Amanda Arnold, Director of Community Outreach and Kathy Winiarczyk, Business Development Officer – Cobb County with Credit Union of Georgia proudly delivered hundreds of donated items to Loving Arms Cancer Outreach (LACO) this week. The generous contributions were collected across branch locations throughout February and March, all in support of individuals bravely battling cancer.
Janet Graham, Director and Michelle Ferretiz, Development and Outreach Coordinator with Loving Arms Cancer Outreach expressed deep gratitude for the outpouring of support from Credit Union members and employees. “These donations mean the world to the families we serve,” said Michelle. “They help remind our patients that they are not alone on their journey.”
Loving Arms Cancer Outreach (LACO), a non-profit organization, is dedicated to providing critical wraparound support to individuals and families affected by cancer. Their services include emotional support groups, educational resources, and crucial financial assistance for those facing financial hardship due to treatment.
“This initiative is a testament to the incredible power of community,” said Amanda. “We’re proud to partner with an organization like LACO that makes such a meaningful impact.”
A heartfelt THANK YOU goes out to all who donated and helped bring comfort and hope to those in need. Together, we continue to make a difference—one kind act at a time.
To learn more about the Credit Union of Georgia Community Foundation, Inc. visit www.cuofga.org/foundation.
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Eastbound vehicles on Lower Roswell Road stop for a red light at Woodlawn Drive as construction crews close off lanes at the intersection. ECN photo.
Motorists in East Cobb have already begun grumbling about occasional lane closures that have been taking place for a few weeks now as the long-planned Lower Roswell Road project gets underway.
The first phase of the $7 million improvement project includes redoing the intersection of Lower Roswell at Woodlawn Drive, where construction equipment is parked when it’s not being used to conduct preliminary utility relocation work there.
At a Cobb Board of Commissioners work session last week, Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler mentioned those developments in a summary of transportation projects funded through SPLOST (Special-Option Local Sales Tax) revenues.
Cobb DOT has said the improvements are necessary to reduce crashes and improve traffic flows along a busy set of intersections.
The Lower Roswell Road project (final fact sheet here) is being funded with revenues from the 2011 SPLOST. Raessler said that the anticipated timetable for completion is more than two years away, in November of 2026.
The approval of the Lower Roswell Road project last June came with plenty of controversy, as it was passed by Cobb commissioners on a 3-2 vote after former commissioner Jerica Richardson made the motion for the work to move ahead.
That was after a redesign in 2022 and a few delays early in 2024, and in spite of vigorous community protests, including some business owners in the corridor.
Opposing the project was commissioner JoAnn Birrell, whose district includes the Lower Roswell Road area that Richardson, whose office was declared vacant in January, formerly represented.
That approval came more than a decade after it was first proposed, and a couple of years after renewed concerns about the impact on local businesses in the area.
The most controversial part of the project will be completed later on. That’s a raised median along Lower Roswell, between Johnson Ferry Road and Davidson Road, that business owners have protested would be “a bad idea.”
As she tried to broker a compromise, Richardson said that “what I do not want is to yet again kick the can down the road, and the situation will continue to get worse.
“Someone will be seriously hurt, and that point we will all be wondering why something wasn’t done sooner.”
Her former District 2 no longer includes East Cobb, and her successor will be decided in a special election on Tuesday.
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Chairwoman Lisa Cupid’s office will host a series of meetings to educate residents about Cobb County’s strategic plan for the future. The first of the “All In” Cobb Policy Discussions, Effective and Efficient Government, will take place 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in the Board of Commissioners’ meeting room, 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. The county finance director and various county leaders will delve into how Cobb government operates and the resources it requires to run smoothly.
An additional meeting notice includes the following:
“Cobb’s strategic plan identifies effective and efficient government as a strategic outcome area. Our finance director and various county leaders will delve into how our county operates and the resources it takes to make Cobb the best it can be. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn and engage with fellow community members. We value the input of all here in our County and your participation helps us ensure that our practices are consistent with our most important stakeholders: our residents.”
The 2023-28 strategic plan (you can read through it here) is an outline of priorities, strategies, and themes to guide the county over a five-year period.
The draft includes seven topic, or “strategic outcome” areas—community development, economic development, governance, housing, infrastructure, mobility and transportation and public safety.
