East Cobb Weekend Events: Holiday Décor Market; Eastminster Church Festival; Halloween Hikes and more

Good Mews 30th birthday, East Cobb weekend events, Good Mews Holiday Decor Market

Today’s the first day of fall, and it’s starting to feel a little bit like it. Many East Cobb organizations have already begun autumn- and holiday-themed events, and they’re continuing this weekend.

The highlights from our calendar listings for Friday-Sunday:

The Good Mews Holiday Decor Market gets under way Friday and continues every weekend through early December, returning to the Sandy Plains Exchange Shopping Center (1860 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 202). They’re open this Friday and the last Friday of the sale, on Dec. 7, from 12-5; otherwise the hours are Saturdays 10-5 and Sundays 12-5. The kitties like the one above who are the beneficiaries of the sale won’t be onsite, but you can get an early start on gently used goods for holiday shopping. Good Mews also is accepting your donations starting Friday and through Nov. 25;

Church fall festivals are starting to gear up too, and coming up is the Eastminster Presbyterian Church Fall Festival from 12-8 Friday and from 10-4 Saturday at the church (3125 Sewell Mill Road). Games, crafts, kids activities and BBQ are on tap, and the proceeds benefit several local charities, including MUST Ministries;

If you want to get out and stretch your legs while soaking up the beautiful weather and tap into the holidays, Halloween Hikes at the Chattahoochee Nature Center (9135 Willeo Road, Roswell) is an ideal event for the whole family. They’re guided half-mile walks along lighted trails and with crafts and other Halloween decorations. The times Friday and Saturday are from 7-9:45 p.m., and the cost is $12 a person;

The high school football season is drawing to a close, with several East Cobb teams still vying for playoff position. Friday’s games kick off at 7:30 p.m, and they include Cass at Kell, Woodstock at Lassiter, Sequoyah at Sprayberry, Roswell at Walton, Campbell at Wheeler and Pope at Cambridge.

By the way, that Walton-Roswell game is going to be shown live from Raider Valley on Georgia Public Television, as the No. 2 Raiders look to stay unbeaten on the season and in region play.

If high school band music is your thing, you’ve got all day Saturday to take in the 35th Southern Invitational Music Festival, which goes from 10-10 at Sprayberry High School (2525 Sandy Plains Road). Admission is $10 for adults; $5 for students with an ID and free for kids 6 and under.

Check our full calendar listings for more things to do in East Cobb this weekend, and beyond.

Did we miss anything? Do you have a calendar item you’d like to share with the community? Send it to us, and we’ll spread the word! E-mail: calendar@eastcobbnews.com, and you can include a photo or flyer if you like.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, make it a great one! Enjoy!

 

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Cobb opioids crisis: Most common overdose victim is white male in his 50s

Cobb opioids crisis
Cobb Sheriff’s Office Lt. Col. Robert Quigley displays narcotics and paraphernalia with Commissioner Bob Ott. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

The Cobb opioids crisis has been the subject of nationwide media attention as the county grapples with having the highest rate of overdose deaths in the state.

“There are a lot of people in District 2, especially in East Cobb, who don’t believe it,” said Commissioner Bob Ott, who devoted most of his town hall meeting on Monday to the subject.

Ott, who recently took part in a special White House conference on opioids, offered up some sobering numbers and speakers who attested to how Cobb is trying to address a situation that not only has spiraled rapidly, but suffers from common misconceptions.

One of them is identying a typical overdose victim. While some think it may be a young person, Dr. Christopher Gulledge, the Cobb County Medical Examiner, told told mostly middle-age and senior citizens at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center that the opioids plague is striking people from all walks of life and all age groups across the county.

Still, of the 163 drug overdose deaths in Cobb last year, he said 67 percent were men, and 89 percent were white (see page 30 of the 2017 CCME’s annual report).

Some in the audience gasped when Gulledge noted that 47 overdose victims, or a little more than a quarter, were white males ages 50-59. Furthermore, 26 were in the 40-49 age group, and 32 more between 30-39. Another 18 deaths were in the 18-29 range.

Dr. Christian Gulledge, Cobb County Medical Examiner
Dr. Christopher Gulledge, the Cobb County Medical Examiner, said the rise in opioid overdose deaths in the county represents “exponential growth.”

“It ain’t the teenagers,” said Gulledge, who was hired by Cobb in 2015 after working for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “It’s the parents.”

