Month: December 2021

Top East Cobb 2021 stories : Tokyo Valentino store closes

by
East Cobb Tokyo Valentino ordered closed
An Amazon Prime delivery truck tried to make a delivery at Tokyo Valentino in July, days after it was ordered closed by a Cobb judge. Photo: ECN file

After months of legal wrangling, an adult retail store on Johnson Ferry Road closed without much of a murmur in September 2021.

A “For Lease” sign was raised over a window at the Tokyo Valentino store while the business’ owner continued fighting a Cobb County government effort to permanently revoke its operating license.

In July, a Cobb Superior Court judge issued an injunction for the store to temporarily close, after claims by the county that Tokyo Valentino falsely applied to open a clothing store, then featured an inventory mostly of sex toys after opening in June 2020 as Tokyo Valentino.

During a court hearing, county officials said Tokyo Valentino had not applied for 2020 business licenses, was staying open past its required closing time and was violating other provisions of a new adult business ordinance.

Cobb commissioners voted in late 2021 to revoke the store’s business license, but Tokyo Valentino appealed to the courts, as it has done in other battles with metro Atlanta jurisdictions.

But a federal lawsuit filed against the county was dismissed and sent back to Cobb. After the Superior Court injunction in July, Tokyo Valentino appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, but that also has been remanded back to the local level.

Last fall, the Tokyo Valentino store was robbed by a burglar whom police allege stole more than $21,000 of lingerie, sex enhancement pills, CBD products, sex toys and gift cards.

The store was open for a little more than a year; a new tenant for that space is still being sought. Another Tokyo Valentino store, in the city of Marietta near the Big Chicken, remains open, but also is involved in court disputes.

As he was giving up on his East Cobb location, Tokyo Valentino owner Michael Morrison told the AJC that “I don’t see much of a future in this business,” noting how general changes in the retail industry also were affecting adult businesses.

Related stories

 

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!

Cobb COVID-19 transmission rate rises 150 percent in a week

by

Cobb health director COVID vaccines

The director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Tuesday that the spread of COVID-19 in Cobb County has rapidly increased over the last week.

In an e-mail message, Dr. Janet Memark said the current transmission rate of COVID-19 is 348 per 100,000 people, well beyond the “high” threshold of 100/100K.

That number—which includes both PCR and Antigen tests—was in the low 200s at the end of last week, and Cobb briefly dipped to the high 80s a week ago.

Memark said in an interview recorded Tuesday by Cobb County government (see video at bottom) that the percentage of sequenced Omicron cases in the Southeast have shot up from three percent a week ago to 95 percent now.

“This is definitely one of the fastest things that I’ve ever seen,” she said.

The test positivity rate for COVID-19 also has jumped quickly, from around 5 percent at the end of last week—a figure that public health officials have said is a threshold of concern—to more than 11 percent as of Tuesday.

“Hospitalizations have continued to rise over the last month,” said Memark. “We are not at levels like our first two large surges, but we do see steady increases, and the hospitals remain busy. Reports are that the majority of folks hospitalized continue to be unvaccinated.”

CDC data as of Tuesday indicated that there have been 1,959 new cases of COVID-19 in Cobb over the last seven days, representing an increase of 154 percent over the last week.

There also have been 86 COVID-related hospital admissions and 14 deaths in that time in the county, according to the CDC figures.

Memark said that while Omicron transmission is very fast, that the symptoms thus far are milder than the previous Delta variant and the original COVID-19 virus.

“Right now we’re trying to keep this down as best we can,” she said in the video. “My fear is we’re going to have so many more people infected that we’re going to have a surge in the hospitalizations as well, and that’s one of our greatest concerns.”

Memark urged citizens to get boosters for their vaccines, not to gather with others if they are sick, to wear masks in public and avoid crowds, in particular to avoid pressures on hospitals.

“This is not easy to do during the holidays, but we hope that this will pass quickly, and we don’t have too many seriously sick,” said Memark, adding that most of those hospitalized are not vaccinated.

