On July 15, at 6 PM, Commissioner Jerica Richardson will be hosting her Quarter 2 Town Hall where she will update the community about ongoing projects and events and present Cobb County District 2’s Second Quarterly Report.
The event will have an in-person and virtual option. For those who would like to attend in-person, the event will be held at Boy Scouts of America Atlanta Area Council [1800 Circle 75 Pkwy]. For those who would like to attend virtually, the event will be livestreamed on Cobb County’s Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CobbCountyGovernment) and Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/CobbCountyGovt).
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Chief Magistrate Judge Brendan F. Murphy and Sheriff Craig D. Owens, Sr. will host “The People’s Court Vaccination Clinic” this Thursday, July 8th. This makeshift clinic will provide FREE COVID-19 vaccines with no appointment necessary, and walk-ins encouraged.
The clinic will run from 8 am – 1 pm and will be set up in Courtroom M402 on the fourth floor at the Magistrate Court of Cobb County, 32 Waddell St., Marietta, GA 30090. First or second doses will be provided. Johnson & Johnson (1 shot) and Pfizer (2 shots – second appointment scheduled before you leave) available. These vaccines were made possible through a partnership with the Department of Public Health and non-profit organization CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort).
This clinic is being held in conjunction with Magistrate Courts across Metro Atlanta as part of a friendly “People’s Courts Vaccination Challenge.” The first event was held last week at the Magistrate Court of Fulton County, and Cobb’s event on Thursday will be followed up by a similar clinic offered at the Magistrate Court of Rockdale County on Friday.
“At the Magistrate Court, we work hard to break down barriers to ensure access to justice for everyone in our community,” said Cobb’s Chief Magistrate Brendan Murphy. “We jumped at the opportunity to help do the same for public health by bringing this free clinic to the courthouse where we serve some of the most vulnerable each day.”
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Cobb Police said Tuesday they’re still seeking a suspect in a triple homicide that took at Pinetree Country Club near Kennesaw on Saturday.
Sgt. Wayne Delk, a Cobb Police spokesman, said in a release that “current information reveals there is not an active threat to the public at large and there was not a directed threat to residents of the neighborhood.”
He didn’t elaborate further and no description of the unidentified suspect has been provided.
Gene Siller, 46, the golfing director at Pinetree, was found with a shotgun wound to the head on the 10th hole of the course around 2:20 p.m. Saturday afternoon, and was pronounced dead on the scene.
Two other men were found dead in the back of a white Ram 3500 pick-up truck that was also located on the 10th green.
Delk said Tuesday that detectives believe that Siller was caught up in a “crime in progress” involving the suspect and the other two men.
“It does not appear Siller was in any way targeted, but rather was killed because he witnessed an active crime taking place,” Delk said in a Cobb Police statement Tuesday.
One of the other men who died was identified as Paul Pierson, 76, of Kansas, whom police said was the registered owner of the pickup truck. The other victim was not identified but police said he’s believed to be Hispanic.
UPDATE: Cobb Police said Wednesday that the other victim in the truck has been identified as Henry Valdez, 46, of California.
Those two men, Delk said, “appear to have no relation to the location at all.” He said that “we are aware that the public has many questions, the most pressing one being why this happened; however, it is too early in the investigation to speculate as to motive.”
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A rendering of townhomes lining Johnson Ferry Road, bordered by a wall and a multi-purpose trail.
The Cobb Planning Commission voted Tuesday to hold the East Cobb Church rezoning case after it had a third hearing.
The matter will be taken up again in August at the request of Planning Commission member Tony Waybright, who said that despite improvements in the proposal in some areas, there are still concerns about the residential portion of the development.
He urged the applicant, North Point Ministries, to incorporate continuing concerns over traffic, density, setbacks, buffers and other proposed variances after a new site plan and stipulation letter were submitted last week.
But the request comes with variances that nearby residents and civic leaders said are too many, are not in line with the suburban nature of the area and do not meet Cobb County Code.
The detached homes are three stories, and the applicant is requesting reductions in front and back setbacks, and is proposing the distance between homes be reduced from the minimum 15 feet to 8 feet.
The intensity of the development, said Jill Flamm of the East Cobb Civic Association, “is out of character with this community and belongs in an urban setting.”
She also noted that there’s not a sidewalk proposed for the community because there isn’t room.
The residential portion of the 33-acre proposal at Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads has been the subject of most of the opposition.
