Wendy Parker, Author at East Cobb News

Loeffler objects to Electoral College certification process

January 5, 2021January 5, 2021 by Wendy Parker

The day before her runoff election, U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler said Monday she would be among the Republicans objecting to the Electoral College certification process that takes place in Congress on Wednesday.

Loeffler, who is facing Democrat Raphael Warnock in Tuesday’s runoff, appeared with President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Dalton on Monday.

Before that, her office released the following statement from her:

“Elections are the bedrock of our democracy and the American people deserve to be 100% confident in our election system and its outcomes. But right now, tens of millions of Americans have real concerns about the way in which the November Presidential election was conducted — and I share their concerns.

“The American people deserve a platform in Congress, permitted under the Constitution, to have election issues presented so that they can be addressed. That’s why, on January 6th, I will vote to give President Trump and the American people the fair hearing they deserve and support the objection to the Electoral College certification process. I have also already introduced legislation to establish a commission to investigate election irregularities and recommend election integrity measures, which I will be working to get passed in the Senate. We must restore trust, confidence and integrity in our election system.”

Loeffler’s statement said she will be objecting individually, and not as part of a group of Republican senators led by Ted Cruz of Texas who have supported Trump’s claims of election fraud, including in Georgia.

Over the weekend, Trump spoke to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, asking him to “find” 11,780 votes, the difference in the certified state results won by Democratic president-elect Joe Biden.

On Monday, Gabriel Sterling, a top elections aide to Raffensperger, said at a news conference that Trump continues to engage in “misinformation” and “disinformation” about presidential voting in Georgia.

He urged Georgia voters who believe their vote isn’t being counted to make sure they vote in the runoffs.

“Throwing it away because you believe it doesn’t matter is a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Sterling, a Republican.

At Monday’s rally in Dalton, Trump repeatedly claimed he won Georgia and the national election handily.

In November, Loeffler sponsored the Securing America’s Future Elections and Votes (SAFE Votes) Act that would create a bipartisan commission to review the 2020 election.

For the moment, Loeffler is Georgia’s only senator.

The term of Sen. David Perdue, a Republican in a runoff battle against Jon Ossoff, technically expired on Dec. 31, and he will not be able to take part in the Congressional Electoral College certification on Wednesday.

Richardson seeking applicants for Cobb boards and authorities

January 4, 2021 by Wendy Parker

During her swearing-in last week Cobb District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson said she’s conducting an open process to fill the many appointed roles citizens play on various county boards and authorities. Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson

Here’s what she posted on Monday:

Happy to say that over 100 people have applied to be appointed to a board- a major milestone. We are wrapping up round 1 of interviews and selections for the immediate appointments, but still have multiple rounds to go!

We want at least 500 people to apply (there are at least 100K eligible applicants in the district and even more in the county), so please apply. We will interview you and identify your best fit!

https://staff315236.typeform.com/to/ksrEgYu0

There are more than 40 such boards and authorities, most with positions appointed by commissioners, and include the Cobb Planning Commission, the county’s library and recreation boards, neighborhood safety commission, cemetery preservation and animal services board.

Richardson, who officially assumed office on Jan. 1 (official bio here), will be holding a Facebook live event Monday to introduce her staff. That event takes place from 6:30-7 p.m. and can be viewed by clicking here.

The first meeting of the Cobb commissioners for the year takes place next Tuesday.

Richardson contact info:
Phone: 770-528-3316
E-mail: [email protected]

Staff Assistant Aliye Korucu
Phone: 770-528-3315
E-mail: [email protected]

Curbside services closed at 5 Cobb library branches on Election Day

January 4, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb absentee ballot drop boxes — *You can drop off an absentee ballot at the Sewell Mill Library through 7 p.m. Tuesday, but curbside services will not be available.*

Submitted information about Cobb library services being suspended for Tuesday’s U.S. Senate runoff elections:

Curbside service will be closed Tuesday at the five Cobb County Public Libraries serving as polling places for the January 5, 2021 run-off elections. The five libraries are Mountain View, South Cobb, Sewell Mill, Vinings and West Cobb. Curbside service for library patrons to pick up reserved items will resume at the five libraries on Wednesday.

For information on Cobb County library resources and services, visit www.cobbcat.org or call 770-528-2320.

