March 2021

Cobb commissioners approve $2M for COVID vaccine call center

March 9, 2021 7:13 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb health director COVID vaccines — *Dr. Janet Memark of Cobb and Douglas Public Health said that while COVID transmission rates are falling, they’re “still extremely high.”*

The Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday voted to spend $2M in federal CARES Act funding to create a COVID-19 vaccination call center.

The center will provide updated information to the public about COVID-19 guidance and will allow citizens to schedule vaccine appointments.

The only commissioner to vote against in a 4-1 vote was Keli Gambrill of North Cobb, who said she hasn’t seen sufficient data showing that the call center software is effective.

JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb, who recently received her second dose of the vaccine, said “we’re still getting a lot of calls and e-mails” about how to get vaccines from the public that are being left with a variety of county agencies.

Chairwoman Lisa Cupid noted that the most vulnerable to COVID-19 are older people who are “less likely to be familiar with technology and most frustrated” at having to go online for information and to book appointments.

“We have some responsibility to make sure our vaccinations are accessible in Cobb,” Cupid said. “There are some things we need to get in front of.”

Cobb and Douglas Public Health launched a website in January as the vaccine rollout began, but it crashed initially and citizens expressed frustrations booking online or not having technology access to do so.

Dr. Janet Memark, the director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, told commissioners that having a call center is an important step as vaccine eligibility expands, and as variants of the virus are still in the community.

During an earlier briefing, she said that more than 143,000 doses of the vaccines have been administered in Cobb. There have been more then 170 cases of a British variant, the B.1.1.7, but said that’s likely a “huge undercount” due to limited testing.

Another COVID-19 variant that originated in South Africa also has been detected in Georgia, and she said there are three confirmed cases in the state.

Cobb’s COVID transmission rate continues a major decline, with a 14-day average of 356 cases per 100,000 for PCR and Antigen tests combined.

The PCR community spread metric is 197, the lowest it’s been since the fall. But since 100 cases per 100,000 is considered “high community spread,” the current numbers are “still extremely high.”

Memark and Lisa Crossman, the deputy director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, said they were encouraged by CDC guidelines issued Monday for fully vaccinated people visiting safely with others.

They include relaxing mask-wearing and social-distancing habits in some instances.

“We see a light at the end of the tunnel,” Crossman said, adding that when she read through the guidelines it “almost brought tears of joys to my eyes.

“This gives a lot of hope to our seniors who’ve been isolated for the last year.”

Cobb has 873 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 56,276 cases since last March. The 7-day moving average is 152 new cases as of Tuesday (compared to 526 on Jan. 13, a single-day high).

Crossman still urged citizens to continue to wear masks and socially-distance in public, and when people become eligible for the vaccine, to sign up.

“Whatever brand of vaccine you have access to, please get it,” Crossman said.

Cobb students create virtual crystal growing competition

March 9, 2021 2:14 PMMarch 9, 2021 12:04 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Crystal Growing Competition

Submitted information:

We are the Structural Nucleic Acid Anticancer Research Society (STARS), and we are a group of Cobb County high school students who enjoy performing research for crystallography. In fact, in the summer of 2019, our founder and president, Susanna Huang, presented a 20-minute presentation at the American Crystallographic Association about her research in selenium-modified DNA crystals. Also, in the spring semester of 2020, our team placed 2nd at the national US Crystal Growing Competition for the crystal quality category.

Recently, we were inspired to host our own 2021 Cobb County Crystal Growing Competition. The crystal growing season has started already and will end on April 11th. Due to the pandemic, many extracurricular activities have been cancelled. Unfortunately, because of this and because of social distancing measures, many students are often deprived of scientific and hands-on activities at home or in school.

Through this virtual competition, we hope to provide students K-12 a fun STEM experience and an exciting contest to compete in while staying protected in their homes. Since salt is a safe, relatively common, and easily accessible household product, we settled on centering the competition on growing crystals of salt.
Through this competition, we hope to help students better understand the scientific theories of crystallography. Though they are only growing inorganic salt crystals, the general methodology of experimentation and research is very similar to that of growing organic crystals (which is important for x-ray crystallography and curing diseases like cancer). Please find the playlist of introduction videos that we prepared for competitors that discusses and explains basic crystallization topics (e.g. What is a single crystal, saturated vs unsaturated solution, how to maintain a crystal solution, etc.): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUhmxDvClcLkFkqB10LrKn4OdcFNn2QXl Through our competition, we hope to spur the creativity and scientific thinking of students.

Update on Cobb rental assistance relief funds; eviction FAQs

March 9, 2021 1:57 PMMarch 9, 2021 8:49 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

Last week [March 2], the Cobb Board of Commissioners approved emergency funding to provide additional rent relief for qualified Cobb residents who have been adversely affected by COVID-19 and fees related to that process. To watch a short video from the BOC meeting, click here.

This funding in the amount of $22,880,880 is available through federal Emergency Rental Assistance grants approved by the U.S. Congress and signed into law on Dec. 27. The grants are designed to help those impacted by the pandemic, and struggling to recover, stay in their homes.

As part of the additional federal emergency COVID-19 relief bill, state and local governments with more than 200,000 residents were allocated funds to provide assistance with rent, rental arrears, utilities and home energy costs, utilities and home energy costs arrears and other expenses related to housing.

This program is separate from the CARES rental and mortgage assistance approved by the Cobb BOC in 2020.