The Omicron variant has spread rapidly since its identification a month ago to the World Health Organization, and is considered the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S., making up more than 70 percent of new cases.

Many of those cases are occurring in the Northeast and Midwest states, which has some of the highest increases in the country despite having some of the highest vaccination rates.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, 63 percent of Cobb residents have received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, while 58 percent have had two doses or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Memark said less than 15 percent, however, have received booster shots. “Getting your booster shot for COVID-19 will help boost your antibodies,” she said. “Please do this.”

Cobb and Douglas Public Health continues to offer free COVID-19 tests and vaccines. For information and to book appointments, please click here.

 

Motor vehicle offices closed in Cobb, Ga. for system upgrades

by

The Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles is upgrading its system for title and tag registration, and those services will be unavailable across the state, including in Cobb County, from Dec. 30 to Jan. 3.Cobb tax commissioner, Canton Road tag office closing

There will be no in-person services starting at 4 p.m. Dec. 30, and online and kiosk services stop at 7 p.m. the same day.

Services will resume at 8 a.m. on Jan. 4.

Motorists needing to renew their tags or register vehicles are encouraged to do so ahead of time. For more information visit CobbTax.org.

 

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!

Auditions accepted for Cobb MLK celebration through Dec. 31

by

Cobb County’s official 2022 MLK Day celebration is scheduled for Jan. 17, and talent is being sought for the event that starts at 10 a.m. at the Jennie T. Anderson Theater.

Musicians, singers, dangers, rappers, spoken-word performers and others will be featured, and auditions that are normally done in-person are being handled virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s theme is “What Is Your Dream,” and aspiring participants have until Dec. 31 to submit their audition recordings.

They can be uploaded by click here,. For information call 770-425-5757.

 

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!

Former U.S. Sen. and East Cobb resident Johnny Isakson dies

by
Isakson farewell speech
Johnny Isakson giving his farewell speech in the U.S. Senate in December 2019.

The family of former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson announced Sunday that he died overnight.

Isakson, who was 76, served in the Georgia legislature and the U.S. Congress for more than 40 years.

The owner of a successful real estate agency, the longtime East Cobb resident also was active in civic affairs for much of his adult life.

He also was chairman of the Georgia Board of Education during his public career.

A Republican who espoused bipartisanship, Isakson was chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee when he retired in late 2019, during his third term, due to Parkinson’s Disease.

In a statement issued by his family, his son John Isakson said that “we are grateful for everyone’s prayers as we mourn the loss of our father.”

Funeral arrangements have not been completed for Isakson, who would have been 77 on Dec. 28.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement Sunday that “Georgia has lost a giant, one of its greatest statesmen, and a servant leader dedicated to making his state and country better than he found it.”

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said that “Johnny believed that we are at our best when we work together for the common good and that who gets the credit doesn’t matter as much as what we get done.”

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who was Isakson’s Georgia colleague, said that “Johnny’s entire life revolved around service. He always put others before himself. The last few years have not been easy for Johnny, but he responded to every obstacle with stalwart resilience. His dry wit and kind heart will be missed by everybody who knew him.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who unseated Perdue in a January 2021 runoff, said that “Senator Isakson was a statesman who served Georgia with honor. He put his state and his country ahead of self and party, and a great legacy endures.”

State. Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, a Republican from East Cobb, called Isakson “a great role model and friend. Sincere condolences to his family. It’s a sad day for Georgia as we mourn this giant.”

Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, said Isakson “served the whole of Georgia with attention and fairness. . . . Though he held different ideologies, I was honored to call him a friend.”

Isakson moved to East Cobb from Atlanta in the late 1960s as he was building up Northside Realty and getting involved in the local business scene.

He was elected to the Georgia House in 1974 as a Republican in a Democrat-dominated legislature, and developed a reputation for working across party lines.

After a failed bid for governor in 1990, Isakson was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1992. He lost in the GOP primary for U.S. Senator in 1996, then was elected to succeed outgoing U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich to represent the 6th Congressional District of Georgia in 1998.