Topping the list were 62 deaths due to overdoses from fentanyl and other “designer” opioids. There were 37 deaths each from heroin and cocaine overdoses, 34 from methamphetamine, 33 from Alprazolam (trade name Xanax) and 30 from Oxycodone.

The opioid-related deaths in Cobb last year came to 128, and Gulledge said that 43 percent of those 163 deaths involved the use of heroin, fentanyl or both.

The opioid numbers have risen rapidly since the crisis began stoking concern in Georgia in 2015, and Gulledge said Cobb could be on pace to surpass last year’s total.

Gulledge said one reason for the spike in opioids deaths is that addicts of more familiar drugs may not be aware how much more potent they can become when blended with the likes of fentanyl.

“Long-term users have known their high,” he explained. “But they may no longer know their dose. They may or may not know if they’re lethal.”

Earlier this year, the GBI announced that Cobb led all counties in the state for the second year in a row in terms of the numbers of opioids cases it has investigated. A total of 79 cases were reported out of the county through May and 11 different types of fentanyl were tested at the state crime lab.

Cobb Sheriff's Office Drugs Board

The opioids crisis originally grew out of the addictive use of commonly-prescribed painkillers. It has morphed far beyond that, spawning an illicit industry in which very potent and cheaply produced substances are cut into heroin, cocaine and other narcotics.

The high for addicts is higher, and so is the profit margin for manufacturers, Gulledge noted.

Cobb has been expanding the Medical Examiner’s Office with new positions and received a federal grant of nearly $900,000 to hire a judicial program manager and an investigator in the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

The county this summer also joined a lawsuit seeking to recover damages from pharmaceutical manufacturers, similar to what was done by many states years ago against tobacco companies.

Ott said whatever money the county may receive would be used for recovery and treatment expenses.

There also will be a national medical drug disposal day next Saturday, Oct. 27, sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Cobb residents can drop off unused prescriptions at the following locations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.:

  • Cobb Police Precinct 1 (2380 Cobb Parkway North);
  • Smyrna Police Department (2646 Atlanta Road);
  • Kennesaw Police Department (2782 Cobb Parkway North).

For more information, including locations for treatment, visit the Opioid Awareness in Cobb County resource page.

 

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The Freakin’ Incan restaurant moving to Sandy Plains Village

The original location of The Freakin’ Incan restaurant is on the move.The Freakin' Incan restaurant

The Peruvian dining spot isn’t going too far away, from its current location at 4905 Alabama Road in Roswell, along the Fulton-Cobb border and near the convergence of Sandy Plains Road and Mabry Road.

It’s opening up in larger space and with a full bar next to the Movie Tavern (4651 Woodstock Road), in the Sandy Plains Village shopping center. That’s only a block or so away.

The Freakin’ Incan made the announcement today, and said the last day of service at its current venue will be next Wednesday, Oct. 24. The restaurant will reopen in the new space in November but a specific date wasn’t given.

The Freakin’ Incan started out as a food truck and catering venture, with owner Mikiel Arnold, a native of Peru, opening a restaurant in Roswell in 2014. He expanded to Tucker last year.

Related stories

 

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Cobb ACT results for 2018 led by Walton, Pope and Lassiter

Cobb ACT results

Walton, Pope and Lassiter High School students paced the Cobb ACT results for 2018, as the Cobb County School District surpassed the Georgia and national averages for the 13th consecutive year.

The district released the scores Wednesday, and they’re results from students in the Class of 2018. Across the CCSD, students averaged a composite score of 22.8 out of a maximum possible 36 points.

That’s 1.4 points higher than the state average of 21.4 and nearly two points above the national average of 20.4.

Walton’s composite score of 26.7 led all of Cobb schools, while Pope was second at 25.7. Lassiter was third, at 24.8.

Wheeler’s composite score for last year’s seniors was 23.4, followed by Sprayberry at 21.0 and Kell at 20.6.

“Seeing our students outperform their peers in the state and across the nation for more than a decade is a testament to our team’s focus on helping each and every student succeed,” Cobb schools superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in a statement.

Cobb had the second-best composite ACT score in the metro Atlanta area, trailing only Fulton County at 23.7.

Cobb schools said 51 percent of the Class of 2018 took the ACT, or a little more than 4,000 students. Ten students received perfect scores of 36, including seven from East Cobb schools: three from Lassiter and two each from Wheeler and Walton.

