Submitted information and flyer for Sunday’s event:
SHOP, DINE AND ADMIRE! We are excited to invite you to the first Exclusive Car Meet of the year! From American muscle to exotic performance, Fast Lane Performance is bringing together a car selection you won’t want to miss.
Enjoy dinner at Drift Fish House, Tin Lizzy’s, Stockyard Burgers, Panera and Kale Me Crazy as well as sweet treats at Smallcakes and Menchies.
Fun for the whole family! No tickets required.
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The Cobb County Public Library System is teaming up with Georgia Educational Resources (GER) to host free Summer Food Service Program distribution events in June and July for children ages 18 and younger.
Children will receive seven days of breakfast and lunch emergency meals on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Distribution will take place in library parking lots at six locations across the county. Recipients will remain in their cars.
The Cobb library continues to seek ways to partner with community agencies to help address food insecurity in Cobb County, said Terri Tresp, Division Director of Branch Services.
“We’re a learning organization and children struggle to learn when they are hungry,” Tresp said. “We worked with GER last summer at one library location. This year, we’re thrilled to be able to expand service to more residents.”
Libraries offering the food events on Tuesdays in June include:
Mountain View Regional Library, 3320 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta: 10 am-11 am Tuesdays, June 8-29. 770-509-2725
Gritters Library, 880 Shaw Park Road, Marietta: Noon to 1 pm Tuesdays, June 8-29. 770-528-2524
Sewell Mill Library & Cultural Center, 2051 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta: 2-3 pm, Tuesdays, June 8-29. 770-509-2711
Cobb Libraries hosting the drive-through food events in June and July include:
South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road, Mableton: Fridays, June 11-July 30, 10 am to noon. 678-398-5828
Georgia Educational Resources, a children and family social service agency based in Mableton, is a certified SFSP sponsor which provides food to distribution sites. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program has helped feed children since 1975. The program is administered locally by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.
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A new site plan was filed May 19; see a larger view by clicking here.
Another last-minute request for a major rezoning case before next Tuesday’s Cobb Planning Commission meeting involves North Point Ministries.
The Atlanta-based religious organization wants another month to finalize design changes for its proposed East Cobb Church-townhomes-retail multi-use development at the southwest corner of Shallowford and Johnson Ferry roads.
Kevin Moore, an attorney for North Point Ministries, asked for the request on Wednesday, the deadline for cases to be automatically continued without a vote of the planning board.
The applicant has also filed a new site plan (above, click here for a larger view) with the Shallowford-Johnson Ferry intersection in the top left.
In his letter, Moore said another month was needed due to the “detailed nature” of the design updates, and that the extra time “will allow circulation of these designs to the community well in advance of a public hearing.”
The North Point request has twice been heard by the Planning Commission, which has voted to hold the case both times.
Planning commissioner Tony Waybright said in April that he was concerned about proposed high-density housing when the JOSH Master Plan calls for medium density residential as a transition between commercial zoning and low-density residential in the surrounding community.
As we noted earlier this week, the Sprayberry Crossing rezoning request, also held for the last two months by the Planning Commission, remains on Tuesday’s agenda, and some more changes were submitted after a community meeting.
The number of senior units have been dropped by 40 to 132 and 102 townhomes are in a revised site plan, up 40 from the April hearing.
The Planning Commission meeting is at 9 a.m. Tuesday and it has a loaded agenda.
In-person seating will be limited due to social distancing protocols, but there also will be commenting for those watching online. They can sign up to speak by clicking here.
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For the last few years Five Star NTP has organized a 5K/10K race in the Sprayberry area on Memorial Day, and the event is continuing on Monday.
The Marietta Memorial Day 5K/10K starts at 7:30 a.m. Monday at the Sprayberry Square Shopping Center (2550 Sandy Plains Road), and registration is free for active and retired military veterans.
The event includes same-day registration that starts at 6:30 a.m., with entry fees starting at $45 (you can sign up in advance through Sunday with fees starting at $40).
Both races start and finish in the Sprayberry Square Shopping Center parking lot, and the the routes will be run entirely on E. Piedmont Road.
