Discover The Power of Local!
Wendy Parker From the Cobb NAACP, information on its Black History Month events, virtual and in-person, including a Profiles in Black and General Membership meeting on Feb. 23 at The Strand Theatre in Marietta:
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 school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday he will be seeking an extension of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax with a referendum in November.
What would be Cobb Ed-SPLOST VI would begin in 2024 and for five years would continue to collect a one-percent sales tax for school facility, maintenance and technology expenses.
Local legislation will be required this year to call for a referendum, which would take place in a light election year.
Ragsdale said a project list, called a “notebook,” and details about the process throughout this year will be coming soon.
That process includes public hearings about the project list. A total estimated cost of the five-year collection period, which would also raise funds for similar needs for Marietta City Schools, is to be announced.
At a Cobb school board work session Thursday, Ragsdale said there will be an even higher emphasis on technology, given the expanded remote learning options the Cobb school district has been providing this year due to COVID-19, and that figures to continue on a long-term basis.
“The pandemic has brought a new focus on technology,” he said.
That may include what Ragsdale calls a “one-to-one” initiative for devices, which Cobb students have received since the end of the last school year for remote learning.
The current SPLOST V collection period began in January 2019. The major facility projects include a new campus for Osborne High School and a rebuild of Eastvalley Elementary School in East Cobb.
An architect was hired last February to design the new Eastvalley campus, which will be relocated to the former site of East Cobb Middle School on Holt Road. A construction timeline has not been announced.
The process of developing a SPLOST notebook—with public as well as staff and school board input—will take place throughout the rest of the year, leading up to a referendum.
“No other district creates a notebook like we do,” Ragsdale said. “It’s about prioritizing needs.”
The current $797 million SPLOST V was passed in March 2017. This year, the only elections in Cobb County are in its six municipalities.
“This District could not survive without Ed-SPLOST because that is what allows us to build the school buildings, school improvements, athletic fields, and technology our students and staff need,” a Cobb schools spokeswoman said in a statement to East Cobb News.
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 following East Cobb food scores from Feb. 8-12 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
Capozzi’s Restaurant
4285 Roswell Road
February 11, 2021 Score: 95, Grade: A
Jamaican Dutch Pot Restaurant
2555 Delk Road, Suite A-11
February 9, 2021 Score: 83, Grade: B
McDonald’s
2782 Sandy Plains Road
February 12, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A
Stockyard Burgers and Bones
4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1700
February 8, 2021 Score: 95, Grade: A
Smitty’s Lockdown BBQ
2900 Canton Road
February 11, 2021 Score: 88, Grade: B
Tin Lizzy’s Cantina
4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1510
February 8, 2021 Score: 93, Grade: A
Wing Cafe & Tap House
2145 Roswell Road, Suite 170
February 10, 2021 Score: 99, Grade: A
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 information and photo:
Lovesac, maker of The World’s Most Adaptable Couch and The World’s Most Comfortable Seat is opening its 2nd Georgia showroom this weekend at The Avenue East Cobb.
Known for high end retail, The Avenue East Cobb is excited to welcome this specialty furniture retailer to their outdoor lifestyle centers and feel Lovesac is the perfect addition to their already diverse tenant mix including Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Lululemon, Sephora and Banana Republic.
About Lovesac – Lovesac is committed to providing comfort and peace of mind that you can’t get with other furniture. We believe a product should be built to last a lifetime and designed to evolve as your needs change. This heightened sense of utility enables a new way of living – where you can continue to invest in, expand, and evolve your furniture instead of adding it to the landfill. This reduced stress frees you to live the life you love.
The Avenue East Cobb showroom opens Friday, February 12 from 10 am – 7 pm with a 25% off President’s Day Sale. Showroom capacity will be limited to ensure safe social distancing or you can schedule an appointment or learn more about their reopening plan at Lovesac.com/showroom-reopen.
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 school superintendent Chris Ragsdale received a new contract extension Thursday night.