The ACT is a standardized test that tests high school students’ aptitude in a broad range of subjects: English, math, reading and science. It’s considered one of the major tests, along with the SAT, for college-bound students.

More than 56,000 Georgia students took the ACT in 2018, and nearly 2 million nationwide.

Walton had 441 students take the ACT this year, more than any Cobb school by far.

The CCSD chart below breaks down how each Cobb school performed in each of those categories.

Cobb ACT results, 2018 Cobb ACT scores

 

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High Meadows School marches in Roswell Youth Day Parade

High Meadows School, Roswell Youth Day Parade

Thanks to the High Meadows School for the photos from the 68th Roswell Youth Day Parade on Saturday, in which students, staff and parents took part.

High Meadows School, Roswell Youth Day Parade

High Meadows School, Roswell Youth Day Parade

High Meadows School, Roswell Youth Day Parade

High Meadows School, Roswell Youth Day Parade

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Cobb Animal Services fundraiser nets $1,680 for Homeless Pet Clubs

Cobb Animal Services fundraiser
Pictured from L-R: Heather Abernathy, Jacob Arnold, Officer Nathalie Jegg, Janice Overbeck, Captain Craig Owens, Daniel Blount, Jessica Darrough (Photo submitted by Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team)

Press release:

Recently, Cobb Animal Services announced an exciting partnership with the Homeless Pet Clubs of America and the Cobb County Police Department. The partnership will help further awareness for dogs and cats who are homeless, but also teaches children empathy which leads to a reduction of bullying in schools.

Together, they are aiming to implement the clubs in all Cobb County schools and centers such as Cobb Senior Services and local libraries. To kick off the partnership, a pet adoption and fundraising launch party took place on Thursday, September 20th at Red Sky Tapas & Bar at 1255 Johnson Ferry Road in Marietta. Cobb County Commissioners, County Manager, Rob Hosack, and local citizens came together to enjoy live music and support this benefit.

Local businesses such as the Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team, Chick-fil-A East Lake, Glory Haus, Aroma Ridge Coffee, and 180 Your Life generously contributed items for a silent auction and Red Sky donated a percentage of sales.

The evening raised a total of $1,680 for Animal Society of Cobb, Inc. which is the 501(c)(3) arm for Cobb County Animal Services. For more information on how you can help homeless pets, visit www.homelesspetclubs.org.

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Cobb Fire Department warns of solicitation scam

The Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services is telling the public that there are people calling to solicit donations for a group called Firefighters Support Funds, but that this is a fraudulent activity.Cobb Fire Department fireworks safety reminder

The warning indicated that the group isn’t affiliated with any department or agency in Georgia, and that its purpose is “to scam funds.”

This has been reported to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, and if they come calling, you’re asked not to give them any information.

 

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Cobb DOT District 2 work crew busy mowing, cleaning up roads

Cobb DOT District 2 road crew
Bill Shelton, Cobb DOT road maintenance director, and members of the newly hired District 2 work crew. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

One of the additions to the county budget with this year’s tax increase was the hiring of dedicated road employees in each of the four commissioners districts. The Cobb DOT District 2 work crew has been fully staffed and already at work performing mowing and clean-up duties.

They were introduced by commissioner Bob Ott Monday at his town hall meeting at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center. They are: Skip Vaccaro, equipment operator; John Allen, crew worker; Andrew Eison, crew leader; Shamond Williams, crew worker; and Todriquez Huey, equipment operator.

They’ve already completed some big tasks, including collecting 32 bags of litter on Atlanta Road last week (Cobb DOT photo below).

When Ott showed that photo to the audience, there was a burst of applause. He and other commissioners commented during the summer budget hearings that citizens were complaining frequently about unmowed medians and rights-of-way.

Since the recession, the county has hired a contractor to do that work. But that was done only for six months, from the spring to the fall. The $1.4 million the county is spending for work crews in the FY 2019 budget is a bit more than the $1.1 million annually it paid the contractor, but now the work will be performed year-round.

Bill Shelton, the Cobb DOT road maintenance director, told the audience that Ott “has been a champion” of making a change to hire in-house crews, who started working two weeks ago with the new budget year kicking in.

“We can do it a lot better, and these guys are already proving it to you,” Shelton said, referring to the District 2 crew.

Said Ott: “I am very confident the decision to hire crews will result in saving tax dollars and most of all improve the aesthetics of all county right of ways.”

