Creek Indian Descendant Building Authentic Hunting Lodge

By DOUG NURSE / http://www.ajc.com/ Sunday, August 24, 2008
In a couple of weeks, visitors to Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center in Johns Creek will be able to walk down a trail and back into time. About 50 yards down a path into the woods, a Creek Indian hunting lodge is being built by a man of Creek descent using mostly authentic techniques.

“We want it to be like someone just stumbled on it 200 years ago,” said Cheryl Bowlin, an Autrey Mill board member. “We want Autrey Mill to be a ribbon of time, and this is another part of the ribbon.”

The lodge is being constructed by Tom Blue Wolf, also called Tom Goodman. Blue Wolf, 62, grew up on the Poarch Creek Reservation near Atmore, Ala. He said his grandfather named him Blue Wolf. He said he learned how to build lodges from the old men on the reservation. He said he received the blessing of Creek and Cherokee elders before building the lodge at Autrey Mill.
Autrey Mill, about 46 acres, features several buildings from the early 1900s and trails through native forest. The lodge originally was planned to be built near water, but endangered lady-slipper orchids were growing in abundance on the proposed site.

Blue Wolf said there is no set way to construct a hunting lodge, which would have temporarily housed several men in a hunting party. “I was going to use cedar, but we couldn’t find it, so we went to poplar bark,” he said.

Blue Wolf, who has built similar lodges at Georgia botanical gardens and universities in Europe, said he envisions the lodge as a place visitors can learn about natural ways of living.
Creek and Cherokee Indian hunters would range for weeks, collecting barks and herbs for medicine and killing game and preserving meat to bring back to their village, Blue Wolf said.
When finished, the structure will be about 10 feet wide, 12 feet long and 8 feet high. The face of the lodge will be open.

He and his four helpers are using native materials, and occasionally non-native tools, such as power drills or a Japanese handsaw. Blue Wolf said doing it authentically with a small set of people would take a long time. He said he’s compromising with some material, such as modern-day screws, because otherwise the lodge would soon fall into disrepair without his being there to maintain it.

Blue Wolf said he also plans to build a kiln so Autrey Mill volunteers can demonstrate how the Creeks used to smoke meat to preserve it. “We want people to get a sense of what a day in their life would’ve been like,” Blue Wolf said. “We wanted to do something educationally that was visually stimulating.”

The lodge has two rows of four posts with each row topped by a long log. The sides will be made of river cane weave filled in with clay, sand and straw. The roof will be shingled with poplar bark.
On the other side of the path will be a tepee reminiscent of those of the Great Plains Indian tribes. Bowlin said that even though the Creek and Cherokee didn’t live in tepees, mill officials included the tepee to show a contrast between the various ways of Indian life.
The tepee, 24 feet in diameter, will be made of canvas instead of buffalo, but it will get the idea across, Blue Wolf said. People will be able to rent out the tepee for birthday parties to raise money for the mill, Bowlin said. “Some children have no idea there was anything before the subdivisions,” Bowlin said. “We’re hoping we can give them an ‘Aha!’ moment.”

900 Households Can't use "Johns Creek" in Address

City officials want to take up issue in Washington, D.C.

By DOUG NURSE / www.ajc.com

Friday, August 22, 2008
Johns Creek officials met with representatives from the U.S. Post Office this week to explore ways for 900 households to be able to give Johns Creek as their address instead of Suwanee and Roswell. City leaders were shot down at every turn.

The city is served by five ZIP codes based in other municipalities. Most the 65,000 residents and businesses can use Johns Creek as long as the street address and ZIP code are correct.
The city would like for everyone within its boundaries to be able to proudly give Johns Creek as their home address.

The council raised these questions:

Could Johns Creek have its own ZIP code and post office? No, says the Post Office. It’s expensive, and reconfiguring routes doesn’t make business sense.

Could these Johns Creek residents be switched to a ZIP code that can use Johns Creek? Nope, says the mail service. Again, reconfiguring routes and re-mapping of areas would be problematic.
City officials say they’re not giving up. They’re going to try to meet with postal officials in Washington D.C.

Johns Creek Delays Launch of Fire Department

By DOUG NURSE / www.ajc.com


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Johns Creek firetrucks won’t roll out this month as hoped. Instead, the target date has been pushed back to Oct. 7. As late as June, city officials weren’t sure whether vehicles and equipment would arrive by the original August date for starting city fire service.

