The Cobb Animal Services Department recently threw a retirement party for one of its longest-serving employees.
Cindy Ganues retired in September after 45 years as an animal care specialist, and she was showered with gifts, a cake and the well wishes of her colleagues.
The Wheeler High School graduate also has been involved in animal rescue and wildlife rehabilitation work in Cobb, metro Atlanta and Georgia.
“Animal Care Specialist Cindy Ganues has spent 45 years of her life providing selfless treatment to the pets at Cobb County Animal Services,” Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said in her email newsletter Friday. “Her long tenure is truly remarkable. . . We congratulate Cindy on her retirement and wish her all the best in her next adventure.”
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The Junior League of Cobb-Marietta (“JLCM” or “The League”) will host its 29th annual Mistletoe Market, a premier two-night philanthropic shopping event to help raise funds for the JLCM, from November 9 through November 11 at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta. The JLCM is a nonprofit organization which serves women and children in Cobb County by advancing social activism-focused projects that benefit the local community. More than 60 local vendors will participate in this year’s charity holiday event.
“The League is excited to welcome back our many returning merchants and to be able to continue to grow the number of merchants year after year in support of our local community,” said Cristin Kennedy, JLCM’s 2023-24 VP of Fund Development. “This event is not only our League’s largest and most impactful fundraiser, but it’s a wonderful time to highlight local artists and small businesses. It most definitely is a win-win event.”
JLCM’s Mistletoe Market, which has been a holiday tradition in Cobb County, metro Atlanta, and across the Southeast for almost 30 years now will feature locally created, premium goods, and shoppers will have access to personalized gifts, holiday décor, jewelry and much more.
Tickets for the event’s special Premier Night and Market Days, which will be sold separately, are available at jlcm.org. Premier Night tickets are $25, and Market Days tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Dates and hours of operation listed below:
Premiere Night: Thursday, November 9, from 6-9 p.m.
Mistletoe Market Days:
Friday, November 10, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Premiere Night access allows guests to be the first to shop our merchants. The first 100 guests will receive an exclusive shopping bag and all can enjoy light bites, beverages, and entertainment.
“Mistletoe Market is not just a reason to have fun while shopping for you or your loved ones,” said Tammy Thorpe, 2023-24 JLCM President. “It’s an event that truly makes a difference in our community. The public’s support of the market allows JLCM to meet the needs of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Proceeds from the 2022 Mistletoe Market helped JLCM supply kits containing household essentials and file organizers to teens in foster care who graduated in Spring of 2023, which positively impacted 15 deserving students. The League also provided period products to Cobb County women and girls in public schools and local community partners, as more than one in four women struggle to purchase period products due to lack of income according to the Alliance for Period Supplies.
The Junior League of Cobb-Marietta will continue to accept merchant applications for this year’s market. Interested artisans and businesses can email MistletoeMarket@jlcm.org for more information.
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Madison Argo, who recently began his second year as the director of Wheeler High School’s band program, has died.
A Cobb County School District spokeswoman confirmed the death, but provided no other details.
“We mourn along with the Wheeler High School community following the passing of the school’s band director,” she said in response to a request for information from East Cobb News.
“Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all those who are grieving. School counselors will continue to be available to support students and staff during this difficult time.”
Cobb schools were out this week for fall break and the Wheeler marching band also has the week off since the Wildcats football team is idle.
Wheeler’s marching band recently was the only local high school to participate in the EAST COBBER parade.
Wheeler’s band program includes the Wildcat Pride marching band, three large ensemble classes, colorguard, drumline, jazz band, and pep band.
According to his official school biography, Argo came to Wheeler after holding a similar position at a high school in Texas. He also was an associate band director at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville.
Argo was a 2014 graduate of Auburn University, where he was the drum major, and earned a master’s in fine arts degree from Ball State University in 2021.
Argo also has performed with the Cobb Wind Symphony and Emory Wind Ensemble and was a member of various music education organizations.
He also on the music staff for the Macy’s Great American Marching Band in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The Wheeler PTSA issued a statement early Friday evening saying that Argo “made a positive impact on the lives of so many students and staff during his time at Wheeler, and he will be deeply missed.”