Cobb DOT District 2 work crew

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Cobb CASA volunteers honored by juvenile judges for work with abused and neglected children

Cobb CASA volunteers honored
Cobb Juvenile Court Judges at Volunteer Dinner honoring CASA Volunteers left to right: Judge Amber Patterson, Judge Wayne Grannis, Judge-Elect Kareem West (Photos courtesy Cobb Juvenile Court)

Thanks to Amanda Marshall, director of the Cobb County law library, for submitting the photos and information about Cobb CASA volunteers being honored by juvenile court judges last week. CASA volunteers are the court’s special-appointed special advocates, and the organization says its looking for more people like them to help out kids who’ve been abused and neglected:

Cobb Juvenile Court Judge Amber Patterson spoke to a group of volunteers at a dinner honoring Cobb County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) on Oct. 11 at 7pm.

Cobb Juvenile Court JudgeWayne Grannis, and Judge-Elect Kareem West, also attended the event held to show appreciation to CASA Volunteers for their time and dedication to youth in our community.

The event, held at The Conservatory in downtown Acworth, was put together by the CASA Advisory Council. The council is comprised of volunteer members from the community who gain support for the Cobb CASA program by promoting the program in the community, and raising funds. A CASA is a trained volunteer, appointed by a judge, who watches over and advocates for abused and neglected children. CASA volunteers make sure children don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system, and remain on the case until the child is placed in a permanent home.

Judge Patterson, who served as a CASA in law school, recalled her first appointment as a CASA during her speech to volunteers. She related with many of the struggles and triumphs CASA volunteers face during their service. “I remember my very first case, his name was Billy, and he was five,” stated Patterson. “He didn’t choose this life for himself, these were the cards he was dealt.”

After years spent advocating for Billy and trying to find him a permanent home, Billy was placed back into the child welfare system. Patterson recalled a conversation she had with Billy’s previous foster mother. “He doesn’t know anyone, all of these people are strangers to him, he has no one,” said Patterson.

Then the foster mother responded with a powerful message that stayed with her, “He has YOU.” Patterson told volunteers it was at that point her mission as a CASA became clear. “Children like Billy, need a YOU,” Patterson claimed. She continued, “They need someone they can count on, even when the outcome you hope for doesn’t always come to fruition.”

According to the Georgia Association for CASA, there are currently 21,000 children in foster care, and of those, 9,700 children are waiting for a CASA to help them find a safe and loving permanent home. GA CASA states a child who is appointed a CASA is half as likely to languish in the foster care and child welfare system, and that much more likely to find a safe permanent home.

Maricruz Garcia, Cobb CASA Program Coordinator, says there are approximately 100 children in Cobb waiting for a CASA to be assigned to their case. Because there are not enough CASA volunteers to represent all of the children in care, judges typically assign CASA volunteers to their most difficult cases.

“Our program needs more volunteers to serve as the court’s eyes and ears for these children, and to be the child’s voice in the courtroom,” stated Garcia. Garcia urges individuals interested in advocating for abused/neglected children in our community to contact Cobb CASA at casa@cobbcounty.org or by phone at 770-528-2285.

The Juvenile Court of Cobb County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program provides thoroughly screened, expertly trained, and fully supervised community-based, citizen volunteers to advocate for the best interests of children involved in juvenile court dependency proceedings.

Cobb County Court Appointed Special Advocates speak up for the needs and basic human rights of child victims of abuse and neglect, one child at a time. Cobb County CASA is a program of the Juvenile Court of Cobb County, affiliated with Georgia CASA, Inc., and a member of the National CASA Association, Inc.

Cobb CASA volunteers honored

 

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Commissioners approve funding for new Cobb parks master plans

Cobb parks master plans, Ebenezer Road

After a delay, Cobb commissioners last week voted to approve spending more than $89,000 for Cobb parks master plans for newly acquired green space.

That includes more than 18 acres of land on Ebenezer Road near Canton Road that’s slated to become a passive park (above), and that was open to the public this summer at a special preview event.

BIOME Projects, a Decatur landscape architecture firm, will receive around $14,300 to develop a master plan for the Ebenezer Road park, with funding for the construction of the park to come at a later time.

The land, formerly owned by the Strother family, features a lake that may allow for recreational fishing activities.

Commissioners have spent more than $27 million over the last year to purchase nearly 500 acres across the county with funds allocated in the 2008 parks bond referendum.

