Georgia News Roundup

DeKalb may move Confederate monument

ATLANTA (TNS) — The DeKalb County Commission voted Tuesday to attempt to move a 109-year-old monument honoring the Confederacy.

If successful, the county could be one of the first communities in Georgia to expel a Confederate monument.

The resolution, approved on an 6-1 vote, orders the county’s attorneys to find a legal way to remove or relocate the 30-foot obelisk located outside the former county courthouse in Decatur.

State law prohibits such monuments from being “relocated, removed, concealed, obscured, or altered in any fashion,” but governments are allowed to take action to preserve or protect monuments. The resolution notes that the monument has been recently vandalized twice.

The county government will try to determine if it actually owns the monument, then explore how it can be moved.

The monument glorifies the Confederacy and says its soldiers “were of a covenant keeping race,” according to the resolution.

Several residents from the group Hate Free Decatur praised the board’s vote, saying the monument symbolizes oppression of black Americans and has no place in the middle of town. They want it moved to a museum or cemetery.

One resident, retired high school history teacher Chris Billingsley, opposed the resolution because he said the monument honors soldiers’ sacrifices during the Civil War.

DeKalb Commissioner Nancy Jester cast the only vote against the resolution.

Georgia girl may get to meet president

COLUMBUS (TNS) — A Georgia family’s spring break trip to Washington, D.C., next year now has an exciting and exclusive stop planned thanks to their 7-year-old daughter.

The Koger family from Dalton already planned a trip to the nation’s capitol for next April. When their daughter Mackenzie said she wanted to tour the White House, her mother Laura suggested writing a letter to their congressman to set one up, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

Mackenzie took it a step further.

Addressing her letter to President Donald Trump in August, Mackenzie said she appreciated the president and hoped to meet him when her family is in town.

“I know you area very busy man but if I could meet you or at least see your office it would make my day!!!!!” Mackenzie wrote in the letter obtained by the Dalton Daily Citizen. “I would love to shake your hand! … I can’t wait to see you and we can help make America Great Again!”

White House officials eventually saw the letter and asked Laura on Oct. 18 if press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders could read it during Oct. 19’s press briefing.

Laura said yes and planned to pull her daughter out of school so they could watch Huckabee Sanders read it to the press, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

“You could just see it,” Laura Koger told the newspaper. “Mouth dropped, she stood still and watched it. She said, ‘Momma, we get to go!’ I said, ‘We get to go!’ I think me and her both were equally excited. I just love it.”

The family will have a personal tour of the White House with Huckabee Sanders, lunch at the Navy Mess and have a chance to meet Trump if he’s in town at the time. Mackenzie wrote she would like to bring Trump food, possibly cheesecake, since it “brings people together.”

Bill would prevent local rental bans

COLUMBUS (TNS) — Georgia State Rep. Matt Dollar wants legislation that would prohibit local government bans on Airbnb and other short-term rental services in the state.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dollar, of Marietta, wants to make sure the prosperous businesses are not regulated out of business in Georgia.

Dollar says legislators need to define a statewide framework for how the businesses should operate, according to the AJC.

Earlier this year, he introduced legislation to do so.

That legislation was also sponsored by John Pezold of Fortson, who represents District 133.

The first reader summary of House Bill 579 says it is a bill to be entitled an act to amend Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government, so as to provide that local governments cannot ban or regulate short-term and vacation rentals.

Airbnb is an online lodging service similar to the online ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft. It terms itself a “hospitality service,” that enables people to lease or rent short-term lodging that ranges from vacation rentals to hotel rooms. Airbnb does not own any of the places it rents, just as Uber does not own any of the cars. It is a broker and receives commissions from both guests and hosts in conjunction with every booking.

Airbnb touts more than 3 million lodging listings in 65,000 cities across the world.

Delta Airlines in hiring mode

ATLANTA (TNS) — Delta Air Lines is in the midst of hiring more than 1,000 flight attendants, according to multiple Atlanta media reports.

According to Delta’s job listings, applicants should be at least 21 years old by Jan. 1, have a high school degree or GED and be willing to work flexible hours. New hires will have to complete eight weeks of training in Atlanta, during which time hires will receive a training wage, some meals and lodging for out-of-towners.

Interested applicants can watch Delta’s new online mini-series “Earning our Wings” to see what training is all about, according to a news release from Delta. The series will be 10 episodes showcasing five new hires as they go through training in Atlanta.

Delta received more than 150,000 applications last year for about 1,200 flight attendant jobs, according to the release. The company chose less than 1 percent of the 35,000 video interviews it reviewed and 6,000 in-person interviews. Needless to say, the competition is stiff.

Applicants who have held a role ensuring the safety or care of others, such as a teacher, nurse, lifeguard or coach, will have an edge over the competition, according to the job listing.