The Lassiter High School band program expressed condolences on its Facebook page.
“Madison was a diligent educator, passionate musician, and a friend to many,” the Lassiter message stated. “He will be missed dearly.”
The Ball State band program said on its Facebook page that Argo, who earned his master’s degree there in wind conducting while serving as a graduate assistant, was “a dedicated member of the BSU staff and a tremendous asset to the BSU Band program. Madison’s sense of humor and boundless energy was contagious.
“Madison’s spirit will live on through his students, colleagues, and friends.”
Auburn band director Corey Spurlin issued a statement on Instagram, saying “Madison’s integrity was beyond reproach and was one of the most outstanding students I have had the pleasure of working with during my tenure at Auburn. . . . He loved his family, his band students, music, wrestling, and Auburn. He was a truly great Auburn man, and he will be missed.”
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Commissioner Jerica Richardson listens as Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler outlines options of the proposed Cobb Mobility referendum. ECN photos.
As an open house period preceded a town hall on the proposed Cobb Mobility Referendum, some citizens who gathered at the Fullers Park Recreation Center Thursday weren’t happy with how the event was set up.
After an hour, Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson, Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler and other county, metro Atlanta and state transportation officials conducted a panel discussion and answered written questions from the crowd of about 50 people.
Some complained that there was no process for verbally questioning those at the front of the room, but after a while, a few citizens did anyway.
The Cobb Taxpayers Association, which opposes a transit tax of any duration, distributed two full pages of questions its leader, Lance Lamberton, says the county isn’t trying to answer.
Including the first question: “How much will the transit tax cost the average citizen on an annual basis?”
Lamberton was among the skeptics who question the need for a one-cent sales tax for transit and other transportation that Cobb DOT presented last month.
One option would be for 10 years that would collect $2.8 billion and the other is a 30-year tax that would collect $10.9 billion. The latter is endorsed by Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who said at a work session last month that would enable the county to get more federal matching funding.
Commissioners are expected to vote later this year on whether to call for a referendum in November 2024, but Richardson told East Cobb News before the town hall a date to formally consider that action hasn’t been discussed.
Thursday’s open house was the first of several to take place around the county through the end of October to gauge public response to the possibility of having a transit tax.
She said the feedback she’s received has been “a mixed bag” that presents a variety of issues and options, including accessibility, pedestrian safety, road resurfacing and paratransit and microtransit services.
The bulk of the proposal would be to create and expand what Cobb DOT calls “High-Capacity Transit” bus services, primarily in dense areas in the Cumberland and along Interstate 75 as well as around Town Center and the main Kennesaw State University campus.
The options include Bus Rapid Transit, which would operated in dedicated lanes, and Arterial Rapid Transit, which blends in with other vehicles.
The only current CobbLinc line that runs in East Cobb is along Powers Ferry Road.
There is a proposed 6.6-mile ART route that would run along Roswell Road from the proposed Marietta Transit Center near the Big Chicken to Johnson Ferry Road, with a projected cost between $125-$150 million.
That’s similar to a route that was previously operated by Cobb Community Transit (now CobbLinc), but was discontinued by commissioners during the recession. It had some of the lowest ridership numbers in the system.
“Ultimately, he voters have the right to say what their tax money will be used for,” Raessler said after highlighting the referendum presentation he made to commissioners in August (you can read it here).
That was a prelude to a question that has been on the minds of many as Cobb DOT prepares to put together a project list before the anticipated commissioners’ vote.
Why?
Raessler pointed to project population growth of 25 percent in Cobb County by 2050, to more than 1 million residents, and a 24-percent increase in the county’s number of employed people, to more than 500,000.
He said KSU students have expressed easier access to CobbLinc, the county’s existing bus service.
An expanded and blended system, Raessler said, is more flexible and affordable than rail, and can take some of the features of rail “to make it work better.”
“We’re in the transit environment that was envisioned 30 years ago,” said Brad Humphry, a mobility member of Richardson’s citizen “cabinet.”