Isakson was re-elected twice before winning his first race for the U.S. Senate in 2004.

He won a third term in 2016 after acknowledging his Parkinson’s diagnosis. In July 2019, he was hospitalized after falling in his Washington apartment, and he announced his retirement in November.

Kemp appointed businesswoman Kelly Loeffler to succeed Isakson until the 2020 election, when she was defeated by Democrat Raphael Warnock, whose term expires in 2022.

Isakson and his wife Dianne raised their family in East Cobb, their children and grandchildren having attended Walton High School.

He was on hand when the new Walton classroom building was opened in 2017. In the 1970s, when he was working in the real estate industry, Isakson said former Cobb school superintendent Kermit Keenum asked him to help find some land for a new high school to accommodate rapid growth in East Cobb.

He noted during the ribbon-cutting ceremony that the Bill Murdock Road properties on which Walton and nearby Dodgen Middle School are located cost around $4,500.

“That would cost at least 10 times that amount today,” said Isakson.

In 2018, was named the East Cobb Citizen of the Year and was recognized by the Cobb Board of Commissioners for his service to the community shortly after his retirement.

Isakson was a longtime member of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, where he taught a Sunday School class well into his political career.

As Isakson prepared to leave office, he was given a special tribute in the U.S. House, where Atlanta Congressman John Lewis gave the wheelchair-bound senator a warm embrace.

After hearing the tributes of his Senate peers, Isakson in his final remarks implored his colleagues to “find a way to find common ground.” He said, “America, we have a problem,” but that “we can do anything” by dropping hard party labels. “Bipartisanship will be the way you accomplish things, the way you live.”

 

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!

Hey East Cobb, show us your home holiday decorations!

by

East Cobb home holiday decorations

Christmas is just a week away, and many neighborhoods and homes in East Cobb have been lit up and adorned with home holiday decorations for a few weeks now.

We noticed a few this afternoon while out and about, and would like to invite you to show off your displays and share your holiday cheer with the community.

The photos can be indoors or outdoors, daytime or evening, and even your Christmas tree, family members, pets, bad sweaters, etc.

E-mail your photos (JPG, JPEG, PNG files are ideal), family name and neighborhood if you’d like to editor@eastcobbnews.com and we’ll include them in a compilation later in the week.

East Cobb home holiday decorations

Related posts:

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 churches offering in-person, online Christmas services

by
East Cobb 2021 Christmas service schedule
St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church.

This time a year ago we rounded up for what many Christian faith communities in East Cobb were online-only Christmas services.

While many of those churches are still offering live-streaming for worshippers who’d rather stay at home, most opened up for in-person attendance months ago.

We’ve updated our full schedule page with times and dates of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services at churches in East Cobb that have made that information available.

They’re generally open to the public but each church has a different set-up for in-person and live-streaming, and a few are having special outdoors or parking lot services that are not noted in the listings.

Also, COVID-19 protocols differ from church to church, especially regarding masks and vaccinations. Click the church link for detailed information about what’s required or encouraged to to attend.

To report incorrect or updated information or to add a service you don’t see here e-mail: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

Related post:

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!

Cobb Sheriff’s Office increases patrols around malls for holidays

by

The Cobb Sheriff’s Office said Saturday it is assigning additional personnel to the areas around Cumberland Mall and Town Center at Cobb for the rest of the holiday shopping season.Cobb Sheriff's Office

A release said that deputies assigned to the department’s Uniform Patrol and the Fugitive Apprehension and Support Team (F.A.S.T.) began conducting routine patrols in the shopping areas around those malls on Monday, and will continue to do so through Dec. 31.

The release said while the office “is not aware of any threats, the sheriff wants to provide a safe atmosphere for those completing their holiday shopping.”

Sheriff Craig Owens said in a statement that the increased patrols are “meant to ease shoppers’ minds as they complete their last minute holiday tasks.”

Among the safety tips recommended for shoppers anywhere include not leaving packages in plain sight in vehicles, lock car doors, don’t leave vehicles unattended and remember where you park.

