East Cobb News

Shirley Chisholm show comes to Sewell Mill Cultural Center

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An addition to local Juneteenth-related events this weekend, via Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson:Shirley Chisholm show comes to Sewell Mill Cultural Center

New York playwright and actress Ingrid Griffith will be presenting her one-woman “immersive and interactive” show about 1972 presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm Saturday night at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road).

It’s called “Unbossed and Unbowed,” and it starts at 7 p.m. in the black box theater.

The title is a variation of Chisholm’s campaign theme, “Unbossed and Unbought,” which also was the title of her memoir.

Chisholm was a Congresswoman from the New York City area when she launched the first campaign by a Democratic Party woman and the firt by an African-American of either major party.

She was dubbed “Fighting Shirley” for her tenacity on racial, gender and social issues during her political career.

She was the first black female member of Congress when she was first elected in 1968, and served until 1983.

In her presidential bid, Chisholm received votes in 14 states and finished seventh among Democratic candidates. She also was the first woman to be invited to a presidential debate.

Chisholm died at the age of 80 in 2005.

Griffith, who has been involved in numerous off-Broadway theater productions, has performed the Chisholm show in the New York area and is in the Atlanta area this weekend with another show scheduled for Decatur.

She said on her website about the show that “I’ve been moved to write and share Shirley Chisholm’s story in the hope that more people will become aware of her contributions and appreciate how her voice resonates today.

“I’m drawn to tell stories about the immigrant experience, about being an outsider and daring to be one’s self. I’m interested in social norms and cultural barriers that keep girls and women down, and in stories that promote and celebrate girls and women’s empowerment.”

The Sewell Mill Library performance of “Unbossed and Unbowed” is free but you’re asked to sign up in advance by clicking here.

Griffith also is accepting donations for her work at this link.

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East Cobb resident reappointed to Cobb Development Authority

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Karen Hallacy

Karen Hallacy, an East Cobb resident who’s been active in various civic activities, has been reappointed to serve on the Development Authority of Cobb County.

The authority is a seven-member body appointed by the Cobb Board of Commissioners that approves bond requests and other incentive packages for businesses and corporations.

Hallacy, a former lobbyist for the Cobb County School District who lives in the Walton High School area, has been on the Development Authority since 2013.

She was reappointed to another term by the full Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday in a 4-0 vote, with Chairwoman Lisa Cupid absent. Most recently, Hallacy had been serving as the authority’s secretary/treasurer.

Hallacy hasn’t always supported some of the more high-profile and controversial tax abatement requests that have come before the authority.

Among those she opposed was for the Kroger superstore that’s set to open later this summer at the MarketPlace Terrell Mill on Powers Ferry Road, and she cited setting a precedent for retail businesses.

Hallacy also has been a member of the Cobb Elder Abuse Task Force and is a former president of the Georgia PTA.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners voted $4-0 to spend $495,292 for design work for the Johnson Ferry Road-Shallowford Road intersection project (previous ECN post here).

Kimley-Horn of Atlanta will develop the design concept for the $15 million project, most of which is coming from federal sources.

Commissioners also voted Tuesday to spend $8.132 million to purchase two vacant office buildings in an industrial park. The buildings are on 10 acres on West Oak Circle and West Oak Parkway and include 85,000 square feet. They would house official documents that are required for the Cobb County Records Services Division to retain and archive.

The records are currently held at a number of facilities around the county. Renovations are expected to cost another $1.362 million.