“The opportunity is now to envision the transit system of the future.”
“We don’t want to be another Sandy Springs,” resident Virginia Choate said.
But several citizens spoke out adamantly against those transit options, saying they would lead to higher density in more suburban areas.
Richardson had said that there would be no proposed changes in density from the county’s future land use map to accommodate transit.
“We’re going to stay consistent with the Future Land Use Map,” she said.
Raessler said that bus service would indeed look different around the county because of varying levels of density that already exist.
“There will be a different look [with routes] connecting the KSU campuses and anything going into East Cobb,” he said.
But resident Virginia Choate said “we do not want to look like Sandy Springs. . . . Buses from the Big Chicken to East Cobb are not needed.”
Raessler emphasized that the need to expand transit now is to get ahead of the anticipated influence of new residents and workers.
“How can we accommodate that growth?” he said.
When Lamberton pressed him on this primary question—the cost the tax would cost the average household—Raessler said “it depends on the household.
“It is a sales tax and it depends on how much that individual is spending.”
Richardson admitted that she has issues with a sales tax that is regressive by nature and would hit those on the financial margins the hardest.
She suggested that perhaps state lawmakers could revisit the 2022 law allowing for local mobility referenda to create some exemptions from the tax in certain categories of sales.
Richardson said she’s inviting further public feedback on the issue and invites citizens to examine her mobility presentation.
Five more open houses are scheduled on the mobility referendum, including Saturday, Oct. 14, from 10 a.m to 12 p.m. at the Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road).
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MUST Ministries has relocated its Marketplace store to East Cobb.
The Marietta-based non-profit’s retail store at Sandy Plains Village (4651 Woodstock Road) is in a soft opening phase, selling clothing, furniture, home goods, and more at a discount, with proceeds benefitting its programs.
A grand opening event will be on Nov. 1, from 4-6 p.m. at the store. The event includes refreshments, special discounts and a tour of the new facility.
The store sells donated items to assist MUST’s mission of helping those in need of housing and dealing with the effects of poverty. In July, MUST closed the Marketplace location at Cobb Parkway, and since then has been renovating the larger space at Sandy Plains Village.
The Marketplace is open from 10-5 Monday-Saturday and is holding a special sale through this Saturday of 20 percent off furniture items.
MUST announced that the new location is accepting non-food donations, something that couldn’t be done at the former site.
For large items such as furniture, call the MUST Marketplace 770-790-3900 in advance.
MUST’s donation center on Field Parkway in Marietta is remaining open and is open from 9-5 Monday-Saturday.
For more information on the Marketplace, click here. Updates are also being provided on the store’s Facebook page.
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Dr. Leia Dawson and her husband, Brandon Dawson, the business development officer for the AFC Urgent Care location in East Cobb. ECN photo and video.
There’s still some staff training and final checks to undergo, but the American Family Care Urgent Care location in East Cobb should be open by later this week.
That’s the estimate that Dr. Leia Dawson, the new clinic’s medical director, said after a ribbon-cutting celebration on Tuesday.
The 3,600-square-foot facility at Merchant’s Festival Shopping Center (1401 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 390) is in the space of an urgent care facility that was bought out by Wellstar Health System.
It will provide a wide range of urgent and primary care walk-in services for adults and urgent care needs for minors, seven days a week.
Dawson, who’s headed a Floyd Urgent Care location in Rockmart and an AllCare location in Dallas, Ga., said AFC Urgent Care’s goal is simple.
“We want to ease some of the pressure off the ER,” said Dawson, who holds a Doctor of Osteopathy degree and is board-certified in family medicine.
“Our goal is to have you in and out in an hour.”
She said the time can depend upon the nature of an injury or service need.
AFC Urgent Care’s services include diagnostics tests with on-site equipment, including an X-ray machine, an on-site laboratory, occupational health exams and worker’s comp cases and “point of care” treatment for the flu, COVID and other illnesses.
AFC, based in Birmingham, has other Urgent Care locations in metro Atlanta, including near Town Center and in Roswell, among its 350 franchised locations around the country.