Related posts:

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!

DETAILS: Cobb school district superintendent’s revised contract

by

Cobb school superintendent contract

A revised employment contract for the Cobb County School District superintendent would allow him to leave his position with full pay if a special panel determines he’s been “harassed” or “embarrassed” by school board members.

The Cobb Board of Education voted along party lines in November to revise the contract of Chris Ragsdale, who’s been superintendent since 2015.

His contract, which pays him an annual base salary of $350,000, was renewed in February to run through Feb. 10, 2024.

Under other financial terms of his contract, Ragsdale gets 25 days of paid vacation per year and an automobile allowance of $1,200 a month. The board makes contributions to his retirement, Social Security, Medicare and a tax-sheltered annuity plan, and provides health insurance for him and his family.

The revisions, which were adopted last month by the board’s four-member Republican majority without discussion or details, added provisions related to board relations and termination clauses.

You can read through the amended contract, which East Cobb News obtained through an open records request, by clicking here.

Those changes include that Ragsdale would receive 90 days advance notice from the board if he is to be terminated without cause.

There are several references in the revised contract of how disputes between him and board members would be resolved by a specially appointed resolution panel.

For the last three years, the Cobb school board has been embroiled in a number of conflicts, including racial and diversity issues and the Cobb County School District’s COVID-19 response.

The split has been largely along partisan lines; the four Republicans have also passed policies to prohibit comments by board members at public meetings and have used parliamentary maneuvers to limit how the three Democrats openly question Ragsdale at those meetings.

The contract revisions were also made as the Cobb school district received the report of a special review by its accrediting agency that outlined a plan for improvement focusing largely on fractured board relations and governance issues.

That review was sparked in part by the three board Democrats and members of the public who complained about what they said was a lack of responsiveness from the district and board majority about a variety of issues, including some who want to rename Wheeler High School.

In the revised contract, Ragsdale could call for the resolution panel to determine if he “has been subjected to a sufficient level of inappropriate or unprofessional conduct by a Member or Members of the Board” and “interfering with his performance of his professional duties or those of District employees directly reporting to him.”

That panel also could determine if board members cast him “in a false light, embarrass him or otherwise undermine his ability to be effective in the performance of his duties.”

If a panel determines that “sufficient harassment exists,” that body could make recommendations to prevent the behavior from continuing.

However, Ragsdale “may determine whether they are sufficient,” and if they are not, the board would “treat this is a termination without cause” and pay him “the balance of all compensation” through the end of his contract.

The revised contract also outlines how the resolution panel would be chosen, composed of a hearing officer and three others with “academic expertise.”

The school board would bear the burden of proof “and must offer clear and convincing evidence” that the SUPERINTENDENT’s suspension or termination is merited for the reasons permitted by this Contract,” the contract states.

Related posts:

 

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 Holiday events: Last chance with Santa; Nativity scene; more

by

Favorite East Cobb 2020 photos

A week remains before Christmas, and related holiday events in and around East Cobb will be wrapping up by the middle of next week.

At The Avenue East Cobb (4475 Roswell Road), Christmas Confetti will take place from 12-2 p.m., with a chance for kids to visit Santa Claus and his elves. It’s a free event with plenty of photo opportunities for families.

Later Sunday, the Episcopal Church of St. Peter St. Paul is having a drive-through Nativity scene Sunday from 5-8 p.m.

The scene includes live animals and a stable scene. The church is located at 1795 Johnson Ferry Road.

On Thursday, Dec. 23, the last of holiday festivities at The Avenue East Cobb will be Pet Photos with Santa at the Gussied Up Pet Boutique from 5-7 p.m. There’s no ticketing, but availability is first-come, first-served.

Also, Dec. 23 is the last day kids can get their photos taken with Santa Claus at Town Center at Cobb (400 Ernest Barrett Parkway).

Santa’s also going to hang around at The Battery Atlanta (800 Battery Avenue) during Santa’s Post Office from 12-6 Saturday through Christmas Eve at the Community Center. Kids can drop off their wish-list letters, and parents can take photos.

