Atlanta Police chief George Turner is addressing the growing concern about crime in the Atlanta Beltline area — which includes a recent incident where a jogger was robbed at gunpoint of her iPhone — by putting more officers in the area, effective immediately, among other measures.

The memo from Turner was posted on Midtown Ponce Security Alliance’s Facebook Page on Monday, and reads:

The Atlanta BeltLine is a valuable resource for the city of Atlanta and we want to make sure that everyone is able to enjoy it without fear for their safety.

As you may be aware, we had an armed robbery on the Atlanta BeltLine Tuesday afternoon. These crimes are unacceptable, and we will not tolerate people being preyed upon in this manner – on the Atlanta BeltLine, or anywhere else for that matter.

In light of this most recent robbery, we are going to put more officers on the Atlanta BeltLine immediately – on bicycles, on foot, and on horseback.

We have also been working closely with the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. to improve public safety along the paths.

Among the enhancements:

– Lighting fixtures have either been added, or repaired, at 20 poles along the Eastside Trail. More lighting will be added under the bridges at Virginia Ave., Freedom Parkway and N. Highland Ave.

– Trees Atlanta has assisted in pruning trees and clearing invasive growth to improve lines of site and increase ambient lighting along the trail.

– The Atlanta BeltLine purchased cameras and APD and the trail.

– Atlanta Police Foundation will soon install them along the trail and connect them to the Atlanta Police Departments’ Video Integration Center.

– Mile markers have been installed to help users of the trail more easily identify their location.

– Further, we will soon have a new APD Path Force unit with 20 officers tasked with law enforcement within the Atlanta BeltLine footprint and adjacent parks. We are in the process of standing up that unit and hope to have it online in June. The commander of this unit has been studying best practices in other cities with similar park units and is in the process of developing a comprehensive safety plan.

Finally, we always want to encourage users of the Atlanta BeltLine to report suspicious activity to 9-1-1 as part of our “See Something/Say Something” campaign. We will send officers to check on reports of suspicious people.

Chief George N. Turner, Atlanta Police Department

LearnBop (www.LearnBop.net), an online educational tool for math, has just released a new program to prevent summer learning loss.  Students and teachers can use the program for free from now until the end of the summer. 

Most students lose about two months of learning over summer break.  By high school, the accumulation of lost months can mean students have fallen behind grade level an entire year or more.  LearnBop’s new program offers a solution to this summer learning loss.

LearnBop focuses on learning math.  Summer reading programs alleviate learning loss for English, but no such programs exist for math.  LearnBop’s new program addresses this gap. 

In order to smooth the transition to summer learning, LearnBop has timed the release of its new summer program to overlap with the end of the school year.  Teachers can begin using LearnBop’s pilot program for free right now to help students prepare for summer learning, and continue using it in summer school. Cindy Bryant, former National Council of Teachers of Mathematics board member and recipient of a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, will lead the summer program.  Students can participate as part of a summer school class, or simply follow the program of study online from home.

The LearnBop education model employs a unique blend of individual online work, one-on-one time with a teacher, and group work with the entire class.  This approach maximizes the amount of attention each student receives from the teacher, and allows teachers to create tailored lesson plans to suit the specific needs of each student.  LearnBop automatically generates reports to track the progress of each student.  Teachers can use these reports to create individual lesson plans, form small groups of students who have similar needs, or decide that the entire class has mastered a subject before moving to the next one. 

Learn more about LearnBop and their new summer program by visiting their website: http://www.learnbop.com  

Are Wednesdays really so tough?

Well, yes, they can be.

Here, though, is to keeping things in perspective. For more than a month now, Patch and Grape-Nuts have teamed up to present stories about your neighbors, neighbors who have faced challenges that would seem insurmountable to many of us. 

But not to the people we’ve featured in this series, Journeys.

Not surprisingly, the stories have generated dozens of comments on Patch and on Facebook: “Great story…” “Thanks for sharing…” ”So wonderfully inspiring…” 

And, so, here they are again. Great stories shared to inspire. Take a look at what these people have faced. Then click on the story to see their responses. And feel better about your tough Wednesday.

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Flesh-Eating Bacteria Survivor Aimee Copeland’s Goal: Helping Others: In May 2012, Aimee Copeland of Snellville, GA., had just completed her core courses for a master’s degree in psychology when she fell into a creek and cut her leg in an accident involving a homemade zip-line. The wound was infected with typically fatal flesh-eating bacteria in the accident, and Aimee lost her left leg, her right foot and both hands. But she did not lose her spirit.

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Restaurateur Mixes Good Food With Good Deeds: Brian Maloof is lightning quick to point out that he’s not changing the world in the way that Sir Hillary did. But as the owner of Atlanta landmark Manuel’s Tavern, Maloof is making a big difference in the lives of quite a few people in his hometown. He is well-known for giving back to the poor and homeless in his neighborhood, and for helping ex-convicts reenter society by giving them employment.