Dawson’s husband Brandon is the East Cobb clinic’s director of business development. They live in North Cobb with their two children.
AFC’s mission, according to Laura Bradbury, the company’s vice president of franchise operations, “is to bring health care to the community. That’s what makes us successful.”
Dawson noted a shortage of nurses and other medical personnel at facilities that has resulted in extended waiting and service times.
“It’s an economical option for people who don’t want to go to the hospital,” said Jack Norton, who’s doing media and public relations for the East Cobb facility.
The AFC Urgent Care location in East Cobb will include 14 staffers in addition to Dawson, including two nurse-practitioners. There also will be another medical doctor on call.
The location accepts most health insurance coverage. No appointments are needed.
Hours are fro 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
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“Mr. Jimmy” Grier, at left, with Timber Ridge ES head custodian Thomas Fleming
A reader shared with us news that was sent out Wednesday to the Timber Ridge Elementary School community that one of its custodians, Jimmy Grier, has died.
Principal Shannon McGill e-mailed parents and staff to say that in his 10 years in the job, “Mr. Jimmy impacted many students and staff during his time at Timber Ridge. The Timber Ridge School community will greatly miss his presence.”
She urged parents to help their students with grieving and to contact school counselors if they desired.
A recent social media posting from the Timber Ridge PTA included a photo of Grier and head custodian Thomas Fleming (above) ahead of National Custodian Appreciation Day next week.
On Thursday, the Timber Ridge PTA posted this notice on its Facebook page:
As many of you know, Monday is national Custodian Appreciation Day, and so many beautiful cards and notes were written for Mr. Jimmy. We plan to send those cards to his family in a few weeks, so that they will know just how much we all loved him. The PTA will also make a memorial to Mr. Jimmy, and we will share that information with you as it becomes available.
Finally, not only do we plan to give Ms Theresa and Mr. Thomas all of the cards and notes you made, along with gift cards the PTA purchased, we would also like to encourage each of you to give them extra love in the days and weeks to come.
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A conceptual drawing of East Cobb Church, which is at least two years away from being constructed at Johnson Ferry Road and Shallowford Road.
After conducting Sunday afternoon services at Eastside Baptist Church since its inception in 2019, East Cobb Church is relocating to space for worship on Sunday mornings.
The congregation of North Point Ministries has announced that starting Nov. 12, it will be meeting at Fellowship Christian School in Roswell.
Specific times for the services and other activities are still to be determined.
“We recognize that meeting for church on Sunday afternoons is not optimal for most people in our community,” the church announced on its website, adding that Fellowship Christian—located at 10965 Woodstock Road—”is much closer to our property where we are building our permanent home.”
It’s been nearly two years since North Point was granted rezoning approval for the 33-acre site at Johnson Ferry and Shallowford Road for the church, retail and a residential development.
North Point sold roughly 20 acres of that assemblage to a residential developer, and in March, was granted a land disturbance permit for church construction.
East Cobb Church said that it is hoping to have a groundbreaking for the 125,000-square-foot church and parking lot “later in 2023” but was no more specific than that.
The first task on the North Point property has been dam reconstruction and relocating Waterfront Drive that has been underway since the spring.
The church project is expected to be completed in two years. Updates can be found by clicking here.
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Nick Simpson, who ran for Cobb Superior Court Clerk in 2020, is seeking the same office in 2024 under very different circumstances.
A Democrat who lives in Acworth, Simpson said he is running for the seat held by Democratic incumbent Connie Taylor and is holding listening sessions.
He said in a release Tuesday that he’s doing this in part “to discuss the need for transparency and accountability in light of current fiscal practices at the clerk’s office that have been highlighted in recent news reports.”
In addition to maintaining court records and providing passport services, the Superior Court Clerk also is the custodian of real estate records and is one of four county elected officials whose position is created by the Georgia Constitution.
Simpson, who graduated from North Cobb High School and attended Powers Ferry Elementary School and Daniell Middle School, is a former chief operating officer of the Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s office.