Life University’s traditional Lights of Life display continues nightly through New Year’s Eve. The drive-by display opens at dark and continues until 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The cost is $10 per car and $20 for buses. 1269 Barclay Circle.

An East Cobb holiday display tradition is back for its 14th year—the Fox Family’s dazzling, musically synchronized drive-by display at 2994 Clary Hill Court. The lights go on from 6-10 p.m. through Jan. 6, and you asked to make a donation to Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church or Children’s Health Care of Atlanta.

The Cobb GIS office has compiled an interactive map of Holiday Lights in Cobb to enjoy as long as they’re up. You can also add yours.

 

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!

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy seeks changes for athletic facilities

by

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy athletic field

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy will be asking Cobb commissioners next week to amend the site plan for its high school campus on Post Oak Tritt Road to relocate an approved athletic field house and to accommodate more parking space.

The private school run by Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has an “Other Business” item on the commission’s zoning hearing agenda that requests moving a planned field house from the north to the south end of campus.

The agenda item (you can read it here), the last to be heard on Tuesday, also requests relocating 82 parking spaces and creating 39 more parking spaces for a total of 121.

 Mt. Bethel Christian Academy was granted a special-land use plan permit in 2013 from commissioners in order to open its high school at 2509 Post Oak Tritt Road, near the intersection of Holly Springs Road.

Mt. Bethel operates grades 9-12 on what it calls its Upper Campus (with K-8 classes on the Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church grounds on Lower Roswell Road).

The original approval of the Upper Campus special-land use permit included a site plan for the athletic facilities on the northern side of the property, but any changes to the site plan or stipulations must come back before commissioners.

The new site plan modifications are needed, the agenda item states, after engineering work was done on the site and “to best utilize the Property now and in future years.”

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy had proposed building a sports stadium on the North campus in 2019 but withdrew the application after community opposition surfaced.

The southern end of the campus is located closer to Post Oak Tritt Road and away from subdivisions to the north of the property.

The zoning hearing starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).

A summary agenda, including consent items, can be found here; a thumbnail agenda of cases can be found here; and the full agenda can be found here.

The hearing also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.

Related stories:

 

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!

 

Keep Cobb Beautiful resumes Christmas Tree recycling drive

by

Keep Cobb Beautiful Bring One for the Chipper

“Bring One for the Chipper,” Keep Cobb Beautiful’s effort to encourage Christmas tree recycling, will be held from Christmas Day, Dec. 25, through Jan. 8, 2022.

Residents can drop off their trees for free at various spots in Cobb County, including the parking lots at Home Depot locations.

They include Home Depot stores in East Cobb at Providence Square (4101 Roswell Road) and Highland Plaza (3605 Sandy Plains Road).

Trees also can be dropped off at Fullers Park (3499 Robinson Road). 

A few instructions apply: Please remove all decorations, mesh, lights, stands and strings from trees. Flocked trees will not be permitted, as they are considered hazards to wildlife.

There’s no limit to the number of trees that may be dropped off; discarded trees are turned into mulch for various local public beautification projects and individual yards.

Keep Cobb Beautiful is providing free mulch for those who request it at keepcobbbeautiful@cobbcounty.org. 

Volunteers also are needed to help on the final day, Jan. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to collect trees from the dropoff spots. Groups and individuals should contact keepcobbbeautiful@cobbcounty.org to help out.