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East Cobb Food Scores: Moxie Burger; Kale Me Crazy; more

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Moxie Burger Shallowford, 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:

Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar
3460 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 110
June 16, 2023 Score: 91, Grade: A

Bay Breeze Seafood Restaurant
2418 Canton Road
June 15, 2023 Score: 96, Grade: A

Big Fish & Chicken
3190 Canton Road, Suite 108
June 14, 2023 Score: 95, Grade: A

Buddha Delight
2731 Sandy Plains Road, Suite A
June 13, 2023 Score: 89, Grade: B

Cazadores Mexican Restaurant
2745 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 160
June 16, 2023 Score: 83, Grade: B

Kale Me Crazy—The Avenue East Cobb
4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1620
June 14, 2023 Score: 83, Grade: B

Moxie Burger 
2421 Shallowford Road, Suite 158
June 12, 2023 Score: 86, Grade: B

Pita Mediterranean Street Food
2555 Prado Lane, Suite 1410
June 13, 2023 Score: 90, Grade: A

Wendy’s
3035 Canton Road
June 12, 2023 Score: 90, Grade: A

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East Cobb medical assistant training center offers scholarships

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East Cobb medical assistant training center offers scholarships

The H.E.R.O Institute, a medical assistant training center with offices in East Cobb, is offering scholarships to help with tuition costs for those pursuing careers as medical and health care assistants.

The organization, based at the East Lake Shopping Center on Roswell Road, stands for Healthcare Education Reimagined Online, and conducts a variety of professional training programs.

The scholarships will pay up to 60 percent of the tuition costs in the center’s day medical assistant training program for “eligible individuals who demonstrate academic potential, financial need, and a commitment to community service or volunteer work related to healthcare or medical assisting,” according to an H.E.R.O. Institute release.

“We believe that education is a key factor in improving the quality of healthcare and the lives of patients, and we want to empower individuals to pursue their dreams of becoming medical assistants and contribute to the improvement of patient care.”

The next 25-week training program begins in August, and the deadline to apply is July 23. Classes will take place Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Students must be Cobb County residents and U.S. citizens who demonstrate financial need and academic potential. Candidates also must submit a personal essay explaining their interest in a career as a medical assistant, as well as letters of recommendation.

More information about criteria can be found by clicking here.

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Kell, Sprayberry students earn LGE Credit Union scholarships

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The LGE Community Credit Union, based in Marietta, has announced its 2023 LGE Community Credit Union Scholarship and the Positive Athlete LGE Extra Credit Award winners.Kell Sprayberry students earn LGE Credit Union scholarships

They include students from Kell and Sprayberry high schools in East Cobb.

Taylor Couey of Sprayberry and Megan Paschall of Kell were named recipients of a $2,500 scholarship through the 2023 LGE Community Credit Union Scholarship Program, which went to 11 seniors at metro Atlanta high schools.

They were the only students so named from the Cobb County School District. Five other students were named recipients of a $1,000 scholarship for the Positive Athlete LGE Extra Credit Award.

According to a release, “these awards reflect the credit union’s commitment to education and are designed to support high school students from Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas, Fulton, and Paulding counties.”

The scholarship awards combined for this year amount to $32,500.

Chris Leggett, President and CEO of LGE Community Credit Union, said in the release that “we believe in investing in the future of our community, and supporting education is a critical part of that mission.”

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East Cobb O’Charley’s restaurant closes on Sandy Plains Road

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East Cobb O'Charley's restaurant closes

The only O’Charley’s Restaurant in the East Cobb area has closed its doors.

An online message didn’t indicate the reason but the closing took place over the weekend at 3550 Sandy Plains Road, at the intersection of Shallowford Road.

It’s a freestanding building between a shopping center with a Target store and the Sandy Plains Marketplace.

East Cobb location information has been removed from the restaurant chain’s website.

The fast casual chain is located mostly in the South and has two remaining restaurants in Cobb County, in Acworth and in Austell.

Several other O’Charley’s restaurants have closed in other states in recent days, including Dothan, Ala., Lexington, Ky., and Evansville, Ind. An O’Charley’s in Augusta, Ga., closed last month.

East Cobb News contacted O’Charley’s seeking more information, and a company spokesman issued the following statement from CEO W. Craig Barber:

“It is always a difficult decision to close a store but based on a variety of industry challenges and the macro-economic environment over the last few years, we closed this O’Charley’s location as of June 11.  

“We sincerely appreciate our loyal guests who have visited us at this location while also being deeply grateful for the outstanding work of our operating team.  