The Sewell Mill and Mountain View branches have absentee ballot drop boxes available through Tuesday at 7 p.m., when the polls close.

More here in our runoff election guide.

And here are details on library services that have been reduced to curbside pickup only since Dec. 21.

On Monday, the Cobb County Public Library launched its revamped website.

New Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady takes office

November 27, 2021January 4, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady

If you’re looking for Cobb DA Flynn Broady’s statement on the Arbery murder convictions, please click here.

ORIGINAL POST:

Submitted information and photo:

Flynn D. Broady Jr., an Army combat veteran and prosecutor, has taken office as District Attorney of the Cobb Judicial Circuit with a vow to hold violent criminals accountable while restoring nonviolent offenders to productive lives. DA Broady was elected to the position in November 2020. Prior to his election, DA Broady was a prosecutor in the Cobb Solicitor General’s Office and served as the prosecutor for Cobb State Court’s DUI Court, the court’s only accountability court. He also was previously employed and served as coordinator of the Cobb Superior Court’s Veterans Treatment and Accountability Court.

As a veteran, DA Broady understands and is committed to the need for law and order. “People who are dangerous will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. However, as a proponent of the benefit of accountability courts, he believes those nonviolent offenders, especially those with substance-abuse problems and mental-health issues, need to have rehabilitative options alternatives other than incarceration.

“There are people caught up in our criminal justice system who can be, and who want to be, rehabilitated,” Broady said. “In a lot of cases, locking a nonviolent individual away and saddling them with a criminal history is more punishing to the community at large — by consuming taxpayer dollars, destabilizing families, and in other ways. When we can, we need to do better.” He believes wider community engagement, including expanded access to accountability courts and more visible victim advocacy, are essential to that effort.

DA Broady plans to concentrate on restorative justice and community engagement projects such as regular record restriction (expungement) events, a citizen’s DA Academy, school literacy programs, and community mental health crisis training.

As one of his first restorative justice initiatives, DA Broady has organized a ‘New Year, New Start’ event for some former graduates of Cobb’s Veterans Court the week of the Martin Luther King holiday. Due to Covid, attendance will be restricted and media who wish to attend should email Inv. Kim Isaza, Public Information Officer, in advance.

DA Broady is a native of Birmingham. He spent more than two decades in the Army as an instructor, a recruiter and a combat infantryman serving in Operation Iraqi Freedoms, in Anbar Province. He earned his law degree at Seton Hall University, where he also led ROTC. Flynn and his wife reside in Marietta. Flynn’s daughter is a graduate of Armstrong State University and resides in Savannah.

In November, Broady defeated Joyette Holmes, a Republican appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp, and will serve the remaining two years of the term of former Cobb DA Vic Reynolds, who is now the head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

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!

Georgia Senate Runoff Election Day: Voting info, candidates, more

January 2, 2021 by Wendy Parker

On Tuesday Georgia voters will be going to the polls in U.S. Senate runoffs that will determine party control of that chamber.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at all precincts, and if you vote in person you must go to your assigned precinct.

If you have an absentee ballot, that must be dropped off at a designated drop box location by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

After three weeks of early voting, Cobb Elections reports that 114,096 people voted early in-person at several locations around the county.

Those figures included 20,782 at the East Cobb Government Service Center and 7,370 at The Art Place.

Of the 146,875 absentee ballots requested by Cobb voters for the runoffs, 112,484 have been returned; more early/absentee voting details can be found here.

CANDIDATES

Both of Georgia’s Republican senators were forced into runoffs after the Nov. 3 general election.

Incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue will need to win their races in order for the GOP, which currently has a 50-48 edge, to maintain control of the U.S. Senate.

The extended Senate runoff campaign has attracted record amounts of money, expected to surpass $500 million, which has led to a slew of ads, mailings, text messages and other communications with voters.

Polling for both races since the general election has been all over the map, and some national polling firms have declined to canvass for the runoffs.

Most of that money is coming from out-of-state donors, and campaign appearances have included those on both Democratic and Republican presidential tickets.

Loeffler’s race with Democrat Raphael Warnock is a special election to fill the remaining two years of Johnny Isakson’s term.