Who is eligible to seek assistance?
An “eligible household” is defined as a renter household in which at least one or more individuals meets the following criteria:

Qualifies for unemployment or has experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19

Demonstrates a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability

Has a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median

Service providers will prioritize applications received from eligible households if one of the following conditions exist:

The household income is at or below 50 percent of the area median

One or more individuals within the household have been unemployed for the 90-day period preceding the application date

For what can these funds be used?
Assistance can be provided for rent, rental arrears, utilities and home energy costs, utilities and home energy costs arrears and other expenses related to housing.

Who will handle applications for the funds?
The same groups who worked with the county on the CARES assistance will also handle this new grant program. Those groups are:

HomeFree-USA

Star-C Corporation

MUST Ministries

The Center for Family Resources

Sweetwater Mission

When can I apply?
Those groups are sorting through the new program requirements and developing applications and we hope to have them available soon. We will post the latest when that information is available and keep updates on our COVID Assistance Center page at cobbcounty.org/communications/news/cobb-covid-assistance-center.

Cobb Magistrate Court Judge Brendan Murphy also provided the following update about how eviction cases will be proceeding:

(1) The Cobb County Board of Commissioners appropriated approximately $22.8 million in federal rental assistance funding to five (5) total providers: The Center for Family Resources, HomeFree-USA’s Cobb County HomeSaver for Renters, MUST Ministries, Star-C, and Sweetwater Mission. Tenants and/or Landlords may apply for the program through any provider as the terms and eligibility requirements are identical. A provider will also be available at the courthouse each Friday when dispossessory proceedings are scheduled to ensure that everyone that qualifies has an opportunity to apply.

(2) In a Feb. 23 Order Amending Courthouse Safety Guidelines for all Classes of Courts and Reinstating the Plan to Resume Jury Trials in the Cobb Judicial Circuit, Chief Superior Court Judge Robert D. Leonard, II vacated his Dec. 22 order limiting in-person proceedings and allowed courts to “resume in-person proceedings…in strict compliance with public health guidelines and guidance issued by the Supreme Court.”

(3) The CDC’s limited, temporary halt in certain residential evictions remains in place until “at least March 31, 2021.”

(4) The Magistrate Court is returning to the Fall 2020 dispossessory hearing scheduling procedures. Residential, non-payment cases will not be automatically set but may be heard by written request. All other dispossessory cases with an Answer filed will be automatically set for a hearing.

Please click here for updated FAQs re: eviction cases in the Magistrate Court of Cobb County. If anyone has a question about the status or scheduling of a particular case, please call the Magistrate Court Clerk’s Office Civil Division at (770) 528-8900.

Cobb schools make calendar changes for teacher vaccinations

March 8, 2021 6:17 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb County School District on Monday said the school calendar will change for two days next week and the week after so teachers and other district employees can receive their first COVID-19 vaccinations, and in similar fashion in April for second doses.

In a release, the district said the instructional support days that had been scheduled for Wednesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 24 will be switched to Friday, March 19 and Friday, March 26, respectively.

Teachers and staff who elect to get shots are scheduled to receive drive-up vaccinations from Cobb and Douglas Public Health at Jim Miller Park on March 19 -20 and March 26-27.

In April, instructional support days slated for Wednesday, April 14 and Wednesday, April 21 will be moved to Friday, April 16 and Friday, April 23, respectively.

Second doses are scheduled for April 16, 17, 23 and 24.

During the current 2020-21 school year, the Cobb school district had designated Wednesday as a non-instructional day, allowing for one-on-one interactions, small group sessions and related activities.

On Monday, public school teachers and staff in Georgia became eligible to receive vaccines through the state’s public health system. The current Tier 1A+ includes health care workers, first responders, people ages 65 and older and their caregivers.

The Cobb school district release said staffers are able to use their employee login ID to sign up for a vaccine and must show their badges when arriving at Jim Miller Park.

“The choice to take the COVID-19 vaccination will remain just that, a choice,” the district statement said.

The vaccinations will be given by public health personnel and nurses trained by Cobb and Douglas Public Health to administer the COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna.

“Our nurses have provided ongoing education and support to our school community, and we are hopeful that widespread vaccinations will help to bring an end to this pandemic that has brought so many challenges to our lives over the last year,” Melanie Bales, the Cobb schools nursing supervisor, said in the district release.

Three Cobb teachers died of COVID-19 between Christmas and mid-January, prompting teachers, parents and others to demand the district switch to an all-online learning format.

At an emotional Cobb Board of Education meeting in January—the day two of those teachers died—speakers implored the board to go all-virtual, and chided Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and board members David Banks and David Chastain of East Cobb for not wearing face masks at the meeting.

That made national news, but the board did not respond. The district is continuing with both in-person and virtual options through the school year and will be offering a choice for the 2021-22 school year.

For the spring semester, roughly two-thirds of the district’s 107,000 students signed up for in-person learning.

Last week, 106 new COVID-cases were reported in the Cobb school district, the lowest figure since November.

Chairwoman urges Chamber audience to ‘think big for Cobb’

March 8, 2021 3:49 PM by Wendy Parker

Lisa Cupid, Cobb Commission Chair candidate

In her first State of the County address as the Cobb Commission Chairwoman, Lisa Cupid laid out what she called her five “I” goals before the Cobb Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

While “Cobb’s future has always been bright,” Cupid, the first African-American to head the county government, said there are still parts of Cobb “that have not been included. We have what it takes to make sure our success reaches everyone.”