We encourage our customers to visit us at any of our other restaurants across the Southeast, including several in Georgia.”

In March, restaurant site Mashed reported that the once-popular chain, based in Nashville, Tenn., has quietly closed more than 20 locations since 2016, and eight since 2019.

O’Charley’s followed the bar-and-grill concept popularized by Applebee’s and Ruby Tuesday, but recent trends show that “people are opting for either independent restaurants or more specialty dining concepts.”

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Special celebration set for closing of Gritters Library branch

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Gritters Library project to proceed
A rendering of the new Gritters Library, which will contain expanded space, including the Northeast Cobb Community Center.

Saturday is the last day of operations for Gritters Library, which will be torn down and replaced by a new facility on the same site at Shaw Park.

Before the doors close for good at 5 p.m., the Cobb County Public Library System will hold a special celebration from 12-4 p.m at the library (990 Shaw Park Drive).

There will be family-friendly fun, games and a balloon drop. Kids can build a gingerbread library; registration is full but you can add your name to the waitlist by clicking here.

Gritters opened in 1973, and replaced a small library that was located behind a fire station on Brackett Road. The new branch will more than double the current space, to nearly 15,000 square feet, and include workforce development activities as well as the Northeast Cobb Community Center, which also is located at Shaw Park.

During the Gritters closure, patrons will be served by the Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road).

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East Cobb residential real estate sales, May 22-26, 2023

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Crafton Heights, East Cobb real estate sales
Crafton Heights

The following East Cobb residential real estate sales between May 22-26, 2023, were compiled from agency reports. They include the subdivision name and high school attendance zone in parenthesis:

