Text and photos submitted by the Cobb County School District:
Where were you two decades ago? Current Rocky Mount Elementary School students, of course, had not been born yet. Most of their parents were still in school themselves.
And yet, many things were still the same in 1999. Students collected Pokémon cards, the U.S. Women’s Soccer team were World Cup champions, and a Toy Story movie played in theaters.
Rocky Mount Elementary School also included some of the same dedicated educators that teach students today. That may have surprised some of the students who peered over their principal’s shoulder with excitement as she pulled out class books from a 20-year-old time capsule.
Principal Peggy Fleming recently opened Rocky Mount’s time capsule during the school’s back-to-school bash. Each class at the school in 1999 carefully selected their contributions for the box. It was a treasure of memories from the school’s then 20th birthday celebration, which included photos and even a nameplate of a former Rock Mount staff member.
The principal unrolled a scroll of student goals. One student set a goal to have better handwriting while others aimed to be the best soccer player or gymnast, to run fast, and to get a better education.
There was even a first-grade book dedicated to Beanie babies, a tribute to the stuffed animal craze of the 1990s. There was also a beanie baby snuggled inside.
The lunch container from the Roadrunner Café looked largely unfamiliar to the students who watched in awe as Principal Fleming revealed pieces of Rocky Mount’s history. The box even included canvas bags from the school’s PTA and a student handbook.
Some of the elementary students claimed to recognize the antiquated VHS tape Principal Fleming pulled from the capsule, but they had no difficulty identifying the Pokémon that was hidden in the two-decade-old history box.
Now that Rocky Mount has celebrated its 40th year, it’s time for the current students to make their own time capsule. What will they include this year and who will be watching as the box is opened two decades from now? Only time will tell.
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A note suggesting a bomb threat and that was found on the dashboard of a car parked in front of The Marietta Daily Journal office Wednesday has led to the arrest of an East Cobb man.
Gary S. Studenic, 70, was booked in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center Wednesday afternoon on a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct, according to the Marietta Police Department.
According to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, Studenic’s home address is on Bill Murdock Road, and he was arrested at 12:15 p.m.
Police said an unoccupied black Porsche was parked in front of 47 Waddell Street at 10:10 Wednesday morning with a sign on the dashboard that stated in part: “will explode on contact.”
That’s near the Marietta Square, and it’s the address of the MDJ, which evacuated the premises, as did those in other nearby buildings, according to police.
Police said they established a perimeter around the vehicle as they investigated, and asked the Cobb Police Department to dispatch its bomb squad to the scene.
At 10:40 a.m., the registered owner of the car, whom police said is Studenic, walked from a building on the Square to the Porsche, and when he arrived said the note was a joke among friends.
The note said at the top: “NOTICE OF EXPLOSIVE INSTALLATION” and further stated in the text that “it has been modified to explode on contact. A nominal fee of $10,000 will be collected at time explosive charges are removed,” according to the MDJ.
Police said Studenic told them he didn’t realize he had placed the note in public view and in front of a newspaper office.
Police said the man who wrote the note, Richard Calhoun of Marietta, arrived at 11:11 a.m. The Cobb bomb squad inspected the car and found no explosives.
Marietta Police said Studenic went to their headquarters and was interviewed, and was charged with reckless conduct, which carries a bond of $250. Calhoun was not charged.
Studenic is the president of the Pain Relief Clinic, a chiropractic practice on South Marietta Parkway.
The MDJ moved to the Waddell Street building last summer, after selling its 50-year-old facility on Fairground Street to the Cobb County School District.
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A gas main break has shut down Mabry Road north of Shallowford Road Wednesday afternoon.
That’s coming from Cobb government and Cobb DOT, which said it’s not known yet how long the closure may last.
Suggested detours: Chimney Lake Drive between Mabry Road and Johnson Ferry and Wesley Chapel Road from Shallowford Road to Sandy Plains Road.
We’ll update when we find out more.
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As one of the more vocal community leaders in support of better pay for Cobb public safety employees, Susan Hampton was expanding a role she began several years ago on behalf of police officers in East Cobb.
Now she’s taking her activism to another level as part of a new initiative, the Cobb Public Safety Foundation, that provides support to county public safety employees and their families.
Hampton has joined the non-profit as a board member, as it raises funds and awareness.
“It’s an opportunity for people to help our public safety employees and their families,” Hampton said.
