East Cobb restaurant update: La Novia Taqueria now known as Moxie Taco

It’s in the same location at Paper Mill Village (255 Village Parkway Suite 330), with the same hours and same menu, but a new name. From the Moxie Restaurant Group today comes this news:Moxie Taco

“In honor of our loyal and supportive East Cobb customers who have called it “moxie taco” from its development, we have decided to officially rename La Novia Taqueria! Come by for some hot cheese dip and a cold margarita to brighten up this dreary weather week.”

When La Novia Taqueria opened in 2017 the building that formerly housed Valenit’s restaurant and Caffe Fortunato and had been painted yellow. It’s now a gray shade.

The East Cobb taqueria scene also has grown, with the addition of Taqueria Tsunami last spring on Johnson Ferry Road.

The hours for Moxie Taco are daily, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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East Cobb traffic/weather update: Paper Mill Road reopens after downed tree; Cobb under flash flood watch

Paper Mill Road closed
Cobb DOT photo

UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.:

At around noon the National Weather Service in Atlanta expanded its flash flood watch to include Cobb County and other parts of the metro area until 7 p.m. Thursday.

Wednesday morning provided a bit of a respite from the rain, if not weather-related traffic issues, but more rain is expected tonight and Thursday.

The NWS said the areas with the most saturation from yesterday’s rain are above the I-20 and along the I-85 corridors.

Those areas could be most vulnerable to flooding with even more rain on the way over the weekend.

UPDATE 9:03 AM:

The road has reopened, but there may be occasional lane closures to clear debris.

Original report, 8:15 AM:

This just in from Cobb government:

Paper Mill Road is closed between Woodlawn Drive and the Atlanta Country Club due to a downed tree.

Crews are on the scene for removal.

It’s among several downed trees affecting the morning commute around the county.

There were also reports that Willeo Road was closed at the Lower Roswell Road roundabout due to debris on road just over the Chattahoochee River in Roswell., but that area has also reopened to traffic.

 

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Heavy rains pound Cobb as NW Ga. falls under flood watch

Cobb thunderstorms

Late Tuesday afternoon the National Weather Service in Atlanta extended its flood watch as heavy rains moved into the state.

Cobb isn’t in the watch area for now, although it does include Paulding and Cherokee counties for now.

But thunderstorms began moving into the county this afternoon and could deliver 2-3 inches or even more by the end of the week.

The NWS issued a flood warning for parts of Gwinnett, DeKalb and Fulton counties but Cobb was not included.

There’s a 90 percent chance of rain in Cobb tonight and a 70 percent chance during the day on Wednesday, increasing to 100 percent Wednesday night.

That’s when the NWS projects the heaviest rain of the watch period, which has been extended to Saturday.

The slick road conditions already have contributed to a serious accident in Cobb. Earlier today a male passenger and the driver of a car suffered serious injuries when their car hydroplaned and lost control. It spun into a tree near Barrett Parkway and Burnt Hickory Road, closing that intersection for several hours.

The victims were transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, according to Marietta Police.

Temperatures will get a little warmer Wednesday, into the low 50s during the day and into the high 40s tomorrow night, before warming up into the 60s later in the week.

The NWS said some areas of northwest Georgia could get up to six inches of rain, and there’s a chance of localized flooding in low-lying areas in the hazardous weather outlook area that includes Cobb.

 

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Holly Springs Road senior homes approved; Mt. Bethel Christian stadium case delayed again

Holly Springs Road senior homes

The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a revised zoning request for a single-family senior residential subdivision on Holly Springs Road.

The 5-0 vote came after Commissioner JoAnn Birrell last month asked the developer, Loyd Development Services, to revise the application after some nearby residents objected on density grounds.

Loyd’s attorney, Garvis Sams, submitted a revised application on Jan. 22 and outlined it at Tuesday’s zoning hearing. Instead of 16 homes zoned RSL (Residential Senior Living), the 4.3 acres on Holly Springs, southeast of the Davis Road roundabout, will have 10 homes, making it 2.32 units an acre.

