Late this afternoon Cobb County government spokesman Ross Cavitt said a “slight” chlorine smell has been detected in water coming from the James E. Quarles Water Treatment Plant on Lower Roswell Road in East Cobb, but it’s safe to drink and use.
He passed along the following statement from the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority:
“This afternoon, a malfunction in dilution of sodium hypochlorite at the Quarles Water Treatment Plant resulted in an overfeed of the disinfectant, with chlorine levels leaving the plant detected at slightly over 4.0 mg/L, a little over twice the normal level. Pumping from the plant was suspended for approximately one hour, and flushing from the major transmission lines leaving the plant is ongoing. As of now, samples collected at the flushing sites have shown chlorine levels only slightly higher than normal. Consumers, particularly in the vicinity of the Quarles Plant, may experience a temporary elevation in chlorine levels (detectable through smell and taste). Water is safe to use for all purposes, but customers may desire to flush their plumbing systems if chlorine levels are unpleasant.
“CCMWA will continue to flush and monitor chlorine levels at several locations until assured that there are no further concerns with water quality, and will notify our wholesale customers if there are any significant changes.”
One suggestion Cavitt added for dissipating the odor if it’s coming through your faucet: leave a cold water tap running.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The vote was unanimous (it was on the board’s consent agenda).
Wylene Tritt sold 22 acres at 3540 Roswell Road to the county for a cost of $8.4 million, but a supplemental parks bond account established in 2017 had only $8.3 million available.
The Friends for the East Cobb Park stepped in to make the donation from its endowment. Shortly after that, the group announced a fundraising campaignto replenish the endowment.
Tritt, who had owned a total of 54 acres on what was once a working farm, had planned to sell her land for $20 million for a senior living development proposed in 2013 by the son and brother of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.
But rezoning for the $200 million Isakson Living plan, which was dubbed Tritt Walk, was rejected by Cobb commissioners in 2015 after community opposition. Isakson Living sued, but dropped its legal challenge in 2016 and did not purchase the land.
At that time, Wylene Tritt wrote Cobb commissioner Bob Ott asking that her property be considered for future county acquisition for park purposes.
The funding for the reimbursement will come from the Cobb Parks 2008 bond fund balance.
The Friends group is a private, all-volunteer, non-profit citizens organization that was formed in 1998 and helped acquire land and made improvements to create East Cobb Park, which opened in 2003.
The organization stages events at the park, including concerts and a holiday tree lighting, and helps fund continuing improvements.
The commissioners tabled another action item Tuesday that would have approved spending $168,000 for license plate reader devices at select Cobb County parks, including East Cobb Park, Fullers Park and Terrell Mill Park.
Ott objected to the matter, saying installing the cameras would be an invasion of privacy.
Commissioners also approved a change order to delay completion of ongoing Sandy Plains Road construction work until December.
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said her office has been communicating that delay—prompted by weather and utility relocation issues—and wanted to make it formal.
She said she’s received a lot of calls from constituents, and understands the frustration over traffic backups, especially with school back in session.
“I don’t want to see another extension on this,” Birrell said.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
A Walton High School student who is accused of attacking a school administrator and threatening to shoot up the school was arrested over the weekend, charged with making terroristic threats, battery and other offenses.
Ty William Holder, 17, of a Cove Island Drive address in East Cobb, was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on Saturday morning, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
The charges include felony counts of making terroristic threats and battery against school personnel and misdemeanor accounts of simple battery against a police officer, alcohol possession on public school grounds and underage alcohol possession, according to the jail records.
Holder was released to his own recognizance on a $11,200 bond late Monday afternoon, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
The jail records indicate Holder was arrested at Peachford Hospital, a Dunwoody facility that treats individuals with addictions and mental health issues.
The incident was first reported by WSB-TV, which said a Walton assistant principal confronted the student about alcohol in a water bottle during a class last week. The student was upset and kicked the principal, then threatened to return to the school and “kill everyone,” the report said.
East Cobb News asked the Cobb County School District for more details about the incident, and a spokesperson issued this response:
“Staff in all Cobb Schools are trained in prevention and intervention best practices and care about the welfare of every student in the District. Walton High School staff responded quickly and appropriately and did what they have been trained to do: prioritize every student’s safety while keeping the focus on teaching and learning.”