That draft, released last year, includes a recommendation to develop a process to “evaluate and adapt land use policies that promote exclusionary zoning and inhibit a variety of housing options across the County.”
Exclusionary zoning is the practice of allowing only certain kinds of zoning categories in certain areas, and has come up frequently in communities across the country—especially suburban ones—in regard to affordable housing in recent years.
When we posted this notice last year, we added that the-then Biden Administration issued comments about exclusionary zoning claiming that such practices “drive up housing prices, poorer families are kept out of wealthier, high-opportunity neighborhoods. This, in turn, leads to worse outcomes for children, including lower standardized test scores, and greater social inequalities over time.”
Cupid has mentioned affordable housing frequently, including at a contentious town hall meeting in 2022 in East Cobb when she said that “people who work here should be able to afford to live here.”
There’s no such language suggesting or proposing a ban in the Cobb strategic plan draft, which goes onto to recommend that other strategies to address affordable housing include setting a countywide housing mix goal, and to ensure that a proposed Unified Development Code, should that be approved, “enable a variety of housing types.”
The proposed UDC also has become something of a hot-button topic but is very slowly making its way through the drafting process (a draft issued in November can be found here).
In February, the county’s consultant for the UDC made a presentation suggesting a new planned development category for major mixed-use projects, and public meetings are scheduled this spring on the first two installments of the draft.
No specific meetings have been announced.
To RSVP for Thursday’s strategic plan meeting click here.
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“No matter who’s running the government, they’re not looking after small businesses,” said Samantha Garmon, owner of The Queen’s Pantry. ECN photos
It was great reluctance that Samantha Garmon announced to her customers earlier this month that she was having to raise the price of chocolate products.
The owner of The Queen’s Pantry—a British specialty food and gift store that’s been in East Cobb for 13 years—announced that the price of cocoa had skyrocketed more than 60 percent over the last year.
Chocolate candies and other sweets abound in the 2,000-square-foot space at the Shoppes of Merchants Walk, which Garmon moved into two years ago after occupying a smaller retail storefront a few doors away for 11 years.
Her expansion ambitions were seemingly throttled, but she attached some classic wry British humor to the situation when she wrote that while another price increase is coming, she’s been able to order in larger numbers to offset some of that:
“And so we are offering you the chance to buy whole boxes of chocolate. Not like a Forrest Gump box of chocolates, but a whole box of your favourite bar of chocolate.”
As it turned out, that headache was just compounding, in an unrelated way. The day before, President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, in what he called “Liberation Day.”
For Garmon, a native of middle England whose store inventory is almost entirely imported, that was not a description that she would use.
About 85 percent of her revenues are from food, and 40 percent of that is chocolate, said Garmon, who also sells British-style fresh meats that must be produced in the U.S. according to federal law, as well as gift and novelty items.
Great Britain received the base 10 percent tariffs that most trading nations received from the Trump administration.
Garmon’s products also come from Ireland (25 percent announced tariffs) and South Africa (36 percent). Those numbers could be negotiated, but the uncertainty is her greatest concern.
“If it [stays] at 10 percent, I could order it today,” she said of a standard 90-day window between placing an order and receiving a delivery.
“But if they go up” before that window closes, “I have to pay the difference.”
She said she’s working with her suppliers to hold the line at that 10 percent figure as much as possible, but the tariff drama has been fleeting.
Some nations have begun negotiating with the U.S., and Trump has dropped some of the more severe tariffs on Chinese goods.
A private tea room for tastings and special events is part of the expanded space at The Queen’s Pantry.
Garmon opened The Queen’s Pantry in 2012, on the heels of the recession, then weathered COVID.
With COVID, “you woke up every day some set of directions,” Garmon said. “The difference with this is we don’t know what’s going to happen day by day.”
The Queen’s Pantry has a sizable ex-pat customer base that Garmon has cultivated into something of a British family away from home.
Her larger space provides a separate room for her British tea events, and many customers filed in for a cup of tea in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
“People come in for a bit of an experience,” Garmon said, saying some of her customers come from nearby states in the Southeast, as well as across metro Atlanta.
“They come in and they know what they’re getting.”
But Garmon also understands the implications for her business if prices keep rising, regardless of the reason.
“When the purse strings get tight, it’s the luxury items that get cut.”
British-style bangers and other meats must be produced in the U.S.
