The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • B3

Filename: B3-METRO-AJCD1224-AJCD DateTime created: Dec 23 2011 Username: SPEEDDRIVER09 Magenta Black 3B AJCD Saturday, Dec 24, 2011 METRO 3B Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution B3 Metro Department touts technical colleges System aims to lure more international students, faculty. Business plan still under development. Ht rGsB8r3ttKKMsifciz-v -FV HWBr nut S'H Georgia State Patrol trooper Gregory Spruiell performs a field sobriety test on a driver after he failed to stop at a stop sign and admitted to having had one beer in Atlanta on Wednesday. The driver passed the test and received averbal warning.

curtisComptonccomptonajc.com Refuse DUI test, face blood warrant gia's technical colleges with additional money to plug financial holes created by cuts in state funding, Chandler said. International students pay four times as much in tuition as Georgia residents. Chattahoochee Technical College enrolled 199 international students last year and their tuition gave the school an additional $780,000, said Chandler, who was the college president at the time. The goal is to encourage more international students to enroll and to sell the system's curriculum and expertise to foreign countries and colleges looking to start their own programs, Chandler said. Both would provide the system with additional money that could be used to purchase new equipment and updates, he said.

Technical colleges aren't like the trade schools that existed a generation ago. Georgia's system offers more than 600 certificate and degree programs in business, health care, computer information systems and other high demand careers. The department is still developing a business plan, but Commissioner Ron Jackson said the ultimate goal is for the system to be a "global leader in technical education." Jackson said a global focus strengthens the system's mission to create a competitive workforce in Georgia. The international center will provide job opportunities for students, graduates and faculty and work with other state agencies that provide job training and business recruitment projects. American colleges already have close relationships with institutions in China, India and South Korea.

Chandler said the system is also looking at developing industries and economies in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Chandler speaks a bit of Arabic, Chinese and Spanish and wants to learn Korean as he continues to build connections with educators and government leaders overseas. "There are so many opportunities," Chandler said. "We are asking ourselves what part of this big animal can we By Laura Diamond ldiamondajc.com During a typical week, San-ford Chandler meets with leaders from Russia, Saudi Arabia or India to promote Georgia's expertise in higher education. Chandler isn't talking up the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech or any of the other colleges in the University System of Georgia.

Instead he's championing the state's technical colleges. Since October, Chandler has led the new International Center for Technical Education. The department is raising awareness about the Technical College System of Georgia so that the system could provide curriculum, faculty training and other consulting services to countries seeking to develop and improve their own technical workforce. In his role as assistant commissioner for global initiatives, Chandler will also help the system's 25 colleges enhance and expand student and faculty exchange programs. "We are hoping people will understand that we are a player on the international market," Chandler said.

"Many emerging countries lack people with mid-level technical skills. We can provide that training and help them build a middle class in their countries." The system already works with Kenya to develop nursing programs, sharing the curriculum and training practices developed by Georgia colleges. Chandler was recently in Riyadh meeting with leaders from Egypt's Alexandria University who are working in Saudi Arabia and need technicians and trainers in the area of ammonia refrigeration. Lanier Technical College teaches this program and leaders are looking at how the school can set up training units for the Persian Gulf region. These partnerships and exchanges can provide Geor APD considers practice for drivers who decline breath analysis.

Officials: Such evidence strengthens cases. By Rhonda Cook rcookajc.com Suspected drunk drivers stopped by the State Patrol's DUI task force or Douglas County sheriff's deputies may be forced to give up their blood if they decline a breath test. "If we have someone refuse, and if we have enough probable cause, we contact a State Court judge and request a search warrant for that person's blood," Douglas Chief Deputy Stan Co-peland said. So far, those are only two agencies in metro Atlanta that routinely seek search warrants to draw blood if a suspect refuses the breath test, but Atlanta Police Department Maj. Lane Hagin said APD may soon take up the practice.