Cupid, who was a two-term commissioner from South Cobb before defeating incumbent Chairman Mike Boyce last November, said a desire to foster greater inclusion stretches across geographic, economic and cultural lines.

The other goals she discussed included “leading with integrity,” developing a framework for making “intelligent” decisions, innovation and “investing in Cobb.”

Above all, Cupid said, she wants to foster a climate to “think big for Cobb County, to think outside of the box.”

Of her leadership style, Cupid said it’s important to have “tough but honest conversations about the state of our county. We all want Cobb to move forward together.”

She conducted a board retreat in January and concluded that “it is when we have the tough conversations that we can begin to experience our breakthrough.”

She referenced issues such as transit, housing affordability and investing in a “robust capital maintenance plan” and “our county employees.”

Cupid, who leads a new Democratic majority on the commission, said she wanted to push for “fair and equitable elections,” responding to current Republican-sponsored legislation in Georgia to curtail voting availability.

Those measures include reducing early voting periods and to eliminate no-excuse absentee voting, as well as increase voter ID requirements.

“It’s heartbreaking to see all the work to get people to the polls is being eroded,” Cupid said, saying such “rollbacks to the past” harken back to a time when people like her were not welcome in the corridors of government and business power.

Speaking on International Women’s Day, Cupid noted not only her status as the first woman to head county government, but in leading Cobb’s first all-female Board of Commissioners and a county government staff headed by a woman, County Manager Jackie McMorris.

“Together, we have been making herstory,” Cupid said.

You can watch her full remarks by clicking here; they begin around the 32-minute mark.

At 7 p.m. Monday Cupid also is providing similar remarks for the general public in a socially-distanced address at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

A limited number of people are attending in an invitation-only setting, but the address will be shown on Cobb County government’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

The Avenue East Cobb to hold Spring Festival on March 31

March 8, 2021 1:00 PM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information for The Avenue East Cobb Spring Festival, scheduled for March 31 from 3-6 p.m.:

Join us for an afternoon of springtime fun with a touchless 2D EASTER EGG SCAVENGER HUNT. Pick up the Scavenger Hunt sheet at the Red Avenue Tent and start searching for our colorful 2D decorated eggs. Write down where each egg is located, and the first 100 kids to return the sheet receive a coupon for either a free SMALLCAKES Cupcake or free 5oz. MENCHIES Frozen Yogurt to be redeemed the day of the event! Visit our Balloonist, Caricaturist, mini-Farmers Market and take a picture in the butterfly chair with the Easter Bunny! Easter Bunny photos are first-come, first-served and taken with your own camera or cell phone.

No tickets or reservations required.

Visit www.avenueeastcobb.com/events for complete details.

*This event is weather permitting. If it rains, we will postpone and reschedule.

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East Cobb Flying Biscuit opening awaiting alcohol license

March 8, 2021 3:56 PMMarch 6, 2021 2:50 PM by Wendy Parker

On Wednesday the new Flying Biscuit Cafe at the Parkaire Landing Shopping Center announced its opening was “one week out!”

(The restaurant is now saying the doors will open on Monday, March 15, starting at 7 a.m.)

It’s been nearly a year and a half since the popular Atlanta-based breakfast and brunch spot announced its return to East Cobb. Those plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will take up Flying Biscuit’s appeal of a denial of an alcohol license for beer, wine and Sunday serving.

It’s a routine process that happens frequently with new businesses selling or serving alcohol.

The Cobb County Code has distance requirements for those establishments regarding their location to homes, schools, religious institutions, parks, day care centers, addiction treatment centers and in the case of Flying Biscuit, a library.

The code states that any place serving alcohol must be at least 600 feet from a library. The East Cobb Library branch at Parkaire is 573 feet away in Parkaire.

So the initial alcohol license was automatically denied in January by the Cobb Business License Division.

Businesses can appeal to the Cobb License Review Board, a five-member appointed body, and on Feb. 24 that panel voted 4-0 to recommend approval.

Flying Biscuit hired Parks Huff, a noted Cobb zoning attorney, to handle the case, and he told the review board that the restaurant estimates that no more than 3 percent of its sales will be alcohol-related.

He also pointed to seven businesses nearby that have alcohol licenses.

Whenever a business makes such an appeal, it also has to fill out a lengthy questionnaire that requires many details to be explained about how the business will operate.

Restaurant manager Alexandra Baptiste said she plans to have 25 employees “when fully operational” and that staff will be trained every six months about alcohol sales.

When Flying Biscuit finally opens its doors—more than a decade after shutting them further up Johnson Ferry—the hours will be Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cobb Library Foundation observing Read Across America Month

March 6, 2021 3:18 PMMarch 6, 2021 10:03 AM by Wendy Parker

Friday was the start of the National Education Association’s Read Across America Month, and the Cobb Library Foundation is taking part by holding its first Storytime Fundraiser.

The foundation is a non-profit volunteer organization that assists the Cobb County Public Library System. Proceeds from this fundraiser will be donated for the purchase of technology, literacy programs and summer reading programs.

Library staff will share storytime video links on its Facebook page Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and participants vote for their favorites through monetary donations. More details are in the flyer below

The contest lasts through March 31, and to help kick off the month, Cobb commissioners and county leaders held their own storytimes.