North Point would purchase the full assemblage of properties, keeping roughly 10 acres for East Cobb Church and selling most of the rest of the land to Ashwood, an Atlanta-based residential developer.
A resident of nearby Chimney Lakes told the Planning Commission he’s not opposed to a church, but the residential proposal, saying that even the single-family detached homes are more like “townhomes, just detached.”
The revised site plan includes a multi-purpose trail that would surround the proposed 130,000-square foot church lining Shallowford Road, and North Point also has included a park into the revisions that would be available to the larger community.
Kevin Moore, North Point’s attorney, said his client has gone far beyond what’s called for in the JOSH Master Plan to create “a sense of place,” and that the latest revisions “reflect the community of which [the church] is a part.”
The plans also called for reworking Waterfront Circle, an access point for a nearby subdivision, to align with a traffic signal on Johnson Ferry.
There were 41 people in attendance in support of the rezoning request and 27 in opposition, including a speaker who said the proposal would “urbanize East Cobb. That is not what we want.”
Waybright suggested the RA-6 category be revised to fee-simple townhomes, a medium-density zoning which would “provide a stepdown” from lower-density residential homes in the adjacent MarLanta subdivision.
The Planning Commission also was hearing on Tuesday two other major requests in East Cobb. One is for a 99-home residential development on Ebenezer Road that’s drawn community opposition.
The other would convert the closed Park 12 Cobb movie theater at Gordy Parkway and Shallowford Road into a self-storage facility.
Single-family detached homes would be three stories, with reduced buffers and setbacks even below the minimum in the county code.
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A rendering of the proposed East Cobb Church from Shallowford Road.
A reminder that the East Cobb Church rezoning case that’s been delayed several times is getting another hearing Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission, which also is hearing a couple of other cases of interest in East Cobb.
The church leaders have launched a website with related details, including traffic and density figures that have concerned opponents.
The holdup from the Planning Commission stems from those factors and others, and the continuance until July was for the developer to make design changes.
The 33 acres would include a 130,000-square foot church building and parking lot, 58 single-family detached homes, 71 townhomes and a small amount of retail.
Pulte Homes originally had proposed 112 homes on nearly 50 undeveloped acres between Maybreeze Road and Blackwell Road. A revised site plan was submitted last week, as was a stipulation letter outlining the changes.
Also held over from June is a proposed conversion of the closed Park 12 Cobb movie theater into a storage facility.
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After being cancelled last year for the first time since the Civil War, the Marietta Campmeeting resumes this week through July 18.
The 183rd edition of the religious revival starts Friday with an opening picnic from 6-7 p.m., followed by the opening service at 7:30 p.m.
The full schedule can be found here, with two services daily and three on Sunday.
As in years past, the schedule includes children’s services, an ice cream social and tentholder meetings. After Saturday night’s service, there will be a watermelon-cutting.
The campmeeting dates back to 1837, shortly after Cobb County was formed out of Cherokee County. During those times, Methodist ministers traveled widely as “Circuit Riders,” since many communities did not have their own clergy.
Most of the events are free and open to the public. The Campmeeting grounds are located at 2300 Roswell Road, across from East Cobb United Methodist Church.
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The Georgia Council on Economic Education is one of 20 nonprofits that received a 2021 Delta Community grant. It was awarded $10,000 to train K-12 educators to better teach financial literacy.
Submitted information and photo:
Delta Community Credit Union (www.DeltaCommunityCU.com), Georgia’s largest credit union with $8.5 billion in assets, will accept applications for its 2022 Philanthropic Fund grant program beginning July 1, 2021.
Throughout 2022, the program will distribute a total of $125,000 to non-profit organizations committed to the health and well-being of young people and financial literacy and education, including programs focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEM/STEAM).
“Our Philanthropic Fund is part of our commitment to community investment and a means for Delta Community to broaden its impact,” said Hank Halter, chief executive officer. “The program has enabled us to support the worthwhile missions and efforts of more than 165 organizations that work alongside the credit union to enhance the quality of life and opportunities available in the communities where we are privileged to operate.”
Since making its first distributions in 2014, the Delta Community Philanthropic Fund has invested more than $750,000 in non-profit organizations that offer education, career training, and health and human services to tens of thousands of people in metro Atlanta.
The application window for the 2022 Delta Community Philanthropic Fund opens July 1, 2021 and closes Aug. 31, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Applications must be submitted via the online portal at www.DeltaCommunityCU.com/PhilanthropicFund.