She said she’ll be preparing a list of items for customers that may be affected by the tariffs, “because we don’t want to give them sticker shock.”
Garmon said some of her customers appreciated being humored with the way she announced the higher chocolate process, “but that’s the British way.”
Garmon, who has dual British-American citizenship and who lives nearby with her husband, a long-time East Cobb resident, didn’t delve into the politics of the tariffs, just what she thinks their impact may be on what she does.
“No matter who’s running the government, they’re not looking after small businesses,” she said.
She did point out that the task of determining the national origin of a product isn’t as simple as those pining for a “Made in America” designation may think.
Some products can have ingredients that come from other countries, but if they’re ultimately processed, assembled and packed in the U.S., they’re considered American.
“When I import it, I have to declare where it was manufactured,” she said. Also, “if it’s a certain percent that’s made here, they can say it’s made in America.”
Still, Garmon said she feels blessed to be able to do what she does.
“What you do for other people is the most satisfying thing I do,” she said. “We’ll keep helping our customers.”
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Nicole De Souza of the Walton HS GlamourGals performs a manicure.
Submitted information and photo:
Students from Walton High School’s GlamourGals chapter are making a lasting impact in their Marietta community by forming meaningful connections with local seniors. Through regular visits that include complimentary beauty makeovers and engaging conversations, these students are offering much more than a polished manicure—they’re offering friendship, joy, and a sense of belonging.
For Lauren Cohn, a dedicated member of the chapter, one moment stands out. “I was able to sit down with Joan and truly spend one-on-one time with her. At first, she was a bit shy, but once her favorite song came on, it was all smiles and silly faces. At the end of our visit, she admired her makeup and nails in the mirror. I believe I made her feel happier and prettier,” Lauren shared. “Every visit fills my heart in a different way—and this one was no different.”
New member Briana R. recalls her first experience with gratitude, “I was nervous at first—I thought I might say or do something wrong,” she said. “But the seniors were so kind and welcoming. They made me feel at ease right away. I’m so thankful for this experience and can’t wait to go back.
Katie E., Vice President of the Walton chapter, reflected on the lasting impact of their visits, “Just being there—smiling, laughing, showing we care—makes such a difference.
The seniors are always so touched that we take the time to connect with them,” Katie explained. “These moments remind me to stay positive and cherish every experience.”
Walton High School’s GlamourGals chapter continues to grow, driven by compassion, consistency, and a deep respect for the seniors they serve. Their efforts reflect the heart of GlamourGals’ mission—to reduce elder isolation and inspire empathy in the next generation of leaders.
ABOUT GlamourGals:
GlamourGals, a 501(c)(3) founded in 2000, reduces social isolation by empowering beautiful connections across generations. Our signature beauty makeovers are led by teen-led chapters nationwide that bring honor and companionship to seniors in aged care. Click here for more.
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As April comes to an end, we’d like to thank readers who’ve pledged their support to East Cobb News during this month.
It’s hard to believe that May is almost here—starting with the Taste of East Cobb festival Saturday that we’re proud to be sponsoring again, and culminating with the end of another school year.
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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!
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Voters in a few East Cobb precincts will be going to the polls Tuesday in a special general election for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
The candidates are Democrat Erick Allen and Republican Alicia Adams, and party control of the board is at stake.
Currently there are two Democrats and two Republicans on the commission, which also has been all-female since 2021.
Early voting in special elections in District 2 and District 4 ended Friday and turnout has been light, according to Cobb Elections, with fewer than 6,000 total votes cast in both races.
The polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the District 2 precincts in the East Cobb area that are in District 2 are as follows:
Chattahoochee 01: The Paces Foundation, 2730 Cumberland Boulevard
East Piedmont 01: Shady Grove Baptist Church, 1654 Bells Ferry Road
Elizabeth 01: Cobb EMC, 1000 EMC Parkway
Elizabeth 02: Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2881 Canton Road
Elizabeth 4: Gracelife Church, 1083 Allgood Road
Marietta 6A: Kenyan American Community Church, 771 Elberta Drive
Marietta 6B: Mt. Paran Church of God North, 1700 Allgood Road
Powers Ferry 01: Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, 2051 Lower Roswell Road
Sewell Mill 03: Immanuel Korean United Methodist Church, 945 Old Canton Road
(Please note: Not all voters in these precincts are in District 2. To check your status, visit the My Voter Page at the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.)
