Work crews are tearing down the former Chuck E. Cheese location at 4340 Roswell Road. This is the view looking west, with the intersection of Roswell Road and Johnson Ferry in the background.
The building has been vacant since the restaurant closed in 2014. In December, the 1.7-acre parcel of land was rezoned for a Discount Tire location.
The property is located near other light automotive businesses on East Cobb Drive and between a Citgo station and the Pine Straw Village Shopping Center on Roswell Road. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)
The 22nd anniversary of the East Cobb Senior Center was celebrated by a couple hundred patrons on Friday with a “Gone With the Wind Theme,” but it didn’t end there.
Lunch was dubbed “Barbecue at 12 Oaks” after the name of theO’Hara plantation at Tara in the book and film. Attendees were summoned to the buffet when their table names were called out, in honor of “GWTW” characters Ashley Wilkes, Mellie Hamilton and Scarlett O’Hara.
Among the honored guests were Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce and Commissioner JoAnn Birrell. Cobb Senior Services Staff, dressing every bit the part, were the hostesses for the festivities.
Square dance and line dance music suddenly turned modern, with “The Twist,” “Woolly Bully,” and “Blue Suede Shoes” providing an energetic mid-day exercise that continued into early afternoon.
A little slow dancing was mixed in with a dash of easy-going hip-hop . . .
. . . followed by a return to some oldies that kept quite a few couples, and a number of good friends, on the dance floor during a festive afternoon. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)
The Cobb County School District this week announced the implementation of a new emergency alert system, and East Cobb’s Bells Ferry Elementary School is one of the schools serving as a testing ground for the service.
Cobb Board of Education members and the public were briefed about the new system at a work session on Wednesday. The other school that is a “proof of concept” location during the current school year is Kennesaw Mountain High School.
The new emergency system, known as AlertPoint, allows each employee within a school—including administrators, teachers and other staffers—to activate a device should an emergency occur. This includes fires, active shooters and other intruders, physical altercations and medical emergencies.
When an AlertPoint device is activated, alert information is relayed via computer and mobile devices to school-level administrators and security personnel, as well as at the school district office, within seconds.
The location and identity of the person sending the alert also is transmitted. When a “Code Red” alert is triggered, flashing lights, beeping sounds and voice messages ring out, and the intercom system indicates a lockdown situation is underway.
The AlertPoint system is patterned after existing school fire emergency procedures.
Cobb is the first school district in Georgia to use the AlertPoint system, according to Superintendent Chris Ragsdale.
“Columbine [the deadly 1999 Colorado high school shootings] changed how we do school security,” he said.
Phil Bradford, a Cobb school police officer, said the biggest security concerns remain at high schools, since elementary and middle schools have more controlled access.
“This is a capability we’ve never had before, particularly in the high schools,” he said. “If one of the staff members sees something that is that threatening, within in a matter of seconds, the entire building can know what to do.”
Ragsdale said the school district is “starting with the rollout” of AlertPoint in other schools, but for security reasons he would not identify them.
East Cobb high school football head coaches, from L-R: Tab Griffin (Pope); Brett Sloan (Kell); Daniel Brunner (Walton); Brett Vavra (Sprayberry); Mike Collins (Wheeler); and Jep Irwin (Lassiter). East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker.
The banquet room at the Indian Hills Country Club was filled Thursday morning with local business leaders, hungry high school football players and their coaches at the annual East Cobb Pigskin Preview breakfast.
The six high school head coaches briefed attendees about the season ahead and answered audience questions at the event sponsored by the East Cobb Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
Four of the six coaches are new to the job. Only Jep Irwin of Lassiter, and Mike Collins of Wheeler, both in their eighth seasons, return to the sidelines at the same school.
Two of the newcomers are returning to their alma maters: Brett Vavra of Sprayberry, and Tab Griffin of Pope. The other first-year coaches are no strangers to the East Cobb prep football scene. Brett Sloan of Kell was an assistant at Walton the last two years. Daniel Brunner, also a Raiders assistant, was named head coach when Mo Dixon resigned to take a job at south Georgia powerhouse Colquitt County.
Pope graduate Tab Griffin returns as head coach of the Greyhounds.
Griffin, who had been an assistant coach at Mount Paran Christian School, said returning to Pope is “kind of a homecoming for me. It’s been my dream ever since Pope opened to come back and be the head football coach.”