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
David Birdwell (right) of the Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb talks at an April town hall meeting with Bill Simon, leader of a new group in opposition. (ECN file)
The East Cobb cityhood effort is gaining more visible opponents with a new citizens group called the East Cobb Alliance, which launched a website and a public Facebook group last week.
According to the group’s About page, the East Cobb Alliance is:
“A non-partisan coalition of East Cobb residents, businesses, and stakeholders who share the common vision that there is no need to incorporate any part of Unincorporated East Cobb into an additional layer of city-government, and want to work together to educate and inform the voters who will be responsible for casting a “Yes” or “No” vote to incorporate.”
Bill Simon is one of three people listed among the group’s organizers. He’s got a consulting and finance background and runs a small business marketing agency in East Cobb.
The others are Emmanuel Kipreos, an accountant with children attending Timber Ridge Elementary School and Mindy Seger, also an accountant raising her family in East Cobb.
When asked by East Cobb News how many people are involved in or who have expressed interest in the East Cobb Alliance, Simon referred to an invitation-only Facebook group of cityhood opponents he said has 300-plus members.
As for next steps, Simon said “what we are now working on is building the coalition up to be able to get the word out that 1) there is an effort to incorporate parts of East Cobb into a new city, and 2) why it is a bad idea that will cost more money.”
The East Cobb Alliance has posted financial breakdowns of the costs and services proposed by the cityhood group, especially those pertaining to police and fire services, as well as franchise fees, intergovernmental revenues and the East Cobb city financial feasibility study.
That study by Georgia State University declared the proposed city—with around 96,000 residents—is not only financially feasible but would start with a surplus of more than $3 million. The cityhood group claims a City of East Cobb could operate without levying a higher property tax rate than what citizens currently pay in unincorporated Cobb.
The cityhood committee this spring appointed an independent financial group to examine the study and develop a working budget proposal.
Contacted late last week by East Cobb News, cityhood leader Rob Eble said he understands that the finance group’s work is done, and that it is “validating findings.”
The cityhood group had tentatively eyed August for another town hall meeting on the subject, but one has not been scheduled.
The cityhood bill introduced by State Rep. Matt Dollar of East Cobb near the end of the 2019 legislative session is slated to be taken up in the Georgia General Assembly next year.
If passed, the legislation would set up a cityhood referendum, which also would be held next year.
The East Cobb Alliance site also has a section entitled “cityhood charades,” examining those behind the cityhood group, especially those with real estate backgrounds and connections.
Simon said the East Cobb Alliance is asking for contributions from interested citizens, “as we have come out of personal pocket for Open Records, web domain, web hosting, and we will be wanting to print material to distribute as well.”
Click the image for a larger view.
‘They’re stealing our stuff!’
An anonymously written blog has surfaced called Stop East Cobb Cityhood, calling the effort “a solution in search of a problem.” It expresses similar concerns as the East Cobb Alliance over taxes and real estate interests, but drips with sarcasm and colorful language more than financial analysis.
The eight blog posts that have been published aren’t dated, and some refer to committee president Joe Gavalis as “grifter-in-chief” or “charlatan-in-chief.” The pro-cityhood forces also are described alternately as “fraudsters,” “hucksters” and “tricksters.”
Some of the posts include photos of Barney Fife, Austin Powers and the McDonald’s Hamburglar to make acid points about what the blogger argues is a lack of specifics about a proposed City of East Cobb, and what’s driving it:
“The cityhood hustle is a naked land grab by a secretive bunch of connivers licking their chops at the prospect of turning our community into their personal ATM.”
The only identifying information about the Stop East Cobb Cityhood blog says that:
“We are homeowners in East Cobb who value our property rights and low taxes. We invite each and every one of you to compare the facts presented here with the shifting narrative and hide-the-ball tactics of the promoters. East Cobb is a special place with just the right balance of homes, businesses and open spaces. Let’s not hand over control of our homes and businesses to a group of insiders who want to cash in at our expense.”
Simon said he wasn’t aware of the Stop East Cobb Cityhood blog or who may be behind it and that the East Cobb Alliance is not associated with it.
A link to the Stop East Cobb Cityhood site is being promoted in Google search engine rankings as a paid advertisement with the headline: “Say No To Higher Taxes | Stop East Cobb Cityhood Today.”