The money raised goes to those employees who may need help paying the rent, or who are sick, or in distress, or who are dealing with some other kind of physical, emotional or financial need.
The foundation was launched in June by Lance LoRusso, an East Cobb resident and attorney who represents officers with the Cobb Fraternal Order of Police.
He and Hampton were among several citizens who strongly urged Cobb commissioners this year to raise not only salaries but improve benefits and incentives for public safety employees, and called their current situation a crisis.
In the Cobb fiscal year 2020 budget adopted last month, most police officers, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies got a seven-percent raise, and those who got satisfactory performance reviews also received a one-time bonus of $1,475.
The Cobb Public Safety Foundation addresses some of the needs that other public safety advocates mentioned in public comment sessions, including financial and psychological issues.
The pledge the foundation is making to public safety employs who need assistance is this:
“Whatever the call, whatever the need, no matter the danger, the professionals we serve answer the call with a simple response: Here I am. Send me.”
The organization’s board includes some prominent Cobb citizens, including Cobb Chamber of Commerce CEO Sharon Mason and former Cobb Commission Chairman and Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, both East Cobb residents.
“We believe in this so much that we’ve written personal checks to help kick things off,” Hampton said of the foundation board. “We’ll be fully transparent about where the funds are going.”
Contributions are tax-deductible, and a secure online donation page has been launched with the partnership of the Cobb Community Foundation.
Hampton is continuing in her role as an organizer of the East Cobb Public Safety Appreciation dinner, which will be held in October.
It’s a project of the East Cobb Business Association, which is giving Cobb Police Precinct 4 employees and their spouses a night with dinner and entertainment. The ECBA organizes a similar dinner for the full Cobb Fire and Emergency Services department every March.
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The Walton volleyball team trounced Cherokee 3-0 on Tuesday (by scores of 25-12, 25-15 and 25-15) to move to 4-0 on the season.
The win was the 101st consecutive victory against a team from the state of Georgia for the Lady Raiders, who are the state’s most dominant volleyball team.
When they next take the court on Tuesday, Aug. 27 against Roswell, it will be for the first time in the new Walton gym. The match starts at 5 p.m and is a region contest.
Walton has won 13 state titles overall and eight in the last nine years and was declared the 2017 national high school champion by PrepVolleyball. USA Today has the Lady Raiders ranked No. 22 in its first national poll of the season. MaxPreps has Walton ranked 26th after the graduation of 2019 seniors Gabby Gonzalez, Reilly MacNeill, Riley Spurlin, Meghan Froemming and Jordan Rush.
This year, senior Madison Morey and junior Emery Dupes are among Walton’s top experienced returning players. The listed varsity team members include the following, with some already announcing their college choices:
Seniors: Phoebe Awoleye (University of Georgia), Madison Morey (University of Virginia), Katie Strickland (Georgia State University), Kendall O’Brien (Marist College), Sydney Barrett;
Juniors: Emery Dupes (Florida State University), Ashlyn Goolsby, Lia Ekendahl, Catherine Cheney, Chandler Parker, Kaye Gresham, Paeton Stoner, Olivia Langham;
Sophomores: Greta Hans, Aviah Miller, Avery Storm, Vera Laytham, Sophie Barrett, Laura Middleton, Elizabeth Curry;
Freshmen: Mary Neal, Clara Paulsen, Elizabeth Cheney, Maya Szkaradek.
The coach is Suzanne Fitzgerald, who is in her 14th season at Walton, where she also teaches English.
After next week’s game against Roswell, the Lady Raiders will step out of state to compete in a tournament in Sarasota, Fla. They also will travel to competitions in Louisville and Phoenix during the regular season.
On Sept. 17, Walton will visit Lassiter, currently ranked No. 2 in Georgia, in an East Cobb and regional showdown.
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Thanks to Linda Harris of the Senior Citizen Council of Cobb County, which on Wednesday is honoring its citizens of the year at a special luncheon at the Cobb Senior Wellness Center in Marietta. John Huey, who’s heavily involved at the East Cobb Senior Center, is among the honorees, and here’s what she’s sharing about what he does not just at the center, but in the community:
John M. Huey has been an active member of the East Cobb Senior Center since 2008. Almost a daily visitor of the center, John M. Huey volunteers in any way possible to help keep the center running smoothly in its efforts to serve senior citizens in its immediate area. He is said to be up for any task, whether it be taking out the trash, answering phones, decorating for holidays, or serving as center ambassador/tour guide for newcomers who wish to learn more about the center.