May 22

922 Burns Drive, 30066 (Tuxedo Estates, Wheeler): $445,000

75 Wagon Wheel Court, 30067 (Cherokee Crossing, Wheeler): $400,000

938 Rockcrest Court, 30062 (Woodstream, Sprayberry): $433,100

2541 Oakrill Road, 30062 (Cedar Forks, Pope): $430,000

798 Hearthstone Circle, 30062 (Chimney Springs, Pope): $750,000

2623 Murdock Road, 30062 (Ashley Hall, Pope): $700,000

2641 Plains Court, 30066 (Plains Estates, Sprayberry): $425,000

4279 Wood Creek Drive, 30062 (Raintree Forest, Lassiter): $520,000

512 Gardenia Lane, 30068 (The Gardens at Parkaire, Walton): $270,000

May 23

3139 Post Oak Tritt Road, 30066 (Pope): $1 million

1375 Woodbine Street, 30062 (Briarwood Hills, Wheeler): $265,000

3795 Creekview Drive, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): $480,000

118 Dickson Court, 30066 (Trojan Hills, Sprayberry): $148,000

4374 S. Landing Drive, 30066 (North Landing, Kell): $409,000

1900 Kemp Road, 30066 (Country Meadows, Kell): $350,000

4687 Township Court, 30066 (Jefferson Township, Lassiter): $760,000

4561 Blue Spruce Lane, 30062 (Chimney Springs, Pope): $640,000

May 24

525 Rivercliff Trace, 30067 (Rivercliff, Walton): $1.645 million

2799 Octavia Lane, 30062 (Crafton Heights, Walton): $1.022 million

1952 Starlight Drive, 30062 (Sandy Plains Estates, Sprayberry): $850,000

695 Kurtz Road, 30066 (Sprayberry): $360,000

3917 Brintons Mill, 30062 (Chadds Ford, Pope): $675,100

1958 N Woods Drive, 30066 (North Woods, Kell): $389,000

4069 Keheley Glen Drive, 30066 (Keheley Bend, Kell): $435,000

4478 Windsor Oaks Drive, 30066 (Windsor Oaks, Lassiter): $665,000

454 Piedmont Road, 30066 (Wasson Farms, Sprayberry): $610,000

May 25

708 Gardenside Circle, 30067 (Gardenside at Powers Ferry, Wheeler): $419,000

1955 Bellingham Court, 30062 (Bellingham, Walton): $1.825 million

929 Leafwood Court, 30067 (Stratford, Wheeler): $430,000

1424 Shadowbrook Drive, 30062 (Briarwood Hills, Wheeler): $345,000

2610 Cotton Mill Court, 30068 (Princeton Mill, Wheeler): $657,000

908 Hidden Hollow Drive, 30068 (Hidden Hollow,Walton): $600,000

837 Shadybrook Drive, 30066 (Shadybrook, Sprayberry): $326,000

2450 Prince Howard Trail, 30062 (Corinth, Pope): $475,000

1485 Barrier Road, 30066 (Lamplighter Cove, Kell): $375,000

2484 Chancery Place, 30066 (Cooks Valley, Lassiter): $635,000

5232 Forest Brook Parkway, 30068 (Forest Brook, Walton): $505,000

May 26

1103 Piedmont Road, 30066 (Sprayberry): $1.06 million

3694 Robinson Road, 30068 (Wheeler): $420,000

4101 Avid Park, 30068 (East Haven, Walton): $992,650

3680 Wesley Chapel Road, 30066 (Lassiter): $960,000

1735 High Trail, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): $1.55 million

3273 Dunbery Chase, 30067 (Ward Meade Farm, Wheeler): $995,000

3809 Berrybridge Way, 30067 (Berrybridge, Wheeler): $1.025 million

3404 Sewell Mill Road, 30062 (Walton): $950,000

2417 Wood Thrush Court, 30062 (Chestnut Springs, Walton): $650,000

1850 Kristen Mill Way, 30062 (Kristen Mill, Sprayberry): $500,000

3752 Oak Lane, 30062 (Cedar Hill Estates, Pope): $545,000

2287 Edgemere Lake Circle, 30062 (Edgemere Estates, Pope): $1.065 million

2215 Wilmington Circle, 30062 (Rutherford, Sprayberry): $485,000

2564 Alberta Lane, 30062 (Holly Springs, Sprayberry): $367,000

3013 Saint Andrews Way, 30062 (Ashford Pines, Pope): $639,900

2183 Chartwell Drive, 30066 (Churchill Falls, Lassiter): $480,000

3450 Winfair Place, 30062 (Woodbine, Lassiter): $490,000

2266 Sparrow Ridge Drive, 30066 (Sparrow Ridge, Lassiter): $365,000

5404 Jackson Point, 30068 (Jacksons Creek, Walton): $925,000

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East Cobb financial advisor awarded MUST Ministries grant

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East Cobb financial advisor awarded MUST Ministries grant
Mike Hendley, left, with MUST Ministries CEO Ike Reighard

East Cobb resident Mike Hendley, a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual, has been named the company’s 2023 Community Service Most Exceptional Award winner and has received a $25,000 grant on behalf of MUST Ministries.

Hendley has been involved with the Marietta-based non-profit that helps those who are homeless find housing, jobs and other assistance for more than 25 years, as a volunteer and as the former chairman of the MUST board development committee.

The grant funding will go toward services at the MUST Hope House, which opened in 2021 as the new shelter and main facility for its operations.

“My passion for helping my community was ingrained in me at a young age, as my parents led by example and demonstrated the importance of helping those less fortunate,” Hendley said in a Northwestern Mutual release.

“One of the most impactful parts of volunteering with this organization is sitting at the table with MUST clients as they share their life stories and experiences. The vulnerability that is shown through these conversations continues to have a lasting impact on my life and fuel my passion for working with this organization for years to come.”

“Northwestern Mutual is a company built on helping people, and it is inspiring to see the impact that these financial advisors are making on their communities through selfless contributions,” Steve Radke, president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, said in the release. “I’m honored to work alongside these dedicated advisors who embody our company’s values and commitment to the communities we serve.”

Northwestern Mutual is distributing $270,000 to nonprofits nationwide this year in its community service awards program, and has donated nearly $7 million since the program’s inception in 1995.

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Let East Cobb News know what your organization is doing, or share news about what people are doing in the community—accomplishments, recognitions, milestones, etc.