Visit cobblibraryfoundation.org for more information.

Cobb Library Foundation Read Across America

Cobb schools report 106 new COVID cases, lowest since Nov.

March 5, 2021 1:36 PM by Wendy Parker

This week’s COVID-19 update in the Cobb County School District is the lowest single-week total for new reported cases since the pandemic was on the rise in November.

The district is reporting 106 new cases among teachers and staff, the same number as the week of Nov. 20, when case totals in Cobb and Georgia began their late fall and early winter surge.

That was a month after Cobb students who chose in-person learning returned to their classrooms.

The 106 new cases bring to 4,066 the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in the district since it began reporting them last July 1.

There were 7 new cases this week at Kell High School, the most of any school in the 112-school district, and Walton High School’s 3 new cases bring its overall total to 105, the most in the district.

There also are 50 schools this week that did not report any new cases. The figures do not break down between students and staff.

After an online-only end to the fall semester, the spring semester started in frazzled fashion in January, and during that period 3 Cobb schools teachers died from COVID-19, setting off emotional protests and calls for a return to virtual learning.

After 470 new cases were reported the week of Jan. 15—the highest for any week this school year—those numbers steadily began to drop. By Feb. 15, the new case total had fallen to 232, and was 229 last week.

The district announced last week it was making plans to distribute vaccines to teachers and staff.

In Cobb County, the rate of new COVID-cases has been declining sharply. According to Thursday’s Georgia Department of Public Health daily status report, the 7-day moving average of cases according to date of onset in the county is 160, the lowest since early November.

That’s for both PCR and antigen tests, and that combined 7-day moving average stood at 801 in early January.

The rate of community spread of the virus in Cobb also has dropped sharply, with a 14-day average of 234 PCR cases per 100,000. That number had been higher than 1,000 in January.

A two-week average of 100 cases per 100,000 is considered high community spread.

Cobb Superior Court conducts ‘implicit bias training’ for judges

March 5, 2021 3:41 PMMarch 5, 2021 9:41 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

The Cobb Judicial Circuit is among the first in the state to have judicial officers across all classes of courts attend implicit bias training. The Superior Court hosted this training for the entire Cobb judiciary on Friday, Feb. 26. Chief Justice Harold Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia was also in attendance.

This interactive training from the National Training Institute on Race and Equity was led by Dr. Bryant T. Marks, Ph.D., who is the organization’s founder and chief equity officer. It focused on recognizing how implicit biases are normal byproducts of being human, living in society, and being overexposed to certain groups with certain traits and in certain roles. A key concept highlighted was this is about the machinery of the mind and not the content of one’s character. Judges learned how to take steps to be more cognizant of and guard against these implicit biases in judicial decision-making.

“Today, we believe Cobb County became the first judicial circuit in Georgia to offer this type of impactful training to its judiciary from top to bottom, across all classes of courts,” said Chief Judge Rob Leonard, who organized the training. “It’s important to let the public know that we take very seriously our solemn obligation to dispense justice fairly and impartially.”

With 50 judges in attendance from the Cobb Superior, State, Juvenile, Probate, Magistrate, and Municipal Courts, Leonard added, “I could not have been more pleased with the participation, engagement, or the turnout. I am very proud of the leadership role that our bench played in bringing this training to judicial education in Georgia.”

Superior Court Judge Angela Brown, who attended the training, said “It is important for us to begin to understand and address the historic race issues affecting justice in the court system and this training was a great first step. To see my colleagues from all classes of Cobb courts and such great participation from my own Superior Court bench is encouraging.”

Chief Magistrate Brendan Murphy also found the training extremely useful.

“As magistrate judges, our decisions set the trajectory for the entire criminal justice process,” Murphy said. “Even small unconsidered and unchecked unconscious biases can have devastating consequences. I’m grateful Chief Judge Leonard organized this dynamic presentation and proud that all 18 Cobb magistrate judges actively participated.”

Chief State Court Judge Carl Bowers added “The State Court of Cobb County, along with our colleagues in the other courts, is pleased to have participated in the implicit bias training offered by Dr. Marks. His topic is timely, relevant and beneficial.”

Dr. Marks served on President Obama’s Board of Advisors with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and as a senior advisor with the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He has provided implicit bias training to more than 2,000 police chiefs and executives via a series of briefings at the White House. He has also trained tens of thousands of police officers in local police departments across the United States, as well as local prosecutors.

The Superior Court of Cobb County is a court of general jurisdiction handling both civil and criminal law actions. The Superior Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the State Court over cases involving misdemeanors, contract disputes, premises liability, and various other actions. In addition, the Superior Court has exclusive equity jurisdiction over all cases of divorce, title to land, and felonies involving jury trials, including death penalty cases. The Superior Court of Cobb County has 10 elected judges who preside over jury trials, rule on evidence, hear motions and render verdicts in bench trials. Each Superior Court Judge is elected to a four-year term.

For more information, please contact Amanda Marshall at 678-522-9261 or amanda.marshall@cobbcounty.org.

Cobb school bus driver appreciation event to donate PPE supplies

March 4, 2021 2:27 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school bus safety

East Cobb parent Mindy Seger is organizing a second bus driver appreciation drive to raise funds for PPE supplies for drivers in the Cobb County School District.

She was prompted into action when learning that not all of the district’s estimated 1,100 bus drivers and monitors have enough masks and other safety supplies in response to COVID-19.