She was appointed a year ago by Gov. Brian Kemp after Isakson, from East Cobb, retired for health reasons. His term expires at the end of 2022.

Warnock, the minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, received the majority of votes in the all-party “jungle primary” in November, and Loeffler finished second.

Perdue, who is finishing his first term, got just under 50 percent of the vote in a three-way general election, prompting the runoff with Ossoff, a Democrat who is in his second electoral campaign.

Ossoff lost to Karen Handel in a 2017 special election for the 6th Congressional District in what was the most expensive U.S. House race ever, with more than $30 million in spending.

Republicans, both state and national, have been in an uproar over Georgia’s presidential election results that have spilled over into the Senate runoffs.

Democratic president-elect Joe Biden was certified as the winner of Georgia’s 16 electoral votes, but Republican President Donald Trump has contested those results, charging election fraud.

Biden’s win after two recounts was less than 12,000 votes.

Loeffler and Perdue demanded GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger resign, and in recent days Trump has called on Kemp—whom he endorsed in 2018—to resign, for not intervening in the elections.

Raffensperger and Kemp have both declined, saying they are following their constitutional duties.

On Friday Trump called the runoffs “illegal and invalid” but he is scheduled to campaign with Loeffler and Perdue at a rally on Dalton on Monday. Biden will campaign for Ossoff and Warnock in Atlanta, and vice president-elect Kamala Harris will appear with the Democratic candidates in Savannah on Sunday.

Candidate Websites:

Another runoff on the ballot is for the Georgia Public Service Commission between Republican four-term incumbent Bubba McDonald and Daniel Blackman, who would become the only Democrat on the five-member state utility regulating board.

CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION

Georgia Secretary of State website

WHERE TO VOTE

Precinct list

Any voters in line at the polls by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

If you’re dropping off an absentee ballot, here are the locations. In East Cobb, they’re located at the following:

East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road)
Sewell Mill Library (2051 Lower Roswell Road)
Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road)
Gritters Library (880 Shaw Park Drive)

Absentee ballots must be dropped off by 7 p.m., when the polls close. If you have an absentee ballot but wish to vote in person, you’re asked to bring your absentee ballot to your precinct. That must be cancelled before you get a ballot at your polling location.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has created an absentee ballot tracker that lets you follow the status of your absentee ballot after you have returned it.

FOLLOW ELECTION COVERAGE

East Cobb News will have real-time coverage of the runoff results on Tuesday.

If you have questions about voting, or photos or impressions to share of your experience at the polls, let us know: [email protected].

Scene in East Cobb: Favorite photos from 2020, ours and yours

January 1, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Favorite East Cobb 2020 photos — *A hopeful sign on a neighborhood fence on Holly Springs Road in the spring.*

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The year 2020 was obviously marked by the COVID-19 response, and in spite of the lack of usual community events, there was so much more going on.

Enjoy the above photo gallery and accompanying stories below as we look ahead to a better and brighter 2021. Happy New Year East Cobb!

The stories behind the photos

Sprayberry Community Group giving out free bread and pastries

January 1, 2021 by Wendy Parker

The Sprayberry Community Group, which formed during the pandemic to help those in need with food, is having a free bread and pastry giveaway to anyone in the public on Sunday.

The event lasts from 2-4 p.m. in the parking lot of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (2922 Sandy Plains Road), and they say they have a lot to give away:

This is for ANYONE in the Community!!! This is for anyone (regardless of what their income or status is) who would like to take home a special treat for the family or an extra loaf of bread (rolls, bagels, muffins count) for themselves or their kiddos. If you don’t need anything but someone in your neighborhood or community needs something COME GET SOME FREE FOOD!!!

Please SHARE this everywhere as we have TONS (almost literally) of food that needs a home!

Masks required and if there’s a crowd we will be forming a line or asking people to wait in their cars to keep things safe and socially distanced for everyone. Send a representative to pick up for a few families at the same time if you can!! COME GET FREE FOOD and we will be very happy to give it to you!!!!!!!!!

Sprayberry Community Group

The Sprayberry Community Group updates its activities on its Facebook page.

New Cobb Commissioner Richardson: ‘So much room for opportunity’

December 31, 2020 by Wendy Parker

New Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson

Promising to “connect Cobb” with a collaborative approach, new District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson took the oath of office Thursday morning embodying the change in political leadership in the county.