The awards in both races are for Top 3 Overall Male & Female, Top 3 Overall Masters (40+) , Top 3 Overall Grand Master (50+), Top 3 Overall Senior Master (60+) and Top 3 in each age group (10 & under – 75+).
There’s also a virtual race option.
For information and to register, please click here. COVID-19 protocols will be in place
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An East Cobb man charged with shooting at police officers during a standoff at his home last fall has been indicted on 14 felony counts by a Cobb grand jury.
The Cobb District Attorney’s office said that that Donald Terry Welborn was indicted on Thursday on nine counts of aggravated assault against a police officer, three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of possessing a firearm while committing a felony.
Welborn, 57, was arrested at his home on Kingsley Drive (off Post Oak Tritt Road and near Johnson Ferry Road) on Sept. 22, 2020, hours after neighbors began hearing shots from his residence around 5:30 a.m.
Cobb Police, including a SWAT unit, arrived on the scene, beginning a standoff that closed off the New Castle neighborhood for the rest of the morning.
During the standoff, police said Welborn shot at multiple officers as negotiators tried to get him to come out of the home. According to the indictment, Welborn took aim at nine different officers.
He was taken into custody about six hours later with no injuries and was charged with eight felony counts, police said.
Welborn remains at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking records.
In February, Welborn’s attorney attempted to have his client’s case assigned to a mental health court, but that request was turned down by the Cobb District Attorney’s office.
According to Cobb Superior Court records, assistant district attorney Maurice Brown told Robert Citronberg that “Defendant’s offense does not appear to be sufficiently connected to Defendant’s health diagnosis” but did not elaborate.
According to a criminal warrant taken out against Welborn, he went into a bedroom where Susan Welborn was sleeping, then shot at a ceiling fan.
Cobb court records indicate that she is Welborn’s wife, but they had been separated. Susan Welborn filed for divorce in Cobb Superior Court on the same day of the shootings.
The warrant also states that Welborn was inside his residence when he shot at the homes of two neighbors, one next door and another across the street, striking their homes, before police arrived.
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The bridge connecting the Timber Ridge Road-Lower Roswell Road roundabout in East Cobb with Willeo Road in Roswell is closing on Tuesday, June 1, and is expected to reopen on Sept. 29.
That’s the latest from Cobb DOT, which is overhauling the 60-year bridge in a joint project with the City of Roswell at a cost of more than $3 million.
The wider bridge will include room for cyclists and pedestrians, linking existing sidewalks and trails between Willeo Road and Lower Roswell Road.
The area is heavily used in the summers for recreational facilities along the Chattahoochee River, and the City of Roswell has drawn up a detour map.
Willeo Road will be fully opened east of Bywater Trail, which is just east of Willeo Creek.
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The following East Cobb food scores for the week of May 24 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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The proposed senior apartment building at Sprayberry Crossing has been scaled down to three stories.
Just days before a third hearing before the Cobb Planning Commission, the developer of the proposed Sprayberry Crossing mixed-use project has revised the site plan again and made other changes.
Atlantic Realty Acquisitions submitted the changes with the Cobb Zoning Office after a meeting on Tuesday arranged by Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell that involved the developer, county staff, and citizens both for and against the rezoning request.
The Cobb Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the request again on Tuesday, June 1.
The senior apartment building would have 132 units, which is 40 less than what was presented in May, and it would be reduced from five to three stories.
The new plans call for 102 townhomes and a maximum of 34,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. Here’s the new site plan that was submitted Wednesday, and the developer’s latest tipulation letter.
Traffic issues have also been a major concern, in particular the main entrance to Sprayberry Crossing on Sandy Plains Road, and attempts to align it with a traffic light at Kinjac Drive.
Here’s what Cobb DOT is recommending, noting that a final traffic study revision was submitted on May 20.
For a larger view of the latest site plan click here.
Not all of those new documents were available for the Tuesday meeting, according to resident Tim Carini, who’s led opposition to the project, mostly for traffic reasons as well as the apartments.
He reiterated that one reason he’s still opposed to senior apartments is a federal housing law that says age-restricted facilities that fall below 80 percent of the units occupied by that designated age group (Sprayberry Crossing would have 55 and up) lose that exemption.