Officials say more suspects are refusing tests, and the blood test warrants give officers another option. "DUI is a dangerous thing. And our levels of refusals were increasing, and with a refusal it's hard to convict them," said Sgt. Jeff Puckett, who runs the State Patrol's DUI Nigh-hawks. The unit a few months ago started using the tactic in Fulton County, where a magistrate is available 247 to handle warrant requests.

Copeland said blood evidence strengthens DUI cases significantly. In the next week, an estimated 3.2 million motorists will be on Georgia roads, according to AAA. With more people on the streets and highways, going to holiday parties and family gatherings, the chances of encountering an impaired driver increases, said Harris Blackwood, director of the Governor's Office for Highway Safety. On New Year's Eve, for example, the later it gets the likelier it becomes that someone behind the wheel has had a drink. At midnight it's close to 60 percent, Blackwood said.

Many DUI defense attorneys tell clients and prospective clients to decline field sobriety tests and breathe tests if they have been drinking because that would give prosecutors more evidence. Some say tests are unreliable, either because of faulty equipment or poor application. Under Georgia law, a suspect can decline a field sobriety test and a blood, breath or urine test for alcohol. But most likely the suspect will be arrested based on other evidence -smell of alcohol, fumbles taking out a license, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech. Refusing tests could lead to the driver's license being taken for up to a year.

Blood tests are typically taken at jail. The sample is sent to the State Crime Lab for analysis with the expectation that the findings will be used as evidence, in addition to the officer's testimony and video. Cory Yager, whose law firm specializes in DUI defense, said if a driver has not been drinking and is "in good health, maybe you should do them breathalyzer tests because that's going to prevent them from going to jail. "The rub in the state of Georgia is the way the law is written it almost invites people to play Russian roulette," Yager said. "You know you're OK if you drank one alcoholic beverage but what if you drank two? For a person who isn't sure, the best thing to do is decline all of their tests." DUI fatalities and arrests in Georgia have trended down in recent years.

There have been more than 7,200 alcohol-related crashes and 130 fatalities in the state so far this year, according to Department of Transportation data. In 2010, more than 8,100 alcohol-related accidents left 187 people dead. So far this year, troopers have made 11,375 DUI arrests statewide while last year there were 14,944. In one case where blood test warrants were used, State Trooper M.T. Land pulled over a gray Hyundai Elantra that wasn't staying in its lane on Roswell Road at 12:30 a.m.

The 26-year-old driver mumbled and slurred as he told Land he'd only had three beers and wasn't drunk. But he had urinated on himself and did poorly on the field sobriety test before refusing to take a "preliminary breath test," according to Land's report. Land said he still had enough to arrest him on a DUI charge, which could mean 12 months in jail, a $1,000 fine, community service and mandatory alcohol treatment if convicted. And once at the Fulton County Jail, Land got a search warrant for his blood which revealed a blood alcohol content of .325. That finding would buttress his testimony and the video recording.

"It's hard to convey in court testimony everything we see, hear and smell," Land said. "You see their droopy eyelids and bloodshot eyes, the inability to be cognizant of their surroundings. They drunk drivers can't tell you where they live or where they just came from." The blood test results provide "real evidence," Copeland said. "Blood evidence is better than a Breathalyzer." Storms spawn two tornadoes in state By David Ibata dibataajc.com The National Weather Service confirmed Friday that at least two of the storms that pum-meled North Georgia the day before contained tornadoes. A twister touched down at 4: 55 p.m.

Thursday west of Rome in Floyd County, according to Mike Leary, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City. The tornado was about 200 yards wide and was on the ground for about eight miles, causing minor injuries to three people and damaging about 20 homes, Leary said. Meanwhile, to the south of metro Atlanta, a short-lived tornado touched down at 6:44 p.m. Thursday near Polk Road between Grantville and Moreland in Coweta County, Leary said. The tornado, on the ground for just more than a mile, snapped dozens of trees as it moved toward Dingier Road.