That’s the same density as the adjacent Ashmore subdivision.

The land is zoned R-20 (residential) with two existing homes, and is part of the Margaret A. Keheley Living Trust.

Sams also said the unit size per home of the new division will increase, from around 2,300 square feet to 3,300 square feet. The original homes had been slated for prices ranging from $550,000 to $600,000, and he said those “price points” likely will go up as well.

Earlier this month the Cobb Planning Commission recommended the Keheley land stay at R-20, but the county commissioners deleted that and approved R-15 zoning.

“I think we have a good plan for R-15,” Birrell said. “It’s very appropriate here.”

The only objection on Tuesday came from Charles Sprayberry of the Cobb County School District, which occasionally speaks in opposition to senior-specific zoning since the schools have a senior property tax exemption.

The Cobb Zoning Department staff is continuing another land use issue in that area of East Cobb for the second time.

A proposal by Mt. Bethel Christian Academy to amend an existing land use permit to allow a sports stadium on its high school campus on Post Oak Tritt Road, near Holly Springs, has been slated for the March 19 commissioners’ zoning hearing.

That request has drawn neighborhood opposition.

The commissioners on Tuesday did not hear a residential rezoning case on Paper Mill Road that has been held by the planning commission.

That request, for six homes on Paper Mill at Gateside Place, will be taken up again by the planning board on March 5.

 

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Cobb Fire Station 15 staffers honored for CPR efforts at NE Cobb YMCA

Cobb Fire Station 15 staffers honored

From the Cobb Fire & Emergency Services Department comes word that staffers at the Cobb Fire Station 15 (3892 Oak Lane) were recently recognized by Gov. Brian Kemp for coming to the scene of a cardiac arrest situation at the Northeast Cobb YMCA, along with the MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service.

Lt. Stephen French, Engineer Darrell Freeman and Firefighter Mele Miller were joined by two bystanders in rendering assistance on the scene.

Here’s what the department is sharing with the public about the recent incident:

William Vincent, 63, was running on a treadmill at the YMCA in East Cobb when he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. YMCA employee Kevin Lee heard Mr. Vincent collapse and he immediately started CPR.

Another bystander, Dixie McCombs, called 911 and brought the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) to Kevin who then shocked the patient.

Engine-15’s crew arrived on the scene along with EMT Logan Harris with MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service.

Cobb Fire is so proud of our crew, so thankful for our friends at MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service & in awe of Kevin & Dixie’s courage that day in saving a truly wonderful man’s life.

Thank you to Georgia House Rep. Matt Dollar & Michael Charles of Better Outcomes for bringing attention to this great story.

Please use this as a reminder to recognize & help a fellow person in need.

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Ott to hold East Cobb town hall meeting in late March

Ott town hall meeting

The upcoming town hall meeting for Cobb commissioner Bob Ott comes with East Cobb cityhood efforts underway and as a new county budget season on the horizon.

Ott’s office announced Friday his town hall will be March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Catholic Church of St. Ann (4905 Roswell Road).

His town halls usually don’t have a preset agenda, but Ott has indicated recently he wants to provide the public with more information about a proposed City of East Cobb initiative that was revealed in recent months (see our East Cobb Cityhood Resource Page for more).

The map drawn up by cityhood proponents would include unincorporated parts of Ott’s District 2 east of I-75, excluding the Cumblerand Community Improvement District.

Ott said he’s not part of this drive, which was launched by Atlanta Country Club resident Joe Gavalis, his appointee to the Cobb Neighborhood Safety Commission.

Ott has said he’s sympathetic with constituents who’ve complained that District 2, which includes some of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area, provides 40 percent of county tax revenue but doesn’t get that percentage back in services.

That’s one of the factors cited by the Committee for the City of East Cobb, Inc., for pursuing possible cityhood, along with public safety staffing and greater local control of services, including zoning and development.

The group, which formed last September, lists commercial real estate developer G. Owen Brown as its treasurer, but others who are part of the group and who helped fund a municipal feasibility study have not been identified.

