East Cobb News

Walton baseball booster club to hold ‘Day at the Yard’ event

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Walton Baseball booster club to hold 'Day at the Yard' event

The public can get its first look at the new Walton High School baseball facility on Sunday.

The Walton Raider Dugout Club, a group of parent boosters, are holding a “Day at the Yard” event as part of a series of fundraising activities leading up to the 2024 baseball season.

The festivities take place from 1-5 at the baseball facility (1499 Pine Road). Admission is free, and activity tickets are $3-$5 each.

Those activities include a home run competition, dunk tank, pitching stations, bouncy houses, face painting and a hot dog bar.

There also will be a silent auction for a seven-day trip to Italy and two student parking spaces.

Since September, the booster club has conducting a brick campaign, selling personally customized laser-engraved bricks at The Yard, and that effort will conclude on Sunday.

The bricks cost $200 or $400 and will be delivered and installed at the field before the start of the season.

The baseball facility is part of a $6.78 million athletics complex at Walton that includes tennis courts.

For the last two years, the Walton baseball team played home games at East Cobb Baseball, near Kell High School, after its former facility on the Walton campus was reconfigured for the varsity softball team.

The softball and tennis teams relocated to Terrell Mill Park to make way for the Walton classroom building that opened in 2017.

While the Walton tennis teams competed last spring at their new facility, the baseball field wasn’t ready for the 2023 season.

The combined facility has 80 parking spaces, and the Cobb County School District will soon be building a sidewalk and a pedestrian bridge from the Walton campus to the new complex.

The Raiders will have tryouts and begin practice in January, with their first game at The Yard in February.

There also will be a youth baseball clinic on Nov. 7, when school is out due to local municipal elections.

Coach Shane Amos, who guided Walton to state titles in 2007 and 2016, will be starting his 21st season as the Raiders head coach.

Walton baseball Day at the Yard

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Cobb school board rejects proposed library book policy

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Cobb school board rejects proposed library book policy
“We don’t need a committee to do the superintendent’s job,” school board member David Chastain said.

By a 5-2 vote, the Cobb Board of Education on Thursday rejected a proposal by one of its members to change school district policy on books and materials in school libraries.

Last month Superintendent Chris Ragsdale ordered that three books with sexually explicit content be removed from several middle- and high school libraries, despite protests from some parents that the district was engaging in book banning.

That was in the wake of the district’s firing of a West Cobb elementary school teacher for reading a book to her class deemed to be in violation of the state’s divisive concepts in education law.

During a work session Thursday afternoon, Democrat Becky Sayler of Post 2 in South Cobb said she wanted to revise a policy last updated in 2012 that governs the evaluation of library books.

Her proposal would have created local media committees to provide feedback for library operations, with the district media committee having the final say.

She said content should be allowed that has won awards and is used in book fairs and other related competitions. Also to be permitted are materials related to major world religions, including the Bible, Torah and Koran.

If a book is recommended to be removed by a media committee, it could not be reconsidered (the agenda item did not include a copy of Sayler’s proposal; we will update it here when we get it).

Sayler said the changes are needed “to ensure that we take intellectual freedom seriously” and because “we don’t want to harm our students by denying their access to quality materials.”

One of the books removed from Cobb schools is “Flamer,” which won a Lambda Literary Award in 2021 in the young adult division. The district said that book was removed because it contains passages about sex acts and masturbation.

Sayler said existing policy, especially given what’s happened in Cobb schools recently, will continue to have a “chill effect” and “diversity in viewpoints would become limited.”

She wanted to have a discussion and a vote next month, but Republican member David Chastain of Post 4 in East Cobb quickly made a motion to reject her proposal.

He said he didn’t want unelected people making those decisions, and said the proposal amounted to “micromanaging the superintendent.”

When Sayler reminded him that Ragsdale is unelected, Chastain replied that “we don’t need a committee to do the superintendent’s job.”

Ragsdale reiterated parts of his lengthy remarks at the September board meeting defending his decision to remove the books, saying that “I have a duty to keep students safe.”

He said that materials deemed to be “vulgar, sexually explicit, lewd, obscene, or pornographic” will continue to be removed.

“If it is deemed to be inappropriate, as these three [books that were removed] are, it has no place in our schools at all.”

Democrat Nichelle Davis of Post 6 in Smyrna asked Ragsdale about the current process for reviewing books and he explained that there is a team of administrators that does the evaluation, with discussion in his executive cabinet.

He said he doesn’t make a decision without that but “the buck stops with me. It’s my decision.”

Davis later said she thought it was important for community stakeholders to have consistency and transparency in being informed about the process.

“It’s impossible to make everybody happy,” she said. “This will not be the last time that we will look at a policy update.”

Ragsdale mentioned that one of the books that was removed—“Me, Earl and the Dying Girl”—contained a depiction of oral sex.

“There is no middle ground,” he said, adding that Sayler’s proposal would not allow for the current review process to continue.

He said he would abide by whatever policy change the board would adopt, but not until then.

Sayler, who is in her first year on the board, said she’s not in favor of pornography, and said the board engaged in micromanagement when it banned the teaching of critical race theory in 2021.

Hutchins wanted to amend the motion to add that the final decision on removing a book should be up to the superintendent or a designee, but Ragsdale said that’s already in state law.