In addition to its Philanthropic Fund, Delta Community invests in local communities through school sponsorships, scholarship programs, and support of chambers of commerce, industry partners and civic organizations.
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Wellstar Kennestone Hospital celebrated its 71st anniversary by hosting an ice cream social to thank team members for providing care to the community.
Submitted information and photo:
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, the largest hospital in the nationally recognized non-profit Wellstar Health System, is celebrating its 71st anniversary. In addition, Wellstar Kennestone is marking a year of significant accomplishments and accolades that include national emergency and trauma care designations, as well as community and national recognition for service and care excellence.
“Wellstar Kennestone Hospital has proudly provided lifesaving and compassionate care to Georgians for 71 years,” said Mary Chatman, Wellstar Health System executive vice president and president of Wellstar Kennestone and Windy Hill Hospitals. “We are an integral part of the community we serve, and so grateful for the support we have received over the past year, which has been especially challenging for everyone.”
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After a presentation earlier this week from Cobb Fire & Emergency Services with safety-related tips for handling fireworks, Cobb County government has compiled the following information about when you can use them:
FIREWORKS USE IN COBB COUNTY Cobb County Code bans the use of fireworks from 9 p.m. to 10 a.m. This is spelled out in the county’s code under the noise ordinances. Violations are a misdemeanor offense and you can view the noise ordinances by going here: Cobb County Noise Ordinance
However, the state legislature has spelled out several exemptions to the county code in O.C.G.A. § 25-10-1 et seq. This allows exemptions to county ordinances for use of fireworks on specific dates and times.
December 31 (New Year’s Eve) – Fireworks may be discharged until 1 a.m.
January 1 (New Year’s Day) – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
The last Saturday and Sunday in May – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
July 3 – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
July 4 – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
The first Monday in September – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
To view the Georgia code section regarding fireworks visit: O.C.G.A. § 25-10-2 Fireworks in County Parks — Pyrotechnics are prohibited at ALL county parks per County Ordinance § 90-63.
Sec. 90-63. – Restricted or Prohibited Uses of Park Facilities
Pyrotechnics prohibited
It shall be unlawful for any persons to possess, display, use, set off, or ignite any firecracker, fireworks, smoke bombs, rockets, or other pyrotechnics.
We wish you a safe and happy Fourth of July holiday weekend and a glorious summer. Please be courteous and safe!
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The Rev. Dr. Steven Usry was to have been a part of “moving day” on Thursday in the United Methodist Church.
July 1 is the calendar date that UMC clergy take up new appointments, and Usry was to have moved into space at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in East Cobb.
He was appointed to oversee the largest congregation in the UMC’s North Georgia Conference in April by Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson.
But Mt. Bethel leadership’s dramatic and public decision to oppose his appointment has led to Usry having limited responsibilities for the time being.
The 10,000-member congregation has been roiled by Haupert-Johnson’s decision to reassign Dr. Jody Ray, the congregation’s senior pastor for the last eight years, to a non-ministerial role in the North Georgia Conference.
While Usry’s appointment is being accepted under protest by Mt. Bethel, he has been told there’s no office available for him at the main church campus on Lower Roswell Road. He’s also being paid only a portion of his salary while his Ray, his predecessor, remains in a prominent role.
Usry sent out a letter on Thursday addressed to the “Mt. Bethel family” expressing his disappointment with the opposition and his hope that the dispute can be resolved.
“For the past few months, I have been concerned that the present crisis would only get worse,” Usry wrote in the letter, in which he identifies himself as the Mt. Bethel senior pastor.
“Unfortunately, the actions by some at Mt. Bethel only exacerbate an already unhealthy situation,” he continued in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by East Cobb News.
He wrote that “the best path forward would have been to embrace healthy and Biblical pastoral tradition. Yet I know Mt. Bethel to be a great church. I am FOR Mt. Bethel. I will continue to seek solutions to the present crisis and will not be deterred.”
How many of Mt. Bethel’s nearly 10,000 members got the letter is uncertain. In sending his letter to those members for whom he has contact information, he noted in an e-mail that he had not been provided the church’s official e-mail address list and membership database.
Sybil Davidson, a spokeswoman for the North Georgia Conference, told East Cobb News that “the situation at Mt. Bethel is developing” and said that “the Conference is supportive of Rev. Dr. Steven Usry and appreciative of his faithfulness. Conference leaders are assessing the situation.”
She later provided East Cobb News a copy of a pastoral letter written Friday by Haupert-Johnson and addressed to “North Georgia United Methodists.”