The group has hired Republican political consultant and TV pundit Phil Kent to handle public relations and John Garst, another GOP political consultant, to lobby in the legislature.

No local legislation has yet been introduced in the current session of the Georgia General Assembly to call for a referendum that would be required for an East Cobb city to be created. The earliest that vote could take place is 2020.

Some citizens groups of their own have formed Facebook groups relating to the East Cobb Cityhood issue.

One is the City of East Cobb Citizens Group, which sprang up out of a thread on the Nextdoor social platform, saying it is non-partisan and has not taken a position on the issue.

Also coming up in early March are budget and transit town hall meetings by Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce. The first of those sessions take place March 5 at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center and March 6 at the East Cobb Senior Center.

After pushing for a property tax hike last year, Boyce has said he will not ask for another one for the fiscal year 2020 budget. Both Ott and Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb voted against that increase.

 

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Georgia school bus stop-arm law revised by legislature

ATS school bus camera, Cobb school bus camera program
Some Cobb school buses are equipped with cameras to photograph license plates of stop-arm violators.

When your kids return to school next week, a revision to a Georgia law regarding bus stop-arm requirements for motorists will have been put into place.

As Cobb students were letting out for their winter break this week, Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday signed SB 25, which clarifies language for when drivers must stop for buses on divided roadways.

The law passed by the General Assembly last year contained vague language about when motorists traveling in the opposite direction from a bus with the stop-arm extended had to stop.

The revision mandates that those vehicles must now stop on divided roads or highways unless there is a physical barrier between the two directions of traffic.

Along a road that is divided by a center turn lane or double yellow lane stripes, vehicles heading in the other direction must stop. The law passed in 2018 made that unclear.

However, if a road is divided by a grass or unpaved median or a raised barrier, vehicles traveling in the opposite direction do not have to stop.

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All traffic on two-lane roads must stop for stopped buses, as has been the case since before last year’s legislation.

School Transportation News said two students in Georgia have been hit since the law was passed last year, one of them fatally, by vehicles that ran bus stop-arm signs.

SB 25 passed unanimously last week, 171-0 by the House and 55-0 by the Senate. It was the first bill signed into law by Kemp since he became governor in January, and it went into effect immediately.

State public safety agencies, including the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, released the following graphic to illustrate changes in the law.

Georgia school bus stop-arm law

 

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Wet weather in forecast for all of Cobb’s winter break week

Cobb rain forecast

The good news for students in Cobb County schools is this is winter break week. The bad news is they may not get to enjoy much of that time out of doors.

That’s because several days’ worth of wet weather is in store for Cobb, metro Atlanta and much of Georgia.

The rain we got last month caused some flooding that closed down Columns Drive for a few days, mostly due to standing water caused by clogged drains.

The National Weather Service is forecasting heavier rains than that through most of the week, starting Monday night.

Some areas could get between 2 to 8 inches of rain, according to a hazardous weather outlook that includes Cobb. The chance of flooding in low-lying areas also is high, and conditions could be likely for flash-flooding as well.

Mostly cloudy conditions will be moving in after dark tonight, and it’s going to get cold, too, dipping in the high 30s.

Tuesday will be cold and wet, with highs only in the mid 40s. Wednesday will be a little warmer, but just as wet, with a 70 percent chance of rain in the Cobb area, with lows also in the high 30s.

Warmer temperatures will move in later in the week, with highs in the 60s on Thursday and Friday, but a 70 percent or so chance of rain.

The rain will taper off to around 50 percent by Saturday and Sunday, with highs also in the 60s.

So today may be the last we’ll see of sunshine for about a week.

 

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Lassiter and Kell wrestlers win state titles; Pope team finishes 2nd

Three individual wrestlers from East Cobb schools are returning home as state champions this weekend, following completion of the Georgia High School Association traditional meet in Macon.Lassiter and Kell wrestlers

Two of them are from Lassiter High School, and even better news for the Trojans is they’re underclassmen.

Freshman David Panone won the Class 7A 120 weight class finals on Saturday, defeating Tyler Crew of eventual state champion Camden County by a 2-1 score.