But the vote wasn’t unanimous as it has been in the past.
After an executive session and by a 4-3 party-line vote, the Cobb Board of Education approved the extension for Ragsdale, taking his contract into 2024.
A year ago, Ragsdale got a 7-0 vote to extend his contract and a salary increase to $350,000 a year.
On Thursday, the four votes in support of an extension were from the board’s Republican members—David Banks and David Chastain of East Cobb, Randy Scamihorn of North Cobb and Brad Wheeler of West Cobb.
The three Democratic members of the board—Charisse Davis of East Cobb and Smyrna, Jaha Howard of Smyrna and Tre’ Hutchins of South Cobb—voted against.
Board members didn’t discuss the extension before voting. Since they were elected two years ago, Davis and Howard have taken issue with Ragsdale on several issues, including equity matters and the district’s response to COVID-19.
In December, they opposed his recommendation to spend $12 million for special UV disinfecting lights hand sanitizers and other COVID-related safety equipment, saying that was a lot of money to spend from the district’s reserve funding for measures they said were proven.
Last month, Howard was blocked from asking Ragsdale about the district’s COVID response, which wasn’t on the board’s agenda despite the deaths of three teachers from the virus since Christmas.
Hutchins just began his tenure on the board, being elected in November to succeed three-term Democratic member David Morgan, who did not seek re-election.
Ragsdale, named Cobb superintendent in 2015 after serving as deputy superintendent and in other capacities, initially received a three-year contract, the maximum under state law. Since then he has received extensions without objections.
After the vote Thursday, Ragsdale thanked the board and said he looked forward to continue working “as one team.”
In a release issued by the district, board chairman Randy Scamihorn said that “as a Board, we are grateful to have a Superintendent and staff who provide steady, consistent leadership at the helm of one of the largest districts in the country. The common-sense approach to the challenges we face, along with consistently making decisions that prioritize our students and staff, makes our entire county better.”
The release cited improved test scores, improvements to teacher and staff salaries and technology initiatives to accommodate remote learning and enhance school security.
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 school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday a virtual learning option will be offered in the Cobb County School District for the 2021-22 school year.
He made the announcement at the Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday afternoon, and said revisions to the current remote and in-person options are being revised.
“That is emphatic and definite,” Ragsdale said of continuing a virtual option.
He said hopes to have the modifications finalized by the end of the current school year in May.
He did not elaborate on what those changes may entail, except to say that “we are learning from mistakes” and “seeing the impacts” a dual learning system has had on students and teachers.
“We recognize the extreme level of difficulty for all team members this school year,” Ragsdale said.
While students have had a choice of how to learn, teachers have been required to teach from their classrooms, and to teach their in-person and remote students simultaneously.
That has led to complaints from teachers for instructional and health reasons. Following the COVID-related deaths of three Cobb school teachers since Christmas, some have renewed calls to allow teachers with health issues to work from home.
Ragsdale didn’t specify those matters in his remarks at the school board work session.
More than two-thirds of Cobb’s more than 107,000 students opted for in-person learning for the spring semester, a higher figure than slightly more than 50 percent in the fall.
But while Ragsdale said he is hopeful that COVID “will be in the rear view mirror” someday, that time is not now.
“I don’t know if the virtual option is not here to stay,” he said. “Some students excel in that environment.”
Parents of Cobb school district students have until the end of February to change their child’s learning option for the rest of the current school year.
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!
UPDATED:
The interstate reopened Thursday shortly before 7 p.m.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
Cobb Police said Thursday afternoon that Interstate 75 northbound in Cobb County will be closed below Chastain Road for several more hours after a fatal multi-vehicle crash.
Police sent out a social media message around 1:30 p.m. Thursday that the northbound lanes of the interstate will be “likely shut down for another 6+ hours” as they continue to investigate the crash and clear the scene.
The northbound express lanes also are closed.