The only other land bought in East Cobb was part of the Tritt property next to East Cobb Park, which is being left as green space for now and so there is no master plan in the works.

The commissioners vote was 4-1, with Bob Ott opposed. He represents part of East Cobb and Smyrna-Vinings and said there are two parks in his District 2 now that aren’t open because there’s not funding for their maintenance.

“How are we going to pay for the parks we have as we build new parks?” he asked.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb pointed to Mabry Park, that’s being built on Wesley Chapel Road in what used to be her district (and is now in Ott’s).

It’s a decade since the county bought the land, part of the former Mabry family farm, and it sat undeveloped during the recession. A master plan was developed in 2011, and construction was finally approved last fall.

“We have to have a plan and guidance,” she said. “I support this.”

Also last week, commissioners approved a measure to spend $19,590 to replace a metal roof on the historic Hyde Farm house on East Cobb.

Cobb parks director Jimmy Gisi said the roof has been leaking and the replacement look to match other structures on the property, located off Lower Roswell Road.

The funding comes from the 2011 Cobb parks SPLOST account.

 

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East Cobb Biz Notes: Marietta Coffee Company has grand opening

Marietta Coffee Company

A couple weeks back at the East Cobb Business Association Expo we met Robert Love, who’s the proprietor of a new locally-brewed shop called the Marietta Coffee Company, in the space that was Darwin’s Burgers and Blues on Roswell Road.

Robert has operated the Thrive Wellness Center, a chiropractic clinic, a few doors down, and he told us he’s always wanted to have a coffee shop. His landlord at the clinic also scooped up the old Darwin’s property and so he says he decided to take the plunge.

Marietta Coffee opened a few weeks ago, and over the weekend had a grand opening celebration over the weekend, starting on Friday.

You can find updates on the shop’s Facebook page. There will be coffee and bakery specials, along with live music and other events. Until then, the hours are 10-6, and after the grand opening, they’ll be open from 7 a.m. until midnight seven days a week.

Robert told me that the emphasis at the shop is local, from the locally roasted gourmet coffee to the entertainment to the neighborhood vibe he’s aiming to create.

On Wednesday, the shop will hold the latest Cobb Coffee With a Cop session from 6-8 p.m. Citizens can discuss their crime and public safety concerns with officers from Precinct 4 in an informal setting.

Marietta Coffee Company is located at 1598 Roswell Road. Phone: 678-765-8885.

ECBA Gala Event

The East Cobb Business Association is postponing its usual monthly luncheon on the third Tuesday to this coming Tuesday, Oct. 23, for its annual awards gala. The guest speaker is Cobb County Manager Rob Hosack, and the luncheon also will serve as a 25th anniversary tribute to EAST COBBER magazine.

The event is from 11-1 at Olde Towne Athletic Club (4950 Olde Towne Parkway), and tickets are $20-$30. Advance registration must be completed by 5 p.m. Monday.

Other business group news

  • The Cobb Chamber of Commerce recently issued its annual public safety awards at its monthly luncheon, and Marietta Police Officer Jayson Duncan was named public safety employee of the year. In March, he provided medical assistance to a stabbing victim after responding to calls about a fight on Powers Ferry Road. Duncan applied a hemostatic gauze to the wound and stayed with the victim until EMS crews arrived.

Do you have business news to share? We’ll post your openings and non-sales events here, including charitable activities. E-mail us at editor@eastcobbnews.com.

If you want to promote your business (including sales and specials other than grand openings), email us at advertising@eastcobbnews.com and we’ll be glad to send you a media kit.

 

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Ott town hall meeting meeting is Monday at Sewell Mill Library

Cobb commissioner Bob Ott will hold a town hall meeting Monday from 7-9 p.m. at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road).Bob Ott, East Cobb Restaurant Row, Ott town hall meeting

He represents District 2, which includes much of East Cobb and some of the Smyrna-Vinings-Cumberland area.

It’s the first town hall for Ott since commissioners voted in July to raise property taxes to fund the fiscal year 2019 budget of $454 million.

Ott voted against that budget, saying not enough budget cuts were proposed.

A couple of weeks later, he sent out extended comments to constituents about the budget, saying District 2 would benefit only by getting a new crew to maintain roads.

First elected in 2008, Ott is a Republican in his third term, and is the longest-serving member of the five-person board of commissioners.