 

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 food scores: Mellow Mushroom; Moxie Burger; more

by

Mellow Mushroom Johnson Ferry

The following East Cobb food scores for the week of Dec. 13 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:

Beer Barrel
1294 Roswell Road
December 15, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Brumby Elementary School
815 Terrell Mill Road
December 13, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Cazadores Mexican Restaurant
2731 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 160
December 15, 2021 Score: 92, Grade: A

East Cobb Middle School
825 Terrell Mill Road
December 13, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Indian Hills Country Club
4001 Clubland Drive
December 16, 2021 Score: 91, Grade: A

KFC/Taco Bell
4720 Alabama Road
December 17, 2021 Score: 92, Grade: A

Lucia’s Italian Restaurant
4705 Woodstock Road
December 15, 2021 Score: 97, Grade: A

Mellow Mushroom
1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 101
December 13, 2021 Score: 92, Grade: A

Moxie Burger
2421 Shallowford Road, Suite 158
December 13, 2021 Score: 93, Grade: A

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy
4385 Lower Roswell Road
December 14, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

New Shangri La Bistro 
3545 Canton Road, Suite 102
December 17, 2021 Score: 87, Grade: B

Starbucks
31 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite A
December 14, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Starbucks
2100 Roswell Road, Suite 300A
December 16, 2021 Score: 92, Grade: A

Subway
1295 Powers Ferry Road, Suite B
December 13, 2021 Score: 91, Grade: A

Timber Ridge Elementary School
5000 Timber Ridge Road
December 14, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Winston’s Food & Spirits
1860 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 101
December 14, 2021 Score: 93, Grade: A

Related posts:

 

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 Library continues book discussion, cookbook groups

by

Cobb libraries Thanksgiving week events

Several book discussion and other groups are fully resuming their meetings at the East Cobb Library.

The East Cobb Book Discussion groups meet the third Thursday of every month, at 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m., after participants read a pre-selected book—fiction, non-fiction, classics and new releases.

On Thursday, Dec. 16, the morning group discussion will be about “The Vanishing Half,” a historical  novel by Brit Bennett. The afternoon group discussion will cover “Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family” by Robert Kolker.

In addition to those groups, East Cobb Library also offers “book tasting” meetings for adults every other month, in which participants sample five books, then discuss their favorites.

The next meeting is Dec. 28 at 5:30 p.m., and the books are under the “Cozy Mysteries to Die” theme. Registration is required at cobbcat.org.

There’s also an East Cobb Cookbook Club that meets the second Tuesday of the month, in which members review a variety of cookbooks to explore techniques, chefs, cooking styles, dishes and more.

Members choose a themed recipe each month and prepare a dish to share. The next meeting is Jan. 11 at 4 p.m., and the session is entitled “Soups and Salads.” Registration is required at cobbcat.org.

Related posts:

 

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!

PHOTOS: Former East Cobb Middle School buildings demolished

by

Former East Cobb Middle School
The steps to what had been the main entrance of East Cobb Middle School are at the right. East Cobb News photos: Wendy Parker

The demolition of the old East Cobb Middle School campus on Holt Road is essentially complete.

The buildings have been torn down; what remains now is to haul off the rubble, twisted metal and other debris to make room for the relocated campus of Eastvalley Elementary School.

East Cobb Middle School demolished
Concrete, brick and other debris where the cafeteria once stood.

East Cobb Junior High School opened in 1963, two years before Wheeler High School across the street, then was renamed East Cobb Middle School in the 1970s.

The aging facilities continued to serve students until 2018, when ECMS moved to Terrell Mill Road, next to a relocated Brumby Elementary School.

East Cobb Middle School demolished
Remnants of the gymnasium.

East Cobb Middle School demolished
Twisted rubble in the parking lot.

The Cobb County School District recently released renderings of the new Eastvalley, with a construction contract expected to be approved and work to begin on the new campus in 2022.

The new Eastvalley is projected to open to students for the 2023-24 school year.

Former East Cobb Middle School demolished

Former East Cobb Middle School demolished

Related posts:

 

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!

Cobb commissioners establish ‘Juneteenth’ as county holiday

by

Cobb Senior Citizens Council annual meeting, Keli Gambrill
Cobb Commissioner Keli Gambrill

Juneteenth—a celebration of the emancipation of slaves first made at the end of the Civil War—was made a county holiday Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

That date will be marked on Monday, June 20, 2022, the day after Juneteenth, which became a federal holiday this year.

But the vote wasn’t unanimous, as Commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb opposed the measure.