The 31-year-old Equifax technology manager made that pledge with her hand on her grandmother’s Bible, and with another new Cobb commissioner, Monique Sheffield, and incoming chairwoman Lisa Cupid, also in attendance at the Cobb Civic Center.

They’ll make up a Democratic majority of African-American women on the five-member Cobb Board of Commissioners, which also will be all-female.

But for Richardson, whose family came to metro Atlanta from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, she spoke of how she wants to represent her adopted home community in broader terms.

“Every time there’s an historical moment, it gives you that opportunity to recalibrate and set a new standard,” Richardson said. “Because everyone has the opportunity to reflect, and there’s so much greatness that comes out of those pauses.”

Those remarks echoed the theme of her first campaign for public office, which touched on what she saw was the need to make connections not just with those in other commissioner districts, but also with Cobb’s cities, local school boards and other components of the community.

Richardson invited outgoing Republican District 2 Commissioner Bob Ott, who is retiring after three terms, to speak.

Before handing her the keys to his office, he said he was he was pleased with “a smooth transition” that’s been taking place since she won the Nov. 3 election.

Although they’re from different parties and have different outlooks on politics, Ott said the citizens of District 2—which stretches from Mabry Park in Northeast Cobb to the Cumberland-Vinings-Smyrna area— “want to see harmony, not political infighting.

“I like to say that potholes do not have parties,” he said. “People don’t care whether you have a D or an R by your name. They just want it fixed.”

Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard said of Richardson, his campaign manager for his 2017 campaign for the state senate: “She thinks big.”

“Imagine if we pushed on the same path, at the same time and in the same direction,” Howard said. “She gets ready to get down and do the work. We need more people like Jerica.”

Former State Sen. Doug Stoner said Richardson represents what has made Cobb dynamic over the years—an infusion of newcomers.

“We need new folks with new ideas and new perspectives,” he said. “It helps Cobb County keep up with a changing world.”

Richardson will be only the third District 2 commissioner. Before Ott’s 12 years in office, Joe Lee Thompson was commissioner for 16 years.

She has formed what she calls a a community advisory cabinet, and she’s taking applications for individuals to serve on boards appointed by commissioners.

Richardson also said she has a list of 14 priorities that she’ll be releasing in detail soon. At the top of that list is a spirit of collaboration, done with the understanding that while the county has had a past that hasn’t been fully inclusive, there has been progress along the way.

“We think of where we’ve been, where we are today and where we want to be,” she said, “and that should be inspirational.

“Reflect on what this means and dream again. Dream of the possibilities. This is our opportunity to set a whole new standard.”

As 2020 nears end, East Cobb COVID-19 cases approach 9,000

December 30, 2020 by Wendy Parker

East Cobb COVID cases — *To view details of cases and deaths by ZIP code, **click here** for a swipe map.*

A couple days’ worth of data remains to be added, but the last full week of 2020 saw another big jump of reported cases of COVID-19 in East Cobb.

On Dec. 22 we posted a ZIP Code map update showing 8,038 cases in East Cobb, and 120 deaths, since the pandemic began in March.

According to Commissioner Bob Ott’s latest numbers posted late Tuesday, 795 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since then, and two more deaths:

30062: 2,579 cases, 31 deaths
30066: 2,383, 31 deaths
30067: 2,202 cases, 24 deaths
30068: 1,353 cases, 34 deaths
30075: 306 cases, 2 deaths

A total of 36 deaths have been reported in long-term care facilities.

Those numbers are part of a larger Cobb County total of 36,240 cases and 549 deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

The Georgia DPH Daily Status Report also indicates a growing rate of community spread, with a 14-day average of 631 cases per 100,000 people in Cobb County.

A week ago, that number was 601, and it’s much higher than the “high community spread” threshold of a 14-day average of 100 cases per 100,000.

Over the last two weeks, according to Georgia DPH, more than 5,000 new cases have been confirmed in Cobb County, and more than 70,000 across the state.

On Wednesday, 433 more cases were reported in Cobb, according to “date of report.” It’s a metric that includes a backlog of cases, and was punctuated last week by a high-water mark of 611 cases on Dec. 24.

Across Georgia, 5,496 new cases were reported, and 49 new deaths were confirmed on Wednesday.