There’s been at least one fatality and more than a dozen vehicles were involved in the crash, which took place late Thursday morning on the interstate between Barrett Parkway and Chastain Road, including a tractor-trailer that caught fire.
Traffic backups on I-75 north are already below Roswell Road. The photo above is a Georgia DOT screengrab of northbound traffic at the South Marietta Parkway shortly after 2 p.m.
Alternative routes include Cobb Parkway and I-575.
This post will be updated.
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 the third day in a row, newly reported cases of COVID-19 in Cobb County numbered less than 200, as case rates and the county’s rate of community spread of the virus continue to fall.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported Tuesday that there were 114 new cases in Cobb, according to the “date of report” category, following 142 and 143 on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Wednesday’s total was the lowest date of report figure in Cobb since late November. The seven-day moving average of 190 also is the lowest in the county since early December.
The Georgia DPH reports cases and deaths two ways: By the dates cases and deaths are reported to the health agency, and the date of symptoms, or onset, and date of death.
The date of onset/date of death numbers also are going down, but high numbers of deaths in Cobb continue to lag.
There have been 15 deaths in Cobb via date of report since Monday, including 11 on Tuesday. But dates inside a 14-day window are likely to be revised.
On Jan. 26, the last day before current window, nine deaths took place in Cobb, a single-day high. Eight deaths occurred on two other recent days, Dec. 25 and Jan. 16.
Final January date of death figures in Cobb are not in; 137 deaths were reported by date of report statistics, which sometimes include deaths that took place in previous months.
Since the pandemic began last March, 754 people have died of COVID in Cobb County, and there have been 52,798 cases.
You can look through detailed Cobb County COVID data, include cases and deaths by age, race and ZIP codes, by clicking here.
Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, said in an update Tuesday to the Cobb Board of Commissioners that deaths typically lag cases and hospitalizations, which are also starting to go down.
She didn’t give specific numbers, but was also encouraged by a reduction in the level of community spread in Cobb County.
As the winter spike reached its peak, Cobb had a 14-day average of more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 people. “High community spread” is a two-week average of 100 per 100,000, and Cobb has been under that total only briefly, for a few days in the fall, since last summer.
But as of Wednesday, Cobb’s community spread figure is at 415, both the result of the PCR tests and rapid antigen tests.
“We were more than double these rates just a few weeks ago,” Memark said.
But the availability of vaccines for the general public remains limited. Cobb and Douglas Health has not been booking new appointments for the last two weeks, and is using its supplies for those who previously had appointments.
On Monday, Memark said the agency distributed only 668 vaccines at Jim Miller Park. You can hear her full remarks on the video below. She did not indicate whether new vaccine appointments would be opening for next week, saying Cobb and Douglas Public Health may not get a significant increase in supplies until March or April.
Cobb and Douglas Public Health had been releasing appointments each Friday at 5 p.m. You can check that status and get more information about vaccine distribution by clicking 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!
The Cobb Animal Shelter will resume previously scheduled appointments for adoptions and surrenders as early as Friday after closing over the weekend due after two dogs were tested for strep zoo.
The county issued a statement Wednesday saying that the two dogs tested negative for strep zoo, which is a bacterial infection that is contagious for animals.
The shelter, located on Al Bishop Drive in Marietta, will undergo a deep cleaning followed by a phased reopening. Staffers will be contacting those people who had appointments canceled when the shelter closed to rearrange their visits.
Due to COVID protocols, appointments are necessary for people wanting to adopt pets from the shelter, or to turn them in. You can call 770-499-4136 for more information and to book an appointment, or visit the shelter’s website.
This is the second time in four months the Cobb Animal Shelter closed because of strep zoo cases in dogs, including the death of one animal. Two years ago, two dogs died at the shelter after strep zoo outbreak.
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 County government is sending out word that you might see some smoke and fire this afternoon along a stretch of Sandy Plains Road.
There’s no need to be worried, because the Cobb Fire and Emergency Services Department is conducting what’s called an “acquired structure burn” for training purposes Wednesday at an empty homesite on Pete Shaw Road.