John M. Huey monitors attendance, develops guidelines, and recommends equipment care for the at the East Cobb Senior Center’s billiard room where 16 to 30 people may be playing daily. His volunteer activities include Friends of East Cobb Senior Center, East Cobb Senior Center representative in and treasurer for the Senior Citizen Council of Cobb County in Cobb EMC Owners Association and Friends of Mabry Park.
John M. Huey, the son of a career army man and housewife, is the oldest of six brothers who all of whom were raised on military bases in Georgia, Germany, Austria and Oklahoma. He settled back in his birthplace of Atlanta, GA in 1968.
A lifelong Sooners fan, John M Huey attended the University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa where he earned a degree in Preclinical and Industrial Psychology. He held corporate positions at Rich’s, Federated Department Stores and Macy’s for many years before retiring.
John M. Huey, at the age of 78, demonstrates his belief in staying physically and mentally active by walking, weight lifting, practicing tai chi, yoga, participating in senior games, gardening and playing billiards. He and his wife Dianne, with whom he recently celebrated their 46th anniversary after first meeting at Rich’s, walk 2 miles daily. John M. Huey has run the Peachtree Road Race 27 times. After 10 years at the center, he is still an eager volunteer.
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After nearly being the victim of a mass shooting two years ago, Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk says he’s been asked frequently about whether he would support more stringent gun control legislation at the federal level.
“I’m a survivor,” Loudermilk says in reference to the attempted assassination of Republicans in June 2017 at a Congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Va.
A gunman who supported Democratic presidential candidate and Sen. Bernie Sanders opened fire with a military-style weapon, seriously wounding then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and five others before being shot by U.S. Capitol Police.
During the 10-minute shootout, Loudermilk took cover behind an SUV, and figures he was shot at around 20 times by the gunman, who later died and was identified as James Hodgkinson.
“He knew what he was doing,” said Loudermilk, recalling the incident as the guest speaker at the East Cobb Business Association luncheon on Tuesday. “He didn’t have mental health issues. He was radicalized.
“And there wasn’t a single thing we could have done to change that.”
Law enforcement later found that Hodgkinson had left behind some strident social media messages against President Donald Trump and was particularly upset about Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare.
“He had no respect for the law,” Loudermilk said about the shooter. “He intended to commit mass murder.”
In light of recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, Loudermilk still believes federal legislation won’t properly address issues of gun violence and mass shootings.
“We have a cultural crisis and a moral crisis in this country,” said Loudermilk, a third-term Republican from Cartersville who represents the 11th Congressional District of Georgia that includes part of Cobb County.
“There’s nothing that we in Washington can do about that.”
He made his remarks in the 6th District, where first-term Marietta Democrat Lucy McBath narrowly won last November with a strict gun-control message. McBath’s son was shot and killed by a motorist at a Florida gas station, sparking her activism.
She’s been a sponsor of federal background check and related legislation, and secured $50 million in federal funding for the Centers for Disease Control to study the effects of gun violence.
But Loudermilk says background check measures and “red-flag” proposals—in which law enforcement can confiscate guns from those considered to be a a danger to others or themselves—will be more effective at the state and local levels.
A total of 15 states have such red-flag laws, but Georgia is not one of them.
‘The George Patton of presidents’
In wake of the attempted shootings that affected him, Loudermilk has called for greater civility in American life, and not just politics.
He said that given the “unusual time” in the country, and especially in Washington, he’s also asked a lot about a figure who’s at the center of much of that divisive rhetoric—Trump.
“He says some things that I wish he would say differently,” Loudermilk said of the president. “I don’t always like the way he does things. But I try to judge Trump by what he is actively doing.”
Loudermilk says he thinks that Trump—”the George Patton of presidents”—will go down as an effective president, and that his “shock and awe” approach is part of the reason why.
On the subject of the Mueller Report—an investigation into alleged Russian government influence on the influence American elections—Loudermilk is certain the 2016 Trump campaign didn’t act in collusion, as many of the president’s opponents still believe.
“If he had colluded with the Russians,” Loudermilk said of Trump, “he would have already bragged about it.”
The Trump Administration’s renegotiating trade policy with China includes the threat of tariffs because, Loudermilk said, “that is the stick he has to use.”