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The following information is being shared by Cobb government agencies and Cobb Police about 2020 Census Bureau canvassing that recently got underway around the country:
If you’ve seen people walking around your neighborhood with a shoulder bag, phone, laptop, and/or a badge, you might think they’re solicitors but they might actually be census takers. Between August 4th and October 18th, census takers will be canvassing neighborhoods gathering information, verifying addresses, and collecting other data in preparation for the 2020 Census.
Here are some frequently asked questions about the census process:
1) Why does the Census Bureau do this? You might see census takers in your neighborhood for a few different reasons:
They are verifying addresses in preparation for the census;
They are collecting responses to the census or another survey;
They are dropping off census materials;
They are conducting quality checks on the census. Census takers who verify addresses are called address canvassers. They help ensure an accurate and complete count by verifying address lists across a wide area of physical geography, housing structures, and residence types. Part of this effort involves census takers on the ground noting where houses, apartments, shelters, and other residences are located. Census takers will attempt to knock on every door in the neighborhood they are canvassing.
2) How can I verify the identity of a census worker? If you are visited by someone from the U.S. Census Bureau, here are some tips to assure the validity of the field representative:
Census takers must present an ID badge that includes a photograph of the field representative, a Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date;
Note that census workers may be carrying a Census Bureau phone or a laptop as well as a bag with a Census Bureau logo;
If you still have questions, call 800-923-8282 to speak with a local Census Bureau representative.
3) How can I avoid being visited at home by Census workers? The best way to avoid being visited at home is to fill out your 2020 Census online, by phone, or by mail. Households will receive an invitation to begin participating in the census by April 1, 2020.
We hope this information will alleviate any concern that might be generated from unknown people on your property or knocking on your door.
As always, if you’re concerned about suspicious activity, the police department is here to help. But we are aware of the census takers and we want you to be aware, too!
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
As we noted back in April, the Aloha to Aging’s 2nd annual gala event is moving to East Cobb, and it’s slated for Thursday at the Olde Towne Athletic Club.
The East Cobb-based non-profit provides services to seniors and their care partners.
and last year inaugurated the gala fundraiser in honor of retired Kennesaw State University president Betty Siegel, who is an Alzheimer’s patient.
Tickets are on sale for $75 a person, and the event will include a reception, dinner and a live auction and program featuring East Cobb author Sarah Stanley Fallaw. You can order here.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Sprayberry High School was on lockdown for part of the school day Friday after a trespasser was found on campus with a gun.
A Cobb County School District spokeswoman said a man was walking on school grounds when he was confronted by the school staff, who then discovered he had a gun.
She said a Code Yellow alert was issued, which means that the outside doors to the school are locked but classes and other activities continue inside.
“The incident did not disrupt the school day, and at no time were students threatened or in danger,” said the spokeswoman, who said the district would be pursuing charges against the man.
According to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, Daniel Ryan Caudell, age 44 or 45, was arrested at 1:30 p.m. at Sprayberry by the Cobb County School District police.
He was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on a felony charge of possession of a weapon at or near a school, and a misdemeanor charge of alcohol possession on public school grounds, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
Jail records list Caudell’s home address as Aleta Drive, located near Sprayberry, and that he is being held on a $6,270 bond.
“The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority and we will continue to remain vigilant in ensuring our campus security,” the Cobb school district spokeswoman said.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
East Cobb Park is on a proposed list to have license plate reader devices installed, along with Fullers Park and Terrell Mill Park. (ECN photo by Wendy Parker)
Three parks in East Cobb could be among the first in the county to have license plate readers installed as a safety measure.
The Cobb Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department will ask commissioners on Tuesday for authorization to spend $168,000 to install the devices at 12 of the county’s 24 active and passive parks.
Those proposed to have the readers installed include East Cobb Park, Fullers Park and Terrell Mill Park.
According to the agenda item summary for Tuesday’s commissioners meeting, the parks selected for the readers were “based on experience and data obtained from the police department records of the number and type of citizen requested dispatch calls.”
The vendor is Flock Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR), which would install two solar-powered cameras at the main entrances to each park. The Flock system would be integrated into the Cobb Police dispatch system and has a real-time reporting tool for the the National Crime Information Center/Georgia Crime Information Center, according to the agenda item.