District 2 contains only small portions of the East Cobb area.
District 2 formerly included much of East Cobb when it was represented by Democrat Jerica Richardson from 2021 through earlier this year.
Special elections in District 2 and District 4 were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Those maps were drawn by Allen, of Smyrna, then the chairman of the Cobb legislative delegation, but never received a vote. Since leaving office, Allen has been the head of the Cobb Democratic Party.
Adams is a Republican activist who challenged the Democratic commissioners’ used of those electoral maps that led to her disqualification for seeking the District 2 seat in 2024.
After the court rulings, Cobb commissioners voted to vacate the District 2 seat that had been held by Richardson, who was drawn out of her East Cobb home in redistricting.
Richardson and her two Democratic commissioner colleagues honored the Allen maps for more than two years in making a “home rule” challenge. But two Cobb judges ruled those maps were illegal because only the legislature can conduct county reapportionment.
In January, Richardson lost her final appeal to stay in office—although her term expired on Dec. 31—and the commission has been operating with four members since then.
Also on Tuesday, in District 4, which covers most of South Cobb, first-term Democrat Monique Sheffield will face Republican Matthew Hardwick.
Cobb Elections estimates the special elections will cost around $1.5 million.
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PeachSkinSheets presented a check for $5,040 to the Cobb Schools Foundation at their headquarters (514 Glover St SE, Marietta, GA 30060) on April 23. This donation, raised through a portion of recent PeachSkinSheets sales, will help fund grants, scholarships, and critical resources for Cobb County students and educators.
This event is part of PeachSkinSheets’ ongoing commitment to education. In December 2024, the company donated four pallets of sheets to families in need, and in 2024 alone, contributed more than $100,000 to schools, teachers, and nonprofits. Their upcoming Teacher Appreciation event in May will also spotlight their continued support for educators across the country.
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!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
For decades, the Southern Technical Institute bathtub races entertained swarms of students, alumni, and community members as engine-laden bathtubs throttled around what is now Kennesaw State University’s Marietta Campus.
The idea for the game was conceived by Frances Beusse, executive director of alumni and constituent engagement, who frequently heard from SPSU alumni about their desire to bring the bathtub races back. Knowing that a real-life revival was a long shot, Beusse proposed a digital recreation as a way to celebrate SPSU history while showcasing the talent of current students. She partnered with Will McKenna, director of development for CCSE, to explore the possibility of incorporating the concept into a capstone project. From there, they worked with faculty to develop a plan and brought in alumni to serve as advisors and subject matter experts.
The game’s momentum grew after an encounter between McKenna and Lee Miller, an SPSU alumnus and former Bathtub Racing Association president. Miller, who participated in the races in the 1980s and early ’90s, was approached with the idea and quickly signed on to help bring it to life.
“From the moment I heard about it, I knew it would be a cool project,” Miller said. “The bathtub races were such a unique part of the school’s history, and it was exciting to think about how we could bring that spirit into a new form for future generations of students.”
As an advisor for the project, Miller has been instrumental in providing historical context, sharing old photos and videos, and contributing to the creative process. He spoke with students about the tradition, which began in the late 1960s when engineering students repurposed old cast iron bathtubs into finely tuned machines, eventually leading to high-speed races across campus.
Over the years, the event became a celebrated part of student life, drawing large crowds and fostering a sense of camaraderie. The races were sunset in the early 1990s, but a retired bathtub racer still hangs in the Engineering Technology Center as a tribute to this eccentric yet beloved piece of SPSU history.
The game’s development is being spearheaded by a team of student developers, which include computer game design and development major Sasha Melbourne, who serves as the lead programmer for the game.
“The concept has always fascinated me,” she said. “It’s such a quirky, fun event, and I love the idea of combining that with gaming. We’ve tried to replicate the excitement of the races by making it fast-paced, unpredictable, and full of surprises. It’s not just about recreating the past; it’s about making something that people can enjoy in the present day.”
The development team has risen to the challenge of balancing historical accuracy with the need to make the game accessible. They worked hard to recreate the course, the bathtubs, and the atmosphere that made the event so memorable.
“It’s been a process of experimentation, iterating, and making corrections to each detail,” Melbourne said.