More government coverage

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Cobb advance voting locations include two additions in East Cobb

East Cobb Senior Center

Advance voting starts on Monday in Cobb County, with the main Cobb Elections office (736 Whitlock Ave.) and Jim Miller Park Event Center (2245 Callaway Road) open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, through Nov. 2.

You can also vote there on Saturday, Oct. 20, and Saturday, Oct. 27, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The week before the Nov. 6 general election, early voting expands to several venues in the county, including three in East Cobb.

In addition to the previously announced location at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road), advance voting also will take place at Noonday Baptist Church (4120 Canton Road) and the East Cobb Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road, pictured above).

The dates are Oct. 29-Nov. 2, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. There’s no advance voting on Saturday, Nov. 3, or Monday, Nov. 6.

Cobb Elections is looking for poll workers for the Nov. 6 general election. Visit the website for more information.

 

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GBI identifies man killed in officer-involved shooting at Walton on the Chattahoochee apartments

Walton on the Chattahoochee apartments

Early this morning there was an officer-involved shooting at the Walton on the Chattahoochee apartments that resulted in the death of a man Cobb Police say was shooting in the parking lot.

The incident, which took place around 6 a.m., kept Akers Mill Road closed between Cumberland Boulevard and Powers Ferry Road until around 1:30 this afternoon, according to Cobb DOT.

When there’s an officer-involved shooting, the case is turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Late this afternoon the GBI said the man who was killed was Matthew Chambers, age 34, address unspecified.

Police said a man began shooting in the parking lot and they were called to the scene by residents of the apartment complex, which is located at 6640 Akers Mill Road, near the intersection of Powers Ferry.

Police said the man was shooting at vehicles, and that officers found him at a bus stop on Akers Mill, and he pointed his gun at them. Police returned fire, according to the GBI, and the man later identified as Chambers was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital. Chambers was pronounced dead there, according to the GBI.

The GBI said no one else, including police, was injured during the incident, which remains under investigation.

After that is complete, the GBI report is forwarded to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office for a review.

 

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Dodgen teacher Fred Veeder honored by Cobb Chamber of Commerce

Dodgen teacher Fred Veeder

On Thursday it was the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s turn to pay tribute to Dodgen teacher Fred Veeder, the Cobb County School District’s 2018 teacher of the year.

We posted earlier about how he got the news in a big surprise right before the school year about being the district’s middle school teacher of the year, and then the overall recipient.

With that latter designation comes a special “Give Our Students A Hand” event sponsored by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce on the Marietta Square, along with honorees from Marietta City Schools. Due to the rainy weather, they weren’t able to make the presentation outdoors, as is the custom, but repaired indoors instead to the Strand Theatre.

Here’s more about Veeder from Nan Kiel of CCSD, who also passed along the photo above, as he’s flanked by Cobb Chamber CEO Sharon Mason and Cobb schools superintendent Chris Ragsdale.

Veeder also was joined by his principal, Loralee Hill, and previous Dodgen associates also gave testimonials to his dedication as a 7th grade math teacher. Explained Veeder:

“On the first day of school, I always promise my kids two things: I promise them that I will never yell at them and I promise them to do my best every day, and, ‘I’m expecting your best every day.’” 

There’s another related event coming up on Oct. 23, a Cobb Teacher of the Year pep rally at Roswell Street Baptist Church. Every school’s teacher of the year will be honored, and Veeder and other finalists will get to pick a car from the Ed Voyles dealerships that they’ll get to drive free for a year.

 

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Red Sky Tapas and Bar to offer weekend discount to hurricane evacuees

Red Sky Tapas and Bar

Press release:

Red Sky Tapas & Bar is extending their southern hospitality to Hurricane Michael evacuees with a special discount. The restaurant will offer 15% off food entrees beginning Friday, October 12 through Sunday, October 14. Customers must present a valid ID from an evacuated area.

The restaurant is located at 1255 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 16, in the Market Plaza Shopping Center.

More East Cobb restaurant news

 

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Another Wheeler Magnet School student scores composite 36 on ACT

Ava Reau Autera, Wheeler magnet student

Thanks to Maureen Klinkmueller of the Wheeler Magnet School for the info and photo:

Ava Reau Autera, a junior at The Center for Advanced Studies at Wheeler High School in Cobb County, scored a 36 Composite score on the ACT. In 2017, 2.03 million high school students took the ACT, and only .136% earned a composite score of 36.

Autera joins fellow magnet student Alessa Culinan, whom we posted about back in August.