The amendment was withdrawn, and Hutchins voted with the board’s four Republican members against the proposal, with Sayler and Davis voting in favor.

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Barnes and Noble to open at Avenue East Cobb on Nov. 1

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Barnes and Noble opening Avenue East Cobb

Barnes and Noble has set an official opening date for the store at Avenue East Cobb, and it’s less than two weeks away.

That date is Wednesday, Nov. 1, with a ribbon-cutting at 9 a.m. and store unveiling.

Lauren Ness of North American Properties, which manages Avenue East Cobb, said the event will include a meet-and-greet with local author Mary Kay Andrews, whose new novel is “Bright Lights, Big Christmas.”Barnes and Noble opening Avenue East Cobb

Other book-signing events that day include Georgia-native authors Vanessa Riley (2023 Georgia Author of the Year), Delilah S. Dawson, and Krista & Becca Ritchie.

More author events in the first few days of the store opening can be found by clicking here.

The Barnes and Noble store posted Wednesday that books are starting to be shipped to the 15,000-square-foot space (formerly Bed Bath and Beyond) on what it calls “turnover day.”

“That’s the day the store is turned over from construction to the booksellers! Here we are inside! It’s beautiful, y’all!”

The store will include a cafe and is the first in Georgia in a new Barnes and Noble concept with a smaller store size that focuses on local and regional recommendations curated by store managers.

locally curated recommendations from store managers

locally curated recommendations from store managers

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East Cobb Food Scores: Mzizi Coffee; Marietta Crawfish; more

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Mzizi Coffee, East Cobb food scores

The following food scores have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:

3 Colors Asian Kitchen
2060 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 160
October 20, 2023 Score: 92, Grade: A

Andretti Indoor Karting & Games
1255 Roswell Road
October 17, 2023 Score: 91, Grade: A

Dunkin Donuts
611 Johnson Ferry Road
October 18, 2023 Score: 96, Grade: A

El Palenque Event Hall
1477 Roswell Road, Suite 150
October 20, 2023 Score: 99, Grade: A

Marie’s Kitchen
1510 Roswell Road
October 19, 2023 Score: 89, Grade: B

Marietta Crawfish & Seafood
1420 Roswell Road
October 19, 2023 Score: 76, Grade: C

Mzizi Coffee Roaster
2995 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 220
October 20, 2023 Score: 85, Grade: B

Subway
2520 E. Piedmont Road Suite A
October 18, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

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The Wig Dr. relocates in East Cobb to Parkaire Medical Center

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The Wig Dr. relocates in East Cobb
Chemotherapy patient Anne Parke enjoys her new look, courtesy of The Wig Dr.

Submitted information and photo:

“The Wig Dr., formerly located at the Parkaire Shopping Center in Marietta, has relocated to a larger space at Parkaire Medical Center, 4939 Lower Roswell Rd, Ste B-202, Marietta, GA 30068, to provide even more services for women who are undergoing chemotherapy or who have had a mastectomy. In addition to the custom fittings and beautiful wigs that Dr. Erica Gamble has previously provided for years to breast cancer survivors in East Cobb and throughout Atlanta, the new location will also offer specialized mastectomy prosthetic fittings, bras, swimwear, compression sleeves for lymphedema and hair rejuvenating scalp massage.

“Dr. Gamble saw the need for compassionate and knowledgeable care for breast cancer survivors. The Wig Dr is a place where a woman, losing a part of herself…her femininity…can come and feel whole again. ‘Some of my clients are still working and don’t want to be viewed with sympathetic smiles. And since each fitting is by appointment only, I take the time these brave women need to share their stories and help them find a look that’s unique to them. Since we have hundreds of styles and colors from which to choose, I can find them something similar to their previous look, or something completely different.’

“Joining Dr. Gamble at the new location, is Erica Driver, a stage IV breast cancer survivor and trained mastectomy bra fitter, and Patty Prifti, a wig fitter with The Wig Dr. for over two years. These three women look forward to working with clients who are going through the most difficult times in their lives and giving them an empowering experience where they can take back a part of themselves. The Wig Dr. client and breast cancer survivor Anne Parke says that she enjoyed the personalized attention in a relaxed atmosphere. ‘But more importantly, I now look like my partner’s contemporary…in age and appearance. I have bald spots and thinning hair due to my chemo, and the new wigs make me feel more like myself again.’ ”

For additional information about The Wig Dr. or Dr. Gamble, visit https://fb.watch/nDI9cyovLB/?mibextid=E87lkY

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Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance conducts Adopt-A-Mile cleanup

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Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance conducts Adopt-A-Mile cleanup

Submitted information and photo:

The day started out with dreary skies, but the weather did not dampen the mood for 18 enthusiastic volunteers who turned out on Saturday, October 14 for the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance’s (PFCA) Fall Adopt-A-Mile Cleanup. The event was held in conjunction with Keep Cobb Beautiful at the Kroger Fuel Center parking lot at 1310 Powers Ferry Rd. The volunteers fanned out along a stretch of Powers Ferry at Terrell Mill Rd. to pick up trash, and In just 90 minutes, collected enough litter to fill 40 trash bags.