While the game aims to be competitive and entertaining, it also intends to create a sense of connection between current students and SPSU alumni. Miller, whose father attended Southern Technical Institute in the early 1960s and whose son is currently attending KSU, is excited to see how the game brings together generations.
“I think the game is a great way to bridge the gap between the past and the present,” Miller said.
As the development team puts the final touches on the game, they have also reflected on how the game could inspire future student-driven initiatives.
“We’ve learned a lot from this process, both technically and creatively,” Melbourne said. ” I think it’s a great example of how students at KSU can come together and use technology to bring something special to life.”
Sasha Melbourne, center, leads a team of student developers creating a video game based on the Southern Technical Institute bathtub races.
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The existing scoreboard at Raider Valley during a Walton varsity football game.
Private funds were raised in the Walton High School community to replace an electronic scoreboard at the sports stadium in Raider Valley.
But the Cobb County Board of Education was asked this week to approve the purchase, which caused some confusion in the community.
An agenda item for Thursday’s board meetings noted that the $439,497 amount would pay for removal of the existing scoreboard and replacing it with “a new multi-sport digital video scoreboard with video control and software systems on a new monopole structure.”
The agenda item includes a line item that states “Budgeted:” and the filed indicates “Yes,” but it wasn’t specific.
Typically such items specify a funding source, such as a SPLOST (special-purpose local-option sales tax) earmark.
At a board work session Thursday, board member John Cristadoro, who’s a football coach in the Walton feeder program and whose daughter plays volleyball for the Raiders, asked Marc Smith, the Cobb County School District’s Chief Technology and Operations Officer, about it.
“Just to be clear—are we writing a check for $439,000?” Cristadoro asked.
Smith told him that “Walton” is paying for that, meaning the individual donors, who were not identified in the agenda item.
“So, not the district?” Cristadoro asked.
“Correct,” Smith replied.
John Cristadoro
That led to some further discussion after board member Becky Sayler asked why the board needed to approve it.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale told her that the district changed a policy regarding such matters years ago after schools were going into debt getting loans for such purchases, and were finding it hard to retire that debt.
“It was damaging to the students and it was damaging to the coaches and to the sports at those schools to keep having that debt,” he said, “and have all the fees that parents pay to participate in extracurricular activities.”
“He said the district also requires construction and equipment items to go through its SPLOST and maintenance department since “regardless of who pays for it, it becomes school district property.”
All items costing more than $200,000 also need board approval, Ragsdale added.
The Cobb school district doesn’t fund a variety of equipment and other items related to extracurricular activities, including sports uniforms and equipment.
Walton’s football, soccer, lacrosse and track and field teams compete at Raider Valley, which was part of the original campus that opened in 1975.
The Walton High School Foundation has been conducting a fundraising drive for what it has called a new “jumbotron,” and solicited donations last weekend at the 50th anniversary celebration for the school.
The objective is to have the new scoreboard installed and in place for the start of the 2025 football season in August.
Cristadoro asked Ragsdale if the district had the latitude to turn down a privately-funded project if it thought it would be too cost prohibitive or posed other concerns.
“On the front side, we’re able to say, okay, you’re going to have to cover said expense and upkeep,” Ragsdale said, referring to a non-district funding source.
The Cobb school district spent $6.78 million to construct a new baseball field and tennis courts on Pine Road as part of Walton’s campus rebuild project, as well as $5.65 million to acquire property there.
In that time, the district also relocated the softball field to the former baseball field on Raider Mountain at the back of the campus, and another $1 million for a pedestrian bridge on Bill Murdock Road to the new sports complex.
Those projects, along with a new campus classroom building that opened in 2017 and a new gymnasium and performing arts theatre that opened in 2020, were funded with SPLOST revenues.
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The Georgia Symphony Orchestra closes its 74th season on Saturday, May 17, with We the People, featuring the world premiere of “Requiem Americano,” a new original piece by conductor and music director Timothy Verville.
We the People will delve into various perspectives on American life. The beloved ballet music from Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” beautifully captures a wedding ceremony between a husband and a pioneer woman in rural Pennsylvania, evoking the simplicity and serenity of their life.
In stark contrast, “Requiem Americano” uses the music of America to address pressing social issues, including anti-immigration sentiment, hypercommercialism, gun violence, social isolation, and disproportionate incarceration.