The data to be retrieved would include the arrival and departure time, license plate and descriptions of vehicles at the parks, with the objective to be able to easily detect and report suspicious vehicles.
The installation cost is covered under the 2016 Cobb Parks SPLOST and would include system integration a three-year warranty and a four-year agreement for cloud hosting, cellular service and software updates.
In a related item on Tuesday, commissioners will be asked to make a $90,213 reimbursement to the Friends for the East Cobb Park, which donated nearly $120,000 last summer to help the county purchase part of the adjoining Tritt property and preserve it for green space.
Wylene Tritt sold 22 acres at 3540 Roswell Road to the county for a cost of $8.4 million, but a supplemental parks bond account established in 2017 had only $8.3 million available.
The Friends for the East Cobb Park stepped in to make the donation from its endowment. Shortly after that, the group announced a fundraising campaignto replenish the endowment.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Cobb commissioner Bob Ott’s office sent out what it’s calling a “significant traffic advisory” this weekend for the ongoing repair work on Lower Roswell Road at the Sope Creek Bridge. Lane closures will be taking place during Friday and Saturday overnight periods:
“Beginning 7 p.m., Friday through 6 a.m., Saturday and from 7 p.m., Saturday through 6 a.m., Sunday, expect heavy delays. Two lanes will be closed with only one lane open to traffic. Flagging operations will be in place.
“This project consists of the rehabilitation of the existing bridge located on Lower Roswell Road over Sope Creek. Repairs include resealing the bridge joints, replacement of drainage structures, patching the existing concrete, leveling/stabilization of the approach slab, and installation of polymer overlay. This project is scheduled to be completed August 2019.”
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
A former Wheeler High School student charged with striking a teacher at the school in February has been indicted.
Last Friday, a Cobb Superior Court grand jury handed down an indictment of battery upon school personnel, a felony, against Dante Jaquawn Walker, 19, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.
In the indictment, Walker is alleged to have struck a teacher in the face on Feb. 4. He was arrested by Cobb County School District Police and later was released on a bond of $8,470, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.
Court records indicate that Walker was rearrested on July 4 on a felony marijuana charge and a misdemeanor charge of willful obstruction of a police officer. As a result, his bond was revoked on July 17 for 90 days. He remains in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
Walker’s home address in jail and court records is listed at Penny Lane, which is an apartment community off Wylie Road.
The court records further indicate that Walker must complete a drug and alcohol evaluation and enroll in a program to receive a General Education Diploma, among other pretrial conditions imposed in the July 17 order by Judge Kellie Hill.
Roy Clayton, the teacher identified in the indictment as Walker’s victim, was not listed on the Wheeler faculty roster for the school year that just began.
East Cobb News contacted the Cobb school district seeking information on whether the teacher had been investigated, placed on leave or disciplined in connection with the Feb. 4 incident.
A district spokeswoman would say only that “Mr. Clayton is still employed by the Cobb County School District. The student referenced is not enrolled in a Cobb County school.”
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
We’re revamping our calendar format, so please bear with us. The listings you’re used to seeing are undergoing some changes, but we wanted to let you know about a few events going on in East Cobb this weekend, especially as another school year is underway.
If you want to unload some clutter to help a good cause, Saturday’s the day to drop off items at the Pope Band Recycling Day. It’s from 9-4 at the school (3001 Hembree Road) and the basic donation is $10 per vehicle. Recyclable metals, electronics, paper and other goods are accepted; there’s a detailed listing of what you can bring and what’s not allowed at the link, and additional fees apply for some items.
From 10-2 on Saturday, you can swing by Honest-1 Auto Care (1391 East Cobb Drive) for food, games and more at its Family Fun Day that helps out United Military Care’s work with veterans. The non-profit has a Buddy Partner program that sends out volunteers to stay connected to isolated veterans, and those needing other assistance.
High school football is only a few weeks away, and two of East Cobb’s top teams are squaring off at 10 a.m. in a scrimmage. Walton visits Kell (4770 Lee Waters Road), and they’re both getting an early start to the season in other ways too, as participants once again in the Corky Kell Classic on Aug. 24 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
A late summer production of Center Stage North begins Friday and continues this weekend and through next weekend at The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road). In “Sylvia,” an empty nest couple moves to Manhattan from the suburbs, and their marriage is on the rocks after the adoption a Lab-poodle mix found on the streets. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, as well as 8 p.m. next Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Ticket info and ordering is here; they’re not sold at The Art Place.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Construction work along Sandy Plains Road between Piedmont Road and Ebenezer Road began last summer.
