Thanks to Kathryn Ruff from the Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team for the event about Friday’s art show coming up at the agency’s office from 6-9:
“Local landscape artist and teacher Katherine M. Knowles, will be hosting a benefit art show from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm at the Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team office in Marietta.
About ten local artists, woodworkers, and potters will feature their art in the show with a portion of their sales going to Janice Overbeck’s non-profit, JO Gives, for the Emory ALS Research Center.
“After losing my uncle to ALS, raising awareness and supporting research has been near to my heart”, Knowles said. “My cousin, Janice Overbeck, has done so much in the way of fundraising for the Emory ALS Center and has the perfect event space to host this art show.”
This event will be open to the public and there is no charge for entry. Wine, premium cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres will be served, so please rsvp to (404) 585-8881.
The event will take place at 2249 Roswell Road. Visit the event page at www.JaniceOverbeck.com for more information.
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An East Cobb man initially suspected of human trafficking in a 2016 search of a home on Little Willeo Road has been sentenced on multiple drug convictions, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.
Solomon Santana Noellin, 42, was convicted on Thursday by a Cobb Superior Court jury of possession of methamphetamines with intent to distribute, possession of methadone with intent to distribute, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, as well as possession of cocaine and Alprazolam, according to DA spokeswoman Kim Isaza.
She said Noellin was given a 30-year sentence by Superior Court Judge Joyette Holmes, with eight years to serve and the rest on probation.
According to Cobb prosecutors, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a rented home on Little Willeo Road in East Cobb on Aug. 9, 2016, based on allegations that sex trafficking activities were taking place there.
When they entered the home, police found cocaine, methamphetamines and other controlled substances and executed a second search warrant, Isaza said.
She said that agents from the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna Organized Crime Unit confiscated 61 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamines; three grams of cocaine; 49 methadone pills; more than 350 grams of marijuana; and one bar of Alprazolam at the Little Willeo Road home.
Isaza said two women who were at the scene during the first search warrant denied they were there for trafficking purposes.
According to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records, Noellin’s home address is listed as being on Canton Road.
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Cobb Parks photo of Mabry Park taken right after Christmas.
Bad weather has prompted a delay in the completion of Mabry Park, which was initially slated to be done by early 2019.
There’s still not a specific date that has been announced for completion and opening. But at a Cobb Board of Commissioners work session Tuesday, Cobb Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affiairs director Jimmy Gisi said weather has been a major factor in the delay.
“If it would ever stop raining, we could get this thing done in a few weeks,” he said in outlining parks SPLOST projects.
Built on 26.5 acres of former Mabry family farmland on Wesley Chapel Road near Sandy Plains Road, Mabry Park got under construction last January. A 365-day contract with Integrated Construction and Nobility, Inc., of Whitesburg, Ga. was begun on Jan. 4, 2018.
However, the project reached the 361-day stage on Dec. 31. Cobb Parks estimates that 85 percent of the project is complete, including the entrance road from Wesley Chapel, picnic areas and the playground area. Completion of trails needs to be done, trees are continuing to be planted, and boardwalk deck work also is ongoing.
The playground construction took place during the fall, but steady rainfall at the end of last year has hampered efforts to complete work involving the rest of the park landscape.
On Monday the Friends of Mabry Park posted updated photos of the construction on its Facebook page.
The citizens organization has worked for years to create Mabry Park, whose build-out was delayed several years due to the recession.
The county spent $4.3 million to purchase the land in 2008 and a master plan was completed in 2011.
Mabry Park’s annual operating cost will be $104,992; of that $72,122 will go for staff salaries and benefits, and $31,800 is estimated for yearly supplies and utilities. A one-time cost of $22,230 for equipment and maintenance tools will be funded after construction is complete.
“We feel it’s going to be a super nice park for that part of the county,” Gisi said.
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Tonight’s the first of a monthly program of live music at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center called the Cafe Music Series.