Vavra, who was an assistant at Etowah, echoed similar thoughts. “I’m super excited to be back home,” he said, noting “the great sense of pride in the community” that welcomed him back to Sprayberry.
Sprayberry head coach Brett Vavra.
The energetic Brunner said bringing the entire Walton football community together is an important objective for him, and last weekend the first “Raider Day” event took place (see East Cobb News coverage here).
Kell also went looking for a new coach when Derek Cook resigned in the spring after nine years on the job. The Longhorns tapped Sloan, who had come to Walton with Dixon from South Carolina, and who had helped guide the Raiders into the post-season.
Pope football players
Sloan, who’s also anxious due to the upcoming birth of his first child, said Kell’s goal is simple: to reach the state finals. The Longhorns were eliminated in the semifinals, so there’s no need, Sloan said, “to replace what they’ve done at Kell, but to build on it.”
Wheeler is hopeful for a playoff berth after going 5-6 and reaching the region playoffs. The Wildcats’ main objective is to be more consistent; in 2016 they weren’t able to put together a winning streak. “It had a lot to do with the teams we were playing the following week,” Collins said.
Lassiter also reached the post-season with a 6-5 finish, and the Trojans boast one of the best high school players in the nation in defensive back Derrik Allen. He has been chosen to play in the Army All-American all-star game in January and will play college football at Notre Dame.
Some East Cobb teams are holding scrimmages this week and next. Walton and Kell will be playing next Saturday at the Corky Kell Classic in downtown Atlanta. The first full slate of games is Friday, Aug. 25.
The East Cobb Business Association and the East Cobb Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce are organizing an appreciation dinner next month for Precinct 4 Cobb Police personnel.
Susan Hampton, one of the event co-chairs, said the first organizing committee meeting was Wednesday, and the groups are seeking sponsors and donors at all levels
The event first began in 2013 as a way of showing thanks to officers serving the East Cobb area, and the effort also includes a similar celebration for all of Cobb Fire Department personnel in March.
In addition to a dinner, public safety personnel being honored will receive gift cards, raffle prizes and other donated gifts of appreciation.
The presenting sponsor is the WellStar East Cobb Health Park.
Hampton said the sponsorship levels are as follows for both events:
Platinum ($1,000): Signage at police and fire events; 2 representatives at each banquet; official recognition at both events, and at ECBA and East Cobb Council events;
Gold ($500): signage at the police event; 2 representatives at the police event or the firefighters event; signage recognition;
Silver ($250): Signage recognition at both events.
As for the donor levels, Hampton said one of the most popular forms of giving for businesses, organizations and individuals alike is a $25 “Thank A Hero” contribution that includes a card at the events with the giver’s identification.
The $25 total, Hampton said, is ideal for those wishing to offer gift cards.
Checks are payable to “Public Safety Celebration” and are tax-deductible. They may be mailed to:
East Cobb Business Association
Attention: Public Safety Celebration
P.O. Box 70814
Marietta, GA 30007
Here’s more from Hampton and Kim Paris, another longtime East Cobb community activist, who’s the other co-chair:
“We continue to work together to plan these appreciation events, and to raise the funds necessary to insure their success. We are reaching out to individuals, businesses, civic and other nonprofit organizations, schools, neighborhoods and churches, and hope you will join us in support of our community’s public safety heroes!”
Contact: Susan Hampton: susan.hampton@lionbank.com; Kim Paris: kim.paris@wellstar.org.
The goal is to raise $23,000 by Sept. 1, ideally with each student’s family donating a minimum of $25, in order to fund the first three gardens this fall. Here’s the message that’s being spread across the community:
“Help US GROW THE Walton Gardens! The Sculpture Garden will be the first of the six gardens that will be installed to enhance the learning environment at the new Walton High School. This unique Workshop provides all students and teachers, across all subject areas, access to a permanent, hands-on outdoor learning space, featuring sculptures, crafted from recycled metal, incorporating pulleys, lenses, pendulums, ramps, levers, an auger base for testing student-built Goldberg machines, gyroscopes and a waist-height sculpture of a fractal “tree”, all built on a concrete layout of the golden rectangle. These interactive sculptures provide the basis for our teachers’ design, development and delivery of innovative lessons and experiments, facilitating student explorations of mathematical principles, as they relate to the fields of art, architecture, biology, physics, engineering and mathematics. Lessons formerly taught on paper are transformed through use of this space into dynamic, tangible student experiences, with the potential for fostering creativity and inspiring a deeper, more profound appreciation of relationships between subject areas and students’ daily lives.”