The second driver appreciation event will take place at the Freeman Poole Senior Center (4025 S. Hurt Road, Smyrna) on Saturday, March 13 from 2-4 p.m.

That’s where the initial PPE pickup event took place last month. Seger and her fellow volunteers raised enough in donations and supplies for 100 bags to give away, but nearly 200 people showed up.

Seger said she wants to give away 500 bags at the next event “but that will take huge community support.” Here’s how you can help:

Items bit.ly/cobbbus
Money bit.ly/fundcobbbus

Here’s more about what Seger’s doing in a Fox 5 report.

East Cobb food scores: Mediterranean Grill; Mirko Pasta; more

March 6, 2021 3:51 PMMarch 4, 2021 8:34 AM by Wendy Parker

Mirko Pasta East Cobb, East Cobb restaurant scores

The following East Cobb food scores for the week of March 1 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:

Chick-fil-A
3046 Shallowford Road
March 2, 2021 Score: 97, Grade: A

Domino’s Pizza
2146 Roswell Road, Suite 100
March 4, 2021 Score: 98, Grade: A

Johnboy’s Home Cooking
3050 Canton Road
March 1, 2021 Score: 88, Grade: B

Jordan Lounge and Hookah Bar
2755 Canton Road
March 2, 2021 Score: 81, Grade: B

McDonald’s
4819 Lower Roswell Road
March 5, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Mediterranean Grill
1255 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 15
March 1, 2021 Score: 98, Grade: A

Mirko Pasta
1281 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 120
March 2, 2021 Score: 95, Grade: A

Mt. Bethel Elementary School
1210 Johnson Ferry Road
March 5, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Panera Bread
4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1530
March 4, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Taco Bell
4880 Lower Roswell Road
March 5, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Cobb schools cancels contract for UV disinfecting lights

March 3, 2021 7:57 PMMarch 3, 2021 7:27 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb schools COVID safety products — *Cobb schools had been installing UV disinfecting light systems on elementary campuses.*

The Cobb County School District said Wednesday it was cancelling a contract for ultraviolet light (UV) disinfecting lights in elementary schools after those lights at a school malfunctioned last month.

In a message to the “Cobb Schools Team,” the district said that it was discontinuing its contract with Cobb-based ProTek Life after the UV light system at Argyle Elementary School in Smyrna failed on Feb. 22.

The UV lights were designed to disinfect classrooms overnight as part of COVID-19 safety measures. They were to have a “fail-safe” element that would prevent the activity from taking place if a student or teacher entered a classroom.

The Cleanz254 lights disinfect classrooms daily after the school day is over. The process takes an hour overnight, and the vendor claims it kills 99.99 percent of all microbes in a classroom.

But the district said in its message that “it appears timing hardware and motion detectors did not work as described” and the UV lights went on in two offices at Argyle during the school day on Feb. 22.

“Although no students were present, one adult was present” and other UV lights “flickered on and off throughout the building in appeared to be attempts to turn on,” the district said, adding that no one appeared to be hurt during the incidents.

The message said an investigation into the problems began and while the problem was limited to one school, “the District’s high expectation and safety requirements were not met despite ProTek Life’s Assurances.

“We have determined ProTek’s hardware does not meet the safety requirement described in and required by our RFP process,” said the district’s message, which added that CCSD would be asking for a repayment under the terms of its contract.

(You can read the full letter by clicking here.)

The district expanded the UV lights contract to all 67 elementary schools after what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale called a successful proof-of-concept at three schools in the fall.

Only a few schools have had the UV lights installed thus far, including Murdock ES and Sope Creek ES in East Cobb.

The contract with ProTek Life was part of a $12 million request by Ragsdale in December with other vendors that included high-tech hand sanitizers.

The board voted to approve the contract, but some board members objected, saying they hadn’t seen any evidence that the products worked, and thought it was not the best use of funds.

One of those objecting members, Jaha Howard, was prevented from asking further questions of Ragsdale during the board meeting.

No information about the $12 million spending request, with the funds to come from the district’s reserve, was ever included on the board’s meeting agenda.

After that, a citizens group called “Watching the Funds—Cobb” organized to question and scrutinize school district spending, and was critical of the $12 million purchase.

The group also has questioned the district’s contract with AlertPoint, a Kennesaw company that manufactures an emergency alert system that’s been installed in all Cobb schools starting in 2017.

On Feb. 2, an alert went off throughout all Cobb school campuses that led to a brief Code Red, which the district said is being investigated as a deliberate cyber attack.

Recent news reports in metro Atlanta and south Florida said that Tony Hunter, a former AlertPoint employee, was indicted in Fort Lauderdale in January for alleged bid-rigging for a technology contract in his position as the information officer for Broward County schools.

A contract for school equipment there was won by David Allen, head of the Kennesaw-based EDCO, an education technology provider.

Allen, who also was the ProTek president and was the founder of AlertPoint, died of COVID-19 last month.

Hunter started work for AlertPoint in 2019 after leaving Florida. He has pleaded not guilty to the Florida charges and is out on bail, according to news reports.

In a report last week, WSB-TV reported that a potential vendor for the Cobb schools UV disinfecting lights contract expressed “concerns about installing a toxic system around kids.”

The TV station also cited unnamed sources who said that Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady is conducting an initial investigation into the Cobb school contracts after meeting with “whistleblowers.”