That’s scheduled to go on until 6 p.m. at 3100 Pete Shaw Road, near the intersection of Sandy Plains Road and Wigley Road.
According to the Cobb Tax Assessor’s office, the two-story brick home was built in 1976.
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 Neighborhood Safety Commission is getting out the word about COVID-19 fraud, and offers suggestions and resources to help you prevent from becoming a victim:
Be aware that criminals are attempting to exploit COVID-19 worldwide through a variety of scams.
- Be on the lookout for antibody testing fraud schemes. Never share your personal or health information to anyone other than known and trusted medical professionals. Learn more about what to avoid.
- Be cautious of unsolicited healthcare fraud schemes of testing and treatment through emails, phone calls, or in person. The U.S. have medical professionals and scientist working hard to find a cure, approved treatment, and vaccine for COVID-19. Learn more about what to avoid
- Be wary of unsolicited telephone calls and e-mails from individuals claiming to be IRS and Treasury employees. Remember IRS first form of communications is by mail – not by phone. Learn more about fraudulent schemes related to IRS
- Be aware of unemployment insurance fraud and learn the steps to take if you suspect criminals have exploited your identity. Learn more about unemployment insurance fraud.
Criminals will likely continue to use new methods to exploit COVID-19 worldwide. Stay alert and stay informed about common fraud schemes related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Find out more about types of scams.
If you think you are a victim of a scam or attempted fraud involving COVID-19, you can report it without leaving your home by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
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!
A zoning category that’s being requested for the proposed Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment in East Cobb was dropped from the Cobb County Code by commissioners on Tuesday.
In making code amendment changes, commissioners eliminated the ROD-1 category (Redevelopment Overlay District), although it won’t affect the status of the Sprayberry Crossing application.
That remains pending, and is scheduled to be heard in March after several continuances. The change to drop ROD-1 is effective immediately, so new new applications will be taken.
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3, which includes the Sprayberry Crossing area, said “I feel like [the zoning category] is not needed” and that anyone seeking to redevelop properties on the county’s designated redevelopment list could apply for other zoning categories.
Atlantic Residential, an Atlanta-based apartment developer, has proposed converting the run-down shopping center at Sandy Plains Road and East Piedmont Road into a mixed-use development with apartments, townhomes, senior living, a grocery store, other retail and community space.
That application was first filed last fall, and has been revised several times, including a new site plan in January that eliminates green space (see below).
The latest site plan calls for 125 apartments, 125 senior living apartments, 44 townhomes, 36,000 square feet of retail and 8,000 square feet of office space. Most of the retail space would be for a grocery store.
The apartment numbers have been reduced from nearly 200 and the story height has come down from five to three.
This is the first zoning case brought under ROD-1, which was created in 2005 and is designed to spur redevelopment of blighted properties.
Sprayberry Crossing has long been included on a redevelopment list approved by commissioners.
ROD-1 projects are “site plan specific,” meaning that there aren’t minimum lot sizes, setbacks and buffers that are required in most rezoning cases.
At least 10 percent of the housing units in an ROD-1 project must be set aside for residents making no more than 80 percent of an area’s average median income.
Sprayberry Crossing still has a few businesses open, but is largely empty, and nearby residents have been organizing for years for its redevelopment.
But other residents have been opposed to Atlantic Residential’s plans, some for traffic reasons but many because of the apartments.
Some have also asserted that the ROD-1 provisions don’t allow for apartments at all.
The commissioners’ vote to scrap ROD-1 was 5-0. Birrell asked that the code change be made effective immediately instead of March 1, as had been in the code.
“There could be something filed between then and now,” she 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!
We’ve been asked by some readers about the status of tax filing assistance that’s been provided by the AARP at Cobb libraries for the last few years, and today got some answers.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Cobb County Public Library System announced Monday that those AARP Tax-Aide sessions will not be taking place.