Here’s an online form the foundation has set up to donate or to help volunteer.
High school sports in East Cobb got underway on Monday, with three softball teams taking the field at home, and all three were winners.
The Pope Greyhounds, which reached the Georgia Class 7A Final Four last season, downed Sequoyah 7-6 in walkoff fashion, as Lea McFadden got the game-winning RBI.
Pope’s Hannah Rogers.
The winning pitcher was Hannah Rogers, an all-region pick in 2016, and Leah Higgs went 2-for-2 at the plate with a homer and two RBI.
The Greyhounds remain at home on Wednesday for their first region game, against Alpharetta, that starts at 5:30 p.m.
Sprayberry defeated North Cobb 8-5 and the top individual performers were:
Payton Wade: 2-3 with a walk, 2 stolen bases, and 2 runs scored;
Cate Willhoff: 1-2 with a stolen base and an RBI
Denisa Wilson: 1-1 with a walk and an RBI
Nicole DeCuircio: 2-5 with a double and an RBI.
The Yellow Jackets were scheduled to play at Sequoyah tonight but the game has been been delayed to Wednesday due to rain.
Walton won easily over Campbell Monday by an 11-2 score, and the Raiders jump right into region play with a big rivalry game on Wednesday at Wheeler starting at 5:30 p.m.
Lassiter opens its season on Wednesday at home against Mill Creek in a game that starts at 5:30 p.m., while the Kell Longhorns open their season on Thursday, also at home, against Cass. First pitch is 6 p.m.
A couple of weeks after failing a health inspection, a longtime East Cobb restaurant and bar got a perfect score in a follow-up visit from Cobb and Douglas Public Health.
The Wing Cafe and Tap House (2145 Roswell Road, in the East Lake shopping center) got a 100 score during an inspection last Friday. Management posted the new report in a front window (above) and on the establishment’s Facebook page, with the following message:
“Please accept our apologies for anything that may have wavered your trust in us! We look forward to seeing you all back here soon! Thank you to all of our patrons who stuck with us during this trying time! We appreciate all of our loyal customers!”
On July 21, an inspection at The Wing Cafe resulted a score of 62 with six violations, including employees failing to wash hands, improper temperatures for food storage and a moldy ice machine.
Formerly known as the Wild Wing Cafe, The Wing Cafe marked its 22nd anniversary earlier this summer.
The congested Bells Ferry Road intersection at Piedmont Road and Barrett Parkway is scheduled for a proposed improvement project that would include left- and right-hand turn lanes.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will consider at $2 million funding request to make the changes, which include the following additions:
northbound and southbound dual left turn lanes on Bells Ferry Road;
a northbound right turn lane on Bells Ferry Road;
a westbound right turn lane on Piedmont Road.
The project was approved in the 2005 Cobb SPLOST transportation list, and the low bidder is Acworth-based Glosson Enterprises. The timetable for completion is projected to be a year.
Another East Cobb-related road project on Tuesday’s agenda (here’s the full book) includes approving a $63,700 contract for Excellere Construction to build a sidewalk on the east side of Providence Road, between Providence Corner Drive and Pine Road.
The commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the 2nd floor meeting room of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.
Walton football players from all grade levels and the larger school community turned out at Raider Valley Sunday afternoon for the annual Raider Day celebration.
Games, concessions, music, a dunking booth, paint-facing, T-shirt projectile scrums (courtesy of the Walton Robotics team) and lots of footballs in the air abounded, as Walton football boosters created an atmosphere of anticipation for the season ahead.
The Raiders varsity team will hold a scrimmage on Friday against Archer, with the season opener less than two weeks away, against North Gwinnett on Aug. 19 in the Corky Kell Classic.
Walton’s home opener at Raider Valley is Aug. 25 vs. Brookwood.
A contentious process over setting the county property tax millage rate has just ended for the Cobb Board of Commissioners, and a new budget process is about to begin.
The commissioners will hold public hearings as they begin work on the fiscal year 2018 budget, which takes effect Oct. 1.
Cobb Commission chairman Mike Boyce will soon deliver his first budget proposal. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
The budget will be formally presented during a special called work session at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, and public hearings will take place during regular commission meetings at 7 p.m. on Aug. 22 and at 9 a.m. on Sept. 12, the date the budget is expected to be adopted.
All hearings and meetings will take place in the 2nd floor board meeting room in the Cobb BOC building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.
