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!
The chairman of the Cobb Board of Education said Thursday the body has no authority to act on a court settlement involving vice chairman John Cristadoro of East Cobb related to his private business affairs.
Cristadoro and his marketing company last month settled a lawsuit with a former client in Fulton County in which he was alleged to have misused $250,000 meant for the client’s advertising campaign.
The civil lawsuit alleged fraud, breach of contract and fiduciary duty, civil racketeering and gross negligence. There was no admission of guilt in the final consent judgment, but Cristadoro was ordered by a judge to repay all but $25,000 of that amount.
Reading from a prepared statement during a school board work session Thursday, Chastain said that state law prohibits any actions by school boards into members’ behavior outside of their official duties in elected office.
“This board of education does not exceed the authority that it has been given by exploring the personal lives of our board members in the same way we do not involve ourselves in the personal lives of our students, staff and parents,” said Chastain, a Republican from Post 4 in Northeast Cobb.
Becky Sayler
“If we extend our authority into the past and into board members’ personal lives, where does it stop?” he continued.
“Criminal charges filed years before a member ran for the board? Allegations made at divorces, adoption hearings? Comments on Facebook that a member is not fit or was a bad teacher? Defaulting on student loans or filing bankruptcy? Failing to make credit card payments on time?”
Board member Becky Sayler, a Democrat from Post 2 in Smyrna, had asked for a hearing to determine to determine if Cristadoro could have violated the school board’s code of ethics.
But Chastain—who never referenced Cristadoro by name in his statement—said that “I asked for input from my fellow board members. I was reminded the board had no authority on this, or any other personal matter, particularly personal matters occurring before the member was elected to the board.
“I will repeat this again: No board member has the authority to make any decisions. Anyone who suggests otherwise is simply wrong.”
During Chastain’s remarks, the three Democratic members tried to ask for points of order or clarification to see if the statement was being made on behalf of the whole board.
It was only after he had finished that Chastain allowed Democratic member Nichelle Davis of Post 6 in Smyrna to ask a question.
Laura Judge
When she wanted to know if his remarks spoke for all seven board members, some applause broke out. “The statement stands,” Chastain said, and he immediately continued with the work session agenda.
He said the statement would be the board’s only word on the subject. The board’s three other Republican members, including Cristadoro, said nothing.
Chastain’s statement appears to be the first in an open meeting by a Cobb school board member since 2019, when he and the board’s Republican members voted to ban board member comments during public meetings. Two of their then-Democratic colleagues claimed the move was an act of censorship to silence them.
Chastain, who also was board chairman at that time, did not reference the ban in making his remarks Thursday.
On Friday morning, Sayler said on her board member’s Facebook page that her attempt to pursue a possible ethics violation inquiry “did not have the support of enough board members to move forward. You, the community, deserve board members who are informed, thoughtful, and guided by doing what is best for students. I’m sorry that not enough of my fellow board members saw this situation with the same urgency and morals that so many of us did.”
Democrat Laura Judge of East Cobb, who lost to Cristadoro in the 2024 general election, said during a public comment session at the work session Thursday that Cristadoro’s legal issues are “a blemish on this district’s reputation. This was not a minor error or personal dispute. It involved the admitted misuse of $250,000. And yet, some of our long-standing board members and leaders seem willing to look the other way. That should alarm all of us.”
She also objected to Chastain’s handling of the statement “before even discussing it in executive session with fellow board members” but that “it shows exactly how decisions are being made in this district—without all voices at the table.”
John Cristadoro
Judge added that the matter shouldn’t be a partisan issue (Republicans have a 4-3 school board majority). But Chastain, in his remarks, alleged that’s exactly what was happening with Cristadoro, a Republican in his first year on the board.
“During my 11 years on the board there have been numerous requests to consider actions by board members which allegedly affected their elected positions,” Chastain said.
“Virtually of these allegations were made by members who were not part of the majority’s political party. Without exception and regardless of the board member’s political party we have declined. The board of education will continue its unbroken practice and limit itself to actions occurring within a board member’s term of office and his or her elected service.”