She responded to Mt. Bethel’s actions by saying that “the United Methodist Church does not handle decisions, staff structure, nor compensation in this manner.”
The bishop wrote that “I am deeply concerned about the decisions being made by a small group of leaders at Mt. Bethel. These decisions appear to be in violation of the Book of Discipline [the denomination’s governing and doctrinal document]. I am also troubled that these decisions by a small group of leaders may not reflect the will of the Mt. Bethel congregation.”
She further stated that “I would emphasize that this crisis is unrelated to disaffiliation or theology. What has occurred is simply a rejection by the leadership at Mt. Bethel of the rules and procedures for our church as outlined in the Book of Discipline and amount to an obstruction of the appointment process and polity of The United Methodist Church. The appropriate Conference agencies are evaluating the proper response.”
(Haupert-Johnson’s full pastoral letter can be read by clicking here.)
On Thursday East Cobb News contacted Mt. Bethel leadership for a response to Usry’s letter, but has not heard back as of mid-afternoon Friday.
Part of the dispute concerns doctrinal issues regarding gay clergy and same-sex marriage that has been splitting the United Methodist Church in recent years.
Ray and Mt. Bethel also have protested that the bishop made the reassignment without proper consultation, and filed a grievance against her and a superintendent of the North Georgia Conference.
Ray also surrendered his UMC ministerial credentials and has been retained by Mt. Bethel as a pastor and CEO.
Larger concerns by Mt. Bethel and other conservative UMC churches stem from what they view as the denomination moving away from traditional interpretations of Christian scripture.
The denomination was to have held a conference this year to begin a disaffiliation process for churches wishing to leave, and Mt. Bethel, a conservative congregation, has been considered likely to do that.
But the conference has been postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19 measures, and in a press conference at the church in May Mt. Bethel announced its intent to disaffiliate.
Mt. Bethel is a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a conservative organization created in 2016 that wants to establish what it calls the Global Methodist Church.
While disaffiliation cannot happen for another year, some Mt. Bethel members have urged the leadership in the interim to accept Usry, who resigned as senior pastor at Sugarloaf UMC in Duluth in May.
He’s considered a conservative theologically and among his supporters is Randy Mickler, who was Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor for 28 years.
But a Mt. Bethel member who spoke with East Cobb News said the church is being unfairly portrayed.
He said that while Usry “seems like a nice guy, he’s forcing himself on us.”
The Mt. Bethel member, who called Haupert-Johnson a “heretic,” claims a vast majority of members support church leadership and said there’s nothing draconian going on within the congregation.
“We’re a good-hearted church,” he said, adding that he’d be inclined to find another church home if Usry’s appointment is upheld, and many others would follow.
“They’re playing hardball,” the member said, referring to the North Georgia Conference. “They’re not giving me a choice.”
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Cobb Police said Friday they’ve arrested a Stone Mountain woman and charged her with concealing the death of another person after a toddler’s body was recovered from the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Cobb County on Thursday.
Sgt. Wayne Delk, a Cobb Police spokesman, said in a release that Breyania Cooper, 27, was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center and is being held without bond.
Police said Cobb Fire and rescue personnel conducting a training session along the Chattahoochee River discovered the body of an unidentified child between the ages of 1 and 3 on Thursday morning in the Palisades Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (3444 Cobb Parkway).
Cobb Police and National Park Service Rangers were called to the scene and the Cobb Police Crimes Against Persons Unit got involved, according to police, who said the child’s body was placed in the custody of the Cobb County Medical Examination.
Police said that they believe that the child’s body was in the water “for more than a day or two” and it’s possible the child could have been missing from a location north of Cobb County.
Police said they are asking for the public’s help in identifying the child, and late Friday afternoon released a Georgia Bureau of Investigation artist’s sketch of the child.
Delk said Friday police have not established a connection between the child and Cooper, but that tips from the public led to identifying her as a suspect.
A toddler’s body was found off Cobb Parkway in the Palisades Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Source: Open Street Map.
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Before beginning Independence Day weekend festivities, Cobb Fire and Emergency Services is asking that you practice some common-sense safety tips regarding fireworks.
The agency held a press conference and safety demonstration earlier this week, and DO watch to the end of the nearly 10-minute video below to see what can happen if you don’t take the simplest of precautions.
At the press conference, Cobb Fire officials said there was a related incident that occurred in the county over the weekend. Although they declined to go into too many details, they said the incident included injuries to lower limbs.