“Once that happens the apartments become open to all ages,” Carini said in a message to a Facebook group opposed to the Sprayberry Crossing rezoning. That group has several hundred members, many of them proud to have been called part of a “mob” fighting the case by Atlantic Realty’s attorney.
The county disputes that interpretation, but Carini insists that “we are just a few steps away from having apartments in East Cobb that could become low income and open to all ages at some point in the future.”
The townhome units originally numbered 44 and were raised to 62 after another apartment building was dropped in April. The 102 units now being proposed would be at least 2,000 square feet and no more than 10 percent could be rented at any given time.
The Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group, which organized several years ago to push for redevelopment of the blighted shopping center, was also posting updated information for its nearly 6,000 members.
Group leader Shane Spink, who’s been one of the group’s leaders said “hope to see this resolved by Tuesday.”
The Planning Commission meeting is at 9 a.m. Tuesday, it’s a loaded agenda that includes another hearing for the delayed East Cobb Church-townhome proposal in the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area.
In-person seating will be limited due to social distancing protocols, but there also will be commenting for those watching online. They can sign up to speak by clicking here.
The Sprayberry Crossing proposal now calls for 102 for-sale townhomes.
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The Sprayberry PTSA has been getting out word about a parent in its school community who’s fighting for his life after being shot during an armed robbery earlier this month.
Kaushik Govani, 55, remains in critical condition after being shot by armed robbers on May 12 at the Bottle Shop liquor store that he owns in Acworth, according to Cobb Police.
Police said Thursday morning that they’ve arrested a suspect, Rashaad Snipes, 19, who’s being held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center for armed robbery, aggravated assault and aggravated battery.
Police said that when officers arrived at the liquor store on Baker Road in Acworth around 9:35 p.m. on May 12, they found him lying on the floor with gunshot wounds.
Govani was rushed to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, and a fundraiser started by his family said he was shot three times, causing serious damage to his heart, diaphragm, stomach, liver, and spleen.
Because he is the sole provider of a family of five, the goal is to raise $200,000, with more than $45,000 generated in pledges thus far.
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Updating our story last week about Soren Tucker, a transgender student at Pope High School who wanted his preferred name announced at Wednesday’s graduation:
His wish was granted.
Lily Smith, a fellow Pope senior who started an online petition that has gathered more than 21,000 signatures, announced that the Cobb County School District had agreed to the request.
“It is unclear if there will be changes that affect the future and county policies, but we won this victory!” Smith wrote on Tuesday.
Tucker, who has identified as male for the last two years, will still have his legal female birth name on his diploma, as is the protocol for the Cobb County School District.
A Cobb County School District spokeswoman said Wednesday, shortly before the commencement ceremony, that Pope principal Thomas Flugum met with Tucker and his family for the first time on Tuesday.
“They had a great conversation and the student and parent’s preferences were taken into account during Pope’s graduation ceremony,” the spokeswoman said. “While official school business requires the use of a student’s legal name, all of our schools take student and family preference into account during informal school activities.”
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The attorney for Cobb school parents fighting the Cobb County School District’s mask mandate said Wednesday they’re dropping their lawsuit.
Rob Madayag
Rod Madayag told East Cobb News he’s filed a notice to dismiss a federal lawsuit because “the school district indicated that it was going to be mask optional next year, which is all our clients wanted in the first place.”
The dismissal notice comes three weeks after a federal judge denied the suing parents their request for a temporary restraining order to end the mandate during the Cobb school district academic year that concluded Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, the district said it was relaxing its mask mandate for the “fully vaccinated” and announced that “we fully expect to start the 2021-2022 school year with masks as optional.”
Five parents filed a lawsuit in April in Cobb Superior Court, but it was remanded to federal court (you can read that notice and the suit by clicking here).
In their suit, the parents claimed the Cobb school district’s mask mandate—which applied to students, teachers and other staff—has effectively created two “separate, but unequal” learning environments, one in-person, and one virtual.
In addition, the plaintiffs alleged that the district’s contract tracing procedures violate students’ right to privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as well as the equal protection provisions of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
They also claimed CDC guidance for students wasn’t based on scientific data showing mask-wearing is safe for them because there isn’t any.
“People are surprised to learn that there are zero studies cited or conducted by the CDC that show that it is safe for a child to wear a mask for 8 hours a day, every day,” Madayag said.