In his only comment on the matter, Cristadoro, right after the settlement, accused his critics of creating “fake outrage” over matters that had nothing to with his public service.
“It’s a personal case from a personal business, both of which have nothing to do with serving students, other than being a target by those who are trying to tear down Cobb schools,” he 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!
Cobb PARKS was recognized by the Cobb Board of Commissioners this week for being named the Agency of the Year by the Georgia Recreation and Park Association.
Department officials and staff were present at Wednesday’s BOC meeting. The agency award is the second given to Cobb in recent years, following 2019, and Cobb PARKS Director Michael Brantley was recognized in 2024 as the GRPA’s Distinguished Professional of the Year.
GRPA is a private, nonprofit institution to support and promote the recreation and park industries within the state of Georgia. According to agenda item for Wednesday’s meeting, it is “the only state organization that serves as an advocate for quality recreation and park areas, facilities, programs and services at the local level.”
The Agency of the Year Award is presented to five population groups within the state. Cobb County is in the largest population category—150,000 and over. More from the agenda item:
“The rating period for the award was September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025, a year that has been a transformative one for Cobb PARKS, marked by achievements that not only provided improved facilities and operations but also strengthened our commitment to equity, community and quality of life.
“A tremendous number of initiatives and projects — from transformational facilities like the Milford Recreation Center and Rhyne Park, to systemwide upgrades, strategic partnerships and organizational improvements — illustrate a year of growth, innovation and service. Each represents a commitment to ensuring that Cobb’s parks, facilities and programs are not only maintained but continually improved for the benefit of all who call this community home.”
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Coach Jerry Mahon is honored by Pope High School officials and his family as he marked his retirement in 2025. Photo courtesy CCSD.
Pope’s season-ending win in varsity football was the last game for a longtime coach in the Cobb County School District.
Jerry Mahon, an assistant coach for the Greyhounds the last 10 years, is retiring, bringing to a close a 50-year career in coaching and teaching that included tenures at Lassiter and Wheeler.
He’s been Pope’s offensive line coach, and his players excelled as the Greyhounds won 35–14, rushing for 385 yards against Riverwood.
“His countless hours of hard work and commitment have made Pope Football a better program,” Pope head coach Sean O’Sullivan said in a release issued by the Cobb school district.
“It has been a true pleasure having such a veteran coach on staff. We appreciate all his support and the positive impact he’s had on our team and community.”
Mahon said he had wanted to be a coach since he was in eighth grade, and started in Mississippi in 1976. After also coaching in Alabama, he moved to Georgia in 1997, and was an assistant and head coach at Lassiter.
That’s where he coached his son Jerry, Jr., an offensive lineman for the Trojans in the late 90s, and said “he’s one of the best centers I ever coached, so the opportunity to coach my son was a real thrill.”
In 2005, Mahon moved to Wheeler, where he served for 11 seasons before coming to Pope.
“Coach Mahon’s legacy in coaching will be left with the thousands of players and hundreds of coaches who have encountered his professional, faith-based approach to teaching life lessons,” Pope AD Josh Mathews said.
“I have witnessed a coach who cares for the heart of the athlete significantly more than he cared about the result of a game or match.”
Mahon said his motivational and teaching philosophy came from an adapted rhyme believed to be inspired by the fourth-century Christian priest St. Jerome.
“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best. The key to all that right there is to never let it rest. You’ve got to keep working. Being average is halfway from the top, but also halfway from the bottom. You’ve got to be willing to put in the work. Hopefully, that is what I have passed on to my players and students.”
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Several months after placing specially-trained dogs in some high schools to bolster safety in schools, the Cobb County School District will be adding some more.
During a Cobb Board of Education session Thursday, the school board approved a special request by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale to use up to $2 million in the district’s general fund balance for an additional eight dogs, and costs for their handlers and equipment.
Ragsdale said the funding would enable the district to have a dog and handler at each of the district’s 16 traditional high schools.