The leading fireworks safety statistic, according to the National Fire Professionals Association, is children handling sparklers.
You’re even being advised NOT to use a hand sanitizer before handling fireworks, because that can also produce a dangerous situation.
But the general message is even more adamant—if you’re not a pro at handling fireworks, leave that to the professionals.
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Dodgen Middle School math teacher Fred Veeder embraced by his mother Wende, after being named Cobb’s teacher of the year in 2018. ECN file.
We posted back in April about the multiple hospitalizations of Fred Veeder, a longtime math teacher at Dodgen Middle School who was named the Cobb County School District Teacher of the Year in 2018.
Veeder had been suffering from congestive heart failure and he died on June 23 at the age of 65, according to his obituary, which said he had been in hospice care.
Dodgen teacher Kari Viland, who organized an online fundraiser to help pay for Veeder’s medical expenses, said that “he was with his beloved family and was not in pain. We take comfort in knowing that his legacy will live on in the minds and hearts of so many. Please know that he so enjoyed receiving and reading all of your messages.”
She said there will be a memorial service for Veeder July 28 at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church (4385 Lower Roswell Road) at 2 p.m.
In honor of his memory donations may be made to the Atlanta Humane Society or any other charity.
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The following East Cobb food scores for the week of June 28 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb Board of Education will conduct required public hearings on July 8 regarding the Cobb County Tax Digest for 2021.
The hearings will take place at 11:30 a.m. and 6:05 p.m. in the board room of the CCSD Central Office, 514 Glover St., in Marietta.
Earlier this month the Cobb school board adopted a fiscal year 2022 budget of nearly $1.5 billion that takes effect on Thursday (details here), keeping the property tax millage rate at 18.9 mills.
The board also is obligated to conduct public hearings on the tax digest, which is finalized in July.
The preliminary projection of the 2021 Cobb tax digest, and that was worked into the adopted budget, is for growth of 5.5 percent.
Here’s more about how public commenters can address the board:
The Board requests that speakers maintain appropriate decorum and that comments remain focused and respectful. See Board Policy BCBI. Any person who willfully violates the guidelines found in Board Policy BCBI may forfeit the remainder of their speaking time and may face additional sanctions. Public commentary may be filmed, photographed, recorded and/or edited by the District or other non-District media sources.
Individuals desiring to appear before the Board MUST sign-in and present a valid ID proving residency or property ownership in Cobb County. The sign-in session begins 40 minutes prior to the posted board meeting start times and closes exactly 10 minutes before the meeting starts with NO exceptions.
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A fundraising effort identified family members from L-R as Chris Rountree, Libby Rountree, Erica Rountree and Cate Rountree.
The Lassiter High School community is mourning the death of a student in a car crash over the weekend that also killed her father and seriously injured her mother and sister.
That’s according to a fundraiser started for the Rountree family after a Saturday crash in south Georgia.
Libby Rountree, 17, and her father, Chris Rountree, 53, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on U.S. Highway 441 near Dublin on Saturday afternoon, according to a news report in Macon, which also said that two other passengers in their car were injured.
Shaun Cunningham, the organizer for the fundraiser, said Erica Rountree, Chris’ wife, and another daughter, Cate, were also in the car and “sustained serious injuries that have put them both in critical condition.”
Cunningham said Cate Rountree, a 2019 graduate of Mt. Bethel Christian Academy, has undergone two surgeries. In a family update, Erica Rountree wrote that “I’m not sure how we left behind will manage. That is a big question mark with no answer.”
The Rountrees were returning home from a family vacation in Florida when the crash occurred.
The Macon news report said that a Volkswagen Jetta traveling north on U.S. 441 was hit head-on by a GMC Sierra truck that was traveling in the wrong direction around 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Volkwagen was carrying the Rountree family, and the Georgia State Patrol said that the driver of the car (later identified as Chris Rountree) tried to avoid a crash, but could not.
The report said the truck hit the front driver’s side of the Volkswagen. “Chris did his absolute best to swerve out of the way, but the driver was going so fast there wasn’t time and he took the full impact on the driver’s side and Libby was sitting behind him,” Erica Rountree wrote. “His actions saved Cate’s and my lives without a doubt. He has always been our protector and shield and I don’t know what we’ll do without him.”
On Monday, Lassiter principal Chris Richie sent out a message to the school community with the news, saying that “there are no words that could ease the pain that has devastated our Lassiter family and left us heartbroken.”