Retired accountants had been on hand at various branches to help citizens with their tax filings, but some of those sessions last year were cancelled when the pandemic began.
The library system said in a release late Monday afternoon that 1040 federal 2020 tax forms will be provided as long as supplies last.
But like everything else you do with the libraries for the moment, you’ll have to order those materials in advance for curbside pickup.
The branches have been closed to patrons since December due to rising COVID case rates, but checked-out materials have been available on weekdays
Those pickup hours are Mondays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact your specific library branch to order tax forms.
Here’s more from the library system’s release:
“Curbside service for library items reserved in advance is offered at all CCPL locations except the Switzer Library in downtown Marietta as the facility is under renovation and the Sweetwater Valley and Lewis A. Ray libraries.
“Cobb libraries will also offer limited free printing of federal and state forms when contacted in advance by phone and given the form number or name. This service will not include instruction books. Library staff is unable to answer tax questions or provide advice about which forms to use.
“Residents are encouraged to review tax-filing information at irs.gov and dor.georgia.gov
for details that apply to individual circumstances, including virtual resources for tax-filing assistance. Tax season has been delayed as the IRS and Georgia Department of Revenue announced 2020 tax filings will be accepted beginning on February 12, a few weeks later than normal tax-filing schedules.”
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!
Last week East Cobb Tavern said it was closing temporarily, but initially a reason wasn’t given.
That led to some speculation of a COVID-related closure, but the restaurant located in the Shallowford Corners Shopping Center said on its social media channels it’s because there’s an ownership change in the works.
The messages didn’t say when the restaurant will reopen. We left a message seeking more information and were told that there’s nothing definite yet.
After customers left well-wishing messages on the restaurant’s Facebook page, owner Sean McCall responded that he was hopeful the tavern’s general manager and kitchen manager would purchase the business.
East Cobb Tavern opened in Jan. 2020 after replacing Keegan’s Irish Pub, with a revamped menu that included items beyond traditional pub fare.
The tavern also had become the venue for dedicated sports team followers, including Notre Dame football.
The expanded tavern concept got a new addition in East Cobb in August with the opening of McCray’s Tavern at Parkaire Landing.
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!
After conducting socially distanced outdoor graduations for the Class of 2020 in July at McEachern High School, the Cobb County School District is doing the same thing for the Class of 2021.
The district has announced its graduation schedule, which goes from May 24 to June 4, and could extend to June 5 for weather reasons.
The district chose McEachern’s Cantrell Stadium last year because it has the largest football stadium seating capacity in the 17-high school district.
That plan was created after parents balked at original plans to have student-only graduations at Wheeler and Harrison high schools.
Before COVID-19, Cobb schools held most of its graduations indoors, at the KSU Convocation Center and some churches. Wheeler had been holding its graduations in Wildcat Arena.
This year’s schedule at McEachern is similar to 2020, and some details are still up in the air:
“Ceremonies are not scheduled on Sunday, May 30, or Memorial Day, Monday, May 31. Ceremonies are only scheduled for mornings and afternoons to avoid the heat of the afternoon.
“Tickets will be limited due to public health guidance. Specifics about ticket allocations and distribution will be provided by the individual high schools in late March. To accommodate family and friends who are unable to attend, each ceremony will be streamed live.
“More detailed information about the ceremonies including public health measures, venue information, parking, and streaming links for live viewing will be available through this web page by early May.”
Here’s the graduation schedule for the six high schools in East Cobb:
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 information and photo:
KIDS CARE, a Marietta based nonprofit who creates, supports & implements youth community service projects, is hosting a FOOD DRIVE NOW – FEB 13, 2021. Non-perishable food items are being collected to distribute to people who are homeless & food insecure in Cobb County.
For a list of food items requested please see https://kids-care2018.org/
food-items-needed-1. All donated food that is collected will be given to Cobb Senior Service, Center for Family Resources, The Salvation Army, and M.U.S.T. Ministries. These organizations, and many others in Cobb County, are graciously feeding the many people in our community who are food insecure.