The district began the program earlier this yearthrough a state school security grant and $80,000 in district funding to purchase canines to as part of officer-led teams that can identify “person-worn or concealed-carried explosives and firearms.”
Without providing specifics due to security concerns, Ragsdale said that what’s called the Vapor Wake program has been successful thus far, and presence of the dogs and handlers is “so accepted in the schools.”
He did not identify which schools have had the dogs, but said the next phase is for all of the high schools to have them “as soon as possible.”
The dogs are trained to “continuously sample the air for concealed firearms and explosives, tracking potential threats even while in motion. This cutting-edge detection capability provides real-time security monitoring, allowing for a swift response to potential threats,” according to Vapor Wake program literature.
The program includes a partnership with Global K9 Protection Group, a private company based in Opelika, Ala., that provides canine-focused security solutions.
Major universities, sports arenas, theaters and other entities use Vapor Wake.
“It will not be a flip of the switch, and they’ll be here tomorrow,” Ragsdale said Thursday. “But it will get us a lot further down the road than waiting for the budget cycle to come around.”
The vote was 6-1, with Becky Sayler of Post 2 in South Cobb of Smyrna opposed, saying she needed more information since “this is the first I’m hearing of it.”
She made a motion to table a vote, but that motion failed.
Ragsdale said that the cost could come to $2.6 million, with additional funding from SPLOST revenues, for equipment and training. Existing district police personnel will be trained to be handlers, as is being done now.
The district has a general fund balance of $386 million. Ragsdale said the cost of the additional dogs would have to be added permanently each year, unless additional state security grant funding becomes available.
“To have dogs at every high school is a preventative measure,” board member Randy Scamihorn said. “We want to be informed and we want to inform the public. But we want to keep our layered security, where the bad guys don’t know what we’re doing.
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!
These “Warrior Moms” have lived through tragedies that mirror today’s headlines:
Fentanyl poisoning
Hazing and preventable campus deaths
Gun violence
Car accidents and house fires, etc.
Three of the co-authors are from the Cobb area, and eight additional Warrior Moms will be on hand to sign books and speak with attendees. Their stories are raw, real, and deeply relevant—offering both practical guidance and a collective call to reshape how America talks about grief.
You may also recall Slater Nalley, a recent Top 5 American Idol finalist, who performed an original song inspired by Carter Davis. Carter was gunned down behind the Publix in Roswell in 2016. What many don’t know is that Slater was deeply moved by a poem written by his teacher, Michele Davis—Carter’s mother and one of the co-authors of ‘Grieve Like a Mother, Survive Like a Warrior.’ Her words helped shape the emotional core of Slater’s tribute, and she’ll be available for interviews at the event.
This artistic connection between teacher and student—between grief and music—adds a powerful layer to the story. It’s a testament to how personal loss can inspire public healing, and how Georgia voices are shaping national conversations through art, advocacy, and community.
Wanted to share an interesting twist of this story to you.
This is more than a book launch—it’s a moment of solidarity and storytelling from Georgia families who are turning pain into purpose.
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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!
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!
Submitted by mygreenearth, a Cobb-based environmental non-profit:
Students from Pope High School are offering curbside glass pickup to make recycling convenient this holiday! The cost is just $15 for one month or $30 for three months. Each household can set out one standard-size moving box of glass for pickup. Collection dates are Saturday, Nov 29, Dec 27, and Jan 31.
Through this program, students are gaining hands-on experience in business, sustainability, and community leadership. Proceeds will support the creation of a newFood Forest in Metro Atlanta. Spots are limited – register today!
Additional information: The service area is limited to the Pope, Lassiter, or Walton districts only, and boxes with the glass are to be left at the end of driveways by curbs or mailboxes.
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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!
The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday will be asked to approve renovations projects at several schools in the East Cobb area.
They include construction contracts at Addison Elementary School and Keheley Elementary School.
The board will hold a work session Thursday at 2 p.m., followed by possible voting action Thursday at 7 p.m.