This powerful performance will also feature tenor Timothy Miller, the Atlanta Boy Choir, and the GSO Chorus.
As the 2024-25 season comes to an end, GSO is looking ahead to the next season, which will see the symphony celebrate its 75th anniversary. Special celebrations will be announced soon!
We the People will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Dr. Bobbie Bailey and Family Performance Center in Kennesaw, GA. Tickets are $15–$45 and are available at georgiasymphony.org/all-events.
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“It’s concerning, looking ahead,” Chris Ragsdale said about future budget prospects for the Cobb County School District.
After a few years of generous employee pay raises and spending growth, the Cobb County School District is taking a more judicious approach to its fiscal year 2026 operating budget.
Amid an uncertain economic climate and with lower growth in the Cobb tax digest, district financial officials on Thursday proposed a $1.8 billion budget Thursday that provides modest pay raises and includes reclassifying some teaching positions.
The board on Thursday “tentatively” adopted the budget, which means that the district will then publicly advertise a budget process that includes a public hearing and formal adoption in May.
No layoffs are planned, but the cost of Georgia Teacher Retirement System benefits for Cobb educators, as well as other employee health benefits, has risen by $33 million from the current FY 2025 budget of $1.8 billion, Chief Financial Officer Brad Johnson said during a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday afternoon.
For employees eligible for a step pay increase, those raises could go as high as 4.6 percent.
General fund revenues total $1.7 billion with $166 million from other sources.
The budget proposal includes using $43 million in reserve funding to help balance the budget, with the property tax rate holding steady at 18.7 mills for the third year in a row. The district has a fund balance of $198 million.
“It’s not a great budget, but it’s far from gloom and doom,” Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said.
But he said there are “storm clouds” possible beyond the coming academic year.
“We’re not the only district in this position. It’s concerning, looking ahead.”
(The district did not have the budget proposal available online until after the board’s Thursday night meeting; details can be found at this link.)
After near double-digit increases in the Cobb tax digest in recent years, only two percent growth is projected for 2025, which would yield around $17.4 million in school revenue.
Last year, Cobb had tax digest growth of more than 7 percent and 15 percent in 2023.
Johnson detailed the major personnel changes, which would shift 57 school-leaving interventionist positions to fill classroom vacancies.
The interventionists help detect possible learning issues, but Ragsdale said their work will continue, just in different fashion.
Another 68 teachers who had been on special assignment will be also redirected to classroom teaching positions.
“We’re hoping the economy turns around and that we’ll have a different conversation [about the budget] this time next year,” Ragsdale said.
The school board will hold a second budget public forum on May 15, right before it is scheduled to adopt the budget.
The Cobb school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1-June 30.
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A notorious novel that’s been banned for adults and children in some parts of the world for years has been removed from the Cobb County School District.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday that the district’s continuing review of books deemed inappropriate for minors has culled “American Psycho,” written by Bret Easton Ellis and published in 1991.
At a Cobb Board of Education work session, Ragsdale did not elaborate on the reason, nor did he say which schools carried the book.
The Cobb school district has removed more than three dozen books over the last two school years for what Ragsdale has said contain sexually explicit, lewd, graphic or otherwise inappropriate content for minors (here’s the full list).
Some citizens have objected to what they have called “bans,” and filed a civil rights complaint, saying many of the books have minority and LGBTQ themes.
After last November’s elections Ragsdale, asked his critics “to take a break.”
“American Psycho” has been the subject of bans and removals for much of its history, even before its publication.
Protagonist Patrick Bateman, a successful New York investment banker in the 1980s, also is a serial killer, and the novel is replete with graphic descriptions of murderous violence, sex and sadistic behavior.
Feminist groups organized boycotts due to the book’s depictions of violence against women, and Ellis received death threats.
“American Psycho” was made into a film in 2000 starring Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe and Reese Witherspoon.
At the book’s 25th anniversary, Ellis told Rolling Stone that he wanted his novel to be a scathing, satirical condemnation of the excesses of Wall Street and American finance at the time:
“I created this guy who becomes this emblem for yuppie despair in the Reagan Eighties—a very specific time and place—and yet he’s really infused with my own pain and what I was going through as a guy in his 20s, trying to fit into a society that he doesn’t necessarily want to fit into but doesn’t really know what the other options are.”