In his release Tuesday, Simpson said he “seeks to prepare the Clerk’s office to meet the demands of the future by addressing technological needs caused by the proliferation of cyber and property fraud, and the county’s strong population growth and real estate market.”
In announcing his 2024 campaign, Simpson said he supports the clerk having to transfer all fees from processing passport applications to the county treasury.
His other priorities include installing a in-house property fraud detection system to “detect incidents of fraud in real-time and not after a phony document has been sent to an outside party for review.”
Simpson was a coordinator for a family law information center in Fulton Superior Court and held government positions in New York before returning to Cobb.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University.
Simpson also founded a consultancy to advise clients on implementing secure document control systems and procedures.
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The Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) is now accepting responses for its Logan’s List database to identify those members of our community with special needs. The voluntary database allows Cobb DEC personnel to alert law enforcement or emergency responders that there are individuals in a home with special needs that could impede their ability to communicate with them. Signed into law in May 2021 by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Logan’s List was inspired by a Georgia teen with autism and other special needs.
“Our ultimate goal is to fulfill the needs of all members of our community; programs like this help us do just that,” says Cobb DEC Director Melissa Alterio. “Responders will be made aware of those mental, physical, or neurological conditions before arriving on scene so they can respond appropriately.”
Registering your family members for this database would help responders by letting them know they are non-verbal, how they best communicate, whether they are easily agitated, or whether sirens and flashing lights upset them. This information is essential to make sure those in public safety can best help those with special needs. The two-page form takes only a few minutes to complete and could help keep responders and citizens safe.
Cobb DEC’s implementation of this program comes after months of research and identifying how the team would gather and disseminate that information to responders. Once a person has completed the necessary form, the data will be available in the DEC Computer-Aided Dispatch system for telecommunicators, officers, and firefighters to see. The agency will keep a record of information in the database for six months and advise those added to the database to update any information and re-register every six months.
“We encourage those with a family member that may be special needs to please register your loved ones,” Alterio says.
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Walton’s overall SAT score of 1,255 was third in Georgia in 2023.
Students at Walton, Wheeler and Lassiter high schools had the highest overall test averages in the Cobb County School District for the Class of 2023, according to numbers released Monday by the Georgia Department of Education.
Walton’s “total mean score” was 1,255—the same as last year—and is the third-highest for a public school in Georgia.
Wheeler was in second at 1,184, but that was down 27 points from a 1,211 score in 2022. Lassiter was third at 1,183, a slight drop from 1,186 last year.
Pope students averaged a score of 1,179, compared to 1,178 last year, according to the state data.
The total mean score for Kell seniors was 1,063 and at Sprayberry it was 1,059.
The Scholastic Aptitude Test is administered every spring for seniors. They are tested on evidence-based reading and writing and math.
The Cobb school district said in a release that its districtwide figure is 1,104 out of a possible 1,600 points, the highest in metro Atlanta. That’s a bit lower than last year’s score of 1,111.
Cobb students posted a reading and writing mean score of 541 and a math mean score of 563, both slightly down from last year.
The release stated that the Walton, Wheeler and Lassiter students “outscored their national peers by 252 points, 181 points, and 180 points, respectively.”
The other Cobb schools with total mean scores above 1,100 are Kennesaw Mountain (1,127) and Harrison (1,121).
Walton’s overall score of 1,255 is the third-highest in Georgia, trailing only the Gwinnett School for Math, Science and Technology (1,393) and Northview High School in North Fulton (1,263).
Georgia’s overall SAT number of 1,045, is 42 points higher than the national average for public-school students of 1003, according to the state education department.
Gwinnett’s mean score is 1,091, Fulton’s is 1,085 and Marietta’s is 1,052.
“Our schools are focused on teaching and learning and helping each individual student succeed. That is why Cobb students continue to outscore their peers around the metro, state, and nation. I am thankful for the hard-working Cobb educators and engaged parents who help our students reach their full potential,” Cobb school board chairman Brad Wheeler said in the district release.