Libby Rountree was a rising senior and soccer player at Lassiter, and also played in the East Cobb-based NASA Tophat youth soccer program.
“Libby will be remembered as a generous young lady whose smile, infectious laughter, and artistic abilities brought happiness to many students and teachers at Lassiter,” Richie said. “Libby was well-loved by her peers, coaches, and teachers. Libby was a valuable member of the Lassiter community, and we will always remember her for her kindness and loving spirit.”
An evening of prayer has been arranged for the Rountree family Thursday from 5-7 p.m. in the Upper Room of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church (4385 Lower Roswell Road).
“All are welcome,” Cunningham wrote. “Bring notes, cards, etc. Libby’s soccer team will be there.”
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The East Cobb Cityhood group has added road maintenance and construction as a proposed service, along with zoning and planning, code enforcement and parks.
The group that revived the East Cobb Cityhood effort earlier this year announced Monday it has commissioned a new financial feasibility study to be conducted by Georgia State University.
The group also said it is proposing a fourth service, road and construction maintenance, to be evaluated during the study.
GSU’s Center for State and Local Finance is to conduct the study, which is expected to be completed by Nov. 1, according to information released by the Cityhood group Monday.
The Cityhood group said $10,000 has been paid upfront to initiate the study and it is raising funds for the remaining $10,000 that will be due upon completion.
When asked by East Cobb News about who’s footed the bill thus far, the Cityhood group responded via e-mail that those funds “are being raised by supporters here in the East Cobb Community.” According to a donation page, less than $8,000 of a goal of $25,000 has been pledged.
State representatives Matt Dollar and Sharon Cooper, both East Cobb Republicans, submitted cityhood legislation near the end of the 2021 session, that, if passed by the legislature next year, would call for a November 2022 referendum by voters living in the proposed new municipality.
The proposed services that were mentioned in the bill are planning and zoning, code enforcement and parks and recreation.
Citing a state law regarding ownership and control of county right of way, the Cityhood group explained the addition of road projects by saying that “unless the municipality and the county agree otherwise by joint resolution, new cities forming in Georgia are required to assume these services.”
In Georgia, new cities must provide at least three services, and cityhood legislation requires proponents to conduct a financial feasibility study.
Dollar’s also sponsored a City of East Cobb bill in 2019 that would have included police, fire and community development services.
But the Cityhood group abandoned that effort after a series of town hall meetings in late 2019, after community opposition surfaced.
The initial proposed City of East Cobb would have had a population of more than 100,000.
The new boundaries are much smaller, comprising most of the Johnson Ferry Road corridor west to Old Canton Road, with an estimated population of 55,000.
While some parties in the initial Cityhood group are still on board, the revamped effort features some new leadership that conducted virtual town hall meetings this spring.
The East Cobb group said it will likely hold another virtual information session in August.
Three other Cityhood bills have been filed by Cobb County lawmakers, including new efforts in Vinings and in West Cobb for a proposed City of Lost Mountain.
Another bill for Mableton Cityhood also was filed this year, just as in 2019.
In 2018-19, only a handful of individuals identified themselves as being part of the East Cobb Cityhood effort, and declined to reveal how an initial financial feasibility study conducted by GSU was paid for, at a cost of nearly $30,000.
That study, released in late 2018, declared that the proposed City of East Cobb, with the proposed public safety and community development services, was financially viable.
The initial Cityhood group also spent tens of thousands of dollars on high-powered legislative lobbyists, but didn’t provide the funding sources.
The East Cobb Educational Research Committee, Inc., which was formed in early 2019, is the non-profit that is continuing as the sponsoring group of the Cityhood effort.
According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, Craig Chapin is the CEO, Sarah Haas is the Secretary and Scott Hausman is the Chief Financial Officer.
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Worksource Cobb staff is partnering with companies to host recruitment events:
Renaissance Waverly Hotel and Convention Center onsite recruitment event 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Thursday, July 1 Positions available in front desk, housekeeping, food and beverage and loss prevention Benefits include health, dental, 401k/retirement plan, vision, life insurance, paid vacation, free parking, reduced meals, hotel discounts and short-term disability Register by calling 770-528-4300 or emailing information@cobbworks.org.
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“The community smothered me with love,” said Lachance, identifying herself as the hiker who was assisted off the Gold Branch Trails last August after hurting an ankle.
