The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • F8

Photos by JENNI GIRTMAN Staff Getting ready for school with a little last-minute, tax-free shopping, Lisa McCoy gathers supplies at The School Box in Duluth for her first-grade classroom at Riverside Elementary School on Saturday. At the same time, 5-year-old Jahleel Barnett who begins kindergarten this year, helps his mother, Lacyn- thia Barnett, round up materials. Jahleel will attend Grayson Elementary School. Friday and Saturday constituted second of the year. Celebrating a A 40-year-old Commerce man armed with a shotgun was taken into custody after a 3 1 2 hour standoff that closed streets around the state Capitol Saturday afternoon.

Albert Hardy III, who was upset over a recent divorce, threatened to kill himself after driving his late-model sedan near Washington and Mitchell streets about 1 p.m., police said. For most of the standoff, Hardy drove around aimlessly in the small area between police blockades, his shotgun visible. He surrendered about 4:30 p.m. and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for evaluation. During the standoff, police evacuated workers from the area.

A wedding scheduled to be held nearby was delayed. Traffic from the Braves- Cardinals game, including MARTA buses, was diverted around the incident. Jim Shuler, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said Hardy told police negotiators he was upset about the outcome of a divorce proceeding Friday. was getting in and out of his Shuler said. time he got out of the car, he had a rifle to his throat, to his Police found several weapons in the car, he said.

Shuler said Hardy will be charged with impeding traffic and reckless conduct. ATLANTA Man found dead in store parking lot The body of a man was found late Friday night in a car parked in the parking lot of a Kroger grocery store located in the 700 block of Ponce de Leon Avenue, authorities said. A passer-by noticed a strong odor coming from the car and alerted police, said Homicide Sgt. Willie Jackson. Police did not release the identity.

DEKALB COUNTY Woman killed in traffic collision A woman driving a Volkswagen was killed in a head-on collision with another vehicle in the 1000 block of Columbia Drive Saturday morning. The accident was reported to authorities about 7:21 a.m., said DeKalb fire Lt. Eric Jackson. A man who was injured in the accident was taken to DeKalb Medical Center suffering from serious injuries, Jackson said. The names of the victims in the accident were not available.

From staff and wire reports LAW ORDER Standoff ends with arrest at state Capitol RMAIN0804OF8 who has often complained at county board meetings about the change order process. you have to worry about bidding, got a sloppy Change orders are requests from private companies hired by governments to work on projects for more time or money to complete the job. Generally, a company will request a change order because inclement weather caused a delay or an unforeseen problem requires it to do more work that will cost more money. Several contractors who compete for government contracts declined to discuss change order process, saying they hope to maintain good relations with DeKalb administrators. In response to persistent criticism by Walker, DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones sent a memo to all department directors in late May advising them to justify proposed changes.

They must also explain why the county should not consider a competitive bid. has not been enough scrutiny on change orders and extensions and changing that said Jones. On Friday, Stogner warned department directors to make sure all change orders are valid. In recent years, other elected officials across metro Atlanta have struggled with this process. After published reports about questionable contracts, Atlanta City Council members say they want to review all change orders for amounts larger than $500,000.

The city now allows any change of less than 10 percent of the value of the contract to be approved administratively. Some Atlanta council members have complained contracts routinely were pushed through without bidding, designated as emergency, no-bid contracts or change orders, when proper planning would have set aside time for bidding the work. Stogner said DeKalb County uses a purchasing index to help determine whether a price is in line with market rates. For years, the county has had an informal policy of extending contracts through change orders each year for up to three years before rebidding the project. The money spent on change orders tends to be small in comparison with the original contracts, the county says.

DeKalb commissioners said they generally depend on the recommendation of county staff to determine whether a change order should be approved. really are relying on the CEO to give us direction and we follow said Commissioner Jacqueline Scott, the presiding officer. have faith that they are telling us the Some change orders have resulted in a price reduction. Since Jones took office in 2001, six of 14 change orders approved have reduced the cost of a project when companies said they needed less than anticipated. In late May, DeKalb commissioners agreed to extend the contract with Steele Associates to replace water meters at the cost of $547,000.

The original contract, made last year, was for $430,750. County officials said the company has been asked to do more work this year, which is why they are being paid more money. Tom Leslie, a self- employed engineer who has worked on county water and sewer projects, said it is reasonable for a contract to be extended for up to three years, as long as the county is sure that company is doing quality work. a judgment call that needs to be made by wise stewards of the said Leslie, executive director of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia, a consulting group. clearly a time when you need to terminate it and rebid it to show not a closed DeKalb defends bidding process Continued from F1 DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones calls for on contract changes, extensions.

FMAI50804OF8 5 Star 8F 8F RR RR BlueRedYellowBlack BlueRedYellowBlack F8 Sunday, Aug. 4, 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 5.