It’s just an hour, from 7-8 p.m., and features the family-friendly music of Ken Jones, Jason Von Stein, R.A. Reinholtz and Reid Stevens.
The event is a tie-in with the library’s association with Cool Beans Coffee, which is serving on the premises.
Future events in the Cafe Music Series will be held on Feb. 19, March 19 and April 23, also at 7 p.m.
Interested performers should contact Ashley.Miller@cobbcounty.org.
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Thanks to Linda Harris of the Senior Citizen Council of Cobb County for the following information about the organization’s 2019 annual meeting Feb. 8:
The Senior Citizen Council of Cobb County will feature newly elected District 1 Commissioner Keli Gambrill as guest speaker at their annual meeting on Friday, February 8, 2019. The meeting which starts at 11:30 am and includes a light lunch will be held at the Cobb County Senior Wellness Center at 1150 Powder Springs Street, Marietta.
All interested persons are welcome to attend free of charge to become acquainted with the new commissioner and to learn what the Senior Citizen Council has planned for 2019.
The Senior Citizen Council of Cobb is a nonprofit organization that advocates for better public policy and promotes ways for Cobb senior citizens to stay connected and engaged in their community. Persons should RSVP before January 28 by calling 423.815.1790 or sending an email to
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With all kinds of maps abounding all around them—for land use, stormwater management, traffic and more—a few dozen citizens from the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford community turned out last week to continue efforts at developing a master plan.
After some input meetings last spring, Cobb County officials decided to come back this winter to solicit more feedback. At the first of those meetings, at the Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, commissioner Bob Ott explained how the “JOSH” master plan process—short for Johnson Ferry-Shallowford—is similar to those that have taken place previously and that have involved his constituents.
“Instead of consultants, we have community meetings and you help design the plan that you want,” he said.
The high-density and mixed-use development that’s accelerating along Powers Ferry, or in the case of the Johnson Ferry Urban Design plan, the use of language, have concerned some in the JOSH area about what may be in store for where they live.
Commissioner Bob Ott said a master plan “isn’t perfect but it’s better than not having a master plan.” (ECN photos by Wendy Parker)
It’s a community with overwhelmingly single family residential homes, a population that’s older and a higher median income average than the rest of Cobb County.
It’s also new territory for Ott, whose District 2 was redrawn in 2016 to include JOSH. He referenced another master plan in his district that is similar to what he’s seeing for JOSH.
The Vinings Vision MasterPlan was developed out of an interest in preserving the feel of an older community surrounded by high-scale commercial growth in the Cumberland area.
The Vinings plan, Ott said, was deemed a “protection plan” when it was finished.
“This also appears to be a protection plan instead of a redevelopment plan,” he said of JOSH.
In Vinings, citizens took an additional six months to finalize that plan. Two more meetings are scheduled over the next two months for the JOSH master plan. Cobb Community Development Agency staff will present a preliminary plan on Feb. 12, and a draft plan on March 12, and public comments also will be sought.
Both of those meetings also will be at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church (2663 Johnson Ferry Road), starting at 7 p.m.
The master plan will include future land use, infrastructure, stormwater, parks and recreation, building design and more (JOSH outline here).
Last spring, some citizens objected to an image preference survey that included photos of high-density development. Ott asked community development staff to rework the survey.
Jason Gaines, the community development agency’s planning division chief (above), broke down some of the JOSH demographics (boundary map here):
Phillip Westbrook of the planning division said 86 percent of the land in the JOSH map that’s included in the proposed master plan is residential (mostly low-density) and has only two major commercial areas: at the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford intersection, and on Shallowford near Lassiter Road.
Much of the current future land use map for the JOSH area hasn’t changed much over the last 25 years. Perhaps the most closely-watched case is at the southwestern intersection of Johnson Ferry-Shallowford, where a proposed residential zoning application was withdrawn in 2017. In addition to high-density issues there also have been concerns over stormwater, since the 30-acre property includes a lake.
“What’s going on that property we don’t know,” Ott said. “But this map is going to change.”