He said the book also “was really about the dandification of the American male. It was really about what is going on with men now, in terms of surface narcissism” and that themes revolving around male culture “seemed to me much more interesting than whether he is or is not a serial killer, because that really is a small section of the book.”
The American Library Association placed “American Psycho” on its most banned book list for the 1990s. In some parts of Australia, the book was banned altogether, or sold to adults only with wrapping paper on the cover.
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Cobb County government said Thursday that a cybersecurity hack has affected 10 individuals, including three county employees.
The county said it’s begun notifying individuals “whom we believe had information accessed and copied from a limited number of Cobb County systems by an unauthorized actor.”
A release sent by the county Thursday morning also said the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been notified, but didn’t indicate how that agency may be involved.
The county also didn’t say what information or data may have been compromised, and that it “varies by individual. We are providing these individuals with guidance on how to protect themselves, and, in select cases, we are providing identity theft protection and credit monitoring if their case involves certain types of information.
“We will notify any additional potentially affected parties as necessary and where required.”
Last month, the county’s IT department noticed “unusual activity” on its servers, which were taken offline for a few days to detect the breach.
“Unfortunately, these incidents are all too common today, and no one is immune,” the Cobb release Thursday said. “Today, Cobb County systems are operational and serving constituents’ needs. Our vendors and partners have restored connections to our network. We are moving rapidly to help our community while the investigation is still underway.”
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Hyde Farm is a regular venue for the Cobb PARKS fishing rodeo.
Another loaded event schedule in the East Cobb area starts Friday morning with some spring cleaning, and ends Sunday with another Music in the Park concert.
The annual Indian Hills Garage Sale takes place Friday and Saturday from 9-4 at select homes throughout the neighborhood (addresses and detailed lists here and here).
If you’re looking to clear out your own closet, bring unwanted shoes between 9-12 Saturday to Wheeler High School (375 Holt Road) for the Wheeler Band Booster Club Shoe Drive. Donations of gently worn, used and new shoes will be accepted, and in any size (more details here). They’ll have one more collection date, on May 10.
The Sope Creek Garden Club Spring Plant Sale takes place Saturday from 9-3 in the parking lot at Temple Kol Emeth (1415 Old Canton Road). A wide selection of plants, trees and shrubs will be available, along with other’s Day baskets, garden gaire delights and hand-crafted bird feeders.
The Pope High School Band Car Wash Fundraiser is Saturday from 9-2 at Midtown Tire (2950 Johnson Ferry Road), with proceeds benefitting band programs, and you’ll get free refreshments while you wait.
Kids 3-16 are invited to bring their rods and bait and come to the Cobb PARKs Fishing Rodeo Saturday from 9-11 at Hyde Farm Park (726 Hyde Road). There will be awards given and the cost is $5 per child. To register click here.
Also on Saturday, Cobb PARKs is putting on its Spring Arts Festival from 10-4 at Jim Miller Park (2245 Callaway Drive). More than 100 artisans and vendors will be selling their wares, with food, music, glass art demonstrations and other activities and entertainment. Parking and admission are free.
Faith Lutheran Church (2111 Lower Roswell Road) is holding a Wine Tasting and Silent Auction Saturday from 6-9 to benefit its K-8 school. Tickets are $25/person ($25/couple for staff members). Childcare will be availablem and to sign up click here.
The Cobb Schools Foundation and Ivy Lane women’s clothing boutique are teaming up Saturday for the 9th annual Sources of Strength Fashion Show, to raise funds and awareness for teen suicide prevention.
A $20 ticket includes lunch at noon at Paradise Grille (3605 Sandy Plains Road), followed by the fashion show at 1 p.m. at Ivy Lane a few doors down. Attendeees will get a swag bag with gift cards from local businesses.
After some or all of that, Sunday’s for relaxing. Music in the Park returns to East Cobb Park (3322 Roswell Road) for another free concert from 4-6. Bring food and a chair/blanket to the concert stage and enjoy. Organized by the Friends for the East Cobb Park and presented by Wellstar, the Rotary Club of East Cobb, Frameworks Gallery, Home Depot and Site One Landscaping.
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During a significant week for his congregation, Etz Chaim Rabbi Daniel Dorsch visited with a Christian men’s group at the adjacent Grace Resurrection Methodist Church on Indian Hills Parkway.