He said the benefits of tax cuts in 2017 pushed by the White House are continuing to boost the economy. While some changes had to be made to address the concerns of small-business owners, Loudermilk said “I want to think it’s because it’s nothing we did. We got out of the way, so you can do what you do.”
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A Five Guys restaurant proposed for the former Del Taco location at the East Cobb Crossing Shopping Center can go ahead after site revisions were approved Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
The measure, which was approved unanimously as part of the commissioners’ consent agenda, includes site plan and design changes that didn’t require rezoning.
The only addition to the original case file came from the East Cobb Civic Association, which requested that the district commissioner (Bob Ott) approve a landscaping plan. That stipulation was included before the vote at Ott’s request.
Commissioners also approved via consent a special land-use permit for SZS Holdings LLC to expand a used-car parking lot on an acre at 2069 Roswell Road by 41 spaces. Among the stipulations are for a landscaping plan subject to district commissioner approval and for no vehicles to be parked on pervious surfaces.
Some East Cobb cases on Tuesday’s agenda were not heard. Among those applications that have been delayed is a request by Poag Shopping Centers, LLC, owners of The Avenue East Cobb, to change stipulations and a site plan amendment (case file here).
Poag wants to change the appearance and location of the monument sign at the entrance to the shopping center, and to alter opening hours for a fitness center from 7 a.m. to 5 a.m. The closing hours would remain at 11 p.m.
The nearby East Hampton neighborhood has objected on both counts, asking for a smaller sign and saying there’s no need for a fitness center to open at 5 a.m.
The East Cobb Civic Association has filed a letter in support of East Hampton.
A rendering of a proposed monument sign at the entrance to The Avenue East Cobb.
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Photos and text submitted by Meggan Muller of the Wheeler cross country coaching staff:
Pooja Kanyadan
We had a great showing at the Hoya Invitational this weekend with many new runners and returning.
Pooja Kanyadan (Freshman) led the Girls Open pack with a 4th place win. Overall, Wheeler scored 4th as a team.
With new runner Morgan Yankowsky, Wheeler was awarded 2nd place overall. A freshman, Yankowsky came in 1st place of the Boys Open. We are thrilled that this new runner had such a successful showing. Elliott Brown and Drew Marshall, also a freshman at Wheeler, pulled in 10th and 14th places respectively out of 210 runners.
Morgan Yankowsky
JV Boys came in 5th place overall, with Josh Musser (junior) taking 8th place and John Bunch (junior) coming in 12th out of 146 runners.
Senior Daniel Reis ran a 10:50.10 2 mile. Sophomore Haden Drake led the girls JV, registering 14th place out of 110 with a time of 14:35.77.
Varsity Girls was watching newcomer Jada Dixon (freshman) followed by Virginia Miller (sophomore).
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Whether it’s high school, youth or recreational endeavors, young middle age, or senior, any sport, let the East Cobb community know about your athletes. Submit photos and information to: editor@eastcobbnews.com and we’ll post ’em!
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If you’ve been attending the Holy Smoke BBQ Festival at Johnson Ferry Church on Labor Day in recent years, you’ll need to make some other plans.
In updating our calendar listings, we saw that the church’s men’s ministry has sidelined the event for 2019, which would have been two weeks from today, Sept. 2. From Sunday’s church bulletin:
“It has been a wonderful community event, but Men’s Ministry felt it was important to let it rest this year. Enjoy Labor Day with your neighbors and friends!”
Holy Smoke featured a full, day-long platter of food and activities—catered BBQ from Williamson Bros., music, games, a kids’ zone and a vintage car show.
It’s been a busy time at Johnson Ferry in recent weeks and months, as founding pastor Rev. Bryant Wright prepares to retire, and his successor, Rev. Clay Smith, takes over on Sept. 8.
There’s two full days of food, music and similar fun and games continuing in another East Cobb Labor Day tradition, now in its 9th year: The Noshfest at Temple Kol Emeth.
It’s Sunday, Sept. 1 from 11-5 and Labor Day, Monday Sept. 2, from 11-4 in the parking lot (1415 Old Canton Road). Admission is free, but you’re asked to bring two canned goods per family as a donation to MUST Ministries.
In addition to kosher food selections and cooking demonstrations, there will be interactive exhibits, arts and crafts vendors, a kids’ zone, face-painting, live music and dancing and a bagel-eating contest.
Parking is available across the street at Eastminster Presbyterian Church.
