Community Corner
News Nearby: Starved Teen Died After Caseworkers Closed Case, Police Officer Struck By Car
Here are some of the top headlines from in and around metro Atlanta.
Starved Teen Died 18 Mos. After Child Caseworkers Closed Case
On Aug. 19, 2010 Cobb Police issued an alert for a missing mentally disabled girl.
The 14-year-old girl, Markea Berry, was found hours later at the Walmart on East-West Connector less than a mile from her Concord Road home in Mableton.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,Markea wrote in her journal that she’d rather live at the store than at home. She told police she ran away because she didn’t want to burden her now 38-year-old mother, Ebony Berry.
Find out what's happening in Smyrna-Viningswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
At 14, Markea was so small that she looked 9. Two years later, , in the home police took her back to that night in 2010.
Sgt. Dana Pierce told South Cobb Patch that the main priority for police when they issue alerts for missing persons is to find that person and safely bring them home. Since hours and minutes can mean life or death, they often do not have time to research whether the person’s caretaker is being honest about the missing person’s mental state.
Find out what's happening in Smyrna-Viningswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Read more on South Cobb Patch.
Marietta Police Officer Struck By Car
A officer was seriously injured Thursday afternoon when he was hit by a car.
Officer James McClure, 26, was working at the scene of a four-car accident on the Canton Road Connector near the Church Street extension, WSBTV, the AJC and The Marietta Daily Journal report.
He stepped into the northbound roadway to stop traffic for emergency vehicles when he was hit, WSBTV and CBS Atlanta report.
"Occupy" Homeowner Takes Protest Downtown
The Northeast Cobb homeowner who has been in a with Wells Fargo Bank to prevent the foreclosure of his home is moving his "Occupy" protest to Downtown Atlanta.
Steve Boudreaux's home on Rubes Landing in Northeast Cobb County was . This was the final chapter of a multi-year process that saw Boudreaux attempt to save his American Dream by entering in to a loan modification program. Due to the late arrival of paperwork from the IRS, Wells Fargo completed the foreclosure sale.
In light of the sale, Boudreaux has been since the sale went through. He is assisted in this venture by the Cobb United for Change Coalition (CUCC) and Occupy our Homes ATL (OOHA), rights groups that protest what they see as unfair and predatory treatment of homeowners by banks.
Same-Sex Kiss at Chick-Fil-A
It was supposed to be , but the group that gathered outside the Decatur Chick-fil-A at midday Friday did more placard-waving than smooching.
At noon, about 15 gays, lesbians and their friends stood on the sidewalk at North McDonough Street and East Trinity Place to tell the world they're angry that Chick-fil-A money supports organizations opposing same-sex marriage.
Sign-wavers hooted whenever a motorist honked. Somebody brought a cooler full of water and a couple of little kids sat in the grass and ate fast food from another restaurant. An equal number of reporters and photographers showed up to record the event.
Read more on Dectur-Avondale Estates Patch.
Whooping Cough on the Rise in Metro Atlanta
Pertussis, commonly known as the whooping cough, is making the rounds in metro Atlanta. As of July 28, 95 cases have been reported; this time last year, that number was 51, according to a press release issued Aug. 1 by the Georgia Department of Health.
“Though we have not seen a substantial increase in the number of whooping cough cases statewide, the increase in whooping cough cases in highly-populated metroAtlanta is of concern,” said state epidemiologist Cherie Drenzek, D.V.M. in a recent statement to the Georgia Department of Health.
Read more on Snellville Patch.