The social and civic bonds of belonging to one of East Cobb’s biggest faith communities are a major part of the draw for Lachance and her husband Frank, who’ve been Mt. Bethel members for 15 years.
She’s also served on the church staff as a photographer and in communications, and has been involved in other ministries.
What Lachance hadn’t done until recently is delve into the politics of a church with nearly 10,000 members.
But for the last two months, Mt. Bethel leaders, clergy, staff and members have been in an uproar over a decision by Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church to reassign Senior Pastor Jody Ray.
Mt. Bethel leaders also filed a formal complaint against the North Georgia Conference and said Ray would be staying on as CEO and lead minister.
Mt. Bethel is the largest of the 800 congregations in the North Georgia Conference, which has more than 340,000 members.
Mt. Bethel leaders have been vocal about theological disputes that have roiled the United Methodist Church in recent years, and that have prompted the denomination to set up a process to allow conservative congregations to leave.
Ferrell Coppedge, a member of the Mt. Bethel Executive Committee, also serves on the governing council of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a group of conservative UMC churches that formed in 2016. Mt. Bethel was the host for the WCA annual conference in 2018.
In April, in his first sermon since the dispute began, Ray addressed his children by saying that “your Daddy didn’t bow the knee, or kiss the ring, of progressive theology. . . . which is no theology.”
‘Divisive like we have never seen’
Next Friday, July 1, the pastor reassigned to Mt. Bethel, Dr. Steven Usry, formerly of Sugarloaf UMC in Duluth, is set to begin his duties in East Cobb.
With that deadline approaching, Lachance, her husband Frank and Mt. Bethel members Bob and Janet Graff distributed an open letter to several hundred other members, concerned that the church leadership’s refusal to adhere to the UMC Book of Discipline—the denomination’s governing and doctrinal document—could trigger legal action and escalate continuing battles that have been brewing for years.
“I hope we can come together and get it to stop before it destroys our 180-year old community of faith,” they wrote in the first paragraph of their letter.
“If we don’t accept Dr. Usry, the Bishop will have no choice but to invoke the exigency clause and sue to take control of all Mt. Bethel property which, as with all UMC churches, is held in trust by the conference,” according to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by East Cobb News.
“Both sides agree she will likely win.”
The letter, entitled “A Different Perspective,” accuses the Mt. Bethel Executive Committee—made up of seven church leaders—of trying to “drag this fight out, hoping to run out the clock, until the Protocol is passed. . . .
“We don’t know about you, but we haven’t asked for this fight, and we don’t want it,” the letter continued. “We don’t know who is going to pay the substantial legal costs. We do know that we will all pay the costs in terms of discord, uncertainty, and suspicion among people who, until this started, were loving Brothers and Sisters in Christ.”
East Cobb News has contacted the North Georgia Conference and Mt. Bethel leadership seeking comment.
Dr. Jody Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials after refusing a reassignment.
In an interview with East Cobb News, Lachance said she’s met with Usry, who’s considered a theological conservative, but not on the main Mt. Bethel campus on Lower Roswell Road.
She said he’s not been allowed to do that, and had been meeting with Mt. Bethel members at their request at nearby Mt. Zion UMC and neighborhood clubhouses in the East Cobb area.
“Saying you won’t accept a pastor isn’t something you can do,” Lachance said, adding that when Mt. Bethel leaders initially announced that decision, she wasn’t aware of that. “This is the bishop’s appointment to make.”
Lachance signed the open letter by citing Romans 13:1, which says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.”
After attending a special town hall meeting held by church leaders last month, Lachance said her concerns grew.
“There was more to this story than what was being said,” she said, adding that she had kept an open mind about the dispute.
‘Not what Mt. Bethel is about’
Lachance said she admires Ray, calling him inspiring and saying he has been of great pastoral assistance to her family.
“I love Jody, he’s been great for Mt. Bethel,” she said. “But at this point we’re still United Methodists.”
What’s more, the full Mt. Bethel membership hasn’t weighed in on the matter, and a congregational vote would be required to disaffiliate. That can’t happen for at least another year.
“Basically, we’re being torn apart,” Lachance said. “I don’t know why we’re fighting this now.”
If that vote comes, Lachance predicted, “it will be divisive like we have never seen.”
Currently the Book of Discipline doesn’t allow for the ordination of gay clergy or performing same-sex marriage, but that could change should a new Protocol be approved.
Lachance said that “I don’t believe this is something our church should leave the denomination over.”
The Book of Discipline also has a specific paragraph allowing for disaffiliation for reasons concerning human sexuality.