Donations can be made in three ways. 1. In kind donations can be dropped off at the one time Drive Thru Drop Off . 2. In kind donations can be dropped at Drop Off Boxes located around town. 3. Monetary donations can be made directly to the KIDS CARE food drive-this money will be directly used to purchase food which will then be donated to the above organizations. https://kids-care2018.org/
donate-1 DRIVE THRU DROP OFF: FEB 13th 11 am – 3 pm @ Marietta High School Performing Arts Center Parking Lot. Please use the Manning Rd. entrance/exit.
DROP OFF BOXES are now available during business hours now thru Feb. 13, 2021 at:
- West Cobb School of Rock (West Cobb – Kennesaw)
- Hawg and Ale Smokehouse (Marietta Square)
- Medalyn Salon & Med Spa (Wholefoods plaza Kennesaw)
- Brain Train Centers Inc. (downtown Kennesaw)
- Bach 2 Rock Sandy Plains (Marietta-East Cobb)
For more information on drop off locations visit: https://kids-care2018.org/
drop-off-locations Families, youth, schools, churches, gyms & individuals are encouraged to help us in this community service mission & provide food for those in need. Please help us gather donations from friends/family/co-workers and deliver them to our Drive Thru or Drop off locations. We will then pass your food donations onto those in need in Cobb County. THANK YOU FOR HELPING US HELP OTHERS!
Visit our website at www.kids-care2018.org to learn more about KIDS CARE Food Drive. Email: kindness@kids-care2018.org.
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 information:
On February 18, 2021, The Atlanta Business Chronicle will hold their virtual ceremony recognizing Janice Overbeck as the 2021 Leadership in Corporate Citizenship “Rising Star” recipient. According to The Atlanta Business Chronicle, this program recognizes individuals who have found the perfect intersection of social good and corporate success by integrating relevant societal concerns into their core operating strategies and embracing them as positive for businesses, customers, employees and the metro Atlanta community. This award was only presented to three recipients including Overbeck.
She will be recognized for her efforts to support animal activism, raising funds and awareness for Emory ALS Research Center, serving as a Child Ambassador for World Vision, serving on the boards of Fix GA Pets, Georgia Pet Foundation, Keep Cobb Beautiful, and The German School of Atlanta. Much of her charitable work is done through the Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team charity JO Gives, Inc. which was founded in 2016 and is a non-profit organization.
Janice believes deeply that her company operates first and foremost as a community center that just so happens to sell real estate. In an interview with Atlanta Business Chronicle Janice stated,
“As business leaders, we have a duty to corporate social responsibility. If you do what is right and go above and beyond to give back locally and make your local community a little brighter, then, at some point, you will likely be seen and recognized for your work. Although you should initially do these things altruistically (and probably because it makes you feel good to do so), others will see the good. I strive to live by this quote from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “If you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself, something to repair tears in your community, something to make life a little better for people less fortunate than you. That’s what I think a meaningful life is — living not for oneself, but for one’s community.”
The Janice Overbeck Real Estate team holds over fifty events a year such as poker nights, wine tastings, art shows, pet adoptions, low-cost vaccination clinics, and more to raise money for various programs including the Homeless Pets Foundation, Emory University, Chin Up Foundation, and Project Mexico.
The team was also named the 2020 Stewardship Partner of the Year with Cobb County in honor of their environmental and sustainability practices. “It is very important to me as a business owner to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible here at the business and also conserve water and reduce single use plastic” said Janice Overbeck. The team places a heavy emphasis on setting achievable monthly goals that turn into big yearly goals and ultimately result in reaching their biggest goals.
JO Gives, Inc. is focused on low-cost pet vaccination clinics in which they have raised over $100,000 for animals in need since 2016. Since April 2019, JO Gives, Inc. has been working to spay and neuter over 2,000 cats and dogs by the end of 2020. JO Gives, Inc. also works in conjunction with a local veterinarian to build after-school programs that teach humane education of animals to children.