“It is a shame that people were so flippant about putting kids in masks for 8 hours without making sure it was safe. What kind of message does that send to our kids?”
Some of the plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit that their children have suffered from constricted breathing, including a Walton High School student with ADHD.
Madayag said he will be working with parents to press for state legislation to prohibit policies along those lines in the future.
Gov. Brian Kemp also is expected to sign an executive order prohibiting local school districts from imposing mask mandates when the 2021-22 school year begins. The order would not prohibit staff and students from wearing masks if they choose.
A Cobb school district spokeswoman told East Cobb News there are no further updates for now on a final decision about masks for the next school year, which begins Aug. 2.
As for the lawsuit, she said in a statement that “when this lawsuit began, we said we looked forward to the facts of this case being argued in court, not social or traditional media. As the case being dropped shows, our comments from one year ago are as true as they are today.”
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Cobb Schools has traditionally made several summer learning options available to students and parents through its Summer Link program. While Link is still available, the Cobb Academic Department has also been busily working behind the scenes to bring many other programs to life in 2021.
Learning gaps have become a national concern during the COVID pandemic. Many students have not been able to get the attention and help they need while learning online. “The COVID-19 pandemic is unique,” said Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Lawson recently in a presentation to the Board of Education. “This means there are no historical events which directly parallel it, and the research indicators we would use to guide our response to it are limited.”
The Student Learning and Recovery Plan is Cobb’s answer to helping fill these learning gaps. Consisting of many different programs based on individual needs and grade level, the Learning and Recovery Plan is designed to help both students and parents utilize a portion of their summer break to get caught up in various areas.
Our district also offers the Cobb Course Refresher, which allows high school students to gain a greater comfort level with certain course content. The Cobb Course Refresher allows students to review course lessons online. This includes content for courses taken in 2020-2021 or for classes they will take during the 2021-2022 school year.
While every school has its own academic response and will vary, the District has created five major areas for local schools to implement and make available to its learning community. Up-to-date information on District summer programs can always be found on the Summer Programs page of the District website.
In addition to traditional summer school for high schoolers to make up missing credits, Cobb continues to offer its Virtual Academy (CVA) as an option over the summer. CVA and the Summer Link programs are open to Cobb’s Middle and Elementary students.
Cobb is also offering several programs by “Invite Only,” such as the Summer Enrichment Academy (for certain Elementary-aged students) and the Summer Learning Quest (for certain Middle and High School students) which are both making their debut this year.
Parents should consult their local schools’ website and newsletter for more specific information and schedules. For example, Riverside Elementary is offering “Building Bridges for Success” over the summer, which includes reading, writing, and math, as well as hands-on activities like photography, art, and robotics.
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After a rigorous 48-hour online competition sponsored by The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF), three Wheeler High School students were named Scholars in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition (NCSC). Jenna Bond, Archishma Goli, and Christina Nikolova were among the top 540 highest scoring students who met the eligibility criteria for a $2,500 Scholarship to a U.S. college of their choice.
A fourth Wheeler student, Natalie Ajemian, was named a finalist in the competition. The Cobb students are all members of Wheeler’s Girls In Cyber Security Club, which is sponsored by teacher Jennifer Callison-Bliss.
In recognition of their achievement, all four Wheeler students earned an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy –a multi-week online program based on the nationally recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification –valued at more than $3,000.
The Wheeler students competed against 5,000 high school students in a cybersecurity competition designed to challenge its participants to solve computer security problems and/or capture and defend computer systems. Only 10% percent of the 50,000 students nationwide who sought to qualify for the NCSC met the requirements.
“The National Cyber Scholarship Competition recognizes high school students who have demonstrated exceptional cybersecurity prowess and who wish to pursue a career in a growing field in critical need of their talent,” noted David Brown, executive director, National Cyber Scholarship Foundation. “The NCSF mission is to identify and develop the next generation of cyber professionals. Each and every student who participated in this competition has the potential to develop their skills and build a successful career in cybersecurity.”
There are several qualification pathways for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition, including CyberStart America, a free online program that helps students discover their interest in cybersecurity and develop their talent and skills. The NCSC offers 600 college scholarships to top-ranking competitors. Additionally, National Cyber Scholars, along with competition 1,000 finalists, are invited to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy. To learn more, visit: National Cyber Scholarship Foundation.