The Sandy Plains Road improvements that continue between Piedmont Road and Ebenezer Road were expected to be finished next month. But that work may not be done until December.
Cobb DOT has an agenda item on next Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting asking for a change order to extend the work until Dec. 20. There is no additional cost involved.
That project was to have been done by now, at the start of a new school year, but has been extended to next March.
The Sandy Plains Road project has had some other delays as well, not mentioned in Tuesday’s agenda item: In May there was an overnight shutdown of Sandy Plains at Ebenezer for emergency repairs due to a water main break caused by a construction truck hitting a fire hydrant.
There also was an overnight water outage on one side of Sandy Plains last month as part of the construction work.
The contract for the $4.4 million Sandy Plains construction project approved by commissioners in 2017 was awarded to C.W. Matthews Contracting Company, Inc., and includes a raised median, new crosswalks and pedestrian signals and resurfacing.
More on Tuesday’s commissioners meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta):
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Walton faces the 2019 season without Dominick Blaylock (1), now a Georgia Bulldog.
If you want to meet all six of the public high school football coaches in East Cobb, next Thursday’s your chance at the annual Pigskin Preview Breakfast.
It’s put on by the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, and it starts at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15, at Indian Hills Country Club (4001 Clubland Drive).
Tickets are $25 for Chamber members and $35 for general admission, and online registration closes on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
As in past years, the format is the same. The head coaches from Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Sprayberry, Kell, Walton and Wheeler will discuss their teams as preseason practice is underway, and take questions from a moderator and the audience.
They’ll also be bringing some of their players.
Two of the coaches will be new to the Pigskin Breakfast. They’re Sean Thom of Lassiter and Bryan Love of Wheeler. They succeeded the longest-serving coaches in East Cobb, respectively: Jep Irwin, now in Kentucky, and Mike Collins, the new coach at River Ridge in Cherokee County. Both were on the job for 10 years.
We’ll be posting full schedules for each team soon, but Kell and Walton will once again be playing in the Corky Kell Classic. Their games are on Saturday, Aug. 24 at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. respectively, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta.
On Saturday, the Longhorns and Raiders will be facing each other in a scrimmage at The Stockyard at Kell High School (4770 Lee Waters Road) starting at 10 a.m.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Here’s what’s going in August at the East Cobb Senior Center, with information provided by Cobb Senior Services (and you can get more details and sign up at the link):
Sip-n-Paint CSS membership required
Tuesday, August 13
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Free/Registration required
You get the opportunity to create your very own masterpiece in a fun relaxed environment while sipping on something sweet. Wear clothes you don’t mind a bit of paint on. Most classes are acrylic paintings on canvas. The final masterpiece is done at the end of class and ready to be taken home. There is no experience necessary. All supplies provided.
Cord Cutting CSS membership required
Wednesday, August 14
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Free/Registration required
Services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime are some of the most well-known names in what’s become known as “cord cutting,” doing away with cable/satellite television and using internet-based services to get your programming. Learn more about these services and how you can use them to cut your cable bill.
Movement & Nutrition CSS membership required
Tuesday, August 16
1:00 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.
Free/Registration required
Learn the basics of leading a healthy lifestyle the easy way and the truth about your body, and how to fuel it right.
History Corner: The Story of Women and Art CSS membership required
Tuesday, August 20
1:00 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.
Free/Registration required The Story of Women and Art is a television documentary series, consisting of three to one-hour episodes. The series are presented by Professor Amanda Vickery.
Ask the Expert/Medicare Questions CSS membership required
Friday, August 23
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Call the center to schedule your 15-minute appointment
Free/Registration required
Whether you are turning 65, are already on Medicare, or helping someone with their coverage, plan to attend a meeting with the expert, to get your Medicare questions answered.
Biography Corner: Georgia O’Keefe CSS membership required
Tuesday, August 27
1:00 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.
Free/Registration required
Among the great American artists of the 20th-century, Georgia O’Keeffe stands as one of the most compelling. For nearly a century, O’Keeffe’s representations of the beauty of the American landscape were a brave counterpoint to the chaotic images embraced by the art world.