All meetings 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 projects are funded through the current Cobb Ed-SPLOST VI sales tax. The Addison renovations will cost $1.344 million and will include new flooring throughout most of the facility, painting, restroom upgrades, new classroom windows and a new security entry area.
The work is scheduled to be completed by July 2026.
Similar work is planned at Keheley, with a cost of $2.986 million. The school will be getting roof, window and door replacements, new painting, restroom upgrades and new bus canopy. The project also has an expected completion date of July 2026.
The school board also will be asked to approve demolition of existing buildings at Kincaid and Murdock elementary schools for future projects to be scheduled.
Annex buildings will be torn down at both schools to make way for new additions, but estimated costs and construction timetables were not included in the meeting agenda.
Construction contracts will be brought to the board when those projects are ready to proceed.
The school board also will be asked to approve a contract to spend 3o school buses at a cost of $4.965 billion.
At the work session, the Cobb County School District’s 2026 legislative priorities will be presented, as will a school safety item for potential action that was not specified.
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!
Several public schools at all grade levels in East Cobb have been recognized as literacy and math leaders by the Georgia Department of Education.
These schools “demonstrated exceptional achievement or growth in reading and mathematics during the 2024-2025 school year,” according to the department, and as reflected in “annual end-of-grade or end-of-course assessments.
“The criteria recognize the crucial importance of grade-level reading in third and sixth grades and numeracy skills in fifth and eighth grades, and require higher growth from schools with lower achievement levels.”
More than 400 schools across Georgia have earned the designation, with 21 in East Cobb. Dickerson Middle School was recognized in both literacy and math categories.
Literacy leaders were given “based on the outlined criteriaat the elementary and middle-school levels, and at the high-school level based on the American Literature EOC, which is the state test for ELA in high school. Literacy Leader qualifications use the Georgia Milestones Reading Status indicator, which is based on the Lexile score associated with students’ performance on a subset of questions on the ELA assessment. GaDOE also recognized Literacy Leader schools for the2022-2023 and2023-2024 school years.”
The math leaders “met the qualifications for recognition as 2024-2025 Math Leaders. Awards were given based on theoutlined criteria at the elementary and middle-school levels, and at the high-school level based on the Algebra: Concepts and Connections EOC, which is the state test for mathematics in high school. Math Leader qualifications are based on students achieving the Proficient Learner level or above on the Georgia Milestones mathematics assessments. GaDOE recognized Math Leader schools for the 2023-2024 school year.”
Here’s our report from August on how students at East Cobb schools fared in the latest Georgia Milestones results.
Literacy leaders:
Blackwell ES (3rd Grade Gateway Growth)
Davis ES (3rd Grade Gateway Achievement, 4th Grade Growth)
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 Middle School Principal Michael Askew served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Submitted information:
The spirit of service runs deep in the Cobb County School District, where military veterans continue their mission by shaping young minds. From principals and teachers to social workers and custodians, these heroes bring lessons of leadership, perseverance, and purpose from the armed forces into Cobb classrooms every day.
At Rocky Mount Elementary, Social Worker Paul Pursell, a former U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant, says persistence learned in the military guides his work with families. “So much of what I learned in training really translates to what we do here,” he shared.
East Cobb Middle School Principal Michael Askew, a U.S. Marine veteran, uses his own story, learning algebra to set tank traps, to show students how classroom lessons can change lives.
At Tritt Elementary, kindergarten teacher Heather Garrett, a former U.S. Army specialist, surprises her students each Veterans Day when they learn she once worked in an Army motor pool. “My kids are always shocked to learn on Veterans Day that I am a veteran of the United States Army,” she said.
Rocky Mount custodian Winston Wilkinson, who served 15 years in the U.S. Navy, and Fair Oaks Elementary Principal Cathie Seibert, a former U.S. Army tank driver, both bring discipline, teamwork, and pride to their roles continuing their commitment to service in new ways.
This Veterans Day, Cobb Schools celebrates all who served and those who continue to serve by educating and inspiring the next generation. Their stories remind us that service doesn’t end with a uniform; it lives on in our schools, hallways, and classrooms.