In its message on Wednesday, the Cobb school district said in announcing the ProTek contract cancellation that “we do not believe even a single failure to meet the high health and safety standard established in our RFP process is acceptable.

“Nothing is more important than the health and safety our our students and staff.”

Powers Ferry rezoning cases get first hearings in Marietta

March 3, 2021 2:42 PM by Wendy Parker

The Marietta Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended denial of two major rezoning cases in the Powers Ferry Road corridor, but the attorney for the applicants said he will appeal to the City Council next week for a delay.

The advisory planning board voted unanimously in both instances against a mixed-use project, Nexus Gardens, near Powers Ferry Elementary School, and Laurel Park, a townhome project in Cloverdale Heights.

Both projects would be developed by Macauley Investments, an Atlanta real estate developer specializing in mixed-use projects. The properties are owned by Ruben McMullan, a real esate investor with East Cobb ties, and his assorted entities.

Tuesday’s meeting was the first time the requests have been heard publicly after months of delays.

Nearby residents in both communities turned out to speak against the projects (see our weekend story), which they said are incompatible with their communities and would worsen traffic in the congested Powers Ferry area near the South Marietta Parkway.

“This will ruin the lives of everyone in the neighborhood,” said Anna Holiday, a resident of the Meadowbrook neighborhood, which is mostly in unincorporated Cobb.

Kevin Moore, the applicant’s attorney, wanted to table the Nexus Gardens case again after receiving comments from Cobb DOT on a traffic study on Tuesday afternoon. Meadowbrook Drive, the only access point for Nexus Gardens, is located in the county.

He also said Laurel Park, which would consist of 204 homes adjacent to Cloverdale Heights, is “not the plan we want to build, but we are working on it,” including a traffic study in progress.

The seven-member planning commission, however, voted twice against tabling the requests, which were first filed last fall.

The traffic issues stem from limited access to Powers Ferry in both Meadowbrook, which is mostly in Cobb County, and Cloverdale Heights, which is in the city of Marietta.

Nexus Gardens would have apartments, senior living and restaurants on nearly 17 acres, mostly undeveloped and facing Interstate 75. Some of those parcels include 19 single-family homes.

The density of the project calls for two five-story apartment buildings totalling 280 units served by a three-story parking deck, a five-story senior-living building with 160 units, 39 townhomes and restaurants and retail space.

Laurel Park would be accessible via four residential streets in Cloverdale Heights, which residents said would be a traffic nightmare in their community.

“These are small homes, but they are our homes,” said Cloverdale Heights resident Brian Peters, describing his neighbors as “solid, working-class folks.”

Many of them are first-time homebuyers in a neighborhood with homes costing around $200,000.

“Clo-Hi is that American dream, and we feel it’s now under threat,” Peters said, adding that he’s not against development, but “reckless, poorly thought development.”

The land tracts—nearly 17 acres for Nexus Gardens and 30 acres for Laurel Park—are mostly undeveloped and front I-75.

Moore said the land proposed for Nexus Gardens was rezoned by the city for “more intense purposes” in the 1980s, although development plans then fell through.

“You will hear that this doesn’t reflect the neighborhood,” he said. But “this proposal is a far better use than what is currently zoned.”

To say the property should not be developed for a mixed-use purpose, Moore said later, would be tantamount to “taking the owner’s property.”

Lily Reed, a Cloverdale Heights resident, urged the planning commission to consider the “cumulative effects” of both rezoning requests on the community.

James Rosich, who lives near Meadowbrook in the Hamby Acres neighborhood, said due to the lack of a completed traffic study, “there’s no reason [Nexus Gardens] should go forward.”

If it does, he said, “it’s a travesty.”

Among the issues are the close proximity of Meadowbrook Drive to the Powers Ferry-Loop intersection, the traffic impact on Powers Ferry Elementary School and the amount of general traffic that would use a small residential street for access to a large mixed-use project.

“Please deny this,” Rosich said. “They need to start over again.”

Planning commissioners didn’t discuss the Nexus Gardens case before voting unanimously against it, and only one member made brief traffic remarks about the Laurel Park project before the vote to recommend denial.

The Marietta City Council will meet next Wednesday, March 10, to consider the rezonings.

Walton HS, East Cobb MS teachers named NASA Astronomy Ambassadors

March 3, 2021 1:18 PMMarch 3, 2021 11:03 AM by Wendy Parker

Walton East Cobb teachers NASA Astronomy Ambassadors — *L-R: Teachers Dana Evans of Walton HS and Shannon Ventresca, East Cobb MS.*

Submitted information:

Three more Cobb Schools science teachers will join the elite group of NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors following an announcement by The SETI Institute. The Cobb teachers are the only educators selected from Georgia. The 2021 Class of NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAAs) includes 30 educators from 10 states.

Cobb Schools 2021 NASA Ambassadors:

•   Shannon Ventresca, East Cobb Middle School

•   Tami McIntire, Palmer Middle School

•   Dana Evans, Walton High School

“We are so excited to continue our partnership with SETI and NASA for cycle 9 of the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors Program. The selection of Shannon, Tami, and Dana to fly on SOFIA is just more evidence of why Cobb is the best place to Teach, Lead and Learn,” said Cobb Schools Science Supervisor Christian Cali, who joined Cobb’s 2019 NASA Ambassadors on part of their flight mission.