Panone finished his very first season of varsity wrestling with a record of 51-3. His teammate, sophomore R.J. Weston, took home the 7A title at 138, defeating Ethan Willis of Hillgrove 4-0. For the season, Weston was 53-2.

The Trojans finished 11th in the 7A team standings with 59.5 points, and Walton was 12th with 53.5 points.

Thee Raiders wrestlers placed in Macon, including runners-up Cole Hixon at 195 and Jonathan Chesser at 220 and Caden Canzano, who finished 6th at 106.

Walton also had a wrestler place in the very-first girls GHSA competition. Sophomore Kiley Webb was 4th at 95 pounds. The girls events were individual-only.

For the Kell Longhorns, the state meet was bittersweet. Longtime head coach Steve Lattizori, who has been at the Northeast Cobb school since it opened, is retiring.

But he saw one last athlete win a state championship. Senior Andrew Parlato prevailed in the Class 6A 220 class, as he defeated Dimaggio Evan of Buford 7-3 in the finals.

Also for Kell, Joseph Fredeman was 5th at 132 and Jake Boyd was 4th at 138.

The Longhorns were 11th in the team standings. Their region rival Woodland of Cartersville won the state championship.

The Pope wrestling team was looking for its first state championship since 2014 and sent 11 wrestlers to Macon with a good chance.

The Greyhounds couldn’t catch up to Class 6A champion Valdosta, however, and finished second, with 141.5 points to 177.5 for Valdosta.

No Pope wrestlers won individual titles, but seven of them placed, finishing in the Top 6:

  • Joey Robinson, 4th at 106;
  • Max Druhot, 2nd at 120;
  • Alex Hearn, 2nd at 126;
  • Patrick Haskin at 132;
  • Troy Gable, 5th at 145;
  • Andrew Barner, 4th at 152;
  • Christopher Sheahan, 3rd at 195.

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Kell, Wheeler, Walker boys advance in state basketball tourney

Three East Cobb boys teams—from Kell, Wheeler and The Walker School—will get to play on in the Georgia High School Association basketball tournament.Kell and Walton football teams

They all won their first-round games at home on Friday night.

For Kell, its 84-73 win over Lithia Springs was the first-ever for the Longhorns in state playoff games. As the No. 1 seed from their region, they get to stay at home next week for a second-round Class 5A game against Columbia or Cedar Shoals.

Wheeler pulled away from Hillgrove in the second half to crush their cross-Cobb rivals by an 85-55 score. The Wildcats would have been able to play host to an East Cobb showdown in the second round, but Walton fell 49-35 at Tift County, which will be the hosts as a higher seed next week in the Class 7A bracket.

The Walker School boys, playing in the Private Class A tourney, held off Aquinas 45-36. The Wolverines also have to hit the road next week in the second round, visiting Riverside Military Academy.

In the Class 6A boys playoffs, the season ended for both East Cobb teams. Sprayberry was playing at home but lost to Chattahoochee 78-65. Pope lost at South Cobb 82-71.

Both girls teams from East Cobb that made the state playoffs have been eliminated.  Pope lost to Creekview 50-43 in Class 6A, and The Walker School was defeated by Paideia 42-33.

Game times and dates haven’t been announced yet for the Kell, Wheeler and Walker games, nor for the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy boys’ game against Holy Innocents’ in the second round of the Private Class A tourney.

Admission is $7 and season passes are not accepted in the playoffs.

View the brackets here:

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East Cobb library branches schedule winter break activities

If you’re looking for some constructive and fun activities for your kids during this week’s Cobb schools winter break, the county libraries have scheduled a number of events just for the occasion. A sampling of what’s coming up at the four branches in East Cobb:

  • 1-3 Monday, Sewell Mill: In honor of Black History Month, Rogers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” will be shown in the Black Box Theatre, starring Brandy Norwood as the first African-American cast as the famous princess on the big screen;
  • 2-5 Tuesday-Friday, Gritters: “Lego Your Library Block Party,” an open session of fun and creativity for all ages, with daily prizes for the winners;
  • 3-4 Tuesday, Sewell Mill: This Teen Pop Culture Escape Room event invites 6th-12th graders to test their knowledge of Snap Chat, Binge Worthy TV, Emojis, Fake News and other trends of the day;Smallfoot, Sewell Mill Library
  • 11-11:30 Wednesday, Mountain View: A Preschool STEM session with the Cobb 4-H introduces 3-5 year-olds to the world of science in an interactive, hands-on format. Like all library events this workshop is free but registration is required;
  • 1-2:30 Wednesday, Mountain View: A Winter Dance Party is open to K-5 students for a creative energy boost, with crafts activities as a more low-key option;
  • 3-5 Wednesday, Sewell Mill: Disney Family Trivia is ideal for children and adults, who pair up in teams to test their expertise of film favorites and are invited to dress up as their favorite screen star;
  • 3:30-6, Gritters: The continuing Teen Volunteer Orientation workshops continue for students ages 15-17 who are interested in becoming a library volunteer. These sessions are by appointment only by calling 770-528-2524;
  •  2-4 Thursday, Sewell Mill: More movies! “How to Train Your Dragon” will be shown at the Story Time Room, and it’s an adaptation of a children’s fantasy novel that’s rated PG;
  • 3:30-4:30 p.m., Mountain View: The Wonderlab Straw Rockets activity is for kids K-2nd grade, and they’ll learn how to build a rocket with only a straw, rubber band, craft stick, paper and a paperclip. The event requires registration by calling 770-509-4964;
  • 6-8 Thursday, Sewell Mill: Another PG film, “Smallfoot,” is about a Yeti who discovers a human and faces banishment from his own community;
  • 2:30-4:30 Saturday, East Cobb: Free Youth Tutoring continues its weekly sessions, with 30-minute, one-on-one academic help in math, science and reading coming from Walton, Wheeler and Westminster students for those in K-8th grade. Registration is required by calling 770-509-2730 and those seeking tutoring should bring their study aides.

There’s plenty more for kids and grown-ups at the East Cobb branches in the coming week, including usual storytimes and adult book clubs; click here for more and details on the events above.

 

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Cobb Police to hold job fair in March

Submitted information about next month’s Cobb Police job fair:Northeast Cobb car crash

Come join our team of men and women who have stepped up to experience one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, opportunities out there! The Cobb County Police Department will be hosting a Job Fair March 29-31 at the Cobb County Public Safety Training Center located at 2109 Valor Drive, Marietta. The goal of this job fair is to expedite the hiring process by completing:

  • Physical Agility Test:

25 push-ups within one minute
30 sit-ups within one minute
300-meter sprint within one minute, six seconds (1:06)
1.5 mile run within 15 minutes, 54 seconds (15:54)
Click here for more details.

  • Interview with an Internal Affairs Investigator **
  • Polygraph Exam **
  • Psychological Exam **

** Conditional upon passing the PAT **
 
Come as you are between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Please wear appropriate clothing for PAT; change of clothes for additional testing is optional. A Photo ID is required. Snacks and water will be provided. To expedite your process, please apply online at: https://cobbcounty.peopleadmin.com/postings/search click on: Police Officer I. Any questions, please contact Internal Affairs at 770-528-3812.

 

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Child psychologist gets 20 years in prison for molesting Cobb girl

An Atlanta child psychologist who worked out of an office in East Cobb has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to molestation and exploitation charges, including posting a photo online of a girl he victimized in Cobb County in 2017.Jonathan Gersh, Cobb child molestation

The Cobb District Attorney’s Office on Friday said that Jonathan Gersh, 38, pleaded guilty to six counts of child molestation and four counts of sexual exploitation of children.

Cobb Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster ordered Gersh to serve 20 years in prison and 20 more on probation, according to the Cobb DA’s office.

Prosecutors said the acts took place at the victim’s home at an unincorporated Marietta address. She was eight years old at the time.

Gersh was associated with Intown Psychological Associates, which had several offices in metro Atlanta, including one at 1744 Roswell Road in East Cobb.