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The following East Cobb residential real estate sales were compiled from agency reports. They include the subdivision name and high school attendance zone in parenthesis:
Sept. 5
817 Barn Owl Road, 30068 (High Gates at Robinson Farm, Walton): $2.525 million
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Little ones get a close-up view of Saturday’s college football screenings at Avenue East Cobb. ECN photos.
The autumnal equinox—also known as the first day of fall—still felt very summer-like.
The day that the Sun moves north across the celestial equator—signalling the coming of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere—brought with it plenty of sunshine to the East Cobb are.
Temperatures hovered around 80 degrees Saturday, and the low humidity and a gentle breeze made outdoor activities irresistible on what’s also the first day of fall break in Cobb County.
Sparser weekend crowds than usual gathered at East Cobb park for walking, picnicking and relaxation, as Cobb schools will be out of session all next week.
The local forecast calls for more of the same over the next week—sunshine, mild temperatures and little to no chance of rain.
Highs from Sunday through Tuesday are expected to be in the mid 80s with lows in the high 50s.
Cooler weather and clouds will move in after that, with highs forecast around 80 through next weekend and lows in the low- to mid 60s.
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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!
While Cobb students and teachers will be on fall break next week, some Cobb County School District employees will be busy moving desks, books and the other belongings of Eastvalley Elementary School to its new campus.
Cobb school district officials confirmed this week that the new campus, located on Holt Road, will be open for classes and other activities on Monday, Oct. 2.
A district spokeswoman told East Cobb News that there will be a formal ribbon-cutting on Oct. 16 but offered few other details about the resumption of classes at the new facility.
John Floresta, the district’s chief strategy and accountability officer, told East Cobb News Friday that “the new building is on schedule to begin classes after fall break.”
Eastvalley was to have begun the 2023-24 year at the new campus, but in May the district said that would be delayed due to supply chain issues.
At the start of the school year, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said it was the district’s intent to meet that fall break deadline.
The $36.7 million Eastvalley campus is located across from Wheeler High School, on the former site of East Cobb Middle School.
Construction began in the spring of 2022 on a two-story building with 136,110 square feet and 61 classrooms, with an expected capacity of around 960 K-5 students.
It is replacing a more than 60-year-old facility on Lower Roswell Road that has been overcrowded for years, with more than 700 students occupying a campus designed for 400.
Parents have complained about aging trailers that have been used to handle the overcrowding.
The Eastvalley fall festival, organized by the school’s PTA and volunteer foundation, also is scheduled to take place at the new campus on Oct. 6.
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A few weeks after Cobb commissioners were briefed on options for a proposed Cobb mobility sales tax, one of East Cobb’s representatives will have a forum on transportation issues.
District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson is holding a forum next Thursday from 5:30-8 p.m. at Fullers Recreation Center (3499 Robinson Road) that’s free and open to the public.
Cobb DOT will present recommended options (info sheet here) and provide an overview the proposed Cobb Mobility SPLOST, or special-purpose local-option sales tax, as well as existing transit services, technology, current and upcoming projects.
It’s touted as the “Future of Mobility,” but the focus figures to be on a proposed 2024 SLPOST referendum that commissioners have yet to vote on setting.
It’s tentatively set for November 2024 after being delayed last year.
At an Aug. 22 commission meeting, Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler laid out two sales tax options, one for 10 years that would collect $2.8 billion and a 30-year tax that would collect $10.9 billion.
Commissioners were divided on the issue, with Republican JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb saying she wouldn’t support a tax longer than five years.
Richardson, a first-term Democrat who announced last week the launch of her 6th Congressional District campaign, hasn’t stated a preference for the length of a tax.
A number of the transit projects in the Cobb DOT Mobility SPLOST presentation include expanded and “high capacity” bus service.
One of the few in East Cobb is a 6.6-mile line that would run along Roswell Road from the proposed Marietta Transit Center near the Big Chicken to Johnson Ferry Road, with a projected cost between $125-$150 million,
That’s a similar route that was previously operated by Cobb Community Transit (now CobbLinc), but that was discontinued by commissioners during the recession. It had some of the lowest ridership numbers in the system.
To register for the transportation forum, click here.