The professional development program for science teachers is designed to improve science teaching and increase student learning and STEM engagement. This year’s expanded AAA program includes not only high school teachers but also middle school and community college teachers.

“Over its history, our NASA-funded AAA program has impacted tens of thousands of high school students through the immersive and inspirational experience of their teachers,” said Bill Diamond, CEO of the SETI Institute. “This powerful STEM program will allow the SETI Institute to help bring NASA science into classrooms across the country.”

Last year, three Cobb teachers were also selected as NASA Ambassadors:

•   Doug LaVigne, Kell High School

•   Heather Guiendon, Walton High School

•   Starrissa Winters, Wheeler High School

Kennesaw Mountain High School’s Berkil Alexander and Philip Matthews both sported NASA flight jackets in 2019, as did Hillgrove High School’s Nikki Bisesi and Wheeler High School’s Season Stalcup.

Due to the challenges over the past 12 months, the 2020 Class, also referred to as Cycle 8, has not completed its mission as Ambassadors yet.

AAA teachers receive training in astrophysics and planetary science. Their training includes a week-long STEM immersion experience at a NASA astronomy research facility such as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). After their training, the AAAs teach a physical science curriculum module created by the SETI Institute that connects curriculum concepts to NASA- and SOFIA-enabled research. WestEd education consultants assess the impact of the specialized curriculum module on student STEM learning and engagement. Past evaluations of the AAA program have shown statistically significant improvements in performance and STEM engagement among students whose teachers participated in the program.

“We are grateful that NASA will be funding the AAA program through 2025 and are especially excited to be adding middle school and community college teachers and their students,” said Dr. Dana Backman, AAA program lead. “These teachers will use their professional development and SOFIA experiences to convey real-world content to their students that illuminate the value of scientific research and the wide variety of STEM career paths available to them.”

3 East Cobb branches among Cobb libraries reopening March 15

March 3, 2021 12:57 PMMarch 3, 2021 8:44 AM by Wendy Parker

Sewell Mill Library opens

The Cobb County Public Library System issued this announcement on Wednesday:

Seven Cobb County Public Library branches will reopen starting on Monday, March 15, 2021 officials announced.

The seven libraries will return to in-person limited services operations under health and safety guidelines of Cobb County and public health authorities for preventing the spread of coronavirus, officials said. These facilities will be open for the public to browse, check-out items, use a limited number of public computers and other services.

The seven libraries are East Cobb, Mountain View, North Cobb, Sewell Mill, South Cobb, Vinings and West Cobb. Hours of operation will be Mondays, 10 am to 8 pm; and Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 am to 6 pm.

“Our Cobb library teams work hard to develop ways to open access to library spaces and resources in support of Cobb families, schools, adult learners and the community as a whole,” said Cobb Library Director Helen Poyer. “This shared commitment to service, safety and resiliency runs deep.”

Curbside services will continue at these seven branches and the following libraries: Gritters, Kemp, Powder Springs, Sibley and Stratton.

For information on Cobb County Public Library locations and services, visit www.cobbcounty.org/library/news/library-express.

The branches that are reopening partially reopened last summer, only to close indoor access to patrons in December.

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 Crossing rezoning request granted continuance

March 2, 2021 3:24 PMMarch 2, 2021 11:04 AM by Wendy Parker

Sprayberry Crossing zoning case

The Cobb Planning Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to grant another continuance to the developer of the proposed redevelopment of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center.

As we noted over the weekend, Atlantic Realty, an apartment developer that first filed for rezoning in September, asked for another continuance last week after the deadline for a delay to be automatic.

The planning commission, whose members are appointed by county commissioners and whose recommendations are advisory, had to take a vote on whether to grant a continuance.

A few people turned out in person and online to speak against the mixed-use project, which has been the subject of vocal community support and opposition.

“Word must have gotten out that the applicant wanted a continuance on this one,” Planning Commission chairman Galt Porter said. “I expected to have a whole lot more here in opposition.”

Deborah Dance, the newly appointing planning board member from District 3, where Sprayberry Crossing is located, moved to grant the delay, but just for one more month.

She said a revised site plan submitted in January (above) hasn’t been fully analyzed by the Cobb zoning staff, which last fall recommended tentative approval of the project.

“My observation is that the applicant has been working in good faith with staff and has been responsive to the concerns that have been presented,” said Dance, a former Cobb County Attorney, who was reading from prepared remarks.

“At present there exists at least one critical issue affecting [transportation] access that’s in the process of being addressed by county staff and with the applicant’s expert.

“This case is not ready for consideration at the present time,” Dance added. “I believe there are good grounds for the continuance, and it’s in the best interests of all concerned that it is continued.”

She said she wanted her motion to be stipulated that “there would be no further continuances.”

Whiile many area residents have wanted the blighted shopping center redeveloped for years, others have opposed the proposed 125 apartments. Sprayberry Crossing also would include 125 senior living apartments, 44 townhomes, 36,000 square feet of retail (mostly for a Lidl grocery store) and 8,000 square feet of office space.

In the latest renderings (above), the height for the residential buildings has been reduced from five to three stories. But a previous site plan included community green space that is not part of the latest version.

Traffic concerns also have been raised, and in particular Cobb DOT is looking at the impact on Sandy Plains Road at Kinjac Drive, what would be the main access point for the development.

Porter said additional information from Cobb DOT about the latest revision “is pretty key to looking at this case. It’s not a minor issue. It’s a major access issue, so I fully agree with a continuance.”