Dine-a-Round No CSS membership required
Wednesday, August 28
11:30a.m.-1:00p.m.
Separate checks for lunch; Registration required
Meet at XenGo Fusion Kitchen & Fusion, 3162 Johnson Ferry Road
AARP Smart Driver No CSS or AARP membership required
Thursday, August 22
9:00a.m.- 4:00p.m.
$15 AARP members/$20 Non-members (cash or check only)
Check with your insurance agent about a possible discount.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Last call to RSVP for Thursday’s Steal It! Pop Up Art Festival event from 7-9:30 p.m. at The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road), which will feature the work of more than 30 local artists.
Admission is free, but drink tickets are $5 each, or two for $10 (and you’ll need to show your ID).
Like other similar events at The Art Place, this one is being presented by the Mountain View Arts Alliance, which supports the center’s work. It’s also the opening reception for an ongoing art sale, with items hanging in the hallway, gallery and lobby space in The Art Place.
All art on display will be under $50.
On Thursday, there will be 10 “pop up” booths featuring art for sale, live music from the Americana duo of Buttered Bourbon on the patio, previews for CenterStage North Theatre‘s upcoming show “Sylvia,” service dogs from Canine Assistantsand light appetizers.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
East Cobb may get its first Five Guys restaurant soon, pending action later this month by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
We saw an “Other Business” item in the Aug. 20 agenda files for a franchise location at the former Del Taco restaurant in the East Cobb Crossing Shopping Center (4269 Roswell Road).
The nationwide chain featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, French fries and milkshakes has three current Cobb locations and another in Sandy Springs.
ECC Outparcel, LLC is seeking signage and other design changes that don’t require rezoning, but must be signed off by commissioners. The outparcel site and shopping center were zoned for planned shopping center use in 1998.
In 2015 Del Taco got county permission to amend certain signage stipulations. The Five Guys amendment is asking to continue the signage uses permitted when Del Taco was open, and says in its application that “no change of use, occupancy or construction type is proposed.”
Five Guys also says in the case file it’s not proposing any new signage “in locations not previously approved” by commissioners for use by previous tenants.
The case file (you can read it here) includes other renderings in addition to the one at the top, as well as other design proposals and parking configurations.
Five Guys opened in the Washington, D.C. area in 1986 and now has more than 1,500 locations, with nearly as many planned in expansion.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
For the second time in as many months a proposal to turn a vacant commercial building on Ebenezer Road at Canton Road into a multi-business retail property is being delayed.
Last month the application by SAW Holding Inc. was delayed from July due to notification issues. At the start of Tuesday’s Cobb Planning Commission hearing, Cobb Zoning Office Division Manager John Pederson said the case was being delayed by the staff until September.
Here’s the case file for the application, which is seeking rezoning from neighborhood shopping to neighborhood retail commercial on 1.7 acres adjacent to Noonday Baptist Church.
SAW Holdings wants build 2,241-square-foot center for restaurants, a grocery store and offices, with the businesses open from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.
The Canton Road Neighbors civic group has expressed opposition to the current application for the subdivided nature of the request, as well as for environmental reasons.
“This is generally a family friendly area, with youth sports facilities, churches and residential neighborhoods,” Carol Brown of Canton Road Neighbors wrote in a letter to the zoning staff. “The SE corner of the Canton/Ebenezer intersection is now the site of a public park. It is an area of natural beauty and the Little Noonday [Creek] needs as much protection as possible.”
The planning board recommended approval of a request by SZS Holdings Inc. for a special land-use permit to expand a parking lot at Auto Weekly Specials, a used-car business (SLUP-7-2019 (case file here).
Owner Obaid Malik wants to add 41 additional parking space on the acre parcel that’s zoned general commercial.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners will make final zoning decisions on Aug. 20.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Co-authors Andy Lee White of East Cobb (left) and John Williams flank Robert Lee Smith, the last surviving member of the original Tams. (author photo)
Following up a post from a couple weeks ago, about a July 26 book signing and Marietta Square concert with The Tams, and a book that includes the 1960s singing group, here’s a report from co-author Andy Lee White, an East Cobb resident, after the event:
Robert Lee Smith (circled in red) appeared at a Tams concert on the Marietta Square July 26.
