from far-flung places such as Germany, Japan and South
America.
But don't ask metro Atlantans how to get to the site, which includes
King's birthplace, grave and his most famous speaking location - the
pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
"I don't even know where it is," said Mariko Miki, who lives in
suburban Roswell. "I never see any advertisements for it or anything.
My family goes to museums downtown a lot, so you'd think it'd be
something we'd go do, but we've never been there."
"Not too much happens around here except around the King holiday,"
said Ruby Williams, who has cut hair since 1970 at Lady Byrd's Beauty
Salon in the heart of King's Sweet Auburn neighborhood.
Hoping to increase interest, officials of the site and the National
Park Service are trying to make it a gathering place for the
neighborhood much as Ebenezer Baptist Church was when King occupied
the pulpit. The original church became part of the site after the
congregation moved to a new building across the street in 1999.
The park service has started monthly gospel concerts and lectures at
the church to draw residents.
Nearly complete is an almost two-decade, $10 million project to
restore the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, an effort spearheaded by the
King family and undertaken by the park service.
Many of the buildings had deteriorated to burned-out shells, home to
vagrants and crack addicts. Now, many of the Queen Anne-style homes
that line the block where King was born boast restored wooden porches
and fresh coats of paint.
"People here are really proud about this neighborhood," said Saudia
Muwwakkil, spokeswoman for the visitor's center. "But certainly we
would like to see more interaction with visitors and local residents,
to bring the locals out. People here don't realize the treasure we
have here."
The Park Service also plans to team with King's alma mater, nearby
Morehouse College, to educate students there about the civil rights
movement and train them in nonviolent conflict resolution. The
education center could be open by 2002 and will emphasize getting
involved in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, Muwwakkil said.
"There's a universal message in King's work that attracts people," she
said. "We want to keep that story alive, expand it here in Atlanta, so
people see the connections between King's life and the history of
Atlanta."
The effort to attract Atlantans to the King site is long overdue,
Sweet Auburn resident Sam Owens said.
"There are people from all over the world here. This is the center of
our history right here," he said. "But Atlanta people, they're used to
him. They don't come here. I'd like it more if we were the center
again, to Atlanta people. We need to keep it up, show people we
haven't forgotten where we came from."
Comment:
Most suburban Atlantans have more common sense, and they are already
sick and tired of MLK and MLK "wannabes," a la Hosea Williams, Jesse
Jackson, Joseph Lowery. White Atlantans have already come to the
conclusion that Blacks are engaging in some of the same kind of
discriminatory behaviour and practices that Martin Luther King
vociferously spoke out against some thirty years ago, so why would any
suburban, or urban, Atlantan partake in this year round sham?
Gary Glaenzer
I'd be willing to wager that most of the families who have moved into and
restored those homes, whether white or black, have a father on-site.
This is what it will take to turn the 'black community' around........stable
families with pride in the ownership of a home, the willingness to make the
committment to invest in property and keep it maintained, and a
determination to drive out the thugs, the druggies, the dopers, the
gangsta-wannabees and make it a 'neighborhood' as opposed to a 'location'.
MorganPark
primary interest to visitors. They do need to do some things to attract more
people to sweet auburn- perhaps some more festivals or concerts
TheNIGHTCRAWLER
Now. Is he getting trashed on the job? I've personally seen .30 in
the hospital joking around and generally having a congenial time with
the nurses and doctors. Big guy he was.
You gotta ask... is he responsible about his job. Apparently, he's
going to lose it. Was he ever happy with it. What has he done with
the opportunity?
Publicity. Gotta love it.
TheNIGHTCRAWLER