“This was our best turnout ever, and having Kroger and Keep Cobb Beautiful management people participate also made this day quite special,’ ” said Patti Rice, PFCA president. ‘Keep Cobb Beautiful even dedicated a truck, trailer and driver to shadow the various teams so that the bags got collected as each segment of work wrapped up.’

“Kroger also donated Starbucks coffee and other refreshments for the volunteers, and another local business, Custom Signs Today, donated directional signs for the event.

“ ‘We invested almost 40 million dollars in bringing the new Kroger to the community but along with that goes the commitment of time to help keep it clean,’ said Nigel Vereen, 1310 Powers Ferry Rd Kroger store leader. ‘Hopefully people can see us out in the community, and they’ll do their part in keeping our community clean as well.”

“The PFCA had almost doubled its adopted stretch of Powers Ferry Road since its last event in April and organizers were hoping that a sufficient group of volunteers would turn out to canvas the larger area. They were pleased that the number of participants and collections both exceeded expectations with nearly twice the number of volunteers and three times the amount of litter collected as compared to any previous Adopt-A-Mile event.

“ ‘Helping clean up our county allows us to give back to the community,’ said Sanjay Rane, a PFCA area homeowner. ‘It was fun and interesting.’

“While most of the 18 participants were local residents, there were several who represented local businesses while others traveled from areas beyond the PFCA to lend a hand.  

“ ‘This is the first time I’ve ever participated in anything like this, so it was very exciting,’ said Daniel Withers of Sandy Springs. ‘One hundred percent I’ll be back.’

“ ‘This community project fits with our mission which is pro-environment, pro-sustainability and pro-community engagement,’ said Logan House, an arborist with Peachtree Arborists of Conyers. ‘We perform tree work here in this area, so we wanted to participate in this community project.’

“ ‘These cleanups really make a difference, and we’re already planning the next one for April 2024,’ said Kedrick Green, PFCA’s Adopt-A-Mile coordinator. ‘We encourage community associations and area businesses to get involved.’ “

ABOUT POWERS FERRY CORRIDOR ALLIANCE

The Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance is a non-partisan, non-profit community group composed of individuals, HOAs and businesspeople who are working together for the betterment of the general area of Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill in East Cobb County, Georgia. The PFCA’s purpose is to promote quality growth and revitalization, to support our local public schools, and to help the community’s overall economic vibrancy. For more information, visit online at powersferryca.com or email contact@powersferryca.com.

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Cobb school district objects to redistricting suit settlement

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Cobb school district objects to redistricting suit settlement
Ben Mathis

The Cobb County School District issued a strongly-worded public statement Tuesday accusing the the Cobb Board of Elections of colluding with plaintiffs who are seeking new electoral maps for the Cobb Board of Education.

The elections board voted last week along partisan lines to begin settling with parties who filed a suit contending that the school board maps passed by the Georgia legislature in 2022 violated federal voting rights laws and diluted minority voting power.

Those claims were dismissed by a federal judge in Atlanta in July, and she released the Cobb school district as a defendant, leaving only the Cobb Elections Board to defend the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs, who are represented by attorneys from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal advocacy group, are attempting to have either the Georgia legislature or a court redraw the maps.

In messages posted to the Cobb school district website (you can read them here and here) and released to the media, Ben Mathis, an attorney for the district, said the district wants to rejoin the lawsuit after a “hasty settlement” with the Cobb elections board “which they worked out in secrecy with their politically allied plaintiffs, [and that] is designed to avoid any legal effort to defend the current map.

“This is not a settlement but a total surrender by the Elections Board,” Mathis said. “This agreement is a complete usurpation of the legislative process.”

The seven-member Cobb school board has a 4-3 Republican majority. The seats of three of those Republicans, including David Banks of Post 5 in East Cobb, will be the 2024 ballot.

Democrats control the Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb legislative delegation, and in his statement, Mathis accused the SPLC of trying “to impose their will over the Legislature, the Governor, and the voters of Cobb County.

“After they discovered they could not change the direction of education in our county at the ballot box, they manufactured this unlawful court case,” Mathis continued.

Cobb elections board chairwoman Tori Silas
Cobb elections board chairwoman Tori Silas

“To justify what they have done, the Elections Board says it is cheaper to give up than to defend the map against the array of liberal activist groups affiliated with Stacy Abrams and the Democratic Party.”

The Cobb elections board has four Democrats and one Republican, and voted 4-1, with GOP member Debbie Fisher opposed, to begin settlement discussions.

The vote came after a lengthy executive session and there was no discussion by elections board members in open session.

Daniel White, the attorney for the Cobb Elections Board, refuted the collusion claim, and a Cobb government spokesman issued a statement Tuesday from Tori Silas, the board chairwoman, saying her body is “not the proper party to defend the challenged redistricting maps.

“As the only remaining defendant in the case after the School District was given the dismissal it sought, we were left to make the decision that best served the citizens of Cobb County, which is what we did. The settlement allowed our Board to maintain its position of neutrality in this political dispute and was the fiscally responsible thing to do.”

In September federal judge Eleanor Ross issued an oral order precluding the Cobb school district from continuing as an intervenor in the lawsuit.

In a motion filed Tuesday, the district asked for a preliminary injunction to file an amicus brief and introduce rebuttal experts it says are necessary to respond to plaintiffs’ experts on racial discrimination in electoral maps who otherwise would have no opposition in court.