Saying while she has nothing against the commemoration, she said that “it’s also a cost to the taxpayers. . . . It’s almost being done as a way to retain county employees.”

The cost for giving county employees the day off will come to around $300,000.

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said officially observing Juneteenth is “an opportunity to recognize the freedoms that we all have that were not contemplated in our original Constitution.”

Not to make Juneteenth a county holiday, she added, “would send a dispiriting message to people who had a nuanced road to freedom.”

The Cobb NAACP has been organizing Juneteenth celebrations at the Marietta Square for a number of years.

Gambrill said that this will be 12th official county holiday, and cited a report saying that the typical private sector holidays in the county are only a little more than seven.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners approved spending $105,000 in county reserves for additional overtime for the 2021 World Series games at Truist Park, and for a celebratory parade and event at the stadium for the Atlanta Braves. That vote was 5-0.

That funding is in addition to $350,000 commissioners approved before the games. After the vote, Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb asked Cobb Finance Director William Volckmann about the economic impact estimates of the World Series.

He said a report is forthcoming in the first quarter of 2022 by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and the Cobb Travel and Tourism agency.

Commissioners also recognized several retiring county department heads, including Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox.

He’s been a 30-year veteran of the department, including a stint as commander of Precinct 4 in East Cobb, and has been police chief since 2019.

The commissioners will meet next Tuesday for their final zoning hearing of the year; a second regular business meeting slated for next week has been cancelled.

Related posts:

 

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!

 

Cobb to develop proposal for possible stormwater fees

by

Cobb storm damage town hall
Terrell Mill Estates resident Denise Canteli showed Cobb commissioners photos of flood damage in her yard during the September storms.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners has directed the county’s water department to craft proposals in the coming weeks for the possible creation of a stormwater fee.

By a 3-2 vote, commissioners set in motion a process to address stormwater management issues that have existed for years, but that most recently have angered citizens in East Cobb after heavy flooding in September.

The possible creation of a stormwater fee was first raised following a consultant’s report in 2005, but no action has been taken along those lines, Cobb Water System director Judy Jones told commissioners.

“These aren’t new initiatives,” she said. “They’re ongoing.”

A revised agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting requested consulting assistance to prepare code amendment proposals that would be voted on later by commissioners.

Since 1994, stormwater management has been handled by the Cobb water system, and is funded by water and sewer revenues.

The current fiscal year 2022 Cobb stormwater budget is $2.26 million and its current capital improvements budget is $4.5 million.

Of the 1,800 miles of drain pipes in county right-of-way areas, 70 miles need replacing. In addition, the agenda item notes, “there is a significant backlog of stormwater projects, including 93 pipe failures that have resulted in sinkholes. The Water System does not have sufficient staffing or funding to complete these projects in a timely manner.”

Jones told commissioners that her office had been crafting stormwater proposals for several months, before the September floods, and has been pulling away employees from her short-staffed department to do so.

Meanwhile, East Cobb residents who were impacted by the September floods are still dealing with the devastating aftermath.

East Cobb resident Hill Wright, who leads a citizens group pressing the county for action, said during a public comment period at Tuesday’s meeting that stormwater services are “playing second fiddle in the water department” and urged the creation of a separate stormwater department.

He’s been especially critical of what he says has been a poor response by the county, and suggested that Cobb use federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act to develop “a long-term plan.”

Jones said the county could use ARPA funds for purposes as outlined in state water quality guidelines, but “they can’t just be used to repair a pipe.”

The expanded services she’s recommending are related only to maintaining existing stormwater facilities, and “do not include upsizing pipes or flood recovery assistance.”

That last issue was noted by Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb, who also said that she couldn’t “support another utility fee” with Cobb water rates going up by 11 percent in January.

Also starting in 2022, residential customers in unincorporated Cobb who use less than 5,000 gallons a year will pay $1.99 a month more than those in Cobb cities who are charged for the same amount of water and sewer.

Birrell, who’s long been vocal about curtailing the amount of water system revenues transferred to the county’s general fund, voted against the measures, along with Keli Gambrill of North Cobb.