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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James Whitcomb (holding signs) with friends and family members who supported his 15-mile swim on Sept. 11 at the Mountain View Aquatic Center.
As we’ve updated over the last couple of years, East Cobb resident James Whitcomb has undertaken “mega” swims on the Sept. 11 date to raise funds for a charity that assists first responders.
It’s called the Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation, and Whitcomb has received pledges for his swims at the Mountain View Aquatic Center.
This year was his most ambitious endeavor yet, as he vowed to swim 15 miles. He started at around 6 a.m. and finished right before 5:30 p.m., taking a few short breaks along the way.
Here are the details:
Distance swam: 15 miles / 528 laps / 26,400 yards
Total swim time 9 hours, 20 minutes, 50 seconds
Average 1-mile swim time:37 minutes, 22 seconds
Fastest 1-mile swim time: 32 minutes, 31 seconds
Total break time: 1 hour, 21 minutes, 35 seconds
Heartbeats throughout swim: 66,638
Arm strokes (per arm): 13,728
Funds raised to date: $21,305
Original target raise amount: $35,000
A friend also made a video of the event that you can watch by clicking here.
Whitcomb said he’s still accepting donations and updates about next year’s event at www.swim2help.org.
“I know that our military, first responders, and their families appreciate your help,” he said.
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The initial list of candidates for National Merit Scholarships has been named for the Class of 2024, and Walton and Wheeler High Schools in East Cobb are well-represented.
They combined for 38 semifinalists–22 at Walton and 16 at Wheeler—out of more than 16,000 high school seniors across the country.
The program will award more than $28 million in scholarship aid to more than 7,000 recipients next spring. The students are chosen from a combination of grade-point averages and test scores, essays and teacher recommendations, as well as community activities.
The finalists will be announced later this fall.
Lassiter High School
Andrew Best; Andrew Griffis, Eileen Grouchnikov
Pope High School
Cristane Goodwin; Hayden Menezes; Clara Murray; Jay Natu; Simon O’Conno; Michael Soule; Paul Trotti
Walton High School
Pranaya Balaji; Hunter Buchheit; Sheling Cai; Nikita Chacko; Sarah Clark; James Davis; Andrew Fang; Mirabelle Havette; Evan Hsu; Daniel Huang; Zhikai Huang; Omer Inan; Ethan Ju; Daniel Lin; Shria Manikkoth; Benjamin Priest; William Sasadu; Vansh Shah; Samrita Shetty; Emma Webb; Lydia Zeng; Stephen Zhu.
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!
Angela Williams describes how her life has changed since she was the victim of childhood abuse as “a 40-year journey I’ve been on.”
She’s shared her story as an advocate for those who’ve gone through similar ordeals, helping them to learn how to reach out for support.
The East Cobb resident is the author of several books on the subject, including an initial memoir, “From Sapphires to Sorrows,” which explained how she began climbing out of her situation.
But Williams admits she’s long been haunted by the challenges of living with what happened to her, even as she continues to guide fellow victims to develop resiliency for a lifetime.
Last week, she published another memoir, “Loving Me: After Abuse,” which she says is a deeper, even more personal telling of the path out of abuse, with the aim of it being “a self-help guide.”
She held a book launch last week at the DK Art Gallery in Marietta and on Sept. 30 will be leading a “Time to Heal” Conference in Woodstock.
For 14 years, starting at the age of three, Williams was the victim of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. She said 93 percent of abusers are people their victims “know and trust.”
Williams said coming to terms with the emotional as well as physical pain of being abused hasn’t been easy to confront, but after a conversation with a friend she decided she needed to do just that in her latest book.
In order to truly help others even more, Williams realized she had to make herself even more vulnerable in sharing her story.
“It’s about wanting to live a life where you’re not tormented,” Williams said in a recent interview with East Cobb News. “It’s about walking in a life where you’re living to your fullest potential.”
Even as she went all-in on helping fellow survivors, including getting a degree in forensic psychology, Williams said “it took many years” for her to feel that she was truly moving in that direction.
In the book, Williams details “the amount of shame and feeling so unlovable” that led to a suicide attempt at the age of 17.