School Advocate Helps Students in Solar Power Challenge: Kim Gokce of Brookhaven, GA, is chairman and founder of an advocacy group for the new city’s only high school, Cross Keys High School, an old institution that Gocke’s group is helping to renovate. Despite its challenges (many students are learning English as a second language and live at or below the poverty level), Cross Keys students reach high academic scores, and many are able to attend some of the nation’s top schools.

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Teenager ‘Inspires Selfless Service Through Mentorship’: When he was only 13, Shaun Verma, a high school senior, founded the nonprofit MDJunior, an organization that brings together health-care professionals and students to nurture a mentoring relationship. MDJunior focuses on underserved communities and developing countries. In 2012, MDJunior was awarded special recognition by the White House, the President’s Council on Service Civic Participation.

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Laura Whitaker Helps Special-Needs Kids at Extra Special People: Laura Whitaker is the executive director of Extra Special People, a nonprofit in Watkinsville, GA, that enhances the lives of children with disabilities by offering them recreation, education and socialization. Whitaker has been the executive director of ESP since 2006, and was only 21 when she took on the job. Under her leadership, the nonprofit has grown from a summer camp program to a year-round one, providing after-school care and family counseling for more than 150 children throughout 10 counties in Northeast Georgia.

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Man is First Double Amputee to Finish Ironman Triathlon: Sandy Springs, GA, resident Scott Rigsby has, without a doubt, “run with perseverance the race marked out” for him, as the Bible says. In 2007 Rigsby became the first double amputee to finish the Ironman World Championship triathlon in Kailua-Kona, HI. The famous triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run.

The devastating tornado that rocked Oklahoma on Monday leaves many wondering how to help — even from hundreds and hundreds of miles away in metro Atlanta.

Patch is about helping your neighbors, and after the devastation near Oklahoma City where a giant tornado claimed the lives of at least 24 people, including at least eight children, Oklahoma is our neighbor. In addition to hoping the best for the survivors and rescue workers still trying to make sense of the devastation today, here are some links where you can donate your time or money to help the recovery efforts.

Give:

• Those wishing to donate to the Alpharetta-based Southern Baptist Disaster Relief can do so here.

• GOOGLE: Okla. tornado crisis map. Here is a map from Google of the tornado devestation with links for how to help.

• The Red Cross says in the immediate aftermath, the best way to help is to donate at RedCross.org or text REDCROSS to 90999.

• The Salvation Army has mobilized in Oklahoma, and you can support them by donating online; or by texting STORM to 80888 to contribute $10 to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts; or by making a donation via phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

• Use the Red Cross Safe Well’s site to check on status of family members.

• Here is the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief’s website to target your donations directly where they are needed.

• United Way of Central Oklahoma’s Disaster Relief Fund is open and accepting donations. Donations can be made online at www.unitedwayokc.org or sent by mail to United Way of Central Oklahoma, P.O. Box 837, Oklahoma City, OK  73101. Note that your donation is for May Tornado Relief.

• Contributions can be made securely to the Moore Shawnee Tornado Relief Fund at www.TulsaCF.org. Donations can also be mailed to the Tulsa Community Foundation offices at 7030 S. Yale, Suite 600, Tulsa, OK, 74136.

Share:

Do you have any experience with a tornado or other natural disaster? What do people need most after going through something like this? Share your tips with us by writing a blog post.

If you know of someone local was affected by the tornado or who is working to help the victims, please contact your local editor.

Wednesday marks the final day of the 2012-13 school year for Atlanta Public Schools, but for the APS board, the work is far from done concerning passing a $568 million budget by the end of the month for preliminary approval.

The Atlanta Board of Education Budget Commission met on Monday to review the proposed budget for fiscal year 2014 and considered three teacher furlough days, eliminating a 3 percent salary bonus to employees who haven’t received a raise in five years and other cuts in an attempt to close a $61 million budget gap.

The board also debated smaller class sizes, which in some schools are larger than state guidelines. But Superintendent Erroll Davis said it wasn’t the time to spend $20 million or so to reduce class sizes so they would fall more in line with Georgia standards.

Some board members indicated Monday they were fine with class sizes staying as-is, as long as they don’t increase, while others want to see them decrease in the coming school year. According to state law, public high school classroom sizes can’t exceed 32 students, but the state Board of Education has ignored those requirements in recent years as school districts across Georgia have wrestled with financial difficulties.

According to APS figures in the 50,000-student district, it would cost close to $24 million to reduce class sizes by five students, and about $5 million to shrink by one student the size of classes. 

The board has until May 30 to pass a preliminary budget in anticipation for a final vote next month. Several meetings are planned for next week in an attempt to make up for the $61 million budget shortfall.

In addition to not paying the bonuses and instituting furloughs on non-instructional days, Davis has suggested spending $20 million from reserve funds to assist in closing the budget gap.

Not filling current vacant positions for an extended period of time and reducing programs are other possible measures that could be taken to save money for the district.