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Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell presents Harry Kone with a proclamation at his 99th birthday party.
Information and photos via Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell:
The Squire “Skip” Wells Marine Corp League Detachment #647 hosted a birthday celebration for 99-year-old “Life Member” Harry Kone on Wednesday [Aug. 14] at Woodstock’s Semper Fi Bar & Grill. The event was well attended by fellow detachment members, other veterans and members of the Skip Wells Foundation.
Harry enjoyed his lunch of “S>O>S” (sausage gravy on toast) and a beer. After lunch Harry cut his birthday cake using a USMC NCO Sword. He cut it straight like the sharpshooter he is. Immediately after the cake cutting, I presented a framed Cobb County Commission proclamation declaring August 16, 2019 is to be officially known as “Harry Kone Day” in Cobb County.
Before cake was passed around, detachment Jr. Vice Commandant Jason Rusk, showed a framed display of ribbons and awards, including the Navy Cross, which were worn by Medal of Honor Recipient Gen. Raymond G. Davis. The display was presented to Ralph Roeger, owner of Semper Fi Bar & Grill, and will be hung at the restaurant, which was recently recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as the Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year.
One grand highlight of the day was that Harry enlisted in the Marines after the attack on Pearl Harbor, General Davis was already a Marine Officer they both were in battle on Guadalcanal and both received praise. It’s also ironic that Gen. Davis was a member of Detachment 647, when it was known as Greater Atlanta, as Harry is now after a name change to honor “Skip” Wells.
Harry Joseph Kone was born on Aug. 16, 1920, in Baltimore to his loving and devoted parents Harry and Marie Kone. He grew up in Baltimore and graduated from Mt. Saint Joseph High School in 1938. Mr. Kone worked as a welder while attending the University of Wisconsin on a scholarship to help develop children’s programming for the early days of television.
Because of Pearl Harbor, he decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942 and deployed to the Pacific Theater as a machine gunner and expert rifleman. He was injured several times during his service in the South Pacific campaigns. He was then sent to Quantico for Officer Candidate School, but his injuries were too severe. He was honorably discharged in 1945.
Back in America, Mr. Kone married the love of his life, Marjorie, and they built a life together in Chicago. That same year, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent two years in a VA hospital. After many prayers, he recovered and attended Northwestern University for his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He spent his life as a dedicated teacher in the Chicago Public School System, first in elementary, then high school and finally at the college level teaching public speaking and English as a second language.
Mr. Kone and Marjorie enjoyed a beautiful 65-year love story and had three children, Sue, Barbara and Stuart. After 50 years in Chicago, he and Marjorie moved to the South to spend more time with their family. In 2012, he joined Marine Corps League Detachment 647 in Marietta and became a life member of the Marine Corps League in 2013. Kone currently lives in east Cobb with his daughter.
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For the last couple of weeks it’s been hard to find some shade from temperatures in the high 90s and heat advisory and air quality warnings. For this week in the Cobb area, there will be some relief, but not much.
Daytime temperatures in the 80s are expected to be the norm, along with the chance of thunderstorms all week.
The chances are on the low side, 30 to 40 percent through Wednesday, and then increasing to 50 percent by Wednesday and staying that way through the weekend.
With the threat of rain comes higher humidity as well—it’s around 70 percent already on Monday morning—so brace yourselves for that, as well as keep an umbrella handy.
Monday’s high is expected to be in the mid 90s, the highest it’s slated to be all week.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for portions of central and north Georgia, including Cobb County, for Monday, with scattered to numerous thunderstorms in the forecast that could include gusty winds, lighting and local heavy rainfall.
Heat index values could reach between 100 and 105 degrees in some of those areas by Monday afternoon.
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Atlantic Residential, developer of the Reserve at The Ballpark near SunTrust seen above, is tentatively proposing a 3- or 4-story apartment development on the site of Sprayberry Crossing.
A few more details of the potential Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment we’ve been posting about are coming via Joe Glancy, who informed his Facebook group on Friday that a draft plan shown him by Atlantic Residential, the interested developer, includes the following:
3 to 4 story apartments, senior living AND townhouses (not sure how many stories on the townhouses);
Separate pools and amenities for the apartments and senior living
‘Co-working’ ground floor office space
Ground floor retail space
“Town Green” common green space
It did not include the cemetery
Parking and landscaping
He pointed out some have noticed “activity at the property —evidence that the property was being surveyed.”