“[Mt. Bethel leaders] will say it’s not just about that issue,” Lachance said. “But that’s how I feel it comes across.”
But she said her concerns are less about theology, but the procedural steps Mt. Bethel is taking now.
She said since her open letter went out this week, she’s heard from Mt. Bethel members who agree with her, but are reluctant to come forward.
“This is not what Mt. Bethel is about,” Lachance said. “We’re fighting ourselves instead of winning souls.”
‘A big test of our faith’
Church leadership created a petition against Ray’s reassignment that nearly 5,000 people have signed, but Lachance said there’s a considerable difference of opinion about how to proceed.
In their open letter, the Graffs and Lachances wrote that while Mt. Bethel leaders “are all good people, doing what they think God called them to do . . . we do not believe they should be taking us down this contentious path without a full, transparent discussion of the costs and benefits of doing so, and without listening to those who disagree.”
They also pleaded with their fellow members to tell the Executive Committee to pursue a different course: “If enough of us speak up, perhaps it will make a difference.”
Lachance said when she was picking up her husband on Friday from an activity at the main Mt. Bethel campus, she saw a fellow member who’s been a good friend, someone with whom she disagrees about how to resolve the congregational dispute.
“We just hugged and said we loved each other and had a very civil conversation,” Lachance said.
That’s the Mt. Bethel fellowship that she says has long nourished her as an evangelical Christian.
She thinks a lot of Mt. Bethel’s divisions “would go away” if Ray were to tell church members to embrace the new pastor, but she doubts that will happen.
“We are not winning a soul for Christ right now, and that’s what we’re called to do,” she said.
However, Lachance also is optimistic that Mt. Bethel will not stay this way.
“This is a big test our faith, but I do believe that we will get past this,” she said.
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After COVID-19 measures cancelled July 4 holiday events in many communities in 2020, most of those places in Cobb and metro Atlanta have scheduled festivities this year in line with years past.
The City of Marietta will hold its Let Freedom Ring Parade and other Independence Day events next Saturday, July 3, on the Marietta Square.
Here’s the schedule:
10 a.m.: Let Freedom Ring Parade
10 a.m.-9 p.m.: Festival with arts and crafts, Kid’s Zone, food, free concerts
Noon: Concert featuring Scott Thompson
2 p.m.: Bell ringing ceremony
2:30 p.m.: Concert featuring Atlanta Concert Band
7 p.m.: Concert featuring Scott Thompson
8-9:30 p.m.: Concert featuring Bogey and the Viceroy
Dark: Fireworks show
Here’s what the city is advising on getting around and about:
“Roads on the parade route will be closed 40 minutes before and during the parade. Roads surrounding the Marietta Square will be closed all day. Parking will be challenging, so please consider using a ride sharing service to drop you off and pick you up. The intersection of Lawrence Street and Waddell Street is the designated convenient drop off/pick up location.”
For more information, visit the City of Marietta website or call the Marietta Parks and Recreation Department at 770-794-5601.
Cobb Landmarks is having a viewing party for the fireworks at its William Root Museum in downtown Marietta (80 N. Marietta Parkway), with tables priced from $250 (for 4 people) to $1,000 (for 8 people and a parking spot).
The proceeds benefit the non-profit’s historic preservation efforts.
Attendees can bring their own table decor, beverages, and food (or order from Carriage House Catering) and Cobb Landmarks will provide the table and chairs. A prize will be awarded to the table with the best decorations. Guests will have access to the restroom in the Root House Visitor Center during the event.
For information and to reserve a table, click here.
Travel Cobb has rounded up other July 4 weekend events in the county, including the Atlanta Braves celebration coinciding with a homestand against the Miami Marlins.
The City of Roswell is having its annual fireworks extravaganza on Sunday, July 4, with festivities starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Roswell Area Park (10495 Woodstock Road). There will be live music, entertainment, and food trucks. Attendees can bring chairs and blankets one of various viewing areas throughout the park. Fireworks will start at sunset.
For more information, including a map of the events, click here.
In Sandy Springs, the Stars & Stripes Fireworks Celebration returns, but in a first-time location: The City Springs municipal facility (1 Galambos Way). Music begins at 7:30 p.m., and the fireworks start up at 9:30 p.m.
For more information, including an event map and parking details, click here.
Did we miss anything? Do you know of a public July 4 event to share with the community? Let us know and we’ll add it here. E-mail: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
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