Pass along your details to: editor@eastcobbnews.com, and please observe the following guidelines to ensure we get everything properly and can post it promptly.

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Credit Union of Georgia holding summer school supply drive

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Submitted information:Credit Union of Georgia summer school supply drive

The Credit Union of Georgia is hosting an in-branch and online School Supply Drive benefiting schools in the community.

School supplies can be dropped off at any Credit Union branch location (including 1020 Johnson Ferry Road in East Cobb) or you can visit their Amazon Wish List at amzn.to/42fi3Fq to purchase items. The items purchased from the Amazon Wish List will be shipped directly to Credit Union of Georgia and then delivered to local schools.

School Supply needs include the following:

  • Pens
  • Notebooks
  • Pencils
  • Binders
  • Glue Sticks
  • Index Cards
  • Pencil Sharpeners
  • Crayons
  • Rulers
  • Two Pocket Folders
  • Scissors
  • Erasers
  • Paper
  • Backpacks

“We love to support our schools and students,” said Brian Albrecht, President/CEO of Credit Union of Georgia. “We want to make sure that they have everything they need to succeed!”

Send Us Your News!

Let East Cobb News know what your organization is doing, or share news about what people are doing in the community—accomplishments, recognitions, milestones, etc.

Pass along your details to: editor@eastcobbnews.com, and please observe the following guidelines to ensure we get everything properly and can post it promptly.

Send the body of your announcement, calendar item or news release IN TEXT FORM ONLY in the text field of your e-mail template. Reformatting text from PDF, JPG and doc files takes us longer to prepare your message for publication.

We accept PDFs as an accompaniment to your item. Images are fine too, but we prefer those to be JPG files (more than jpeg and png). PLEASE DO NOT send photos inside a PDF or text or any other kind of file. Of course, send us links that are relevant to your message so we can direct people to your website.

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Office building proposed for Mt. Bethel Community Center

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Mt. Bethel Church Community Center rezoning

The Mt. Bethel Church Community Center that’s been up for sale since last fall could be converted into a small office building.

A local real estate development firm has applied for rezoning the 1.13 acre site at 4608 Lower Roswell Road for that purpose, and a zoning hearing has been scheduled for July 5 before the Cobb Planning Commission.

MRE Properties & Investments, LLC is seeking low-rise office (LRO) zoning, which would permit professional office uses. The current building, which housed various Mt. Bethel Church activities and non-profits, including Aloha to Aging, is a single story on land zoned in the RA-4 residential category.

A preliminary site plan filed with the application (agenda item here) indicates that the structure would remain relatively the same, except for some upgrades inside and to the exterior.

The office hours would be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. MRE has hired noted zoning attorney Kevin Moore.

The land on which the community center sits is one of four parcels Mt. Bethel Church put on the real estate market following its controversial departure from the United Methodist Church last year.

Mt. Bethel paid the UMC’s North Georgia Conference $13.1 million as part of the legal settlement.

In March, Mt. Bethel sold nearly an acre with a day care center that’s adjacent to the community center $1.55 million, according to Cobb property tax records. No forthcoming use for that facility has been announced by the purchaser, a local asset holding company.

The building was a day care center before Mt. Bethel Church purchased it in 1990. Mt. Bethel closed the day care center in December.

Mt. Bethel is also selling a vacant home across Lower Roswell Road and a wooded lot next to the U.S. Post Office.

The community center site was once the home of the Poss family, which owned a farm and was prominent in the area before East Cobb became suburbanized.

The community was then known as Mt. Bethel, and we spoke with members of the Poss family in 2019 about those memories.

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Cobb Commission Chairwoman to address Cobb Chamber luncheon

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Cupid state of county address Cobb ChamberCobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will deliver the 2023 State of the County Address to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

The event begins at 11:15 a.m. Monday at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre in The Battery Atlanta.

She will “discuss the county’s biggest successes and milestones from 2022, as well as her goals for 2023 to continue moving the county forward,” the Chamber said in a release.