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!
The ACAP Cobb & Cherokee chapter invites family caregivers and community members to attend a free educational program, “Recognizing Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias,” on Thursday, November 20, 2025, from 6:30–8:00 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church – Kapperman-Williams Hall, 2881 Canton Road, Marietta, GA.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia currently affect more than five million Americans, with those numbers expected to rise dramatically as the baby boomer generation continues to age. The impact of these diseases reaches far beyond the individual, touching families, caregivers, and entire communities.
This ACAP program will provide practical, research-based information to help adult children and family members better understand Alzheimer’s and related dementias—from recognizing symptoms and understanding diagnosis to exploring treatment options, emerging research, and effective caregiving strategies. Attendees will learn how to navigate both medical and non-medical support systems, ensuring their loved ones receive compassionate and informed care throughout every stage of the disease.
The program will be presented by Dr. Emily Mroz, Assistant Professor at the Emory School of Nursing and a social-behavioral health researcher whose work focuses on supporting individuals with serious, progressive illnesses and their family caregivers. Dr. Mroz’s research, funded by the National Institute on Aging, aims to improve the quality of life and care for those affected by dementia and other chronic conditions.
ACAP Cobb & Cherokee is part of ACAPcommunity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting adult children as they care for their aging parents. The organization offers free, monthly programs that provide education, resources, and community connections to help families navigate the challenges of aging and caregiving.
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!
Lynne McDonald, an abstract artist and entrepreneur, presents a Holiday Art Exhibition at Serendipity Labs Buckhead (3550 Lenox Road, NE, 21st Floor, Atlanta), Wed. November 19, 2025, from 6:00-8:00 pm. Lynne has been the featured artist at Serendipity for four years. This Holiday Show will be the unveiling of Lynne’s beautiful new pieces. Guests are invited to enjoy lite bites and drinks. To RSVP visit www.lynnemcdonald.com.
“Step into an exclusive showcase of works that mark the evolution of my artistic journey,” says Lynne. “I want each piece to be both a statement and an experience, designed to transform interiors and inspire conversation.”
Lynne’s vibrant, organic artworks are crafted with acrylic paints, brushes, and unconventional tools such as a blow torch, forks, straws, paintbrushes, fingers…whatever is handy. She mixes her own paints and adds different additives or mediums.
“I’m fascinated by the organic beauty of nature. I am grateful for the time I’ve spent in beautiful, inspiring places around the world,” says Lynne.“I was told by a mentor and teacher that there are two types of artists; natural and learned. It has taken me a lifetime to learn that I am a natural artist. The kind that picks up things and thinks, ‘I wonder what this will do.’ I’m intrigued by what materials do when they organically repel instead of blend.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynne McDonaldstarted painting in her kitchen in 2015 and made it her full-time profession by 2020. Lynne carefully creates artworks with intricate details, gradually revealing themselves over time. Having reshaped her career and life, she radiates hope, inspiring others to break free and embrace life’s possibilities.
Lynne has developed a following and has sold pieces all over the world; from Georgia to Greece to Dubai. As a juried artist, she’s been able to have over 18 shows in her short career; 15 of which have been solo. She’s had her work published in two coffee table books, various magazines, and has won numerous awards.
“Art is subjective. When someone connects with my work, I consider that a success,” Lynne explains. “In the studio, I am authentic and vulnerable, because each piece of work is a piece of me. Join me for an evening of art, connection, and discovery!“
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!
And that I do try to take a bit of time on the 12th day of the month to mark another trip around the sun.
My birthday is coming up on Wednesday, and without telling you how many of those trips I’ve logged (I stopped counting at 29!), it’ll be a busy day here on our local news front.
We have Cobb commissioners meetings that day, Cobb school board meetings the next day and a number of other significant stories in the works, as we continue to stay on top of some very newsworthy events.
In the last three months, our traffic has picked up tremendously, and November figures to be the same. There’s been a lot going on in the news, to be sure, but our readers also are letting us know how much they value from what they get.