“Plaintiffs must be held to their strict burden of proof, especially when asking the Court to invade the state legislative process,” the Cobb school district lawyers said in their motion Tuesday.

East Cobb News contacted the SPLC, asking why it sued the Cobb Elections Board over a map drawn by the legislature. This is all that we received from its communications department:

“Voting rights are nonpartisan and rooted in the belief that equal opportunities to vote must be available to all people, regardless of their political affiliations, racial, cultural, or religious background. It is fundamental that every voice is heard and that elections are conducted fairly, and that is what Plaintiffs have consistently sought in this case. Plaintiffs look forward to proving their claims to the Court, as the terms of the settlement require before any changes are made to the map.”

The maps were originally drawn by Mathis’ firm, Freeman Mathis and Gary of Cumberland, and were approved by the school board’s Republican majority.

Among the changes in the map was moving Post 6 (formerly the Walton and Wheeler clusters) entirely into the Cumberland-Vinings-Smyrna area, and leaving East Cobb with only two school board seats, Post 4 and Post 5.

The Democratic-led Cobb legislative delegation proposed maps that wouldn’t have shifted the lines as dramatically, but they were never voted on by the Republican-dominated legislature.

The SPLC and other legal groups, including the ACLU of Georgia, filed its lawsuit, Finn v. Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, last summer.

The plaintiffs include parents and liberal activists and organizations, including the League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb.

The lawsuit seeks substantial redrawing of posts 2,3 and 6 in South Cobb, all of which are currently held by Democrats.

White said in response to the Cobb school district’s claims that “the Cobb County School District made a massive blunder in its litigation strategy that cost it the ability to defend the redistricting maps it created. Rather than owning up to its mistake, counsel for the School District has chosen to deflect attention by making outlandish accusations about the Cobb County Board of Elections that it knows to be false.”

White, whose comments were initially published Friday by The Marietta Daily Journal, said the Cobb Elections Board from the outset had sought to dismiss the suit “on jurisdictional grounds” and that his clients could have been held liable if the plaintiffs proved that the Cobb school board “adopted racially gerrymandered maps.

“The Board of Elections agrees that the District should have been allowed to continue its defense of its maps, and moved the Court to let them back in the case. Now that the Court has made it clear the District will not be given that opportunity, the Board of Elections made the decision it felt was in the best interest of the citizens of Cobb County.”

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Suspect shot by police in Northeast Cobb traffic chase dies

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Suspect shot by police in Northeast Cobb traffic chase dies

Following up our story of last week’s shooting by Woodstock Police of a suspect who allegedly dodged a traffic stop:

The suspect, Emmanuel Millard, 20, of Marietta, has died, according to his mother, who is organizing a fundraiser for burial expenses and legal fees “in our pursuit of justice for Emmanuel.”

In a GoFundMe appeal posted on Tuesday, Lenette Millard said her son died on Saturday, two days after the incident with police that ended at an intersection in Northeast Cobb.

“What’s equally devastating is the fact that this information was kept hidden from the public—my son was shot in the head by the police,” she said.

“My family is struggling to come to terms with this profound loss, and the lack of transparency surrounding Emmanuel’s tragic death only adds to our pain. The police department is wrong, yet they have provided us with no information, no closure, and no justice.”

The fundraising appeal has raised more than $1,000 of a goal of $8,000.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation—which takes over officer-involved shootings—said Friday that Millard fled a Woodstock Police traffic stop at Highway 92 and Hames Road Thursday night, then took officers on a chase that ended at Alabama Road and Old Mountain Park Road in Northeast Cobb.

The GBI release said that during the case, Millard ran off the road several times, nearly struck other vehicles and tried to hit police vehicles.

After cornering Millard’s vehicle and causing it to crash, the GBI said Woodstock Police tried to remove the suspect from the car, then shot him once.

The GBI release didn’t say where Millard was shot, but that officers rendered aid until he was taken to North Fulton Hospital. WSB-TV reported that the incident was captured on policy body camera video.

A GBI spokeswoman confirmed Millard’s death and said the investigation is continuing. She previously had said that the agency’s findings into the shooting will be turned over to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office when the investigation is completed.

The Woodstock officer has been placed on administrative leave.

“The Woodstock Police Department understands the value of every human life and will work to maintain transparency throughout this investigation,” Woodstock Police said last Friday.

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East Cobb Restaurant Update: Tasty China, Verandah openings

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Tasty China opens on Powers Ferry Road

The long-awaited reopening of Tasty China has taken place. Formerly located on Franklin Gateway, Tasty China has been serving up its popular Szechuan fare at 1808 Power Ferry Road since mid-September, after a brief soft opening.

A sign out front notes a “grand opening” after 18 years at its original location. Owner Dahe Yang also operates a Tasty China in Smyrna and at Ponce City Market in Atlanta and also had a Tasty China II restaurant in Sandy Springs that closed in 2014.

The new Tasty China is in a spacious, standalone building on the former site of the Frontera restaurant, which never reopened after a fire in 2015.

It’s the second major restaurant opening in the Powers Ferry Road area in recent weeks, following the reopening of the Rose and Crown Tavern (1935 Powers Ferry Road) after the redevelopment of the former Restaurant Row.