For the year, there have been 558,177 COVID-19 cases in Georgia and 9,808 deaths.

A more precise indicator for case totals is “date of onset,” or the date when a person reports having COVID symptoms.

That number has been rising sharply in recent weeks as well, with a record 502 cases in Cobb on Dec. 14 and 465 on Dec. 15. That metric comes with a 14-day window, and the 7-day moving average of cases dating back to Dec. 16 is 362, the highest figure recorded since the pandemic began in March.

According to Cobb and Douglas Public Health, 77.4 percent of those in the county with confirmed COVID-19 cases are between the ages of 15-59.

However, the elderly comprise the strong majority of those dying from the virus, with 86.7 percent being 60 and older.

Those 80 and over who have died are 41.8 percent of all the COVID fatalities in Cobb, and 30.1 percent are between 70-79.

According to Ott’s figures, of the 549 Cobb deaths, 460 of those people had known underlying health issues, 57 did not and it was not known whether the other 30 had comorbidities.

Cobb election audit finds ‘no fraudulent absentee ballots’

December 30, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Cobb absentee ballots

From the Georgia Secretary of State’s office:

After a hand recount and a subsequent machine recount requested by the Trump campaign, a signature audit has again affirmed the original outcome of the November 2020 presidential race in Georgia. A signature match audit in Cobb County found “no fraudulent absentee ballots” and found that the Cobb County Elections Department had “a 99.99% accuracy rate in performing correct signature verification procedures.”

“The Secretary of State’s office has always been focused on calling balls and strikes in elections and, in this case, three strikes against the voter fraud claims and they’re out,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “We conducted a statewide hand recount that reaffirmed the initial tally, and a machine recount at the request of the Trump campaign that also reaffirmed the original tally. This audit disproves the only credible allegations the Trump campaign had against the strength of Georgia’s signature match processes.”

On December 14, 2020, Secretary Raffensperger announced a signature match audit in Cobb County following credible allegations that the process was not followed in the June primaries. The Secretary of State’s Office partnered with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to conduct the audit. Of the 150,431 absentee ballots received by Cobb County elections officials during the November elections, the audit “reviewed 15,118 ABM ballot oath envelopes from randomly selected boxes,” or around 10% of the total. The sample size was originally chosen to meet the 99% confidence threshold.

The audit found “no fraudulent absentee ballots” with a 99% confidence threshold. The audit found that only two ballots should have been identified by Cobb County Elections Officials for cure notification that weren’t. In one case, the ballot was “mistakenly signed by the elector’s spouse,” and in the other, the voter “reported signing the front of the envelope only.” In both cases, the identified voters filled out the ballots themselves.

The absentee ballot envelopes for the audit were “pulled from 30 randomly selected boxes of the accepted ABM ballots and one box identified as accepted Electronic Ballot Delivery ABM ballots.” Each of the boxes that held the ballots were previously “secured in boxes by the Cobb County Elections Department” and were selected by a random number generator.

To conduct the audit, Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs), from GBI and SOS were instructed to “analyze and compare the known signatures, markings, and identifying information of the elector as stored in databases with the signature, markings, and identifying information on the elector’s ABM ballot oath envelope.” They looked for “distinctive characteristics and unique qualities … individual attributes of the signature, mark, or other identifying information” to “make a judgment of the validity of the signature on each envelope based on the totality of the documents.”

The LEOs conducting the audit were split “into 18 two-member teams identified as ‘inspection teams’ and two three-member teams identified as ‘investigation teams.’” If the two members of the inspection team were split on whether a ballot signature was valid, a third impartial “referee” was brought in to break the tie. This only happened on six occasions.

In cases where additional review was necessary, if no signature was on the ballot, or if additional identification documents were not available, the absentee ballots were given to the investigation teams to track down more information.

The inspection teams submitted 396 envelopes to the investigation teams for comparison with additional documents or follow-up with the elector.” 386 of those were accepted as valid. The remaining ten were referred for additional investigation. “All ten electors were located, positively identified, and interviewed.”

The LEOs used the Cobb County Elections Database which included signature information from voter registration forms, absentee ballot applications, voter certificates, passports, certificates of naturalization, in addition to other documents.