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On Tuesday Charisse Davis, the new Cobb Board of Education member for Post 6, will hold what she’s calling an education discussion meeting with parents at Dickerson Middle School.
The informal meeting lasts from 7-8:30 p.m. and will take place in the auditorium at Dickerson (855 Woodlawn Drive).
Earlier this month, Davis was sworn in for a four-year term after she defeated incumbent Scott Sweeney to represent Post 6, which includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters.
Davis, who had never run for public office before, is a former teacher who is now a librarian in Fulton County. She also was nominated for chair and vice chair in last week’s school board officers’ elections.
Post 6 also includes part of the Campbell High School cluster, where she lives. Her two sons attend Cobb schools in that area.
She is one of two new board members in Cobb. The other is fellow Democrat Jaha Howard, who represents Campbell and Osborne. He also will be in attendance at the Dickerson meeting.
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Several youth baseball and softball organizations in East Cobb are conducting registration now, and over the next couple weeks will have clinics and other events to get ready for the spring season.
On Friday, the East Marietta National Little League will hold its 3rd annual Baseball Bashat D-BAT (1666 Roswell Road) from 6-8 p.m., with games, pizza and a visit from former Chicago Cub Corey Patterson. You can sign up your kids on-site as well.
Registration continues at the East Marietta spring evaluations Feb. 2 at Sewell Park (2055 Lower Roswell Road). It’s not being billed as a tryout but a way to provide for competitive play at all levels; more at the EMNLL website;
On Saturday is the Sandy Plains Softball Fun Day, with walk-up registration, from 12-2 at the organzation’s fields at 2977 Gordy Parkway. Food, games, raffle prizes and other activities will take place; visit the SPSA website for more;
Not far way, Sandy Plains Baseball Instructional Clinics will take place at two locations on Saturady. The first is for ages 9-12 from 11-1 at Harrison Park (2653 Shallowford Road), and the other is from 2-3:30 for ages 5-8 at Sweat Mountain Park (4346 Steinhauer Road). The SPB website has more information and online registration.
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Thanks to Carolyn Davenport for submitting the following information and photos from the Foxtrotters Ballroom Dance Club reunion Friday at the East Cobb Senior Center.
She said more than 100 people turned out in fancy attire in the first event since the group disbanded last summer after 21 years due to the imposition of a membership fee and increases of other fees at county senior centers.
In December, the head of the Cobb Senior Citizens Council asked county commissioners to reconsider the fees, saying the number of those participating in events at senior centers in Cobb fell by more than half—from around 6,500 to 3,000—because of the fees.
Those fees are now proposed to be eliminated in the upcoming Cobb fiscal year 2020 budget. In speaking to the East Cobb Business Association this week, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce defended the senior fees, citing a $30 million budget deficit at the time.
Davenport said the Foxtrotters group wants to have more dances at the East Cobb Senior Center:
“It will, however, take the support and attendance of our dancers and others, who have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing a Foxtrotters’ evening, to bring back our glory days of ballroom dancing.
“Events like our dances are so very important to seniors in many ways. Ballroom dancing’s health benefits include improved muscle and bone strength, and better posture, balance and motor skills, which can help prevent falls. Researchers speculate that the increased mental activity of ballroom dancing, such as memorizing steps and working with a partner, may help prevent symptoms experienced from dementia, Parkinson’s disease and even chronic heart failure. The social activity is also an important factor in good mental health and positive attitudes of seniors.”
Davenport said anyone who is 55 or older, or knows someone who is, and may be interested in dancing, is invited to get on the Foxtrotters e-mail distribution list. The address is: foxtrottersdanceclub@outlook.com.
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Last week we mentioned a human trafficking discussion at Mt. Bethel UMC that featured Mary Frances Bowley, who leads a local organization fighting childhood sexual abuse and exploitation.
She’s going to be back in the community again next Thursday at a forum on the topic at the Catholic Church of St. Ann.