The extensive menu (click here) at Tasty China remains largely the same, featuring spicy Szechuan appetizers, soups and entrees as well as lunch specials.

Tasty China (website) is open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Online ordering also is available. Phone: 770-627-2390.

Verandah opens at Olde Mill

There aren’t many Indian restaurants in the East Cobb area, but Verandah Indian Cuisine is aiming to fill the bill with a wide variety of dishes from the subcontinent.Verandah Indian Cuisine opens at Olde Mill

Located at the Olde Mill Shopping Center (3101 Roswell Road, Suite 100, next to Los Arcos), Verandah held its grand opening on Oct. 7.

The menu (click here) features vegetarian and meat fare, from appetizers to tandoori platters, including vindaloo, curry, masala and korma specialties, Biryani entrees and a kids’ menu.

Online ordering and catering services are also available.

Verandah Indian Cuisine (website) is open Tuesday-Thursday from 11-3 and from 5-10 and Friday-Saturday from 11-3 and 5-10:30. Sunday hours are 11-3 and 5-10 and the restaurant is closed on Monday.

Phone: 678-653-9483.

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Keep Cobb Beautiful reopens recycling drop-off center

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Submitted information:

“You can recycle more materials in Cobb now that a drop-off location has been renovated and reopened. On Friday, a group of county leaders, Keep Cobb Beautiful stakeholders and residents cut the ribbon on the newly renovated recycling drop-off center on County Services Parkway. Cobb’s Board of Commissioners approved the $737,000 renovation of the recycling drop-off center earlier this year after residents complained of the old center’s poor condition and limited options.Keep Cobb Beautiful reopens recycling drop-off center

“We can take a lot more items here at this drop-off than residents can leave for curbside for their regular recycling drop-off,” Keep Cobb Beautiful Director Kimberly White said. “Here, we can take things like glass, textiles, and hard-to-recycle plastics like the Hefty Renew material. And if you live in multi-family homes or complexes where you don’t have the option to recycle these materials, you can bring them here to drop off.”

“There is no charge for the service. The 1775 County Services Parkway, Marietta, facility will be open for extended hours Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays.

“There is no charge for the service. The 1775 County Services Parkway, Marietta, facility will be open for extended hours Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays.”

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New Eastvalley ES ribbon-cutting celebration draws a crowd

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Eastvalley ES Ribbon Cutting
Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale cuts the ribbon at Eastvalley ES, joined by members of the school board and Eastvalley staff. ECN photos.

Several hundred people braved cool, windy weather around lunchtime Monday for a moment many in the Eastvalley Elementary School community have been anticipating for years:

The official christening of a new campus that not only replaces the obsolete 63-year-old facility on Lower Roswell Road, but raises a new bar for an elementary school.

The nearly 150,000-square-foot building across from Wheeler High School on Holt Road has two stories and more than double the number of classrooms—28 to 63.

“And all under one roof,” noted Eastvalley principal Dr. Whitney Spooner, as the crowd cheered, recalling the many aging portable classrooms that have handled massive overcrowding at Eastvalley for several years.

The gym is four times larger, with six basketball goals, the learning commons includes “a top of the line recording studio” as well as a courtyard with two playscapes and is encircled by a pedestrian track.

Spooner’s teachers applauded wildly when she noted that staff restrooms have gone from three in the old building to 14.

At a cost of nearly $37 million, Eastvalley opened to students and staff two weeks ago after the fall break, after supply chain and construction delays pushed the move from the start of the current school year.

Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the delayed opening is “bittersweet—but now it is more sweet than bitter” as the doors have formally opened.

Monday was chosen for the celebration because it was an asynrchronous learning day in the district for staff development reasons.

The Eastvalley Chorus sang the national anthem and many Eastvalley students and their families turned out to tour the new building.

“This is what SPLOST is allowing us to do,” Ragsdale said, referring to the Cobb Education special-purpose local-option sales tax that funds school construction and maintenance projects.

“Y’all deserve the best and this is truly the best.”

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Students began

Banks still considering Cobb school board re-election bid

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David Banks, Cobb school board member
David Banks taking the oath of office for his fourth term in January 2021. Photo: Cobb County School District.

When we spoke with David Banks in April, after a Republican challenger had declared for his seat on the Cobb Board of Education, the four-term Post 5 incumbent told us he was undecided.

That’s still the case, more than six months later, and with a Democratic candidate also having declared for the seat that includes the Pope, Walton and Wheeler high school clusters in East Cobb.

“My wife says no but she said no last time,” Banks told East Cobb News on Monday at the new Eastvalley Elementary School, where a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place.

He said the the main issue is his health—he’s in his early 80s and is dealing with back, hearing and eyesight issues—and the energy level it takes to serve.

“I’ve got to make a decision soon,” Banks said, indicating he’s hoping that will be by December.

His term ends at the end of 2024, and he’s one of three board Republicans who will be on the ballot next year. Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on a school board that has dealt with a number of contentious issues along partisan lines in recent years.

Banks said that former school board member John Crooks was considering a campaign for Post 5 and that he would have endorsed him and retired. But Crooks decided not to run.