That’s Atlantic Residential’s land survey, and Glancy says the developer is gauging public reaction before putting forth a more formal plan. He adds this:
“They seem very sincere in wanting to work with the community—both with communication and feedback—in order to adjust the development plan in response to what the community has to say. They said this will be an open process and if there ends up being an impasse, they can simply choose to not develop and look elsewhere.”
There are plenty of comments on that post link that you can read here, and that include a variety of opinions. Many are glad a long-blighted property may finally be rebuilt, while others are worried about increased traffic and potential drop in property values with apartments possibly coming in.
Based in Atlanta, Atlantic Residential is a high-end apartment developer that’s built complexes at SunTrust Park, Grant Park, Johns Creek, Buckhead, Dunwoody, Decatur, Druid Hills and in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas.
The Reserve at The Ballpark, in the photo above, was completed in 2015 near SunTrust Park for around $70 million and features 321 units plus luxury amenities.
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The next phase of the Sandy Plains Road improvement project continues Monday, and it’s going to make a congested stretch just above Piedmont Road even more bottlenecked. That’s because road closures will be in effect for water relocation work.
That’s the word coming late Friday afternoon from Cobb government, which issued a “significant traffic advisory” for northbound lanes between Ebenezer Road and Post Oak Tritt Road.
One northbound lane will be closed between 6 am. and 3 p.m. daily for an indefinite time.
Earlier this week Cobb commissioners approved a change order to delay completion of the project to December (it was supposed to have wrapped up in July) due to utility relocation and weather issues.
The delay won’t cost any extra money, but will result in a few months’ more worth of traffic headaches for motorists.
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After threats of violence or lockdowns at three East Cobb high schools in the last two weeks, Cobb County School District officials are trying to reassure the public that they’re being as proactive as possible in responding to those threats.
All three of those incidents—at Sprayberry, Walton and Wheeler—ended peacefully, and suspects at all three schools, including two students, were taken into custody.
School officials communicated with parents with varying levels of detail.
The first two incidents—both last week, at Sprayberry and Walton—included a code yellow alert and a student arrest, respectively.
On Friday morning, a code red alert was issued at Wheeler, where a student was found with a weapon and was arrested.
“We’re being as proactive as any school district I know,” said John Floresta, chief strategy and accountability officer for Cobb schools. He spoke to East Cobb News Thursday, before Friday’s incident at Wheeler.
According to a school district statement Friday morning, “students made [the] Wheeler administration aware of a rumor of a current student who had made a threat to Wheeler’s campus.”
The school was placed on a Code Red lockdown—the highest stage of alert—while school district police and administrators investigated. A student found with a weapon—which was not specified—was taken into custody.
“Wheeler administration, staff, CCSD police, and District student-safety supports performed well,” the school district statement further stated.
In each of the previous incidents, Floresta said, “we’re batting 100 percent in the way each incident was handled,” from quick actions by school officials to apprehend those posing a threat, to relaying information to the school community.
At Sprayberry, a trespasser was stopped by school officials last Friday and was found to have a gun. He was arrested, and a code yellow alert was issued. That means the outside doors to school buildings were locked while classes and activities continued inside.
A 45-year-old man who lives nearby, Daniel Ryan Caudell, was charged with possession of a weapon and alcohol on a public school ground.
At Walton, alcohol also was a mitigating factor in another incident last week. Ty Holder, a 17-year-old student, was charged with battery for kicking an assistant principal and threatening to shoot up the school when he was found with a water bottle containing alcohol.
He was later released on his own recognizance.
At Wheeler, Rolando Figueroa Moore, 18, was arrested at the school around 9 a.m. Friday by Cobb schools police and then booked into the Cobb jail, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office. Jail records indicate Moore has charged weapons possession on school grounds and bus hijacking, both felonies, and a misdemeanor count of carrying a weapon without a valid license.
An East Cobb parent who helped form a Cobb schools safety group last year acknowledged that the district is taking more concerted steps to ensure safety and communicate better, but still thinks its approach is largely reactive.
Rene’ Brinks Dodd, who helped start the Cobb County Schools Safety Coalition before the last school year, said she thought the message from Sprayberry principal Sara Griffin was prompt and detailed.
It said in part that the incident “did not disrupt the school day, at no time were students threatened or in danger.”