It’s called “Get the F.A.C.T.S.,” and the acronym stands for Fighting to Abolish Child Trafficking for Sex. The forum is from 6:30-8 in Nolan Hall at the church (4905 Roswell Road).
Bowley started Wellspring Living, which was started in Atlanta in 2011. She is a member of the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force, and will be joined at the St. Ann forum by representatives from the Cobb District Attorney’s Office and the Cobb County Police Department.
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On Monday Cobb County will hold its official service to honor Martin Luther King Jr. on his national holiday.
King, who was assassinated in 1968, would have turned 90 years old on Jan. 15. The service on Monday takes place at 10 a.m. at Turner AME Church, 492 North Marietta Parkway (at Fairground Street).
The emcee is Fred Blankenship of WSB-TV. The service includes entertainment performances with messages that convey Dr. King’s dedication to freedom, justice and equality for all.
The event will also feature the annual presentation of the “Living the Dream” award by the Cobb branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
This honor is given to community members who demonstrate leadership and commitment to making our county more diverse and inclusive.
This annual celebration is free to the public and hosted by Cobb County Government and the Cobb NAACP.
All Cobb government offices and services, including libraries, will be closed on Monday. Cobb schools also will be closed on Monday.
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Earlier this week, they announced another school safety measure. It’s the SafeSchools Alert tip line, and it will launch on Tuesday, when classes resume following the Martin Luther King holiday.
Students, teachers, staff and parents can contact the school district online, via text or phone and e-mail about any matter that they think might affect safety.
This information can include, but is not limited to, bullying, harassment, drugs, vandalism and threats of violence, and reports can be made anonymously. However you get in touch, you’re asked to provide the “1760” code number, which has been designated for Cobb schools.
Here’s more from what CCSD issued earlier this week about the program:
Every tip submitted through the SafeSchools Alert will be immediately logged and routed to the appropriate administrator to investigate and take appropriate action.
The SafeSchools Alert tip line does not replace 911. For emergencies, please dial 911.
“We are seeking information that can allow the school to better address the school climate issues that cause students anxiety or fear and are not being addressed because people are afraid to share the information,” Cobb County School District Police Officer Phil Bradford said.
“We are trying to become more aware of what is going on. We are asking for information from all quarters of the school so we can become preventive, and we can be more proactive.”
Cobb schools said the SafeSchools tip line builds on the AlertPoint system that’s used when there’s a safety concern within school facilities.
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The Cobb Board of Education voted Thursday to accept a bid from Morgan Stanley to borrow $90 million in short-term loans to begin projects on the Cobb Ed-SPLOST Vconstruction list.
The one-cent sales tax extension collection period began on Jan. 1, but Cobb County School District officials said waiting for the revenues to roll in before beginning work on new schools, renovations and technology upgrades would end up costing more due to increasing interest rates.
The $90 million will be paid back by the end of the year, at an interest rate of 1.72 percent (around $1.54 million), according to Brad Johnson, the district’s chief financial officer.
At a school board work session Thursday afternoon, he said nine financial institutions bid for the loans. Johnson said that for the loans, Moody’s Investors Service gave Cobb schools its highest credit rating, which is unrelated to its overall AAA long-term rating.
Johnson said interest rates have been rising 4-5 percent a year, so being able to start on the first batch of projects at once will enable the district to lock in construction interest rates.
“This is a good deal for us,” he said.
Cobb schools borrowed a similar amount last year for similar purposes, in closing out many SPLOST IV projects.
The district is estimating it will collect around $797 million in sales tax revenues for SPLOST V over the next five years.
Among the primary projects on the SPLOST V list (here’s the full notebook) is rebuilding and relocating Eastvalley Elementary School to the former site of East Cobb Middle School on Holt Road.
Major additions and modifications are planned for Lassiter HS (theater renovation), Sprayberry HS (CTAE building renovation), Walton HS (new tennis courts and softball field) and Wheeler HS (Magnet School renovation).
Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools are slated for major classroom additions.