Republican John Cristadoro and Democrat Laura Judge are the only announced candidates thus far, and both were in attendance at the Eastvalley ribbon-cutting event.

Eastvalley is among the schools in a Post 5 that was redrawn by the Georgia legislature last year to reduce East Cobb school constituencies to two posts. In Post 4, Republican David Chastain represents the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberry clusters, and Post 6 (formerly Walton and Wheeler) is now in the Cumberland-Vinings-Smyrna area.

“It’s in a state of flux,” Banks said. “There are still a lot of things I’d like to do. But there are a lot of reasons not to do it.”

He said he’s interested in expanding the robotics program at Walton High School and would like to see Wheeler, which has a STEM magnet program, become a “100 percent” STEM school, similar to the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology.

“The future is technology and AI,” said Banks, a retired technology executive. “People don’t understand what’s coming.”

First elected in 2009, Banks has been a controversial figure for his comments on racial and cultural issues and for using his personal newsletter to send messages against the COVID-19 vaccine.

More recently, he drew fire for social media comments disparaging the Roman Catholic faith.

In 2020, Banks won a three-way GOP primary without a runoff but defeated a Democratic challenger only by 2,639 votes.

Cristadoro and Judge are parents in the Walton cluster who have drawn high-profile support.

Cristadoro is being backed by former Cobb Chamber of Commerce President John Loud and has raised more than $30,000 in a campaign finance effort that could reach six figures.

Judge is a member of Watching the Funds—Cobb, a watchdog group that tracks spending in the Cobb County School District, and formerly served as education chair in the citizens cabinet of Democratic District 2 Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson.

The 2024 primaries will be in May.

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Support East Cobb News during our fall fundraising drive!

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East Cobb News fundraising drive

It’s been feeling like fall for a couple weeks now, but as we launch our fall fundraising drive autumn definitely is in the air!

It’s windy and only in the high 50s, on the first day of our effort to get readers to consider supporting East Cobb News!

We’ll be coming to you through the end of the month from the many places we visit in the community—not just East Cobb Park, above, where we took a lunch break—but also from places where we cover stories and meet with local business owners.

The video below comes to you from the new Eastvalley Elementary School on Holt Road, which had a formal ribbon-cutting this morning.

As we did earlier this summer, when we marked our 6th anniversary, the East Cobb News “6 for 6” campaign is asking readers to consider what they value about the truly authentic local news and information they get, and to contribute accordingly.

We’re suggesting $6 a month on a recurring monthly basis, but you can give whatever you like—monthly, annually or on a one-time basis.

It’s like a public radio/TV pledge drive that you may be familiar with—and your contribution goes toward powering the work we do at East Cobb News to provide first-rate coverage of this community.

Our payment platform is hosted by Press Patron, which makes it easy to support independent local journalism. Several dozen publishers like East Cobb News are powered by this platform, and we’re proud to be a part of their community.

The Press Patron platform is safe and secure, and is connected with the prominent Stripe online payment system.

Follow the link below to contribute, and click here for more information about “6 for 6.” We’ll be updating you through the rest of October as we continue in this drive.

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Contribute today by clicking here!

 

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Debbie Lynn Randall Memorial Butterfly Garden to be dedicated

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Last month the Cobb District Attorney’s Office said it had solved a 51-year-old murder case involving a Marietta girl, Debbie Lynn Randall, whose body was found in January 1972 off Powers Ferry Road, several weeks after she had gone missing.Debbie Lynn Randall Memorial Butterfly Garden dedication

The DA’s office used advanced technology to conclude that the man who abducted, raped and strangled her was William Rose, then 24, and who committed suicide two years later.

The advocacy group Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta, which was formed in the wake of that tragedy, will be dedicating a memorial butterfly garden on Thursday in honor of Randall at its Marietta headquarters.

The ribbon-cutting is Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at 461 Manget Street, and you’re asked to RSVP by e-mailing scade@girlsincatl.org if you wish to attend.

“In 1972, the tragic loss of Debbie Lynn Randall, shook our community to its core,” Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta CEO Tiffany Collie-Bailey said in a message that went out Monday. “We saw then firsthand the risks and devastation that exist wherever girls are left unprotected.

“This horrific story and many other stories like it are the reasons that Girls Inc of Greater Atlanta (GIGA) and 76 other affiliates across the nation exist. Three weeks ago, because people never forgot Debbie or the trauma of her family, her case was finally solved.”

What eventually became the Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta was started in 1974 by Marietta residents Irma Glover and Joyce Dunaway Parker, who appealed to the Marietta City Council to provide a safe space for girls in the form of the Marietta-Cobb Girls Club.

Cobb commissioners helped the organized acquire land near Larry Bell Park to establish not only an “organization, but to an entire mission of providing a safe space for all girls.

“We as an organization, and our founder Ms. Dunaway-Parker are fortunate to be able to witness the solving of her tragic murder 51 years later, although bittersweet,” Collie-Bailey said.

“We would like to take time to honor this long-awaited occasion by not only remembering and mourning the life of Debbie Lynn Randall, but also by acknowledging the continued need to keep girls safe physically, mentally, and emotionally.”