The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF) is a national nonprofit whose mission is to identify, nurture and empower the next generation of cybersecurity experts; and eliminate the cybersecurity skills gap in the United States. NCSF aims to support the entry of thousands of talented students into the cybersecurity industry by providing enrichment opportunities, world-class training, and scholarships to fund the degree-level study.
CyberStart America is a free national program for high school students, aiming to uncover hidden cyber talents and to identify and develop the next generation of cyber superstars. CyberStart’s immersive gamified learning platform can take students from zero cybersecurity knowledge to possessing the skills necessary to compete in a national-level Capture the Flag challenge in a matter of weeks. Students new to the field with a strong aptitude and students with an existing interest in the field can use the platform to train and qualify for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition, allowing them to compete for life-changing college scholarship opportunities.
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The Cobb County School District on Tuesday announced the Class of 2021 valedictorians and salutatorians, and students from East Cobb schools had some of the highest grade-point averages in the county.
Overall, graduating seniors in the Cobb school district combined for an average GPA of about 4.7. Cobb salutatorians are very close with a 4.63 average.
Three valedictorians and one salutatorian from Cobb high schools posted GPAs higher than 4.8. In total, 12 valedictorians and nine salutatorians earned GPAs above 4.7.
Madeleine Maurer of Pope High School tallied a GPA of 4.845, second-highest in Cobb, and will be attending the University of Pennsylvania.
Mehul Kalia, Wheeler High School
Not far behind her is Mehul Kalia of Wheeler High School, who has a GPA of 4.797. He’s headed to Georgia Tech to study computer science
All graduations are taking place this year at Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School over the next two weeks. Dates and times for the East Cobb schools are listed below with their vals and sals:
Kell (Wednesday, June 2, 7 p.m) Valedictorian —Alaina Westee, 4.563, Kennesaw State, biochemistry Salutatorian—Riley McClure, 4.484, U of Georgia, psychology
Lassiter (Tuesday, May 25, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Gloria Wu, 4.768, Georgia Tech, business administration; Salutatorian—Malia Trask, 4.741, Georgia Tech, aerospace engineering
Grace Yan, Walton High School
Pope (Wednesday, May 26, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Madeleine Maurer, 4.845, U of Pennsylvania, tbd Salutatorian—Gregory Park, 4.786, Georgia Tech, tbd
Sprayberry (Friday, June 4, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Olivia Sternagle, 4.719, U of Georgia Honors College, biology Salutatorian—Yousuf Azeem, 4.625, Georgia Tech, computer science
Walton (Friday, May 28, 9 a.m.) Valedictorian—Grace Yan, 4.769, MIT, computer science and brain and cognitive science Salutatorian—Sheena Lai, 4.767, Stanford, undecided
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The group advocating for East Cobb Cityhood held another virtual town hall meeting last Thursday with Milton Mayor Joe Lockwood as the featured guest.
During the hour-long session, which included pre-screened questions from the public, Lockwood emphasized the “local control” message that East Cobb Cityhood proponents have been pressing.
Milton became a city in North Fulton in 2006 and has 39,000 residents. Lockwood said that like some of the sentiment in East Cobb, there was vocal opposition to cityhood at the time.
“A lot of people just didn’t want [a new] government,” he said. “It was ‘leave us alone.’ But once we started making improvements, it was interesting to see people starting to expect more.”
Lockwood is serving his third consecutive term as mayor and is in his final term in that capacity due to term limits.
He said what he’s most proud of in Milton is “a sense of belonging and community” that has developed since cityhood.
“There’s a sense of pride, of more people getting involved” in civic affairs and community life,” Lockwood said.
Milton provides more services than the proposed city of East Cobb, including police and fire that were part of the initial East Cobb cityhood effort in 2019.
Lockwood said when it comes to zoning and planning, “people want things to be the same.” He said Milton has effectively limited density to maintain a suburban and in some cases rural feel to an affluent community that’s similar to East Cobb.
Density and urban-style development are growing issues in Cobb County, especially with East Cobb redevelopment projects at Sprayberry Crossing and in the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area that have drawn community support and opposition.