The first project on the new list was approved by the school board Thursday. The district is merging Harmony Leland and Clay elementary schools in Mableton and building a new school on Factory Shoals Road at a cost of $26.8 million.
SPLOST funds also are used for technology upgrades at every school, including for security measures, and for general maintenance of facilities and equipment.
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The following East Cobb restaurant scores from Dec. 31-Jan. 18 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing to view details of the inspection:
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In his first State of the State address, Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday he wants to give Georgia teachers a pay raise of $3,000 a year, launch a number of school safety measures and create a statewide task force to crack down on criminal gangs.
Speaking in the Georgia Capitol after being sworn in earlier this week, Kemp said the teacher pay increase will cost $480 million annually, but represents “a large down payment” on his campaign pledge of funding a $5,000 year raise.
In his remarks, he noted that 44 percent of teachers in the state leave the profession in their first five years.
Kemp’s proposed fiscal year 2020 budget of $27.5 billion would also include a two percent pay raise for all state employees that would cost $120 million.
School safety measures also highlight Kemp’s first budget, following a special legislative study committee that toured the state last year.
The former Georgia Secretary of State, Kemp, a Republican, defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams in a close election in November. While Abrams, the former state House Minority Leader, won Cobb County, Kemp prevailed in most East Cobb precincts.
Kemp is proposing $69 million in one-time funds for school security grants, with all Georgia K-12 schools receiving $30,000 each. Those priorities would determined by their local school boards, administrators, teachers, parents, and students.
Kemp also wants to provide $8.4 million in additional funding for the Apex program, which addresses mental health in Georgia high schools. Georgia has been at the bottom nationally in providing funding to help students with mental health care needs.
He would spend $500,000 to form a gang task force within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that would work with local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies.
The proposal would be to use the Criminal Gang and Criminal Alien Database, to be funded with existing resources from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, to track and arrest criminal gang leaders, including drug kingpins.
Kemp also said he will pursue a state Medicaid waiver and is earmarking $1 million in the Department of Community Health’s budget to pursue possible options to the current program “that increases choices, improves quality, encourages innovation and grows access to affordable healthcare across the state.”
We will be adding reaction from Cobb officials when we get it.
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The Pope and Walton wrestling teams are in Macon, competing in the Georgia High School Association duals wrestling meet through Saturday.
The event got underway on Thursday morning, and it features 16 teams in each classification who qualified last weekend at regional meets.
Walton’s first-round opponent today in Class 7A is Camden County, while Pope will face Habersham Central in Class 6A. The only other Cobb County school competing is McEachern, also in Class 7A.
Duals is a team vs. team event, conducted in double-elimination fashion, and which began in Georgia in 2002.
Pope won the Class 5A state duals in 2013 and 2014, as well as the traditional state crown in Class 4A in 2011 and 2012.
Last weekend, the Greyhounds defeated Cambridge, another Class 6A powerhouse, by a 36-31 score for the 500th duals victory for coach Jim Haskins in the regional meet.
Walton is back in the state duals for the first time since 2007 after finishing second in its regional meet that was held at Walton.
However, the Raiders face a stiff challenge to start off.
Camden County has been dominant in recent years, as the two-time defending Class 7A duals and traditional state champion, and having won a state title in either discipline for the last four years.
The traditional regional and state wrestling meets will take place in February.
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Two women were arrested on Tuesday night on drug-related charges near Keheley Elementary School in Northeast Cobb.
According to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records, Brenda Craver, 63, and Latricia Patton, 40, were taken into custody at 4263 Keheley Road, located around the corner from the school on Keheley Drive.
Craver, of an Acworth address, is facing three felonies, including possession of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute and possession of a controlled substance within 1,000 yards of an elementary school. Her bond is $27,720, according to jail records.
Patton, of a Keheley Road address, is charged with possession of methamphetamine and several misdemeanor drug counts, and her bond is $6,820.
Both women are charged with a misdemeanor count of prowling, according to jail records, which indicate they are still in custody.