The address before the business group had been the signature “state of the county” event for her predecessors.

But when she took office in 2021, Cupid created a separate event that has included other county and elected officials and representatives from the Atlanta Regional Commission and community organizations.

The theme of those addresses has been “All In,” and at the Jennie Anderson Theatre last month she responded to her critics, including some citizens who have spoken during public comment sessions at Cobb Board of Commissioners meetings.

In addition to Cupid’s address, the Cobb Chamber’s Cobb Executive Women program will present the 2023 Woman of Distinction award.

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Johnson Ferry-Shallowford design contract to be considered

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Johnson Ferry-Shallowford design contract

The first phase of one of several major traffic improvements in the East Cobb area under the 2022 Cobb SPLOST goes before Cobb commissioners Tuesday.

A $495,292 engineering design contract to improve the Johnson Ferry Road-Shallowford Road intersection is on the agenda for a regular meeting of the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning (agenda item here).

Cobb DOT is recommending that the work go to Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. of Atlanta, and the agenda item states the work includes the following details:

“The project will evaluate the need for intersection improvements to address operations and vehicular safety. The improvements may include, but are not limited to, addition of travel and turn lanes, and pedestrian improvements. The scope of services for the design-build delivery will include a traffic study, concept development, environmental document, preliminary design, and design services throughout construction of the project.”

Improvements at that busy intersection have been anticipated for several years, especially with the coming redevelopment of the southwest quadrant with East Cobb Church, retail shops and a single-family subdivision.

It’s one of several road projects in the 2022 Cobb SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) that will be funded mostly with federal revenues.

Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said in response to information requested by East Cobb News that the total budget of the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford project is $7.75 million, with $5 million in federal funding. Commissioners would have to approve funding for the local match in a separate vote, after the design work is finished.

Two other major projects in the East Cobb area also will have substantial federal funding. Improvements at the Roswell Road-Johnson Ferry Road intersection are projected to cost $15 million, with $10 million from the feds and and $5 million from the Cobb SPLOST.

Likewise, the widening of Roswell Road—one of the most expensive projects in the 2022 SPLOST at $60 million—will get $48 million from the federal government and $12 million locally.

There aren’t timetables for those projects (see full project list here).

The 2022 SPLOST was approved by Cobb voters in 2020, and is expected to collect $810 million from Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2027.

Of that total, $361 million has been earmarked for road and traffic projects, including $227 million for repavings, along with bridge repairs, traffic management and sidewalk upgrades.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners will be asked to spend $8.132 million to purchase two vacant office buildings in an industrial park. The buildings are on 10 acres on West Oak Circle and West Oak Parkway and include 85,000 square feet. They would house official documents that are required for the Cobb County Records Services Division to retain and archive.

The agenda item states that various records are held in a number of facilities around the county and are at capacity: “This purchase of the two office buildings will allow the County to consolidate storage of records. In addition, the purchase will allow for storage of records in a climate-controlled environment, necessary for preservation of vital records.”

Once purchased, the buildings would need to be renovated at a cost of $1.362 million, pushing the total cost to $9.5 million. The Cobb Support Services Agency is recommending the funding come from the county’s reserve.

Another item would update the county’s policies on compensation, education incentive pay, nepotism, anti- harassment and discrimination, parental leave, performance appraisal and discipline. (details here).

The Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta). You can read through the full agenda by clicking here.

You also can watch on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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Cobb Juneteenth events include Marietta cemetery walking tour

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An addition to Cobb Juneteenth events this year will be a walking tour of the Marietta City Cemetery.Cobb Juneteenth events 2023

The Marietta History Center announced this week that director Amy Reed will be leading the walking tour that will highlight African-Americans buried or enslaved “who became leaders in our black community fighting for equality and civil rights.”

The walking tour is Monday, June 19 at 6 p.m. The cemetery is located at 420 West Atlanta Street. Admission is $15 a person or free for Marietta History Center and tours are limited to 25 people for each tour.