At least seven people, most of them in the Rome area, suffered minor injuries in the storms. In Floyd County, a storage building at Shorter University and a shopping center on Shorter Avenue were heavily damaged. In Gordon County, a Calhoun family's home was blown off its foundation while the family huddled in a bathroom. Davison and Ashley Sheriff escaped serious injury as their home was destroyed around them by what Davison Sheriff said appeared to be a tornado. I love how the sheep keep voting down the truth about the Republicans.

Well guess what? Your taxes are going up. They will never vote for a tax increase on the rich, butyou on the other hand Listen, I get traffic to the righf'on the highway, but on city streets, it doesn't apply. If we really want to end the issue with ObamaCare, let the people vote on it. We have compromised this country into bankruptcy. Why isn't Bruce Jenner getting upset when his two beautiful daughters are called Kardashians? They are not Kardashians.

They are Jenners! Why do I feel so dumb when using my new (and first) smartphone? In Richmond, police say crowds waiting to buy the Retro Concords at the Hilltop Mall were turned away after a gunshot rang out around 7 a.m. Police also reported problems with crowds at malls in the San Antonio and in Spokane, Wash. The frenzy over Air Jordans has been dangerous in the past. Some people were mugged or even killed for early versions of the shoe, created by Nike Inc. in 1985.

The Air Jordan has been a consistent hit since then with sneaker fans. A new edition was launched each year, and release dates had to be moved to the weekends at some points to keep kids from skipping school to get a pair. No one anticipated the hysteria around the original Air Jordan, which spawned a subculture of collectors willing to wait hours to buy the latest pair. But the uproar over the shoe had died down in recent years. These latest incidents instead seem to be part of trend of increasing acts of violence at retailers this holiday shopping season.

A representative for Nike, based in Beaverton, was not immediately available to comment. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Arrests, fights over shoes. Sneakers continued from Bl DeKalb County police told Channel 2 Action News one person was arrested and three others who were detained may face charges after questioning. DeKalb police arrested a woman who left two children, ages 2 and 5, in a car while she went inside to buy the shoes, which retail for about $180 a pair.

The crowd-control problems weren't confined to Atlanta-area malls. In suburban Seattle, police used pepper spray on about 20 customers who started fighting at the Westfield Southcenter mall early Friday. Tukwila Officer Mike Murphy said people started gathering around midnight at four stores in the mall for a chance to buy the shoes. The crowd grew to more than 1,000 people by 4 a.m., when the stores opened. "Around 3 a.m.

there started to be some fighting and push- The Vent Need to Vent? Go to ajc.comvent The new holiday lottery: Choose something expensive that you really want, put it on layaway.and hope that some Secret Santa will pay itoffforyou. Fulton County School Board did the right thing. SACS reviews schools every five years. Why should Fulton Science Academy be approved for 10 years? Putin your application for three years, continue to be great and get another three. Seen the price of Christmas cards this year? I'm surprised they don't have armed guards at either end of the aisle! Why don't the police start writing tickets for all of the drivers living in Georgia with out of state license plates? What is the percentage of those with out of state tags living here versus passing through? The release of Nike's retro Air Jor-dans caused a frenzy and some fighting at stores across the nation Friday.

MarcioJose Sanchez AP ing among the customers," Murphy said. "Around 4, it started to get pretty unruly and officers sprayed pepper spray on a few people who were fighting, and that seemed to do the trick to break them up." He said no injuries were reported, although some people suffered cuts or scrapes from fights. One man was arrested for assault after authorities say he pushed an officer. "He did not get his shoes; he went to jail," Murphy said. Elsewhere Friday, police say about 100 people forced their way into a shopping center in Taylor, around 5: 30 a.m., damaging decorations and overturning benches.

A 21-year-old man was arrested. Black 3B AJCD File name: B3-METR0-AJCD1224-AJCD DateTime created: Dec 23 2011 Username: SPEEDDRI VER09 Magenta.