A woman psychologist who had been dating Gersh told the court she had been “manipulated” into a relationship with him so he could have access to her daughter, and she called him a “selfish, perverted, manipulative sociopath,” according to the DA’s office.

Gersh was arrested Feb. 14, 2018, after Cobb authorities were alerted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which had gotten a tip from Australian law enforcement of an IP address which contained graphic images of child pornography, according to prosecutors.

The DA’s office said Cobb Police got a search warrant on Gersh’s mobile phone, and found more photos of what was termed “child erotica,” including images of children in bathing suits in public places.

“He is an opportunist. He is a child molester. And, he’s an exploiter of children in the worst way,” Cobb Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring said.

“These pictures are not baseball cards to be traded. This is pure and simple sex trafficking,” Schuster said in court.

Gersh, who has been in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center since his arrest, will be given sex offender status following his release from prison, the Cobb DA’s office said.

“Aside from this conduct, he’s led an exemplary life,” Gersh’s attorney, Richard Grossman, told the court.

 

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Cobb school superintendent gets extension and pay raise

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale got a contract extension Wednesday night and a pay boost.Chris Ragsdale, Cobb school superintendent

The Cobb Board of Education announced its decision after an executive session. Ragsdale’s new contract was extended for one year over his existing deal, to the end of March 2022.

He will receive an annual salary of $350,000, according to a district spokeswoman. Ragsdale, who was named superintendent in 2015 at a salary of $275,000, has a current salary of $327,000.

Ragsdale had served previously in a number of executive capacities with the Cobb County School District, including deputy superintendent.

The contract vote passed unanimously, 7-0.

The board also accepted the resignation of assistant superintendent Robert Downs, a former Pope High School principal, effective Feb. 22. He has been appointed Buford school superintendent.

Deputy superintendent John Adams also announced after the executive session that the school board had agreed to purchase 1.7 acres of land adjacent to the school district’s headquarters on Glover Street in Marietta.

The land is at 484 Glover Street, and includes more than 45,000 square feet of existing office and warehouse space. A formal vote on the purchase is expected next month.

The Cobb school district has been looking to consolidate its headquarters, and has been leasing office space nearby. Last year Cobb schools paid $4.2 million for adjoining land on Fairground Street that was the location of The Marietta Daily Journal for more than 50 years.

The MDJ has moved to Waddell Street, near the Marietta Square.

 

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Northwest Corridor Express Lanes to undergo maintenance

From the Georgia Department of Transportation:

The I-75 Northwest Corridor Express Lanes will be closed to traffic for routine maintenance beginning 11:30 PM, Friday, February 15 until 11:30 AM, Saturday, February 16. The lanes will reopen in the southbound direction.

 

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New Wheeler football coach hired from Stockbridge school

Wheeler High School has announced that Bryan Love is the new head football coach.

He comes from Woodland High School in Stockbridge, and was 3-7 in each of his two seasons there.Bryan Love, new Wheeler football coach

Before that, he was successful turning around Westlake High School in Atlanta, inheriting a team that was 0-10 and guiding the program to two region titles. Westlake is in the same region as Wheeler in Class 7A of the Georgia High School Association.

He also was head coach at Lamar County for one season, compiling a 6-5 record in 2016, before moving to Woodland.

Love, a former assistant coach at McEachern, is 36-30 as a head coach. He also was an assistant at Camden County in south Georgia, which won two state titles while he was there.

He succeeds Mike Collins, who left last month after nine seasons at Wheeler and is now the head coach at River Ridge High School in Cherokee County.

Love is the second new football coach named at an East Cobb school this year. Sean Thom was hired at Lassiter, following the resignation of Jep Irwin, also after nine years.

Collins and Irwin had been the dean of East Cobb football coaches.

The coaches at Walton, Sprayberry, Kell and Pope all completed their second seasons on the job in 2018.

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Isakson awarded inaugural John S. McCain Service to Country Award

Submitted information and photo:Isakson John McCain Award

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., was awarded the inaugural ‘John S. McCain Service to Country Award’ from Voices for National Service on Tuesday in recognition of his life-long devotion to citizen and public service and for his exceptional leadership in advancing national service to solve community problems. Video footage of Isakson’s acceptance is available online here.