By the time the arrival dates for equipment were nailed down, any date in August would have been less than the 90 days notice the city has to give Fulton County Fire Department that the city would take over fire safety, said Public Safety spokeswoman Rosemary Taylor.
Fulton County is providing fire protection until the city launches its own fire department.
Fulton County stuck to the 90-day notice requirement, which meant the city had to push back the start date for Johns Creek Fire Department, she said.

Fired 911 Dispatcher To Appeal Dismissal

(WSB Radio) She's accused of botching a 911 call that led to a woman's death. Now, Gina Conteh wants her job back.

Conteh's attorney confirms he has filed an appeal of her dismissal, in the wake of the mistake that contributed to the death of a Johns Creek woman. Darlene Dukes called the Fulton County 911 center on August 2, complaining of breathing problems. She told Conteh, who was working as a dispatcher, that she lived on Wales Street. But Conteh sent EMT's to Wells Street, in Atlanta, instead.

It took almost 30 minutes for police to get to Dukes' home. But Conteh had not dispatched an ambulance, and it took another 30 minutes for EMT's to arrive. By that time the mother of two had died. Conteh was fired after 12 years at the 911 center on August 6.

Conteh's attorney, Rory Starkey, says his client has filed a formal notice of appeal, challenging the decision to fire her. This week, Conteh's employment history came to light, showing repeated transgressions in the past.

Twice before supervisors had tried to fire her, and both times failed when Conteh appealed.
She has been suspended at least seven times, for insubordination, fighting with co-workers, showing up late for work, and falling asleep on the job.

In one incident, supervisors say Conteh fell asleep at her desk and fell out of her chair. But she claimed she was leaning over to pick up some paper when she tumbled out of her chair, scraping her ear. She filed a worker's compensation claim for her injury. Supervisors say they never believed her story.

Under county rules, Conteh is entitled to an appeal of her termination. No date for a hearing has been set.

Fulton 911 Center Falsely Claimed Accreditation

Publicbroadcasting.net / Odette Yousef ATLANTA, GA (2008-08-14)

Contrary to claims made on its website and by its former director, Fulton County's 911 Center is not accredited. The center has come under scrutiny after a 911 operator mishandled a call earlier this month, resulting in the death of a woman in Johns Creek.WABE's Odette Yousef reports.

Emergency response experts in the community say they've long known that County officials were falsely claiming accreditation. As recently as last week, the 911 center's webpage touted that it was, quote, Nationally Accredited 1st in Georgia, 28th in the world! But Fulton County's Emergency Communications Center hasn't been accredited since 2002.Carlynn Page is with the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch, which accredits roughly eighty 911 Centers in the world. She said accreditation is voluntary, but it ensures quality. If you call 911 where they're using a standardized protocol, you're going to get the same consistent, high level of care. Whereas if you call some agency that's not doing quality assurance or not using protocol correctly, it's just kind of hit and miss.

You don't know if you're going to get that same standard of care.The idea is to ensure that call-takers properly identify the nature of a medical emergency, dispatch the right resources in response, and give sound medical advice to callers.Accredited agencies have to pay a fee of $2 to 3 thousand dollars.Page does not know why Fulton County decided not to renew its accreditation, but said many agencies fail to renew:PAGE: It's usually due to a change in personnel, or someone that doesn't value that process as much.But one emergency dispatch expert in Atlanta said, if the county didn't value accreditation, why did it continue propagating the notion that the center was accredited long after it wasn't? Fulton County failed to respond to WABE's questions by airtime.

Personnel File Shows 911 Operator Slept On Job

Courtesy Cbs46.com

POSTED: 6:19 am EDT August 13, 2008
UPDATED: 8:23 am EDT August 13, 2008

ATLANTA -- A CBS 46 News review of the personnel file of 911 operator Gina Conteh's file found that she was on the verge of being fired before she made a mistake that led to a woman's death.

Last week, Conteh misheard the name of the street given by Darlene Dukes, who called 911 after experiencing some breathing problems. Conteh sent paramedics to the wrong address. Crews did not get to Dukes' apartment in Johns Creek until an hour had passed. CBS 46 learned Tuesday that this incident was not the first time Conteh had been disciplined for delays in dispacthing an ambulance.

A letter from her former boss, Rocky Moore, showed plans to fire Conteh in 2004, but she was only suspended for five days after being cited multiple times for falling asleep on the job, failing to respond to units and having an unsatisfactory work quality.

On one call, the file revealed, Conteh's response led to a 22-minute delay in response.
As recently as April, Conteh was cited for displaying "major difficulties navigating through the system."