At Walton, an initial message to parents referenced “a student-related incident . . . that some of our students may have witnessed” but said only that the “situation has been resolved and the student involved is in the care of medical professionals.”
Principal Catherine Mallanda sent out a longer, more detailed message later the same day, saying that some information couldn’t be revealed for medical and student privacy reasons.
But she did describe the safety features of the Walton classroom building that opened two years ago, and explained a school safety day that took place last week “in which we reviewed all safety procedures with students and had a Code Red Drill. Additionally, our school safety plan has been vetted with the Cobb County School District Police Department.”
Mallanda also told parents about the 65-member Cobb schools police force, which has a combined 1,690 years of service. “We have some of the very best police officers at Walton High School keeping your child safe every day,” she said.
The second Walton message also referenced safety measures the district has begun within the last year, including the Safe Schools Alert, an anonymous tip-reporting service, and AlertPoint, an emergency response notification system that triggers a warning message throughout a school within seconds and identifies where an incident has taken place.
Officer Phil Bradford of the Cobb County School District police, at a safety town hall last fall at Lassiter HS. (ECN file)
Those are featured in a Cobb schools safety resource effort called Cobb Shield, which also contains information about the district police force, emergency management procedures and code red drills (required each semester at each of the district’s 16 high schools).
The Walton incident wasn’t made public for a week, and then only because of news reports, while the Sprayberry and Wheeler cases were made public the day they occurred.
Last month, Dodd addressed the Cobb Board of Education with some of her longstanding concerns, saying the Cobb school district “is taking a reactive approach to student safety and support and there are several ticking bomb-type situations that could result in someone getting hurt, hurting others or another tragic situation.”
Others are taking a “more proactive approach, and this could be done in Cobb County as well.”
Dodd, whose daughter attended Mountain View Elementary School, has advocated for more mental health counseling, and pointed to a special committee appointed by the school superintendent in Cherokee County for “social emotional learning” as an example of an initiative she would like to see tried in Cobb.
“We want change for everyone in the district, not just those students who are going to get the district high test scores and ratings,” she told the school board.
In referencing direct safety initiatives, including Cobb Shield, Floresta said that “I can point you to 1, 15, 20 things that we’re doing. I’d be curious to hear of something that we can do that we’re not doing.”
He said that “we’ve been pretty aggressive in steering the community to what we’re doing.”
Mallanda closed her longer message to the Walton community by saying that:
“Helping students succeed is our first priority, but we can only accomplish this mission if our schools are safe, our students are confident, and our teachers are able to focus on teaching. I am confident we are doing everything possible to keep your student safe.”
After the Wheeler incident, Dodd said she was “pleased to see more transparency in [the Cobb school district] statement than what has been done historically,” she said. “Also, would be curious if the new AlertPoint and SafeSchools Alert system is the reason it seems there are more incidents.
“Meaning, now that the teachers and students have the proper tools, a lot more things are being caught in a more efficient time frame and before something [is] escalated.”
However, the Code Red drill that took place at Walton last Thursday unnerved student Emily Ross, who wrote in an essay for the AJC that “this is warping me. I never feel safe.
“The teachers are expected to be self-sacrificing and stop someone with a weapon that can kill nine people in less than 30 seconds. The administration is expected to appease parents with procedures that might—or might not—work.
“I’m 16. I don’t have a solution.”
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A student at Wheeler High School was arrested Friday morning and the school was briefly placed on a lockdown after the student was found with a weapon, according to the Cobb County School District.
A spokesperson for the CCSD classes and other activities have resumed after a Code Red alert was issued. The student wasn’t identified, nor was the weapon specified.
UPDATED, 5:45 p.m.: According to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, Rolando Figueroa Moore, 18, of a Terrell Mill Road address, was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center around noon Friday on felony charges of weapons possession on school ground and bus hijacking and a misdemeanor count of carrying a weapon without a valid license.
He is being held on a bond of $27,720, according to jail records, which said Moore was arrested by Cobb County School District police on the Wheeler campus at 9:05 a.m.
Here’s the statement from the district:
“This morning, students made Wheeler administration aware of a rumor of a current student who had made a threat to Wheeler’s campus. Wheeler’s campus was put on code red while Wheeler administration and Cobb County School District police investigated. During the investigation, a suspect was arrested and found to be in possession of a weapon. Wheeler administration, staff, CCSD police, and District student-safety supports performed well. All students are safe, and the school is operating on a normal schedule while CCSD police continue their investigation.”