And that makes us proud.
East Cobb News has become a go-to source for all kinds of news that offers more than a glimpse of what’s happening in East Cobb—they reveal quite a bit about what makes this community tick.
Whether it’s stories featuring our original reporting, or others in our community passing along news about local events and activities, East Cobb News is focused on what’s valued the most by readers here.
It’s our stock-in-trade, and for eight-plus years we’ve been building that community trust, one story at a time.
We do this without charging readers, because we believe reliable local news should be accessible to all. So during this week of your editor’s birthday, I’d like to ask readers for the gift of your donations, so we can continue to give you the local news you love.
Local business advertising is how we pay most of the bills at East Cobb News, which like our competitors is a for-profit business.
These days, many news outlets, including those that are much bigger, also ask their readers for support.
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We believe high-quality local journalism is the bedrock of a healthy community.
In order to keep local news free, however, we need your help.
You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible.
We’re asking our readers to help support us financially, but it’s entirely voluntarily.
If you value what you get from East Cobb News—what we post every day to our site, as well as our weekly newsletter, and our connections with readers and community on social media–please consider making a financial donation today.
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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!
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!
It was warm enough to play catch at East Cobb Park Sunday, but cold, windy weather will be around through the middle of the week.
The first part of this week is going feel like the winter.
A freeze warning is in effect for Cobb County and much of north Georgia Monday morning as a cold front moves through the Deep South.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City said the freeze warning will be in effect from 1 a.m. Monday through 10 a.m. Monday, as temperatures could dip below freezing.
Combined with wind gusts of around 30 mph, conditions will feel like they’re a good bit below zero.
Monday’s high will be only around 40, with some sunny skies.
Monday night will be colder, with lows in the mid- to low-20s, according to the forecast, with highs reaching around 50.
The skies will be clear and sunny, but wind gusts could be as high as 25 mph.
A freeze watch will be in effect from 7 p.m. Monday to 10 a.m. Tuesday, with highs on Veterans Day forecast to be in the high 40s.
By Wednesday the weather we’ve been enjoying will start to return, with sunny skies and highs in the low 60s. The lows will be in the low 40s, and this pattern will continue through the end of the week.
Saturday’s high is expected to be in the low 70s, and Sunday’s in the high 60s, when a chance of rain will move into the area.
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!
Flooding along Columns Drive in East Cobb after a storm in 2024. ECN file photo.
The first of two public hearings on a proposed stormwater fee in Cobb County and other code amendments will take place next week.
The hearings are scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday before the Cobb Board of Commissioners. The hearings, during a regular BOC meeting, are being delayed by a day due to Veteran’s Day holiday on Tuesday.
Currently Cobb stormwater customers are charged through their water and sewer bills based on the amount of impervious surfaces on their properties.
Commercial and institutional customers would also be billed $4.75 month per 3,700 square feet of impervious surface.
The fee would apply to customers in unincorporated Cobb and the City of Mableton, whose stormwater management is handled by the county. Five of Cobb’s six other cities charge their own stormwater fees; Marietta does not.
At a BOC work session last month, Cobb Water System director Judy Jones said that a stormwater fee is badly needed because not enough revenue is being generated to maintain the aging system, and to address a growing backlog (you can watch a replay here).
Those issues were made more urgent following flooding in 2021 that damaged the homes and properties of many East Cobb residents, some of whom said a new stormwater fee wouldn’t solve their problem.
That’s because homeowners were on the hook for expensive repairs if the county couldn’t determine if their property was on a county plat. Other critics have condemned what they have called a “rain tax.”
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb has been opposed to an additional fee since the county transfers revenues from the water department to the general fund.
Jones admitted during the work session that a fee is not going to solve all of the county’s stormwater issues, but it “allows us to enhance our services. We need to get caught up with what we have outgrown.”
She also said the revenues transferred from the water system to the general fund aren’t enough to fund stormwater repairs.