The walking tour is a rain or shine event and will conducted over gravel and uneven pathways, so participants are advised to plan accordingly. The tour begins at the white house located at the center of the Cemetery

For information and to reserve a ticket call 770-794-5710 or visit MariettaHistory.org.

Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery on June 19, 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners established Juneteenth as a county holiday starting in 2022, and a number of Cobb cities and other organizations have scheduled a variety of celebrations.

A pre-Juneteenth festival takes place this Sunday, June 11, at Jim Miller Park (2245 Callaway Road) from 11-6.

The official Marietta-Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Festival will mark its 20th anniversary with three events next week at the Marietta Square.

There will be an Evening Under the Stars concert next Friday, June 16, from 7-11 (free tickets here), followed by a festival on Saturday from 10-7 and a Father’s Day salute from 2-6.

On Monday, June 19, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will hold the Cobb African American Public Policy Forum from 10-4, also at Jim Miller Park.

According to the county, the goal of the forum “is to foster discussion and explore potential policy initiatives that can bring about real change and promote racial justice and equity.”

The event is free and aimed at 18-and-up; you’re asked to RSVP here.

Information about other Juneteenth events in Cobb County can be found by clicking here.

 

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East Cobb Food Scores: Marlow’s Tavern; Johnny’s Pizza; more

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Marlow's Tavern Merchants Walk, 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:

Asian Express
4880 L0wer Roswell Road, Suite 110
June 8, 2023 Score: 90, Grade: A

Bowlero
2749 Delk Road
June 5, 2023 Score: 88, Grade: B

Bruster’s Ice Cream
3735 Trickum Road
June 6, 2023 Score: 91, Grade: A

Chaska
1836 Lower Roswell Road
June 6, 2023 Score: 83, Grade: B

Hikaru Ramen
2014 Powers Ferry Road, Suite 400-A
June 6, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

Johnny’s New York Style Pizza
4880 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 155
June 8, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

Legacy Ridge at Marietta
840 Lecroy Drive
June 8, 2023 Score: 90, Grade: A

Lemon Butter Seafood Restaurant
1854 Terrell Mill Road, Suite 113
June 6, 2023 Score: 90, Grade: A

Marlow’s Tavern
1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 208
June 6, 2023 Score: 85, Grade: B

Pelican’s Snoballs
3600 Canton Road
June 8, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

Red Curry Thai
4724 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 500
June 8, 2023 Score: 91, Grade: A

Smoothie King
2525 Shallowford Road, Suite 600
June 8, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

Starbucks
3629 Sandy Plains Road
June 5, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

Sunrise at East Cobb
1551 Johnson Ferry Road
June 6, 2023 Score: 91, Grade: A

Waffle House
550 N. Greenbriar Parkway
June 5, 2023 Score: 92, Grade: A

Yogli Mogli
3605 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 150
June 6, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

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More Wheeler, Walton students named National Merit Scholars

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Six more students from Wheeler High School and Walton High School in East Cob have been named recipients of National Merit Scholarships.East Cobb National Merit Scholarship Program

These scholarships are provided by the college or university of the student’s choice, and range between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. Probable career fields are also listed.

  • Madison Bohm, Wheeler: Rochester Institute of Technology; Mechanical Engineering
  • Peter Fink, Walton: University of Georgia; Computer Science
  • Misha S. Gupta, Wheeler: Emory University; Finance
  • Ethan T. Liu, Walton: University of Georgia; Kinesiology
  • Ashley Kay Rice, Walton: Emory University; Bioinformatics
  • Hanif A. Zaman, Wheeler: University of Georgia; Cell Biology

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Cobb Planning Commission OK’s zoning involving historic home

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NE Cobb rezoning historic preservation efforts

The Cobb Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended approval of a rezoning request for a car wash near Bells Ferry Elementary School that would allow room to preserve an 1840s-era home on the property (see previous post here).

The board voted 4-0 to send the request for neighborhood retail commercial (NRC) and low-rise office (LRO) rezoning to the Cobb Board of Commissioners, which will hold a zoning hearing June 20. Planning Commission member Michael Hughes was absent Tuesday.