The full report is available here: https://sos.ga.gov/admin/uploads/Cobb%20County%20ABM%20Audit%20Report%2020201229.pdf

East Marietta Little League starts Blake Mahoney scholarship

December 30, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Blake Mahoney

In April Blake Mahoney, an 11-year-old student at Eastvalley Elementary School, was tragically killed after a crash as he rode his bicycle in his neighborhood.

He followed his brother as a baseball player at Sewell Park with the East Marietta National Little League, and now his family has established a scholarship program in his name.

Registration is underway for the spring season, and here’s more from East Marietta about the financial need-based scholarships, and how to apply with a deadline that’s coming soon:

Blake’s absence has created a void that will never be filled. It was very noticeable when his teammates played their first intermediate season without Blake this past fall. Blake was a baseball player. You could tell in how he carried himself. Blake came by baseball naturally, and he had great technique. He knew where the play should be, a credit to his baseball acumen, acquired no doubt from watching his brother play countless baseball games. He was a student of the game, and while in the dugout, he was either hanging on the fence or sitting on the baseball bucket, soaking in the game.

The Mahoney family established a scholarship in Blake’s name, to be awarded to players at East Marietta National Little League. This scholarship will financially help an inspiring baseball player—to continue in Blake’s spirit, for the love of the game.

We plan to award 6 scholarships this spring in Blake’s name. Please complete the application and submit all paperwork by January 15, 2021. Application can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSdIPF9…/viewform

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!

Police identify suspect in death of Sedalia Park ES student

December 29, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Kennedy Maxie, Sedalia Park student shot

Atlanta Police said Tuesday they have secured felony warrants against a man they believe fired the shots that led to the death of a Sedalia Park Elementary School student last week.

Police said during a news conference that Daquan Reed, 24, is wanted for murder and other charges stemming from a Dec. 21 incident at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead.

Kennedy Maxie, 7, was riding in a car with her mother and aunt after Christmas shopping when she was struck by a stray bullet, police said previously, and that she was rushed to Childrens Healthcare Atlanta Scottish Rite.

The girl died on Saturday night, and a $15,000 reward for information about the case continued.

Police said Tuesday that there was an argument and a fight in the parking lot of the Saks Fifth Avenue store at Phipps and that Reed may have been among the individuals involved.

Lt. Pete Malecki, an Atlanta Police homicide investigator, said Reed left the scene in a car and began shooting, and the gunfire hit the girl in the back of the head.

The other warrants against Reed include possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during a crime and reckless conduct.

Malecki said it was “relentless investigative work” that led to identifying a suspect, but that while “we have a lot of work to do to apprehend Mr. Reed . . . it’s our hope that this will provide a sliver of relief to Kennedy’s family.”

A fundraiser set up by the girl’s godmother to provide assistance to the family has received more than $60,000 in donations, and many messages of condolence:

“My heart is broken. May God comfort the family and give them strength. And, I pray those responsible for this senseless tragedy be found and brought to justice quickly before they hurt anyone else. RIP baby girl.”

2 arrested for false imprisonment, battery of East Cobb woman

January 2, 2021December 29, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Cobb Police said a 66-year-old woman was the victim of battery and false imprisonment at her home in East Cobb last week, including having her hands tied behind her back with a cable wire, and have arrested her daughter and another man.

Jenica Bratton, 22, and Matthew Hurlebaus, 21, were booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on Dec. 23, and both remain in custody on bonds of $7,920 and $8,470, respectively, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.

UPDATED, SATURDAY, Jan. 2: Bratton has bonded out of jail; Hurlebaus remains in custody.

They’re facing felony charges of false imprisonment and exploitation and intimidation of elderly and disabled persons.

Bratton, whose booking report indicates she is homeless, also has been charged with a misdemeanor charge of battery and a felony charge of drug possession.

According to Bratton’s arrest warrant, Bratton was at her mother’s home on Housely Road on the afternoon of Dec. 23 and got into a verbal altercation with the older woman that turned violent.

Bratton then ordered her to an upstairs area of a shed on the property, binding her mother’s arms behind her back with a cable wire, according to the warrant.

The warrant said Hurlebaus persuaded Bratton to unbind the mother while he watched her.