The JOSH redevelopment involving East Cobb Church would fall within the city limits of East Cobb, which includes less than half of the 2019 map and would have a population around 55,000.
The revived East Cobb Cityhood effort is focused on planning and zoning [along with code enforcement and parks and recreation] in the wake those and other development issues in the county.
Craig Chapin, the cityhood group’s head, said during the town hall that some of the pushback agains denser development “isn’t about how things were in Cobb County. You’re looking at a community and wondering what the future will look like.”
During the town hall, the cityhood group showed results of recent polling on cityhood issues reflected in the slides below. More details can be found on the cityhood website.
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To kick-off Memorial Day weekend, The Avenue East Cobb invites the community to purchase a ticket for their upcoming Family Movie Night event on Thursday, May 27, 2021. The patriotic movie being shown is SGT. STUBBY: AN AMERICAN HERO based on the incredible true story of America’s most decorated dog. All proceeds from the event benefit Project Charlie Oscar. For ticket sales: https://aec-may.eventbrite.com.
The May Family Movie Night, sponsored by Project Charlie Oscar, aims to raise community awareness of their charity, whose mission is to serve Military Veterans and their families by providing horseback riding activities, equine job training and the essential resources needed for improved quality of life.
“Our Vision is to reduce the number of suicides in the Military Veteran Community and bring awareness to Veteran’s needs,” says Victoria Hoefler, Founder & President of Project Charlie Oscar. “Project Charlie Oscar is proud to partner with The Avenue East Cobb to promote our programs and spread awareness about our Charity.”
Parking for the event will begin at 6:00pm at The Avenue East Cobb in Marietta. Pre-movie entertainment includes Little Red Barn Petting Zoo, a balloon artist, and a DJ with trivia and games. The movie begins at sundown following a bugle playing Taps and a moment of silence for our fallen heroes.
For more information about Project Charlie Oscar, to get involved, or to support the organization, please visit https://www.projectcharlieoscar.org/.
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Cobb Police said Tuesday night that Cody Demmitt has been captured in Arkansas.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
The Cobb Police Department late Monday afternoon released a photo of a man suspected of injuring one person during a shooting on Sunday at a home in Northeast Cobb.
Police said they’ve obtained an arrest warrant for Cody Demmitt, who remains at-large and is wanted for aggravated assault.
According to a police release, Demmitt shot multiple rounds at a residence at 3760 Westchase Drive, located in the Canterbury Ridge subdivision off Canton Road and near Hawkins Store Road.
Police said their detectives said were called to the home at 11:30 p.m. Sunday after a shooting had been reported.
Police said they found a male with a gunshot wound to a shoulder, and he was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police said Demmitt is a neighbor of the victim, and had not been allowed to attend a party at the home. Demmitt fired several shots in the house and fled the scene before law enforcement arrived, police said.
Anyone with information about the incident should call Cobb County Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit at 770-499-3945.
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A developer who is seeking to convert the former Park 12 Cobb Cinema in East Cobb into a storage facility wants some additional time to prepare its case.
On Monday, Stein Investment Group sent a letter to the Cobb Zoning Office seeking a delay in the proposal’s initial hearings to July.
Stein’s request for a special-land use permit is listed on the Cobb Planning Commission agenda for next Tuesday, June 1.
The zoning staff has recommended approval with some conditions. but Garvis Sams, an attorney for Stein, wrote in the letter that the delay is needed “in order to fully complete all tasks with which are charged.”
He wasn’t more specific than that.
In addition to a SLUP (site plan here), which is required for self-storage facilities in unincorporated Cobb, Stein also is amending a previous zoning decision for the general commercial category that had been approved for the theater.
The SLUP would be heard by the Planning Commission on July 6, and the “Other Business” item would be heard by Cobb commissioners on July 16.
Park 12 Cobb closed at the end of 2020, more than three years after a community fight to keep it open as a movie theater.
Nearby residents opposed a rezoning case to turn the property on Gordy Parkway at Shallowford Road into a Lidl grocery store. Some wanted to have movies nearby, and others were concerned about traffic, and the Cobb Board of Commissioners turned down the rezoning request in September 2017.