The budget proposal will be made available online, in the Cobb finance office, also located at 100 Cherokee St., and at the Cobb Superior Courthouse, 70 Haynes St., also in downtown Marietta.
Last month, the commission voted not to raise the 2017 millage rate, as Chairman Mike Boyce had proposed, after plenty of opposition from residents (see previous East Cobb News coverage here and here.)
The last-minute decision to keep the millage rate the same was engineered by East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott, who is holding his next town hall meeting on Aug. 17 at East Cobb Library.
From left: Dr. Brittany Broomfield, Great Expressions East Cobb office; Ursula Ray, operations manager; and Ariel Quinn, practice administrator. (Submitted photo)
Press release:
Dr. Kevin Dancy, clinical partner, Great Expressions Dental Centers, with offices in East Cobb at 3823 Roswell Road, provides these simple, preventative measures to help keep children healthy and happy this school year:
Dental education. No matter the age of your child, dental hygiene education is always applicable! Teach your child the importance of a routine and why brushing at least twice a day can help prevent issues like cavities down the road.
Gear up for sports. Back to school can also mean back to sports, but an injury can take your student athlete out of the game. With the proper protection, like mouth guards, a number of injuries can be prevented. Mouth guards are important in preventing scrapes and cuts to the mouth, gums and cheeks, chipped or fractured teeth and more serious injuries, like fractured jaws and concussions. It’s especially important to have a mouth guard if your child has braces. Be sure to get your student athlete a well-fitted mouth guard (a custom dentist-fitted guard is the best option) before schedules get too busy.
Add a toothbrush to your school supply list. Folders, check. Notebooks, check. Pencils, check. Add a new toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss to the school supplies list and pack it in your child’s backpack. It’s always handy to have a toothbrush for after-lunch, food-in-teeth emergencies.
Encourage healthy snacking. Sugary and starchy foods slowly destroy teeth’s enamel. Every time those foods are consumed an acid bath starts, which lasts 15 minutes. Give your mouth a break and opt for healthy snacks instead of junk food. Stock up on pre-cut fruits, vegetables, and cheese to pack in your child’s lunch box.
Drink water. Water is your friend against tooth decay; it plays an important role in removing bacteria from the mouth after meals and snacks. A simple trip to the water fountain after lunch can wash out much of the debris and food residue that bacteria feed off of to form cavities. Also, be sure to stay away from sugary sports drinks and soda!
Regular visits with your dentist. Be sure to stay on top of scheduling your child’s six-month exams. The dentist is the first line of defense in identifying dental health problems and families can enjoy healthy smiles that will last a lifetime. Also, consider scheduling an appointment with an orthodontist if your child has not seen one and they are over the age of seven. If there are overcrowding or bite issues developing, an orthodontist can talk to you about a treatment plan.
Runners take off at the start of the Lutzie 43 Road Race Saturday morning at Lassiter High School. (East Cobb News photos and slideshow by Wendy Parker)
The East Cobb chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Lutzie 43 Foundation were the beneficiaries of the 3rd annual Lutzie 43 Road Race Saturday morning.
The race is named in the memory of Philip Lutzenkirchen, the former Lassiter and Auburn football star killed at the age of 23 in a 2014 car accident. His family started the foundation to help educate young people with a focus on developing leadership, community service and character-building skills.
The race began and ended at Lutzie Field, which Lassiter renamed in Lutzenkirchen’s honor in 2015.
The overall female champion was Danielle Delgado, who’s only 11 years old.Overall men’s winner Brian Duhe with Ann, Amy and Abby Lutzenkirchen, the sisters of Philip Lutzenkirchen.Mike Lutzenkirchen, executive director of the Lutzie 43 Foundation, and Mary Lutzenkirchen, Philip’s parents, cheer those receiving medals after the run, which was sponsored by Cobb County Kia. View the winners below, followed by more photos.
Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell, Sandy Plains Baseball players and present and former Atlanta Braves cut the ribbon at Field 2 at Harrison Park Saturday. (East Cobb News photos and slideshow by Wendy Parker)
Several dozen uniformed players from the Sandy Plains Baseball Association gathered on Field 2 at Harrison Park Saturday morning to celebrate a renovated field, courtesy of the Atlanta Braves Foundation, and in the name of former Braves great Chipper Jones.
Jones wasn’t in attendance, but several current and former Braves were, including Sid Bream, Brian Hunter, Marvin Freeman, Sean Newcomb and Luke Jackson, as well as Braves executive Mike Plant.