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East Cobb residential real estate sales, Sept. 25-29, 2023

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Blackwell Park, East Cobb real estate sales
Blackwell Park

The following East Cobb residential real estate sales were compiled from agency reports. They include the subdivision name and high school attendance zone in parenthesis:

Sept. 25

233 Lakeshore Court, 30067 (Kings Cove, Walton): $580,000

911 Bradford Lane, 30062 (East Lake Ridge, Wheeler): $395,000

2952 Cheshire Drive, 30062 (Wellington Forest, Pope): $560,000

2391 Black Oak Drive, 30066 (Bristol Mill, Sprayberry): $399,000

1816 North Chestnut Grove Drive, 30066 (North Chestnut Grove, Sprayberry): $470,000

3879 Winners Court, 30062 (Village North Highlands, Lassiter): $465,000

2103 Ravenwood Circle, 30066 (Ravenwood, Kell): $475,000

5265 Willow Point Parkway, 30068 (Willow Point, Walton): $491,000

Sept. 26

1819 Lake Ebenezer Trail, 30066 (Ebenezer Farm, Sprayberry): $970,000

444 Big John Trail, 30067 (Meadow Brook, Wheeler): $319,000

1375 Woodbine Street, 30062 (Briarwood Hills, Wheeler): $450,000

1662 Paddlewheel Drive, 30062 (Wellcrest Townhomes, Wheeler): $285,000

2263 Collinworth Drive, 30062 (East Lake Ridge, Wheeler): $400,000

3689 Hembree Lane, 30062 (Hembree Hills, Pope) $455,000

4208 Lazy Creek Drive, 30066 (Thornbrook, Sprayberry): $495,000

4222 Arbor Club Drive, 30066 (Arbor Bridge, Lassiter): $465,000

Sept. 27

4571 Divine Court, 30067 (Estates at Woodlawn, Walton): $1.675 million

558 Old Canton Road, 30068 (Wheeler): $677,500

4040 Bradbury Drive, 30062 (Penhurst, Walton): $900,000

3597 Liberty Ridge Trail, 30062 (Liberty Ridge, Pope): $430,000

3421 Chastain Glen Lane, 30066 (Chastain Glen, Sprayberry): $436,000

4310 Wood Creek Drive, 30062 (Raintree Forest, Lassiter): $565,000

5371 Tall Oak Drive, 30069 (Woodland Trails, Walton): $679,000

4929 Meadow Lane, 30068 (The Meadows, Walton): $310,000

3513 Ridge View Court, 30068 (Cross Gate, Wheeler): $425,000

504 Riverview Drive Unit 504, 30067 (Overlook at Riverview, Walton): $300,000

Sept. 28

861 Valleymeade Drive, 30067 (Grovemeade, Wheeler): $528,000

2321 Chestnut Springs Trail, 30062 (Chestnut Springs, Walton): $600,000

3107 Bunker Hill Circle, 30062 (Bunker Hills, Pope): $521,000

1616 Rex Drive, 30066 (Pine Valley, Sprayberry): $400,000

3698 Hembree Lane, 30062 (Hembree Hills, Pope): $4380,000

5400 Willow Point Parkway, 30068 (Willow Point, Walton): $620,000

3071 Gateland Square, 30062 (Garden Gate on Lassiter, Pope): $828,650

Sept. 29

2285 Valla Parc Court, 30062 (The Parc, Walton): $1.1 million

4005 Blackwell Park Drive, 30066 (Blackwell Park, Pope): $762,000

1705 Crestridge Drive, 30067 (Powers Ferry Hills, Wheeler): $370,000

287 Scott Drive, 30067 (Powers Ferry Hills, Wheeler): $325,000

3538 Ridge View C0urt, 30068 (Cross Gate, Wheeler): $415,000

3800 Clubland Trail, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): $2.294 million

3640 Clubland Drive, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): $2.425 million

1684 Grist Mill Drive, 30062 (Barnes Mill Lake, Wheeler): $290,000

946 Ashebrooke Place, 30068 (Ashebrooke, Walton): $926,900

3610 Robinson Walk Drive, 30068 (Robinson Walk, Walton): $630,000

1071 Hershey Drive, 30062 (Hershey Woods, Walton): $475,000

1811 Slopewood Bend, 30062 (Piedmont Bend, Sprayberry): $400,000

3099 Saddleback Mountain Road, 30062 (Cutters Gap, Pope): $$439,900

664 Glenbarrett Court, 30066 (Chastain Glen, Sprayberry): $419,000

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Open house scheduled for Shallowford-Gordy Parkway project

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Shallowford-Gordy West traffic improvements
Cobb DOT image

Cobb DOT will be holding an open house next week for citizens to learn about proposed improvements at Shallowford Road and Gordy Parkway West.

The open house takes place Wednesday, Oct. 18 from 6-8 p.m. at the Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road) and will be conducted on a drop-in basis.

There will be no formal presentation but project displays will be available and citizens are invited to ask questions and provide feedback.

Here’s a Cobb DOT fact sheet about the project, which costs an estimated $600,000 and would include the following:

  • Shifting the left turn lane on northbound Gordy Parkway to improve sight for turning
  • Adding a fourth crosswalk on the west leg for pedestrians
  • Shifting the right turn lane on northbound Gordy Parkway to improve pedestrian visibility.

Seeking public comment is the first phase of the project, which has a tentative timetable of completion by fall 2025.