And in 2003, Contech was written up for being "habitually in violation of county and departmental policies". The letter went on to say that Conteh "requires frequent supervision to perform routine tasks."

Perhaps the most startling allegations found by the CBS 46 review was the numerous times Conteh fell asleep on the job. In one incident, the file indicated, Conteh hurt herself when she fell from the chair after falling asleep. The records indicated other employees fell asleep as well.
The documents also show cases where Conteh failed to respond to multiple requests for an ambulance, failed to dispatch the closest unit, and failed to be attentive to details.

Records showed that on one date, Conteh was cited for failing to failing to properly respond six times in one night. According to the file, on that date, Conteh gave the wrong address twice, and for responding as if she was awakened from her sleep on two occasions.

Fulton EMS Director Reassigned As Part of 911 Call

ATLANTA (MyFOX Atlanta) --

EMS Director Alfred Rocky Moore has been reassigned as part of Fulton County's 911 Call Response investigation, say Fulton County officials.Fulton County Manager Zachary Williams announced the reassignment Tuesday.

Moore will continue to serve as Director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency until the completion of both the internal and independent investigations into the response of the incident. Moore's duties will be limited to oversight of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency until the conclusion of the external audit of Fulton County's 911 operations, said Williams.The incident in question began Saturday, August 2, when Darlene Dukes called 911 for help because she was "in respiratory distress."

Moore said the 911 operator misheard the address Dukes gave and sent City of Atlanta Fire and Grady EMS to Wells Street in Atlanta when Dukes was actually at home on Wales Street in Johns Creek, north of Atlanta. Fulton County Emergency Services said the dispatch screen showed the call came from a cell phone in Johns Creek. Officials said when the dispatcher realized the mistake, she sent crews to the correct address. The patient was taken to North Fulton Regional Medical Center and later pronounced dead. Moore said the operator should have noticed that the call was coming from a cell tower in Johns Creek, not Atlanta. The mistake caused a 25-minute delay in response.

Johns Creek's Jackson Wins Fulton Sheriff's Runoff Election

Courtesy Appen Newspapers

August 05, 2008

Fulton County residents will pick a new sheriff to replace incumbent Myron Freeman, who lost a runoff election to Johns Creek resident and former interim Sheriff Ted Jackson.Democrat Jackson will face Buckhead Republican Mike Rary, a former Fulton County Marshal and Mountain Park City Council member, in the November General Election."Who would have thought with nine candidates in the race, and I looked at myself as myself as the bottom of the heap, that we'd be here today?" Jackson asked.With 340 of 341 precincts reporting, Jackson lead with 22,142 (64 percent) to 12,525 votes (36 percent) for Freeman, the incumbent sheriff. More than 99 percent of the precincts have reported."Remember, there were nine candidates in the primary," Jackson said. "[Freeman] came out with 30 percent of the vote. But that meant 70 percent wanted him out of office, so the candidates united with the goal of a new Sheriff."

Jackson got about 9,000 more votes in the runoff than he did in the primary.He spent 33 years with the FBI and last served as special agent in charge of the Atlanta Office. Jackson served as interim Sheriff for four months in 2004 after Gov. Sonny Perdue ousted former Sheriff Jacque Barrett.

Just three months into Freeman's tenure, prisoner Brian Nichols allegedly broke loose in the Fulton County Courthouse and shot the judge of his trial and three others. In addition, the Fulton County Jail was placed under a federal court order regulating how many inmates can be housed there.In response, the Fulton County Commission has bandied about the idea of privatizing jail and courthouse security, essentially doing away with the office. However, it never pursued the legislation."People want change. They want to restore dignity, pride, confidence and commitment to the Office of Sheriff," Jackson said. "This race is larger than Fulton County, we're on the state and world stage because of the March 11 tragedy."

In other runoff news, incumbent Cathelene "Tina" Robinson's 6 percent lead held in the Democratic runoff election for the office of Clerk of Fulton County Superior Court. Robinson's 17,655 votes easily topped challenger Lewis Pittman's 15,915 total.All vote totals are unofficial.

Woman On Phone Dies After 911 Operator Mistake

By D.L. BENNETT, MARCUS K. GARNER / http://www.ajc.com/ / on: 08/05/08

Darlene Dukes died waiting for help that was delayed 25 minutes because a 911 operator sent emergency crews to the wrong address, Fulton County officials said.