More school news

 

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Zeal Kitchen and Bar owner sells restaurant; plans venture in Roswell

Zeal Kitchen and Bar closing

Update: We’ll have more later, but a Los Bravos Mexican restaurant will be replacing Zeal.

Lots of restaurant news in East Cobb this week, some good, as we noted Tuesday about the opening of Jason’s Deli, and some not: A little less than five years after opening to some fanfare on Johnson Ferry Road, Zeal Kitchen and Bar will give way to a new restaurant early next year.

East Cobb News contacted owner Scott Sawant, who said “I got an offer earlier this week and I took the offer and sold to another company, which will open another different restaurant [in] Jan. 2019.”

Sawant did not identify the buyer. He said that a failing health inspection earlier this year was a factor in his decision.

Zeal passed a follow-up inspection, but he said in an interview with East Cobb News at the time that overcoming that kind of bad publicity is tougher than a bad review.

“It feels like you failed somebody in a relationship,” Sawant said.

This week, he told us that “we thought we could continue till at least December 31st or even longer.

“After the unfortunate health score in April we tried to recover and recuperate but it was tough.”

He said he is planning other ventures, starting early next year in Roswell, but did not elaborate.

“Now we are emptying the space,” Sawant said of Zeal, which was located in the former Empress of China II space in the Market Plaza Shopping Center, adjacent to Merchant’s Walk.

When we went by, we saw a closed sign and brown paper covering the inside front doors.

Sawant is a Wheeler High School graduate who emphasized his local roots and understanding of the East Cobb dining scene as it was drawing notice from Atlanta food critics.

He opened Zeal in October 2013, two years after Doug Turbush opened Seed at Merchant’s Walk, setting off an upscale dining wave in East Cobb that has had some notable casualties in recent months.

In February, the owners of Muss and Turner’s pulled the plug on their East Cobb restaurant at Woodlawn Square further down Johnson Ferry Road.

Zeal was Sawant’s first restaurant as an owner, after he worked at nearby LaMadeleine and with that chain as a corporate trainer.

The East Cobb restaurant scene also has become more competitive in recent months with the opening nearby of Taqueria Tsunami, Black Swan Tavern, La Novia Taqueria and Stockyard Burgers and Bones.

 

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Cobb weather and traffic post-Michael: Several downed trees, some flooding

Wednesday night’s heavy rains, the product of Hurricane Michael, produced around three inches across the county, according to an update sent out by Cobb government late this morning.Cobb County logo, Cobb 2017 elections

Cobb DOT crews were dealing with around a dozen downed trees, including one on Tondee Court in Northeast Cobb, and some flooding on roads that has been cleaned up.

There was a brief tornado warning in Cobb early Wednesday evening, mostly for the southern part of the county. Some estimates had around six inches of rain in the Powder Springs area.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for Powder Springs Creek, which was at 11 feet, what’s considered flood stage.

Cobb schools were in session as usual Thursday, after operations and transportation crews made a check of facilities and roads starting around 3 a.m. Schools were closing around the lunch hour and for the rest of the day for a previously scheduled early release for staff development.

Cobb DOT is urging motorists that if they approach a traffic signal that is not working, to treat the intersection as a four-way stop.

Georgia Power is saying that if you see a downed or low-hanging electric wire, don’t touch it. That includes cable TV lines. Instead call 1-888-891-0938 or dial 911 to report downed power lines.

Georgia Power is reporting only a small number of outages in metro Atlanta; most are in areas of south and central Georgia hit hard by hurricane-force winds as Michael moved up from the Florida Panhandle.

Cobb EMC was reporting only a small number of outages this morning.

A good bit of central and south Georgia was under a tropical storm warning and flash flood watch this morning as clean-up has gotten underway. Those warnings have been cancelled.

President Trump this morning declared a state of emergency for Georgia, meaning impacted areas could receive federal aid for clean-up. Gov. Deal declared a state of emergency for 108 counties before the storm hit.

The National Weather Service issued this information this morning:

Do not go sightseeing within impacted communities. Sightseers interfere with the emergency work of first responders.

When clearing out fallen trees, be careful with chainsaws and axes. Always wear protective gear and keep others at a safe distance. Leaning trees and those which have fallen on roofs or power lines can be especially dangerous. If you are not in good health or unsure about what you are doing, have someone with tree cutting experience do the job. Never cut trees without a partner.