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Mabry Middle School Foundation to hold haunted house event

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Submitted information:Mabry Middle School Foundation haunted house

Did you know East Cobb’s very own Mabry Middle School has a Haunted House? It’s their 2nd annual event full of thrills, laughter, and unforgettable memories for family and friends!

Come one, Come ALL! Check out the most terrifying experience under the Big Top at the CarnEVIL of Screams Haunted House – where the terror comes to life!

Two nights only at Mabry Middle School – Friday, October 20th and Saturday, October 21st from 7pm-10pm. But beware of the sinister ringmaster and his macabre crew of carnival misfits.

From creepy clowns to freakish fortune tellers, you’ll encounter creatures that defy the laws of nature and reason. See if you can escape from the ghastly hall of mirrors and survive the Games of Misfortune.

There will be a haunted house, kids area, concessions, and food trucks!
Pre-sale tickets are NOW ON SALE and available for purchase online. Click here –https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/7dff562e-6891-46e7-9f99-56d31172f352

Pre-sale tickets are only $10, if purchased online before 10/20. After that, ticket prices will increase to $15 and you may run the risk of standing in a long line.

For additional information, visit our website at https://www.mabrymiddlefoundation.com/.

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Harry Norman Cares Drive collecting personal care kits

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Harry Norman East Cobb personal care collection drive

The East Cobb office of Harry Norman Realtors is collecting personal care kits through Oct. 23 to benefit families at the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Members of the public can drop off items Monday-Friday from 9-5 at the East Cobb office (4651 Olde Towne Parkway) over the next two weeks.

The items needed for the personal care kits include soaps, lotions, combs and brushes, shampoo and conditioner, mouthwash, toothpaste and toothbrushes, dental floss, deodorant and related items (see wish list).

Harry Norman offices around metro Atlanta are taking part in the drive, which in its initial effort last year collected 1,185 donated kits of personal care, laundry, entertainment and snack and food items.

Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities hosts families of children receiving long-term illnesses and injuries at nearby medical facilities.

All donated items must be able to fit within gallon-sized Ziploc or clear bags.

The Harry Norman Cares initiative was established in 2021. Employees will package the items to be donated.

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Ribbon-cutting event for new Eastvalley ES campus is Monday

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New Eastvalley ES ribbon cutting
An aerial photo of Eastvalley ES peering south along Holt Road (at far right), with the relocated Wheeler tennis courts and softball field in the background. 

Monday is an asynchronous learning day in the Cobb County School District, meaning students will be instructed remotely as their teachers have staff development sessions.

Cobb County School District officials are using the occasion to formally celebrate the opening of two new school facilities.

One of them is the new Eastvalley Elementary School, which will have a ribbon-cutting event starting at noon on Monday.

The Cobb school district said the festivities include a flag raising by cadets with the Wheeler High School Air Force JROTC.

The Eastvalley chorus will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” and principal Dr. Whitney Spooner and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale will be the featured speakers.

There also will be tours of the 150,844-square-foot, two-story building, which is located on the former campus of East Cobb Middle School (380 Holt Road).

The new Eastvalley opened to students on Oct. 2, following the fall break, at a cost of $36.7 million in Cobb-Education SPLOST V funds.

Eastvalley opened in 1960 on Lower Roswell at Holt Road but has been chronically overcrowded for several years, with more than 700 students enrolled in a facility designed for 400.

Many of them were in aging portable classrooms that were the subject of parental complaints.

The new building includes 61 classrooms with a capacity for 962 students. Car and bus parking areas are separated, and there’s an outdoor classroom in a courtyard.

There are two “playscapes” and a large playfield surrounded by an asphalt walking track.

The other ribbon-cutting is Monday at 10 a.m. at the new Betty Gray Middle School in Mableton.

New Eastvalley ribbon cutting
The new Eastvalley ES campus at right, with Wheeler High School across the street on Holt Road. Photos from Cobb County School District

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Woodstock police shoot suspect following chase into NE Cobb

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Friday it is conducting an investigation into an officer-involved shooting following a vehicle chase that ended in Northeast Cobb.GBI drug trafficking arrests NE Cobb home search

A GBI release Friday afternoon said that a Woodstock Police officer shot Emmanuel Millard, 20, of Marietta, Thursday night after the suspect fled a traffic stop.

Woodstock Police said Millard ran off the road several times, nearly struck other vehicles and tried to hit police vehicles.

The GBI said Millard was seriously injured from a single gunshot wound and is hospitalized.

The GBI said a preliminary report indicated that a Woodstock officer was conducting a traffic stop at Highway 92 and Hames Road, near the Cobb County line, around 10:45 p.m. Thursday when the driver of the vehicle refused to stop.

He led officers on a pursuit before they were able to perform a PIT maneuver (Precision Mobilization Technique) on the vehicle, boxing it in near the intersection of Highway 92 (Alabama Road) and Old Mountain Park Road, near the Cobb-Roswell line.

As officers tried to remove the suspect from the car, Millard was shot once, and officers rendered aid until EMS arrived on the scene, according to the GBI.

The GBI said Millard was in serious condition at North Fulton Hospital. The agency said the results of its investigation into the shooting will be sent to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office for review. 

The officer was place on administrative leave by Woodstock Police.

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