Among other objections, Gambrill said that municipal customers “don’t know what they’re getting for that fee” and was concerned about adding more stormwater duties to an overworked water system staff.

Jones recommended that if a stormwater fee is created (and included on a customer’s water bill), it could be charged according to the amount of impervious surfaces on a property, instead of water and sewer usage.

(Such a fee, in fact, has been suggested for a number of years by residents of the Loch Highland neighborhood in East Cobb, as we reported in 2018 story.)

Birrell suggested that such a fee might be issued to a developer, and for that to be part of the county’s upcoming consideration of a Unified Development Code.

There’s not a timetable that was mentioned for bringing action items back before the commissioners.

Related stories

 

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!

Cobb library system announces Christmas, New Year’s closures

by

Mountain View Regional Library

The Cobb County Public Library has announced special hours for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

All library branches will be closed from Thursday, Dec. 23 through Sat. Dec. 25, and they will be closed from Friday, Dec. 31 through Saturday, Jan. 1.

Regular hours will resume on Monday, Jan. 3.

For specific hours and services at each Cobb library branch, click here.

Related posts:

 

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 and Georgia gas prices drop as holidays approach

by

East Cobb holiday gas prices
Unleaded gas at some East Cobb locations cost a little less than the Georgia and metro Atlanta average of $3.14 a gallon.

As the Christmas and New Year’s holidays approach, motorists in metro Atlanta and Georgia are seeing gasoline prices start to fall.

AAA-The Auto Club Group reports that the average price across the state last week was $3.14 a gallon, 4 cents down from the previous week and 12 cents below the November average.

But the sharp rise in gas prices in recent months, which came with a peak of nearly $3.25 a gallon in some areas of metro Atlanta, means that the current average is still $1.14 more than this time in 2020.

AAA estimates that a 15-gallon tank costs $47.10 to fill up, $10.20 more than January 2020, when the cost at the pump was $2.46 per gallon in Georgia.

“Lower oil prices continue to bring down prices at the pump,” said Montrae Waiters, AAA-The Auto Club Group spokeswoman. “As well as, when the Omicron variant emerged in late November, health experts concluded the variant did not seem to produce more severe cases than other variants. Markets have taken that to mean global energy demand will likely not be diminished. Unfortunately, we still can’t predict if the Omicron variant will continue to push oil and gas prices lower for the remainder of the month.”

The metro Atlanta average is $3.18 a gallon, and around East Cobb many stations are at or below that price for unleaded fuel.

The current national average is $3.32. You can check gas prices near you by clicking here.

The Auto Club Group also is projecting a healthy rebound in the number of Georgians traveling for the holidays, between Dec. 23-Jan. 2.

The estimate is 3.4 million travelers in the state, which is down from 2019 but represents an increase of 857,949, or 34 percent more, than 2020, the first holiday season of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those projections reflect nationwide surges in holiday travel, according to an AAA report you can read by clicking here.

Related stories:

 

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!

Cobb holds groundbreaking for new NE Cobb police precinct

by

Cobb Police Precinct 6

Last week Cobb County officials broke ground for the replacement building for the Gritters Library in Northeast Cobb (renderings and a previous post here).

On Monday, they were back in the area to shovel some turf for another new facility, the forthcoming Cobb Police Precinct 6.

That’s located next to the Mountain View Aquatic Center on Gordy Parkway, and the county provided the first renderings (seen above) of what it will look like when finished.

At Monday’s event were Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, Police Chief Tim Cox, Director of Public Safety Randy Crider, County Manager Dr. Jackie McMorris, and State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick.

In November commissioners approved spending the first part of $5 million in 2016 SPLOST funds for the new precinct, which will initially house police special units but will not have a patrol zone.

The area will continue to be covered by Cobb Police patrols out of Precinct 4, located off Lower Roswell Road, and that stretches to the east side of Canton Road.

Cobb Police Precinct 6 groundbreaking

Related posts:

 

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!