In the current Cobb fiscal year 2026 budget, that transfer amount is $11 million, but only $300,000 comes from stormwater revenue.
Cobb is spending more than $9 million in FY 2026 for stormwater services; the proposed stormwater fee would generate around $17 million a year.
You can click through the slides presented at the work session below; the county has provided further information at a special Stormwater Funding page. Another hearing will be held Nov. 20 prior to a BOC vote on the stormwater fee and other proposed code amendments.
The BOC meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.
You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
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!
Megan Fisher and Maureen McLaughlin are sisters who teach health and physical education at Dickerson Middle School.
Recently they had to rely on their training and their sense of duty to save the life of a student who was in distress in the gym.
The student began to look ill after swallowing from a bottle of water. Fisher noticed he was choking on a plastic bottle cap, and she and Maureen worked to apply the Heimlich maneuver and back blows until the cap came loose.
“It’s one of those moments where you hope your instincts take over,” McLaughlin said in a release by the Cobb County School District. “We’ve trained for emergencies like this, but you never really think you’ll have to do it.”
Fisher added: “It felt longer than it probably was because our adrenaline was pumping. But as soon as I saw what was happening, I knew Maureen was there to help me. It was comforting to have her there.”
Here’s the rest of the story, which explains the sisters’ training with the Dickerson First Responder Team, which has CPR-certified staff and conducts drills throughout the school year to stay sharp.
“Because of their quick actions, they saved a life,” Dickerson principal Bradley Blackman said. “They didn’t panic. They didn’t run away. They jumped right in and did what they were trained to do.”
The sisters also were honored by the Cobb school district in its “Heroes Among Us” award.
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Known for her grit, leadership, and grounded personality, Hutchinson has built an impressive athletic résumé. The five-time GHSA state champion boasts titles in both cross country and track and field, including the 3200m, 4x800m relay, and team championships. Over the past three seasons, she has finished in the top three in 19 of her last 25 cross country races she has run in Georgia. She holds five school records and multiple county and regional honors.
“She’s the GOAT for Pope High School cross country,” said Coach Cathi Monk. “Josie goes above what’s required in her preparation. She’s a fierce competitor and an even better person.”
Hutchinson’s drive runs deep in her roots. The daughter of Joe and Christin Hutchinson, Josie credits her family’s athletic and faith-filled foundation for shaping her determination. Her father, a former Little League World Series champion and standout at Wheeler High School, recognizes her innate competitiveness: “Some kids just have that desire to work hard — Josie has it.”
Beyond her athletic success, Hutchinson’s leadership and compassion have defined her legacy at Pope. She is known for mentoring younger runners, rallying teammates before races, and cheering competitors at the finish line — a gesture parents and coaches call the “Josie Effect.”
Hutchinson’s personal record of 17:31.49 ranks among Georgia’s best. She plans to continue her running career next year at Samford University, but first, she and the Greyhounds will defend their 5A titles this Saturday in Carrollton, Georgia.
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Here’s an update to our story from last week about the cancellation of the Sprayberry Craft Show, possibly until 2028, due to construction at the high school:
The organizers of the Apple Annie Arts and Craft Show said Thursday that they’re taking in 16 additional vendors, including some from the Sprayberry show.
The late and abrupt cancellation of the Sprayberry show left some of those vendors without a key date in their holiday schedule.
“Many artisans use these holiday shows as a significant source of income, and we are happy to be able to support these small business makers this year,” said the Apple Annie organizers on their Facebook page:
“The additional selected artisans followed the same application submission and jury process, just as other show artisans do. They will set up in St. Ann’s downstairs classrooms, so be sure to visit their booths while at the show December 5-6! There will be an additional cash-only show entrance near these downstairs classrooms.”
The Apple Annie show benefits programs of the St. Ann’s Council of Catholic Women, while the Sprayberry Craft Show has been a major fundraiser for the Sprayberry PTSA.
The local holiday shopping season gets underway this weekend with the Lassiter Craft Fair and the Good Mews Holiday Harvest Market.
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