The “Chipper Jones Field” was the second the Braves foundation has paid to renovate in East Cobb (there’s also one at Fullers Park), and that’s one of the 10 the organization will refurbish in a 10-year period throughout metro Atlanta.
Sandy Plains Baseball players do the Tomahawk chop.
Sid Bream, playoff hero for the Braves in 1992, signs autographs for the Sandy Plains players.
This weekend’s events in East Cobb are heavy on sports and recreation, including a cluster of events Saturday morning in the Mountain View area:
The East Cobb Triathlon starts early at the Mountain View Aquatic Center. About the same time, 5k and fun runners will be on their marks at Lassiter High School for the Lutzie 43 Road Race, honoring the memory of former Trojans football star Phil Lutzenkirchen and benefit the East Cobb chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes;
Later in the morning, at the adjacent Harrison Park, two events are going on simaltaneously, both starting at 11. The dedication of a new “Chipper Jones” ball field courtesy of the Atlanta Braves Foundation, for the Sandy Plains Baseball Association, takes place on Field 2. From 11-1, the Sandy Plains Softball Association is holding its “fun day” and walkup registration for the fall season;
The high school football season is fast approaching, and the Pope Greyhounds are having their pancake breakfast and picture day starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. From 2-4 Sunday, Raider Day takes place at Walton High School;
Also on Sunday, the Good Mews cat shelter is having a microchip and vaccination clinicfrom 10-3, and nail clippings also will be available.
Check out more calendar listings here, for this weekend and beyond. Didn’t see your event? Would you like to share your calendar listing with the community? Please e-mail: calendar@eastcobbnews.com.
The following are scores from Cobb and Douglas Public Health inspections of restaurants in East Cobb in the last two weeks. Click here for general information, and the restaurant name for the full inspection report:
According to Cobb Police, two businesses in the Delk Spectrum Shopping Center (2900 Delk Road, at Powers Ferry Road) and another nearby on Delk Road were part of an alcohol compliance check last Thursday, July 27.
All three of them passed the check—meaning they didn’t sell alcohol to an underage volunteer.
They were the Bowlero Lanes at 2749 Delk Road, and the Publix store and the Willy’s Mexicana Grill at Delk Spectrum.
The police compliance check also included several businesses in the Atlanta Road area, and three of them failed.
The checks are conducted by the Cobb Police Department’s Regulatory Services/Permits Unit.
Cobb County will hold its free Community Emergency Response Team training for three sessions in August and registration is open now. The class size is limited, and all applications are due by noon, Friday, Aug. 4. This program trains people to be better prepared for emergency situations in their communities. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims and organize volunteers at a disaster site.
CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that improve the safety of the community. The classes will be held 9 a.m.-5 p.m.on Saturday, Aug. 12, 19 and 26 at the Cobb County Emergency Operations Center. Members must attend all sessions to complete the program. Participants must be at least 16 years old. The Emergency Operations Center is located at 140 North Marietta Parkway, Marietta. If you would like to register for the program, contact Kimberly Repak at kimberly.repak@cobbcounty.org or 770-499-4567.
“Let There Be Light: A Photographic Journey,” will be on exhibit from Aug. 10-31, with an opening reception at 7 p.m. on the opening day.
Batley has taught at The Art Place-Mountain View, The Art Place-Big Shanty in Kennesaw and the Peachtree School of Photography in East Marietta, in addition to other venues in metro Atlanta. He is a longtime member of the Cobb Photographic Society.
Registration is also underway for fall art classes at The Art Place-Mountain View (click here for details). Most begin in late August and a number of them have limited space available.
If you hear sirens around noon today, this is the reason. Issued by Cobb County government:
Cobb County has more than 70 outdoor warning sirens to alert residents during a weather-related emergency, including ten sirens that can also broadcast voice messages.
The intent of warning sirens is to alert people who are outside that an imminent danger is approaching; they are not designed to be heard within a home or other building.
Cobb County conducts outdoor warning siren system tests at noon on the first Wednesday of each month, sounding the sirens for 3 to 5 minutes. In the event that there is inclement weather on the first Wednesday of the month, the test will be postponed until the following day, the first Thursday of the month.
As for the donor levels, Hampton said one of the most popular forms of giving for businesses, organizations and individuals alike is a $25 “Thank A Hero” contribution that includes a card at the events with the giver’s identification.