Let East Cobb News know what your organization is doing, or share news about what people are doing in the community—accomplishments, recognitions, milestones, etc.
Pass along your details to: editor@eastcobbnews.com, and please observe the following guidelines to ensure we get everything properly and can post it promptly.
Send the body of your announcement, calendar item or news release IN TEXT FORM ONLY in the text field of your e-mail template. Reformatting text from PDF, JPG and doc files takes us longer to prepare your message for publication.
We accept PDFs as an accompaniment to your item. Images are fine too, but we prefer those to be JPG files (more than jpeg and png). PLEASE DO NOT send photos inside a PDF or text or any other kind of file. Of course, send us links that are relevant to your message so we can direct people to your website.
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!
From Cobb County Government:
No new appointments are available this week [Feb. 8-13] for COVID-19 vaccinations at Jim R. Miller Park. The supply to Cobb and Douglas Public Health is still too low to schedule new appointments.
They continue to work to give people second doses and handle rescheduled first doses.
For more visit: https://www.cobbcounty.org/…/no-new-vaccination…
Important Links:
- Testing Appointments – https://covid19.dph.ga.gov/en-US/
- Testing Locations (CORE) – https://www.coregeorgia.org/cobbanddouglascounty
- COVID-19 Vaccinations – https://www.cobbanddouglaspublichealth.com/covid-vaccine/
- COVID-19 Vaccination Providers – https://dph.georgia.gov/locations/covid-vaccination-site
- COVID-19 Data (Georgia) – https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report
- COVID-19 Data (Cobb) – https://reports.mysidewalk.com/17554e75c1
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 following East Cobb food scores from Feb. 1-5 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
First Watch
3460 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 130
February 5, 2021 Score: 92, Grade: A
Jimmy Mac’s Food & Spirits
3205 Canton Road, Suite 105
February 1, 2021 Score: 90, Grade: A
Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q
3420 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 100
February 4, 2021 Score: 96, Grade: A
Mr. Wonton
3595 Canton Road, Suite 328
February 4, 2021 Score: 89, Grade: B
Mod Pizza
3460 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 250
February 5, 2021 Score: 91, Grade: A
Panda Express
3460 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 210
February 3, 2021 Score: 91, Grade: A
Taco Bell
2943 Canton Road
February 5, 2021 Score: 91, Grade: A
Waffle House
2720 Sandy Plains Road
February 2, 2021 Score: 86, Grade: B
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!
On Friday the Cobb County School District said it would open another choice window for parents between in-person and remote learning from Feb. 15-28.
The options families choose will begin starting March 15 and will continue through the end of the 2020-2021 school year.
Students whose parents do not make a choice during the latest window will continue learning as they began with the spring semester in January.
The district announced in November another window would become available, given the uncertain status of COVID-19 in the county. Nearly 66 of Cobb’s 107,000 students reported for in-person classes for the spring.
But one week in January was all-remote due to growing COVID-19 case numbers and staff and students in quarantine.
On Friday the Cobb school district reported 339 new confirmed cases, the lowest figure since mid-December.
Here’s more from what the district released on Friday:
To make your classroom selection, families should follow the steps below:
1. Make sure the adult who first enrolled each student (the enrolling adult) completes the choice process. Attempting to complete the process as another adult will not work.
2. Use your preferred computing device to navigate to ParentVUE by clicking HERE or by opening the ParentVUE app on your mobile device.
3. Log in with your username and password. If you have forgotten your password, click the Forgot Password link on the login page.
4. Once you are signed in to ParentVUE, direct your attention to the left-hand side menu and select the Back to School Choice menu item.
5. On the Back to School Choice page, find each of your registered students listed, along with the two learning options (FACE-TO-FACE or continue FULL REMOTE) for each.
6. Choose the option that best fits the needs of your student(s) and family.
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!