The book signing for east Cobb author Andy Lee White’s, Atlanta Pop in the ‘50s, ‘60s & ‘70s: The Magic of Bill Lowery, held at The Local Exchange on the Marietta Square before The Tams concert in Glover Park, saw a very special guest make an appearance.
Robert Lee Smith, the last living original member of The Tams, stopped by for a visit with authors Andy Lee White and John M. Williams.
Robert and the other original members of The Tams are featured in a photograph on the cover of the new book and in a chapter dedicated to The Tams.
Robert even performed a couple of songs with the current Tams lineup (the first time together in 25 years) at theconcert.
Estimates put the Friday night concert crowd on the Marietta Square at almost 10,000 people.
The book was published April 1 is available through The History Press.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
All-state player Zoe Laneaux (14) is a senior for the Pope Greyhounds. (ECN file)
Just a few days after a new school year began, so does the high school sports schedule. For the Pope softball team, beginning a new season means facing the team it lost to in last year’s state championship round.
The Greyhounds play at Georgia Class 6A champion Harrison Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the season opener for both teams.
Pope, which finished 33-6 last year under coach Chris Turco, is loaded again for another shot at the state crown. Five all-state players return: Zoe Laneaux (third base), Katie Ward (outfield), Bailey Chapin (first base), Hallie Adams (pitcher) and Carolyn Deady (catcher).
The Greyhounds need to replace second baseman Hannah Dodd, shortstop Gracie Kittrell and pitcher Trinity Pizzutti, who were leaders of the Class of 2018 that won 108 games. Their home opener is Aug. 13 vs. Northview at 5:30 p.m.
Lassiter also reached the state playoffs in Class 7A and posted a 27-7 season under coach Jason Campbell. The Trojans open next week on the road, then play host to Harrison on Friday, Aug. 16 at 4:45 p.m.
Kell was 13-13 under Kevin Foster last year and gets underway at Sprayberry Wednesday at 5:30 in an all-East Cobb matchup. The Longhorns will play Paulding County Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the first home game of the season.
Walton, which was 5-20 in 2018, also swings into action next week at Westminster and Campbell, then plays at Wheeler on Aug. 19. The Raiders have their first home games on an Aug. 27 doubleheader against Lassiter that starts at 5 p.m. at Terrell Mill Park (480 Terrell Mill Road).
The other two East Cobb high schools have new coaches.
Sprayberry began its season Tuesday at home against Sequoyah and is playing Wednesday at Kell, returns home to play Creekview Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Yellow Jackets also play host to Harrison Saturday at 12 p.m. under first-year coach Desmond Atwell.
Wheeler also has a new coach in Mark Collins, and starts the season with a tournament at Marietta High School Thursday-Saturday. The Wildcats open at home next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Riverwood. They play their home games at Coach Mau Field, behind the former East Cobb Middle School campus on Holt Road.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
This isn’t specific to East Cobb, but there’s been a lot of interest since the news first broke: the toxic emissions coming from a medical device sterilization lab in Smyrna have prompted Cobb commissioner Bob Ott to hold a town hall meeting on the subject later this month.
It’s scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19 at the Cobb Civic Center (548 S. Marietta Parkway), which ought to be big enough to accommodate many of those who couldn’t get into a previous public meeting last week held by legislators from the area.
Since then, Cobb public officials have called for the Sterigenics Atlanta lab to be shut down pending independent testing. Late Friday, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division approved a plan to reduce those emissions.
The substance is called ethylene oxide, an invisible, odorless toxin that’s used to sterilize around half of all medical products that require it. It’s also been linked to higher cancer rates in areas near facilities that emanate the gas.
But according to Georgia Health News and WebMD, which initially reported about the Sterigenics case, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency didn’t notify the state of three ethylene oxide hotspots it detected with higher cancer risks in Georgia for more than a year.
The Smyrna area near the Sterigenics lab is one of those hotspots (essentially they’re census tracts). Some nearby residents also have been protesting at the Sterigenics lab.
Ott said at what he’s calling his “community meeting” that federal EPA officials and others from the Georgia EPD and the Centers for Disease Control will be on hand.
He’s expected to introduce an agenda item at the commission’s Aug. 13 meeting but hasn’t specified what that might be.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