The sun came out late this morning in Cobb, and some fall-like temperatures are expected for the rest of the week, with highs in the 70s.

Tonight’s lows could dip into the 40s.

 

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Cobb school board candidates discuss academics, safety and more at forum

Cobb school board candidates, Scott Sweeney, Charisse Davis

What was billed as a meet-and-greet turned into something of a debate. The Cobb school board candidates vying for the Post 6 seat met at Mt. Bethel Elementary School Tuesday night, and offered differing views on how they would tackle challenging issues facing the Cobb County School District.

Organized by the Mt. Bethel PTA, the forum, which took place in the school’s media center, drew a couple dozen citizens. They asked some occasionally pointed questions after the candidates made their opening statements.

Scott Sweeney, a two-term Republican incumbent, said he wants to continue the progress he said the district has made in the eight years he’s served.

His challenger, Democrat Charisse Davis, is a first-time candidate, mom, former teacher and librarian who said voices like hers are needed on the seven-member Cobb school board.

Davis, a proponent of more Pre-K offerings in Cobb schools, said she was prompted to run because she’s heard from parents that the school district, over the last eight years, “is becoming less competitive for some people.”Charisse Davis

She said after a school board meeting she talked to one mother who withdrew her child’s enrollment from the district out of frustration. Davis also thinks the board and district could be more transparent.

“They feel like no one is listening to them,” said Davis, whose children attend Teasley Elementary School and Campbell Middle School. She works at the Wolf Creek Branch of the Atlanta-Fulton Library System.

Post 6 includes mostly the Walton and Wheeler clusters. Sweeney, whose sons now attend Walton and Dickerson Middle School, took issue with Davis’ contention, and said Cobb is considered one of the best public school districts in the state and the country.

Sweeney also said transparency isn’t an issue: each Cobb school board meeting is televised and available on a live stream, and discussions conducted in executive session are voted in public meetings.

He also touted the tens of millions of dollars in capital improvements the district has invested during his time in office, including rebuilds of Walton, Wheeler, East Cobb Middle School and Brumby Elementary School, and future improvements scheduled at other Post 6 schools.

Davis noted that the Cobb school board could become all-male in January, since Susan Thayer, the only female currently serving, is not running for re-election. In another East Cobb race, Post 4 incumbent David Chastain is being opposed by Cynthia Parr.

“Representation matters,” Davis said.

“Well, I’m a dad,” said Sweeney, a financial executive with InPrime Legal Services of East Cobb. “The fact that I’m a male doesn’t disqualify me.”

(The Fulton County Board of Education, which also has seven members, is all-female.)

Candidate websites:

The candidates had different views on the school walkouts that took place at several Cobb schools earlier this year, including at some East Cobb high schools, in response to school shootings.

Scott Sweeney Davis said the Cobb school district, which didn’t endorse the walkouts and threatened punitive action for unexcused absences, missed a “teaching moment” that took place in other metro school systems.

Students who walked out were typically given a one-day in-school suspension, and later some of them lashed out during the public comment session at a school board meeting.

” ‘Please help us to be safe,’ that’s all they were saying,” Davis said in support of the suspended students.

Sweeney said while he supported students’ free expression rights, sometimes those actions have consequences, and that the school district shouldn’t get involved in political debates.

“The school district isn’t the place for that,” he said.

Both candidates said they oppose arming teachers. Sweeney said Cobb has one of the best-staffed and trained school police forces in the state, with armed officers at every high school and middle school and some elementary schools.

Davis said she thought the district could do better than to be mostly reactive: “What are we doing to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again?”

As for making academic success a more variable thing, Davis said she wants Cobb to create a career and college academy similar to what’s been done in other metro school districts. The pressures some students feel, even at good schools, to live up mainly to test scores can be overwhelming, and make them feel left out.

While schools in East Cobb are among the best in the state, she asked if “we are meeting the needs of all our students?” Test scores alone, she said, is “not what makes a great school. A family feeling is better than any rating.”

Sweeney said he supports the reduction of what he called “the burden of standardized testing.”

Cobb is among those districts in Georgia that has applied to the state for create alternatives to some currently required tests, including the Milestones, which are released during the summer.

Here’s more on the Cobb Metrics program, which was announced earlier this week.

The candidates are scheduled for at least one more forum before the Nov. 6 elections, at an event next Monday in Vinings at the Cochise Club (3795 Cochise Drive), that starts at 6:30 p.m.

(East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

 

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