And her family, flown down from New York, was angry Tuesday night to learn of the mix-up from local media and not from officials.

The 911 operator has been fired, said Alfred "Rocky" Moore, Fulton's 911 director. And county officials are apologizing for an error they say should not have been made. The incident occurred Saturday about 1 p.m. when Dukes called 911 for help.
The operator, whose name was not released, dispatched crews to Wells Street in Atlanta when Dukes was at home on Wales Street in Johns Creek north of Atlanta. Moore said the operator misheard the address spoken by Dukes, 39, who was "in respiratory distress."

The operator should have noticed, Moore said, the call came from a cell tower in north Fulton, not Atlanta. "We are taking action against the employee," Moore said. "It's warranted."

Moore said the operator stayed on the phone with Dukes for 25 minutes waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Dukes fell silent 17 minutes into the call. The remaining eight minutes the operator spends imploring Dukes to respond, Moore said. Johns Creek authorities responded within five minutes once the error was discovered, Moore said. By then, though, it was too late.

Dukes has two sons, ages 15 and 11, but neither was at home at the time. A Web designer for Verizon, she moved to Atlanta from New York City 4 1/2 years ago.

Her father, Levern Dukes Sr., and mother, Ida, were told she died of a pulmonary embolism, but they did not know that 911 was responsible for a delayed response to her call until reporters began calling them Tuesday evening. A press release from Fulton County's Office of Community Relations was sent to news media at 6 p.m. Tuesday describing the incident and noting that an investigation into the incident is under way.

Ida Dukes, her mother, asked, "What happened to my daughter? Something went wrong and I would like to find out. If they had responded timely, would she be alive today?" Darlene Dukes' family -- her parents, two bothers and a sister -- came down from the Bronx on Sunday to learn more about her death, which they found puzzling because she was otherwise healthy. Levern Dukes, her father, said "If she was sick, she never complained." Derrick Dukes, her brother, said, "To say that Darlene could still be here, I would really hate to think that something went wrong."

Darlene Dukes will be buried Saturday in New York. A memorial service for her friends in Atlanta will be announced later, her family said.
Moore said his operator was distraught about the mistake and her long phone call with Dukes.
"She's not taking it well," Moore said. "We are taking action against the employee regardless of how hard it is."

The mistake, Moore said, is one that should not have happened. Operators, he said, are trained to listen to folks in distress but also to focus on where cell calls come from. The operator, he said, should have recognized the discrepancy and asked questions, Moore said.

Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker called the situation "sad." "Anytime you have loss of life it's sad," Bodker said. "You can move that out to the parents, the loved ones, the friends. It's just sad for everyone."

The case also underscores one of many areas of potential conflict for Fulton as new cities spring up and services have to adjust. Two years ago, Fulton was pushing the consolidation of all 911 services among the county and its cities. But they couldn't get enough jurisdictions to agree.
Johns Creek, Bodker said, should vote within the next few months on taking over 911 services for its residents. He hopes a city-run call center could be up by early 2009.

Bodker said he's long believed a consolidated service makes more sense but doesn't have faith in Fulton County to control it.

Villas Open In Johns Creek

by Scott Sowers / Gwinnett Herald

July 31, 2008 09:21 AM JOHNS CREEK – A lot of new housing developments continue to rise around the metro area, but few of those claim to be much more than housing. The new Villas of Johns Creek claim to offer an entire lifestyle to residents as they bring maintenance-free living and offer scores of amenities.This new 70-unit ranch style quadruplex community situated near the intersection of Abbots Bridge Road and Medlock Bridge Road recently celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting event July 20 attended by Johns Creek mayor Mike Bodker and members of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.

"The response has been tremendous," said Tylar Bacome, the builder of the community. "They say there are problems with the housing market, but there have been plenty of people here to look at our models who are seriously interested in purchasing a new home."The difference that Dublin, Ohio-based EPCON Communities brings to the area, Bacome said, is that they offer much higher quality homes and amenities than their competitors. The units come in either 1,861 square-foot three bedroom homes or 1,720 square-foot two bedroom units. Prices start in the $250,000 window and go up based upon size.

"We knew we wanted to build in the North Fulton area because it is such a great area," Bacome said. "We don't just go anywhere – this is our first community in the area with another one south of Atlanta. This location gives us close proximity to all kinds of amenities and activities," he said.

Mayor Bodker agreed that it will be great having this new community in the city."These are fine new homes in a fine new community," Bodker said during a tour of a three-bedroom model.