MONDAY OCTOBER 24 2016

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RED RIBBON WEEK: ONE MANS STORY

Spencer Luquire swings
from the limbs of the tree
in the median of the 1000
block of Broadway like a
young Tarzan during the
Out on a Limb Tree Climb.
PHOTOS BY DARRELL ROADEN Special to the Ledger-Enquirer
The vicious
cycle of drug
sentencing,
incarceration
Eugene Thomas is now
an ex-felon in the
community building a
new life. But his story
highlights a serious
problem in our society
pertaining to the U.S.
criminal justice system.

Katara Davis climbs up a tree in the median of the 1000 block of Broadway during the
Out on a Limb Tree Climb hosted by Trees Columbus. BY ALVA JAMES-JOHNSON
GALLERY ajjohnson@ledger-enquirer.com
To see if you were spotted Special to the Ledger-Enquirer.

SPOTTED CLIMBING TREES IN at the tree climb, go to

DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS SATURDAY
Abe Winters works with Martha Wade, giving her
instruction and encouragement during her climb up the
tree in the median of the 1000 block of Broadway.
Josie Paull works her way
up the ropes as she climbs
further up the tree in the
median of the 1000 block
of Broadway.
ledger-enquirer.com.
On Sunday, we em-
barked on a journey with
Eugene Thomas for Red
Ribbon Week.
He started as a youth
right here in Columbus
with aspirations to play
sports. Yet by seventh
grade, he was a middle
school dropout hustling on
the streets of Columbus.
He eventually became a
crack dealer, which led to
21 years in prison for vol-
untary manslaughter. On
Tuesday, well take a
closer look at how gangs
developed in Columbus
from Thomas perspective
as a former gang member.
Thomas is now back in
the community building a
Climbers make their way up the tree in the median of the new life as an ex-felon.
1000 block of Broadway during the Out on a Limb Tree But his story highlights a
Climb. serious problem in our
society pertaining to a
criminal justice system
that has too many black
men locked behind bars.
Statistics from the U.S.
Bureau of Justice show
that while people of color
make up about 30 percent
of the United States pop-
ulation, they account for
60 percent of those im-
prisoned, and that one in
every 15 African-American
men and one in every 36
Hispanic men are incar-
cerated in comparison to
one in every 106 white
men.
Amnesty International
has expressed ongoing
concern about the high
U.S. incarceration rate,
The tree in the median of the 1000 block of Broadway is full of climbers during the predicting that one in
Out on a Limb Tree Climb. three black men in the
Eugene Thomas as a young
man at Macon State Prison.
United States will go to
prison or jail if current
trends continue. More
than 2 million people are
already behind bars na-
tionwide, and about 5
million people are under
state or federal super-
vision in the form of pro-
bation or parole.
Some people argue that
the current crisis is indica-
tive of a breakdown of the
black family, and that the
high incarceration rate
reflects the need for more
fathers in the home. I
believe thats a big part of
the problem, but there are
also other factors to con-
sider.
Many scholars point to
mandatory minimum drug
sentencing laws that
evolved in the 1980s as
part of the war on
drugs. Michelle Alexan-
der makes that argument
in her New York Times
bestseller, The New Jim
Crow, in which she de-
scribes how the loss of
manufacturing jobs and
other employment oppor-
tunities disappeared from
inner cities in the 1980s.
At the same time, the
crack epidemic hit, and
the United States respond-
ed by focusing on incar-
ceration instead of treat-
ment and prevention.
In September of 1986,
SEE DRUGS, 5A

P RO U D PA RT N E R I N V E S TI N G I N O U R C O M M U N I T Y

Hearings planned in
Augusta, Atlanta on
petroleum pipelines
Associated Press
ATLANTA
A committee evaluating
petroleum pipelines in
Georgia is planning public
hearings in Augusta and
Atlanta.
The hearings will in-
clude testimony and com-
ments from the public,
The Augusta Chronicle
reported.
Feedback from the
hearings will then be con-
sidered as the Joint State
Commission on Petroleum
Pipelines recommends
changes to Georgias pro-
cess of evaluating pet-
roleum pipelines, officials
said.
A hearing in Augusta is
set for 10 a.m. Nov. 3 at
the Columbia County
government building.
Another hearing is
planned for Nov. 17 in
Atlanta.
Gov. Nathan Deal ap-
pointed the 13-member
committee to include
three state representa-
tives, three state senators,
the director of the Envi-
ronmental Protection
Division of the Depart-
ment of Natural Re-
sources, the commissioner
of community affairs, one
member representing the
petroleum industry and
four members represent-
ing a cross-section of the
interests of local govern-
ment, business, agricul-
ture and conservation.
The bill which prompted
creation of the committee
Audrey Tillman Executive VP, General Counsel
imposed a moratorium on
construction of petroleum
pipelines through July
2017, the nonprofit Savan- WHAT PERSON OR PROJECT HAS
nah Riverkeeper organiza- Audrey began work at
tion said in a news release. Aflac as a staff lawyer on a INFLUENCED YOU THE MOST?
six-month assignment that
That legislation supported has now lasted 20 years.
by Savannah Riverkeeper ! Working to establish the into this community. With the
helped defeat Kinder Young Professionals organization Chambers help, especially
Morgans proposed $1 has been a huge point of pride. Jimmy Yancey, they partnered
billion Palmetto Pipeline. When I was in HR, we brought with our team and we gave birth
Kinder Morgans pipe- a need to the Chamber, namely to what is now a major force
line plan upset many how can we work together to in the Columbus community.
Georgia property owners cement young professionals
along the 360-mile path
from Belton, S.C., to Jack-
sonville, Fla. It was forced
to negotiate a price with
each one when Georgias
transportation commis-
sioner rejected the compa- ogether 2016 is a campaign that brings community
nys request for power to
seize rights of way in
T par tners together to promote our best assets
and create new projects that help build a better
court, with a judge decid-
ing the compensation, a Columbus. Visit buildingabettercolumbus.com
process known as eminent
domain, the Augusta
newspaper reported.