Another major East Cobb rezoning case, involving another proposed mixed-use development, is being continued by the Cobb zoning staff.

That’s North Point Ministries’ application for the East Cobb Church and 125 townhomes at Johnson Ferry Road and Shallowford Road.

Both of those delayed cases will be scheduled to be heard by the Cobb Planning Commission on April 6.

Metro Atlanta gas prices jump more than 30 cents in a month

March 2, 2021 2:21 PMMarch 2, 2021 8:15 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information from AAA Georgia:

Georgia gas prices increased at the pump compared to a week ago. Georgia motorists are now paying an average price of $2.57 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. Monday’s state average is 6 cents more than a week ago, 33 cents more than last month, and 29 cents more than this time last year.

It now costs motorists $38.55 to fill a 15-gallon tank of gasoline; that is $1.65 more than what motorists paid in January of 2020, when pump prices hit their peak of $2.46 per gallon.

“Because U.S. crude production was offline due to the Gulf Coast winter storm we can expect gas prices to be impacted,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Georgians should anticipate pump prices to rise this coming week.”

NATIONAL AVERAGE CLIMBS AS CRUDE PRICES INCREASE

Since last Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 9 cents to $2.72. The national average continues to increase as crude prices march higher. Gas prices have also increased from longer-than-expected refinery outages due to last week’s winter storm that impacted the Gulf Coast. As refineries restart and resume normal operations, supply is expected to increase in impacted areas and should bring stability to pump prices.

At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by 31 cents to settle at $63.52 — the highest settlement price since May 2019. Crude prices have increased this week due to growing market optimism that as vaccines become more available, crude demand will recover. Prices continue to increase despite the Energy Information Administration’s new weekly report revealing that total domestic crude inventories increased by 1.3 million barrels last week, bringing the supply level to 463 million barrels. However, if market optimism continues to increase, crude prices will likely end the week higher.

REGIONAL PRICES

Atlanta ($2.57)

Most expensive Georgia metro markets – Savannah ($2.62), Brunswick ($2.61), and Valdosta ($2.58).
Least expensive Georgia metro markets – Catoosa-Dade-Walker ($2.51), Rome ($2.52), and Athens ($2.53).

Limited COVID vaccine appointments open at Jim Miller Park

March 1, 2021 3:14 PM by Wendy Parker

Jim Miller Park COVID vaccine appointments

Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Monday it has limited appointments available for COVID-19 vaccines for people age 65 and selected other groups.

Those include elderly caregivers, health care workers and first responders.

They’re in the Tier 1A+, the highest priority, and they must book an appointment online and show validation that they’re in an eligible group before getting a vaccination.

In Cobb, the vaccination site is at Jim Miller Park, and in Douglas County, it’s at Arbor Place Mall.

The agency hasn’t been booking new appointments for the last three weeks due to limited vaccine supplies, and had been vaccinating those who previously had made appointments.

Georgia residents who are eligible can go to any state public health vaccination site in the state, and search for other private providers (such as grocery stores and pharmacies) by clicking here.

The Georgia Department of Public Health recently launched a vaccine dashboard that shows how many people are getting vaccinated and other related data; it is updated daily at 3 p.m.

Thus far nearly 130,000 vaccinations have been administered in Cobb County, with most of those first doses.

More than 2 million vaccinations have been administered statewide, and last week Gov. Brian Kemp announced plans to add teachers and school staff to the eligible list.

Mabry MS sisters to help Atlanta Dream promote girls’ sports

March 1, 2021 2:26 PM by Wendy Parker

Mabry MS sisters promote girls sports

East Cobb resident Karen Wyman shares this news that her twin daughters, Kate and Kenzie—students at Mabry Middle School—have been chosen as co-captains by the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream as “Nike Game Growers.”

It’s a promotion the league has undertaken with Nike to help encourage girls to play sports.

Here’s more information from the Dream about the program and what Kate and Kenzie have been doing; the photos are from their mother:

The Dream renewed their partnership with Nike, the WNBA and the NBA for the second consecutive year, offering an exclusive opportunity for 7th and 8th Grade girls aged 13+ to share their ideas on how to encourage more girls to play sports.

Kate and Kenzie were surprised with a video from their favorite player on the Dream roster, forward Cheyenne Parker, who told them that they had been selected as the Dream’s Game Growers co-captains for 2021.

Watch an interview with the girls here.

Kenzie Wyman stretches at first base.

The twins’ game plan is to create a program called GEAR UP (Girls Everywhere Are Ready, Unleash their Potential) that they can then implement in elementary and middle schools in their area. The program brings current female high school and college athletes to schools to introduce their sport and share their love for the game in physical education classes.

Their program aims to keep their peers playing sports as they progress through middle school and enter high school. By the time girls reach 8th grade, they are 50% more likely to drop out of sports than boys, creating physical and social barriers that can last a lifetime.

The Dream’s pair will participate in a virtual camp with other WNBA and NBA teams’ co-captains February 19-21, building out their idea and learning how to bring it to life.

Last year, the Dream chose Dailey and Sierra, also from Marietta, who built the brand NESP Sportz (Never Ever Stop Playing Sportz) and created a social media presence that highlighted younger girls playing and learning new sports. Hear more about their project and their experience at Nike Headquarters here.

Download raw video from the surprise and the interview on dreammediacentral.com.

Kate Wyman on the softball field.

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!

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