It left her homeless, and she persevered with her work ethic, and as a young adult got married and had children (who attended Pope High School and the University of Georgia).
“I worked on burying it,” Williams said of her memories of being abused. “It felt like holding a beach ball under water 24/7. I tried to mask it, but I wasn’t healthy.
“I wasn’t the wife and mother I wanted to be.”
She said she underwent “intense counseling” after thinking about suicide again—Williams said she never attempted to carry it out—and in her 30s, began to feel the clouds lifting.
“I learned to give myself grace,” Williams said. “I really built my faith in God.”
Her advocacy led to the creation of Angela’s Voice, which provides resources for the awareness, prevention and healing of child sexual abuse.
They include workbooks to teach children to defend themselves against abusive behavior, and she conducts support groups for survivors.
Williams has taken her message to schools, non-profits, faith communities and medical offices, and is developing more curricula.
“It’s about helping survivors to heal,” Williams said, adding that only one in 10 people who are abused will ever tell anyone about it.
“I hope that my book will give them the hope that they need,” Williams said.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
One of Jerri Heacock’s regular customers is East Cobb resident John Galt. ECN photo.
As Jerri Heacock began her job at the East Cobb Barber Shop Saturday morning, she was greeted by customers without appointments.
They weren’t walk-up clients, but regulars whose hair she had just cut, and she wondered what was up.
Some were bearing gifts and roses, and before long her co-workers had rolled out some cupcakes, balloons, and a signed card.
Her boss, owner Dee Reitz, had organized a surprise to mark Heacock’s 20th anniversary working for the old-style barber shop, and kept the secret well.
“I kind of had a hint,” Heacock said, but admitted she was still surprised when the full party complement was unveiled.
She’s the longest-serving stylist under Reitz, who took over the more than 37-year-old business in 2000. Heacock has the honor of working at “the first chair.”
That’s literally the first person customers see when they walk in the doors of the 600-square-foot space at Merchants Festival Shopping Center.
Usually that goes to a barber shop owner, but Reitz said Heacock has earned it.
“She just always has a smile, really knows how to build a rapport with customers. That’s why she’s the first chair.”
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Heacock attended Roffler’s Barber College and had worked at other barber shops when she heard about an opening at East Cobb Barber Shop.
“I just called and said I needed a job,” said Heacock, who was a single mother at the time.
That was on a Thursday, and two days later, she was working a chair on a trial basis. Initially she worked three days a week, but has been full time for many years.
The East Cobb Barber Shop, Heacock said, “just became family. It’s homey.”
She and Reitz are best friends, and when “you spend so much time with them they become family. It feels like home.”
Reitz and her staff of three stylists were rocked when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020. The shop was closed for a month, but Heacock came back after two months, bored at home and itching to see her clients.
“I missed my customers,” she said. “You get real close to them, and that’s why I love to do what I do.”
Customer John Galt, Heacock’s last of the day on Saturday, is among the regulars. He said he’s not coming as frequently as he once did—around every three weeks or so—but knows who he wants to see when he does come.
“I first started coming because it was so convenient,” said Galt, who lives in East Cobb. “Jerri has been good to me.”
He’s also a retired from the U.S. Army, and East Cobb Barber Shop reaches out to military veterans.
Reitz said she’s appreciated Heacock’s longevity not just because of her work ethic and the time it takes time to build up a loyal clientele, but also because it’s difficult to hire and keep good stylists.
“I’ve had several people where it just didn’t work out,” Reitz said. “I don’t like turnover.”
Having a reliable, friendly and familiar face “makes people feel comfortable.”
East Cobb Barber Shop staff, L-R: Stylists Matt Crawford, Lisa Owen and Jerri Heacock and owner Dee Reitz. Photo courtesy Jerri Heacock
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!
She suggested that perhaps state lawmakers could revisit the 2022 law allowing for local mobility referenda to create some exemptions from the tax in certain categories of sales.
For 14 years, starting at the age of three, Williams was the victim of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. She said 93 percent of abusers are people their victims “know and trust.”