See here for live blog coverage of Monday’s meeting from the APS Twitter account @apsupdate.

Are you concerned about the size of APS classes? Let us know in the comment section below.

See also:

• APS Budget Basics
• NAPPS Statement on APS Proposed FY14 Budget
• APS Looking Into Selling Former North Fulton High Campus

Sometime in 2014, anyone visiting Piedmont or Grant parks in Atlanta will be able to enjoy free Internet access along with the parks’ other amenities.

According to Creative Loafing, the city plans to install free Internet access for the two parks and possibly for some Atlanta recreation centers, the Atlanta Beltline and even possibly the Buckhead Community Improvement District.

City officials are in talks with Buckhead CID, Central Atlanta Progress and the Midtown Alliance about bringing free wi-fi to each of those business districts.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed originally wanted a wi-fi network to cover the entire city, but the city cannot afford a citywide network.

The cost for installation of the necessary infrastructure and subsequent maintenance at Piedmont Park will cost several hundred thousand dollars, but will likely be up and running in the next six months, according to Interim Chief Information Officer Michael Dogan. That would put the expected start date of the service around the end of 2013 or the beginning of the following year.

(The following Announcement was forwarded to us by a resident and member of the Ansley Park Civic Association)

At the 2012 Annual Meeting, the Ansley Park Civic Association announced the initiation of the Jane Award to honor an outstanding volunteer in our community.  

The award was established in the name of two AP residents who have enriched our neighborhood through years of dedication and service.  It was fitting that our two Janes, Jane Harmon and Jane Berman, were the first recipients of the Jane Award. 

The purpose of this annual award is to recognize, celebrate, and honor specific volunteers, and to encourage volunteerism in Ansley Park.  

It is now time to look among us to nominate candidates for the 2013 Jane Award.  Nominations will be accepted between now and May 31.  After that time, the selection committee – this year composed of Sally Klippel, Pam Breen, and Shane Thomas – will access the nominations and select an appropriate honoree.  

The award will be announced and presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting in October.  Please go to www.ansleypark.org, click on “Quicklinks”, then “Jane Award Nominations”.  It will take you to a Nomination Form that you can fill in online, and then click “submit”.

The huge fire on Marietta Street WILL affect your morning commute. Expect road closures, delays in the area.

For video follow this link from Jennifer Leslie’s Vine account that was posted on her Twitter page.  Jennifer Leslie is a reporter with 11Alive News.

The business on fire is United Transmission Service located at 350 Marietta Street.  The Atlanta Fire Department is on the scene, but no word on the cause of the fire.

Plumes of smoke could be seen from morning joggers in Piedmont Park all the way to the AUC.

UPDATE: According to the AJC, “State Rep. Tyrone Brooks Sr., accompanied by former Gov. Roy Barnes as his attorney, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to fraud and tax evasion charges.”

Judge Alan Baverman allowed Rep. Brooks to remain free on a $25,000 bond until his trial.  Former Georgia Governor, Roy Barnes, reportedly told the judge that he is representing Tyrone Brooks for free.  The two plan to have a press conference on Thursday in Marietta.

Georgia State Representative, Tyrone Brooks, begins his fight in court on Wednesday as he faces Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman in regards to a 30 count indictment. Rep Tyrone Brooks represents District 55, and has a long history in the southwest Atlanta community and in the civil rights struggle.

Cascade Patch first shared the news of the indictment last week.  At the time, Special Agent in Charge, Mark F. Giuliano, spoke to reporters at the FBI Atlanta Field Office and stated:

Mr. Brooks exploited two charitable organizations for his own personal financial gain which came at the expense of the intended beneficiaries of the charitable donations. IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to investigating individuals who use charitable organizations for their personal gain.

Mr. Brooks defrauded not only the donors but also the American taxpayer by evading his tax obligations. Tax compliance should and must be equally shared among all Americans.

According to the Macon Telegraph, “Brooks has also announced that he will appear at a news conference Thursday at the office of his lawyer, former Gov. Roy Barnes.”

Do you have a friend or family member graduating from high school or college this year? Maybe your child will be receiving his or her diploma at Thursday’s 1 p.m. Grady High School commencement at the Atlanta Civic Center?

Want to congratulate them and share the good news with your friends and neighbors? Post a free graduation announcement on Patch.

To post a free announcement, click here. In the category drop down box (see photo), select “graduation.” Enter the graduate’s name, school and any other details you’d like to share.

Directly below the “description” box, you’ll see an “Upload photos and videos” button. If you’d like your announcement featured on the Dacula Patch home page, be sure to add a photo or video. Only announcements with photos or video will be featured on the home page.

Once you have filled in the information about your graduate and added a photo, look for the “Post My Announcement” button at the bottom of the page (see photo).

Once your announcement is posted, you can share the announcement with your friends and family by using the sharing tools located above the announcement (see photo). You can Tweet it, email it, post it to Facebook and follow any comments posted on the announcement.