The incident at Wheeler is the third at an East Cobb high school involving lockdowns or threats of violence in the last two weeks.
Last week a Walton High School student found to have had alcohol in a water bottle was arrested after kicking an assistant principal and threatening to come back and shoot up the school.
Also last week, a man trespassing on the Sprayberry High School campus was found to have had a gun and was arrested by school district police. A code yellow alert was issued, meaning that the outside doors to the school are locked but classes and other activities continue inside.
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While we’re revamping our calendar format, here are a few items of interest going on this weekend in East Cobb:
Friday and Saturday is the 40th anniversary of the Mt. Bethel UMC Children’s Consignment Sale, the fall version. Hours are 9-7 Friday (no strollers allowed until 12) and 9-12 on Saturday, in the church fellowship hall (4385 Lower Roswell Road).
Starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, 5K and other runners will be covering the grounds of Lassiter HS (2601 Shallowford Road) in the Lassiter Color Run. Afterwards, stick around for music, food, fun, prizes and games. Proceeds benefit the Lassiter Cross Country teams and the Helping Hand Foundation. Advance registration $20; $25 race day.
The first-ever Kell Touchdown Club Casino Night helps raise funds for the booster club, with another season about to kick off. From 7-10 p.m. on Saturday, adults (must be 21+) can cash in chips to help support the support team behind the Longhorns on the field. The ticket price of $25 a person includes hors d’oeuvres, drink tickets and prizes, and raffle tickets also will be available for purchase at the event. Transfiguration Catholic Church (1815 Blackwell Road).
Also on tap: Both the East Cobb Library and Mountain View Regional Library are renewing fall-long tutoring sessions Saturdays from 2:30-4:30 through late November; and the East Cobb Library is having a Bead-Making session from 11-1 Saturday.
You’ll find more details about those and can check out more of our calendar listings for this weekend and beyond, and send your events to us and we’ll post ’em here: calendar@eastcobbnews.com.
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The following East Cobb food scores from Aug. 5-16 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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Back in February we posted about the Wheeler Celeritas F1 Racing Team as it prepared for the national competition. Team member Shashaank Aiyer informed us that he and his colleagues qualified for the F1 in Schools World Competition that’s coming up in November, and will be teaming up with a group from Australia.
F1 in Schools, Shashaank tells us:
” . . . is a multidisciplinary challenge in which teams design, analyze, manufacture, and test miniature F1 cars that are powered by compressed carbon dioxide and raced down a track. We are the successors of AeroFlowRacing, who won the National competition and placed 15th at the World Finals.”
Here’s more about the Wheeler Celeritas Racing Team, which this year is comprised of six seniors. In the photo above from left to right are Mateen Jangda, Chase Waddington, Davis Nilson, Shashaank Aiyer, Sai Rajendrakumar, and Jared Ryley.
Below is from the national competition earlier this year in Austin, Texas.
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After being on the job only a few months, Mike Register is retiring as the Cobb public safety director.
His abrupt announcement was released by the county late Tuesday evening, citing “increasingly urgent family issues” that are prompting him to move out of Cobb. Register will stay on through Aug. 31.
Here’s the statement Register issued via the county:
“I was deeply honored to be Police Chief and Public Safety Director and appreciated the support of the Board and County Manager. I regret personal issues are tearing me away from this job, and I leave with a sense of accomplishment.”
“I will always treasure my time in Cobb County and I will always love this county and truly believe it is the greatest county in the state of Georgia with the greatest public safety employees in the state.”
Register was appointed public safety director in April by the Cobb Board of Commissioners after serving as police chief since 2017. The public safety director oversees police, fire, 911, emergency management and animal services in Cobb.
He was credited by some as being a morale-boosting force as county police officers and firefighters received seven-percent pay raises in the Cobb fiscal year 2020 budget that was adopted last month.
But less than three weeks later, commissioners will have to find a replacement.
While he was police chief Register emphasized community policing, forming a community affairs unit that included an officer in each of the five county precincts to informally meet with citizens at coffee shops and other venues. Register also held a series of public meetings with Cobb religious and community leaders.
Cobb County manager Rob Hosack issued the following statement:
“We understand that family comes first to Mike and are saddened that he will leave us. He did tremendous things in his short time in the position and we will be considering our options for the Public Safety post in the coming days.”
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