The award was presented to Isakson by Ben Domenech, who is the son-in law of U.S. Senator John McCain, for whom the award was named, at the 16th annual ‘Friends of National Service Awards.’ Domenech is married to McCain’s daughter, Meghan.

“John McCain’s life and work left an indelible mark on history, and I learned a lot from him,” said Isakson as he accepted the award. “He was ferocious in his commitment to his life, to his friends, to his country and to others who needed help. He meant a lot to me, and I’m incredibly honored to have earned this prestigious award named in his honor from an organization that is so highly respected. To have a member of the McCain family, Ben Domenech, present this special award was particularly meaningful to me. We are in this together for the betterment of mankind. We are better people when we give a little bit of ourselves to others.”

“Senator Isakson firmly believes that service is an obligation of citizenship, and that by giving back to your country, Americans can learn something about themselves, each other, and the world around them,” said AnnMaura Connolly, president of Voices for National Service. “Like his friend and colleague, the late Senator John McCain, Senator Isakson has worked to protect, expand and improve service opportunities at home and abroad.”

Isakson earned the award for his work as a champion of both the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. The organization pointed to his 2011 sponsorship of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act to provide better security and protection measures for Peace Corps volunteers. In 2018, Isakson also worked on the Sam Farr and Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act of 2018, which built on these reforms to further protect Peace Corps volunteers. Both measures were enacted into law.

Also in 2018, Isakson introduced legislation with Senator Michael Bennet, D-Colo., to exclude the AmeriCorps education award from federal income tax and help ensure that the post-service scholarship remains a valuable and compelling incentive for young people to serve.

Additionally, the organization recognized that Isakson’s “commitment to making sure America takes care of those who dedicate their lives to serving our country extends to veterans too.” Voices for National Service highlighted his work as chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee, where “he is working to improve the quality of care at [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] healthcare facilities, protect veterans’ benefits, and provide access to education and training to help veterans make a successful transition to civilian life.”

Also honored during the evening with other awards were distinguished leaders in government, business, and journalism from across the nation. The full list of 2019 award winners is available here.

 

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Walton softball parents petition school board for on-campus facility

Parents involved with the Walton High School softball booster club asked Cobb Board of Education members Wednesday when the district will come up with a plan to bring games back on campus.Walton fastpitch, Walton softball parents

It’s been nearly four years since the fastpitch field and fieldhouse, along with tennis courts, were demolished to make way for a new classroom building.

In a public comment session at the board’s monthly meeting Wednesday night, parents said they wanted to see a “replacement plan” in two weeks.

Parent Mary Littwin said that when plans were made in 2014 for what was described as a temporary move, “we were told that in 2-3 years” there would be a new outline for an on-campus home for Walton fastpitch. “Here we are, five years later, and what we would like to know is when a replacement plan will be put into action.”

Board members and school district officials did not respond to their concerns. Parents previously have brought the issue to new Post 6 school board member Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters.

The original Walton softball facility, including a fieldhouse was built in 1995, with private funding and donations that parent Kelly Landroche said cost around $160,000.

Since 2015, the Walton softball team and boys and girls tennis teams, also displaced during the construction, have played home competitions at Terrell Mill Park.

John Holland, whose daughter is a rising 8th grader with the Walton fastpitch program, said softball equipment in storage there has been vandalized.

More than anything, the parents said, they want their daughters to enjoy an on-campus environment.

Chris Andriano has had two daughters play softball at Walton. His youngest, he said, is a senior who will be part of the first class who won’t play a game on campus.

“She feels cheated by that,” he said. “Please help us to get these facilities back on campus as soon as possible.”

Financing the construction of new softball and tennis facilities for Walton teams is included on the new Cobb Education SPLOST V project list.

The main problem is a lack of space. Walton is situated on 43 acres on Bill Murdock Road, and most of that space is already being utilized.