WSB-TV, which first reported the arrests, said neighbors notified the police after noticing an unfamiliar and suspicious truck at a nearby building.
East Cobb News does not publish photographs of crime suspects before their cases have gone through the legal system, and then only if they are convicted or plead guilty and are sentenced.
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Leaders of the Walton High School Marching Raider Band have announced the location of the 2019 garage sale donations site. Now through Friday, March 8, 2019, donations may be brought to 1290 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta on Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The 2019 garage sale will be held on Saturday, March 9, 2019 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Walton High School, 1590 Bill Murdock Rd, Marietta, GA 30062.
The annual garage sale is one of the largest fundraisers for the 150-member marching band. Proceeds support the marching band program and help provide a high-quality experience for East Cobb students attending George H. Walton Comprehensive High School.
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Boyce offered a “State of the County” address to the East Cobb Business Association members at their January luncheon Tuesday. (ECN photo: Wendy Parker)
In sharpening his fiscal year 2020 budget proposal he’ll take around the county starting this spring, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said Tuesday that he’s adamant he won’t be asking for a tax increase.
He also wants to give all county employees a pay raise, open all library branches on Sunday, begin drawing down the amount of money transferred from Cobb water system revenues and eliminate senior fees that were imposed during a contentious budget process in 2018.
And how to pay for all this without raising taxes?
“The county is on fire,” Boyce told East Cobb News Tuesday afternoon after addressing the East Cobb Business Association monthly luncheon at the Olde Towne Athletic Club.
That was a reference to a growing tax digest—2018 was a record year for that, at $36.7 billion—and what he said was the beginning of restoring some county services that had been cut back since the recession.
In order to do that, however, Boyce got an increase of 1.7 mills for the general fund, which pays for most county government expenses.
It was a grueling process, as he conducted a number of town hall meetings and got his $454 million general fund budget, but only by a 3-2 margin. His fellow East Cobb residents, commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrelll, voted against him.
But the additional funding closed what he said was a $30 million deficit and enabled the hiring of more police officers and road work crews, and the opening of regional libraries on Sunday.
His remarks were similar to those he made last week to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Boyce doesn’t have a formal budget proposal yet, and some details—such as how big an employee pay raise may be—also haven’t been included.
But he said he’s confident growth in the tax digest in 2019 would enable the county to continue adding services without a millage hike.
“I made a promise last year that I wouldn’t do it [in 2020],” he said, adding that the county is still finding other budget savings.
He received applause for that sentiment, as well as expanding library hours, additional nature trail acquisitions and the purchase of greenspace (including part of the Tritt property next to East Cobb Park).
Boyce also outlined for the ECBA audience of around 100 members and guests a number of business developments, including development around SunTrust Park, which will open its third season as the Atlanta Braves home venue in April.
The stadium, partly financed by the county—and with an annual general fund cost of $8.6 million—has been the magnet for so much more than that. The Battery Atlanta mixed-use project developed by the Braves has become a year-round hub of commercial, retail, restaurant and entertainment activity that’s attracting more business growth.
“Forget the stadium, it’s The Battery that’s driving development,” Boyce said. “It’s sparked a halo effect in the Cumberland CID area and beyond.”
He also predicted that the county would begin recouping that $8.6 million budget investment “sooner than I thought,” but didn’t offer a prediction of when that might be.
Looking ahead to 2019, Boyce said transit and transportation issues will loom larger. The county conducted a transit survey that was released in December that indicated that nearly 60 percent of respondents would support a sales tax for new projects.
Before any transit options are decided, there will be town hall meetings and a likely referendum in 2021.
As for the next Cobb budget, Boyce said a total of 16 town halls coming in March and April—including two a day in some cases—will seek taxpayer feedback as was done last year.
“I just want you to enjoy your life,” Boyce said. “Cobb is in as good a place as it’s ever been.”
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The master plan will include future land use, infrastructure, stormwater, parks and recreation, building design and more (