At the time, Lidl attorney Parks Huff said that “this is not a difficult decision. This is technically a property rights issue and needs to be approved.”
The cinema owner, Georgia Theatre Company, had expressed a desire at the time to sell the property.
Park 12 Cobb briefly reopened last fall after COVID-19 closures, but GTC made the decision to permanently shutter that cinema as well as others in its Georgia and the southeast region.
Another self-storage facility sits nearby, as part of the Sandy Plains MarketPlace retail center on the former site of Mountain View Elementary School.
Meanwhile, a Lidl store not far down in the Sandy Plains Road corridor would anchor the proposed Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment, that’s slated to be heard yet again by the planning board in June.
The Planning Commission voted to hold the case for further traffic details after a second full hearing in as many months.
The East Cobb Church proposed mixed-use development also was delayed to June.
The full agenda for next Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting can be found here.
It begins at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.
There will be limited in-person seating due to social distancing protocols, but the meeting will be live-streamed on the county’s Facebook Live and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
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Because all 17 high school graduations in the Cobb County School District are being held in a single location, those commencement exercises will take place over the next two weeks.
The Cobb school district announced in February that due to COVID-19 considerations, Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School will be the venue for all schools.
That’s the largest-capacity stadium in the Cobb school district, and where delayed 2020 graduations took place last July.
Here’s what the Cobb school district posted earlier this month about how those graduations will be taking place:
“Ceremonies are scheduled Monday, May 24, through Friday, June 4, with Saturday, June 5, reserved for making up ceremonies postponed due to inclement weather. Ceremonies are not scheduled on Sunday, May 30, or Memorial Day, Monday, May 31. Ceremonies are only scheduled for mornings and afternoons to avoid the heat of the afternoon.
“Tickets will be limited due to public health guidance. Specifics about ticket allocations and distribution will be provided by the individual high schools in late March. To accommodate family and friends who are unable to attend, each ceremony will be streamed live.”
And here’s the graduation schedule for the six high schools in East Cobb:
Tuesday, May 25: Lassiter High School, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 26: Pope High School, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 28: Walton High School, 9 a.m.
Saturday, May 29: Wheeler High School, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, June 2: Kell High School, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 4: Sprayberry High School, 7 p.m.
More graduation details, including links to livestreams of commencement exercises, can be found by clicking here.
Earlier this week Cobb school officials unveiled a draft list for what would be a Cobb Education SPLOST VI sales-tax referendum that calls for the construction of a special events facility.
Until the pandemic, most Cobb high school graduations took place at the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center. Some schools have had graduations on their own campuses, including Wheeler, as well as large church sanctuaries in the county.
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The Georgia High School Association has scheduled some of its baseball championship series for Truist Park next week, and there’s going to be a Cobb County presence with Lassiter High School.
The Trojans (32-6) will meet Houston County in a best-of-three doubleheader for the Class 6A title starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by Game 2 of that series the same night.
Should the series go to a decisive third game, it would take place on Thursday at 12 p.m.
Lassiter defeated East Cobb rival Pope in the semifinals this week to reach the state title series for the first time in 11 years.
Lassiter won state titles in 1999 and 2006.
Tickets are $15 and will be available for purchase online athttps://gofan.co/app/school/GHSA. Parking for the championship games at Truist Park (755 Battery Ave.) is free in the Red Deck for three hours
For more information on the games as well as the GHSA, please visit www.ghsa.net.
Other GHSA state title series are being played at Coolray Field in Gwinnett and in Savannah. Here’s the schedule for the games at Truist Park, as released by the Atlanta Braves:
Monday, May 24
7A – Parkview High School vs North Paulding High School: First Pitch 5 p.m. with Game 2 set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Tuesday, May 25:
7A – Parkview High School vs North Paulding High School: First Pitch 12 p.m. (If needed)
5A – Loganville High School vs Starr’s Mill High School: First Pitch 5 p.m. with Game 2 set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Wednesday, May 26:
5A – Loganville High School vs Starr’s Mill High School: First Pitch 12 p.m. (If needed)
6A – Lassiter High School vs Houston County High School: First Pitch 5 p.m. with Game 2 set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Thursday, May 27:
6A – Lassiter High School vs Houston County High School: First Pitch 12 p.m. (If needed)
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