The new classroom building opened in August 2017 and a new gym and peforming arts facility is expected to open before the 2019-20 school year.

One possible scenario would be to build a new softball facility on an athletic practice field that is used by several Walton teams.

Losing that field, fastpitch booster club president Amy Hecklinger said, “would put Walton in a less than equitable” situation compared to other high schools in Cobb County.

Another booster club parent, Suzanne Crosswhite, suggested that acquisition of nearby available land would be “proper and equitable,” and that the land “is right across the street.”

 

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Cobb schools rolling out parental bus-tracking app in March

Following other school districts in metro Atlanta, the Cobb County School District will soon offer a mobile application for parents to track school bus movement.Here Comes the Bus, Cobb school bus tracking app

At a Cobb Board of Education work session Wednesday, superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the app, which would be available through Apple, Android, Google Play other app stores, is expected to be available by March 1.

The name of the app is “Here Comes the Bus,” which Ragsdale said is one of more popular bus-tracking apps in the country. It provides real-time tracking of buses, shows schedules and issues alerts notifying parents when buses approach pick-up and drop-off points.

Most recently, Here Comes the Bus been implemented in Paulding County schools. Marietta City Schools have a bus-tracking app called Traversa.

Ragsdale said Cobb school buses already have GPS (Global Positioning Services) devices on them, and the on-board technology will be updated to provide parents with tracking information that will be secured with a login containing a school code number and a password.

Parents had been able to contact drivers on two-way radios, which had dead spots and operated on open lines.

“If you need private communication with a bus driver, you don’t want that on a speaker,” Ragsdale said.

Deputy Superintendent John Adams said Here Comes the Bus has been tried on a pilot basis with parents at some schools in West Cobb, and most of them were satisfied with the app.

Cobb schools operate 870 bus routes that cover more than 68,000 miles each day, making 38,000 stops and carrying more than 72,000 students.

For details on downloading Here Comes the Bus, visit the CCSD’s transportation page.

Related story

 

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East Cobb food scores: Johnny’s Pizza; IHOP; Stockyard Burgers; Montana’s Bar and Grill; and more

Johnny's Pizza, East Cobb food scores

The following East Cobb restaurant scores from Feb. 4-15 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing to view details of the inspection:

Buddha Delight
2731 Sandy Plains Road, Suite A
February 13, 2019 Score: 78, Grade: C

Burger King
2716 Sandy Plains Road
February 15, 2019 Score: 91, Grade: A

House of Ming
3101 Roswell Road, Suite 116
February 8, 2019 Score: 74, Grade: C

International House of Pancakes
3130 Johnson Ferry Road
February 7, 2019 Score: 85, Grade: B

Johnny’s New York Style Pizza 
4880 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 155
February 7, 2019 Score: 100, Grade: A

Judy’s Country Kitchen
2745 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 106
February 14, 2019 Score: 58, Grade: U

Laredos Mexican Bar & Grill 
1860 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 400
February 5, 2019 Score: 88, Grade: B

McDonald’s
3101 Roswell Road
February 11, 2019 Score: 90, Grade: A

McDonald’s
3011 Johnson Ferry Road
February 6, 2019 Score: 99, Grade: A

Mellow Mushroom Pizza
2000 Powers Ferry Road, Suite G-3
February 14, 2019 Score: 91, Grade: A

Montana’s Bar & Grill
2995 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 330
February 12, 2019 Score: 68, Grade: U

Mt. Bethel Elementary School 
1210 Johnson Ferry Road
February 13, 2019 Score: 100, Grade: A

Panda Express
4275 Roswell Road
February 14, 2019 Score: 89, Grade: B

Stockyard Burgers and Bones
4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1700
February 6, 2019 Score: 76, Grade: C

Tofu Village
700 Sandy Plains Road, Suite B1
February 7, 2019 Score: 91, Grade: A

Waffle House
2720 Sandy Plains Road
February 14, 2019 Score: 91, Grade: A

Walton High School 
1590 Bill Murdock Road
February 11, 2019 Score: 90, Grade: A

 

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