According to Hurlebaus’ warrant, the older woman tried fleeing the area, but he blocked an exit to the shed, preventing her from escaping.

The older woman suffered multiple small lacerations around her mouth and chin, according to Bratton’s warrant, as well as bruises on her left wrist from the cable.

Bratton and Hurlebaus were later arrested at his home on Post Oak Tritt Road, and she also was found to be in possession of Acetaminophen and Hydrocodone pills, according to her warrant.

Selected New Year’s Eve events in Cobb County

December 29, 2020December 29, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Cobb New Years Eve events

From Cobb Travel and Tourism:

New Year’s Eve Bash
American Legion 294 Lounge
3282 Florence Road, Powder Springs
Come celebrate NYE with us at American Legion post 294.. Starts at 7pm.
Event day tickets are $30/$40 and include party favors, champagne toast, and midnight Brunch. Karaoke 8pm -10pm; DJ 10pm – close

Thank God It’s Over
NYE at Red Top Brewhouse
4637 S. Main St., Acworth
Let’s shake 2020 out of our hair together. We’re closing to the public and having ourselves a ticketed event. $75 gets you dinner from a menu curated by Chef Bobby, a live performance from local singer/songwriter and 2020 American Idol contestant, Erin Kirby and her band. Then we’ll celebrate the end of it all with a complimentary champagne toast.
Click to get your tickets! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/131920801669

New Year’s Eve 2021
The Battery Atlanta
825 Battery Ave.
We usually hate goodbyes but not with 2020. Don’t miss Atlanta’s best New Year’s Eve celebration!
This year we’re celebrating the New Year 2020 style; offering a safe & socially distanced environment. Limited capacity. So grab your tickets now!
MASQUERADE themed event with entertainment
Balloon Drop
Midnight champagne toast & Ball Drop on our 32-ft LED screen!
All packages grant you access to all venues inside Live! At the Battery Atlanta: Sports & Social, PBR Atlanta, Tavern and Coors Banquet Bar.
For tickets click here.

For more New Year’s Eve options, visit the Cobb Travel and Tourism events page.

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 Christmas Confetti store to donate décor inventory

December 29, 2020December 29, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Christmas Confetti East Cobb

Submitted information:

The holiday season may be coming to a close, but the giving continues in an effort to end 2020 in a positive way! On Thursday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve), Christmas Confetti, a premier seasonal Christmas décor store located in the Avenue at East Cobb Shopping Center will host its inaugural “BIG GIVE” by donating all remaining inventory to families who could not afford a Christmas tree, holiday lights, ornaments and other holiday décor.

In partnership with Families First, 75 families will have an opportunity to select $250 worth of Christmas decoration for next year. This “BIG GIVE” comes during a time when so many families are challenged with job loss, furloughs and other financial setbacks. “As a member of the Board of Directors at Families First, I get to see first-hand the various needs of our community and particularly those of adoptive and foster care youth and families, says Leonard Jennings, owner of Christmas Confetti. In partnership with Families First, “BIG GIVE” will ensure that deserving families will receive Christmas trees, ornaments, and home decorations this year giving them an opportunity to enjoy Christmases in the years to come.”

Families will arrive early and in great anticipation of a shopping spree that will continue the holiday cheer. Several Atlanta influencers have been invited to add to the spirit of giving. The event will continue until everything is gone!

Christmas Confetti is located in the Avenue East at East Cobb shopping complex in Marietta near Johnson Ferry and Roswell Road. The seasonal Christmas décor store was created to give people who love the Christmas season, a cheerful and unique shopping experience. It is the home of the upside down Christmas tree.

Families First is one of Georgia’s largest family and children’s services organization in metropolitan Atlanta. The organization works to improve outcomes for children, youth, individuals and families at every stage of life by providing them with mental health support, coaching, early education and intervention techniques that strengthen families, as well as build resiliency, no matter what challenges they may be facing.

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!

Update: Five Guys reopens at East Cobb Crossing

December 28, 2020December 28, 2020 by Wendy Parker

East Cobb Five Guys

After our post last week about the temporary closure, a couple of readers have let us know that the Five Guys restaurant at East Cobb Crossing has reopened.

We’ve left word with the hamburger chain’s press office seeking more information but haven’t heard back.

The closure appeared to have been around a week but no reason has been given.

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