On Wednedsay Etz Chaim was holding a joint event with the Catholic Church of St. Ann to commemorate Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.
On Sunday, another Holocaust observance will take place at Etz Chaim, followed by a 50th anniversary celebration as Cobb County’s first synagogue. Dorsch and Etz Chaim were recognized last week by the Cobb Board of Commissioners for that milestone.
On Tuesday, he “delivered a powerful and enlightening presentation on the Jewish faith—covering its rich tradition,” Grace said in a summary of the event [including the photos in this post], and “a visit next door to Etz Chaim Synagogue, where Rabbi Dorsch personally led a tour, pointing out the significance of various symbols and artwork throughout the space.
“We closed the night with thoughtful conversation and a renewed sense of connection. The Grace Men’s Group extends heartfelt thanks to Rabbi Dorsch and the Etz Chaim congregation for their generous hospitality. The evening reminded us of the beauty that unfolds when faiths listen to one another, neighbors become friends, and hearts open not just to learn—but to grow.”
In the Etz Chaim sanctuary, Bubba Cooper and Lee Thrasher, Men’s Group co-chairs, with Rabbi Dorsch.
Rabbi Dorsch and Rev. James Williams of Grace Resurrection Methodist Church, left.
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A 42-year-old woman inmate at the Cobb Adult Detention Center was found dead at the facility on Tuesday, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
According to a release issued Wednesday, the cause of death for Bunnie Large is being investigated by the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office, and an internal probe in the Sheriff’s Office also is underway.
The release said that Large was homeless and officials were able to notify next of kin “after some due diligence.
“Time and time again, jails across our state are de facto homeless shelters, mental health facilities, and hospitals—the last resort for the most marginalized and broken amongst us,” Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens said in the release. “As a society, we must address the root causes of these issues, rather than solely relying on law enforcement to manage the fallout. It’s time we invest in real solutions and get people the help they so desperately need.”
He didn’t elaborate specifically on what issues Large may have had. The Cobb Sheriff’s Office said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation declined to open a separate investigation.
According to her booking report, Large was taken into custody on Jan. 9, at the East-West Connector in Austell, on a felony charge of theft by shoplifting. She was being held without bond, and the booking report said that her detention was a hold for the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.
She’s the second Cobb female inmate to die since December. Clara Palmer died of an apparent suicide after being found unresponsive in her cell. She was awaiting charges on possessing a weapon while committing a crime, possession of methamphetamine, theft by receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence.
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The Cobb Board of Education and the public will get a first look the Cobb County School District’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on Thursday.
The presentation will take place at an afternoon work session, to be followed by a public forum on the budget and a second presentation Thursday evening.
According to an agenda item, the proposed budget is $1.86 billion, a slight increase from the current district FY 2025 budget of $1.8 billion.
The agenda item contained no further details and did not indicate whether there would be a change in the property tax millage rate; the district has said that information would be posted after the budget proposal is introduced.
The budget presentation takes place at a work session that starts at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
The budget public forum starts at 6:30 p.m., and the board’s monthly voting meeting, which includes tentative budget adoption, starts at 7 p.m.
All meetings Thursday take place in the board room of the CCSD Central Office, at 514 Glover St. in Marietta. An executive session will follow the work session.
The budget proposal anticipates $1.81 million in revenues but does not indicate how the difference would be made up.
The final budget hearing is scheduled for May 15, also at 6:30 p.m., shortly before the board is scheduled to adopt the budget.
In July, the school board adopts a property tax millage rate after the final Cobb tax digest is issued.
The Cobb school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1-June 30 of each year.
Also on Thursday’s agenda, the board will be asked to set a maximum price of $15.9 million for the construction of a second career academy on the campus of Allatoona High School.
The board will be asked to ratify a $439,497 purchase of a new video scoreboard at the Walton High School athletic stadium. The funding was raised privately by parents but it must be confirmed by the board.
The also board will be asked to spend $1.7 million to purchase 10 48-seat school buses, and another $450,000 for the acquisition of two K-9 dogs to assist with school security measures.
At the Thursday evening meeting, recognitions include Wheeler High School’s boys state basketball championship team as well as Susan Sharrow of Pope High School, the Cobb school district’s 2024-25 library media specialist of the year.
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