Parks Huff, an attorney for the Medford Family Limited Partnership, the property owners, said the car wash would be located on the NRC portion of the two-acre site at Bells Ferry Road and Barrett Parkway.

The LRO designation could be used to accommodate the house if it were to stay on the land.

The case has been delayed as the applicant and historic preservation interests continued discussions that have been ongoing for years.

In a May 19 stipulation letter, Huff suggested the split zoning as a means to keep the house on the land.

In her motion to recommend approval Planning Commissioner Deborah Dance was skeptical of the twin zoning categories, and wanted some clarity on what would happen to the LRO land if the home were removed.

He suggested that it could be used for common greenspace, such as a pocket park.

Tommy’s Express by Northgate is proposing a 15,000-square-foot car wash at an intersection that’s surrounded by commercial development, including a Barnes and Noble and Publix.

Cobb Landmarks, an historic preservation non-profit, has been talking with the landowner for four years about finding a way to preserve the McAfee House, which was a homestead that served as a Union general’s headquarters during the Civil War.

Trevor Beemon, Cobb Landmarks’ executive director, told the Planning Commission Tuesday that his organization wants to relocate the house, saying it’s not ideal to serve as a cultural center, although there is some community support for keeping it there.

He said Cobb Landmarks, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and the Cobb Preservation Commission could be conveyed a deed for preservation purposes.

He said he’s meeting this week with the Georgia Trust, which could put a preservation easement on the land surrounding the home, then make repairs and find “suitable purpose” and possibly a new location.

Cobb Planning Commission OK’s zoning involving historic home
A rendering of the proposed Tommy’s Car Wash.

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Cobb Police K9 dies in hot patrol car during training session

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Cobb K9 dies in hot patrol car

The Cobb Police Department said Tuesday that one of its own died in the line of duty on Monday.

Sgt. Wayne Delk said in a release Tuesday that Chase, a member of the department’s K9 unit, was left in an officer’s vehicle Monday afternoon during a police active shooter training session at Allatoona High School.

Delk said that the dog was left there in a kennel while officers conducted a training session in the school, and that police personnel checked on the animal every 15 minutes or so.

He said air conditioning was being provided to the animal in the car of his handler, Officer Neill.

But when an officer checked on Chase around 2 p.m., Delk said, the dog was unresponsive.

That’s because the air conditioning system in the car wasn’t working, according to police.

“Life-saving measures were started by Officer Neill, other Cobb Officers, and Cobb County Fire personnel” who were on the scene for the active shooter training, Delk said.

The dog was taken to a nearby emergency veterinary hospital but the animal died due to “heat-related injuries,” the Cobb Police release said.

“Preliminary information indicates that other safety systems did not properly activate and the temperature quickly rose in the vehicle,” Delk said.

“This is a horrible incident and our investigators are continuing to gather information regarding the vehicle system failures that led to this tragedy.”

Responses to the department’s social media postings about the incident included many that were critical of that action, while others defended the police.

UPDATED, June 7: The Cobb Police Department published this post this morning to explain why it keeps dogs inside patrol vehicles, and how an alert system is triggered:

“If the air conditioning system fails and the temperature reaches a point where it’s too hot, the safeguard automatically turns on the lights and the sirens, the windows automatically go down, and a fan turns on. The handler is notified and returns to their vehicle to address the problem.

“The patrol vehicle is always left running with the air conditioning on, but should something go wrong, the vehicle is equipped with a safeguard to protect the canine. Unfortunately, this vehicle had multiple failures, the alert system did not activate, and the handler was not alerted about an issue until they returned to the vehicle to check on the canine.”

Delk said that Chase was later taken to the Cobb County Animal Shelter and would be transported to the University of Georgia for a necropsy.

Chase was a four-year-old Belgian malinois born in Hungary and was named after Chase Maddox, a Locust Grove police officer killed in the line of duty in 2018.

The dog had been on duty with Cobb Police since April 2020, and his duties included narcotics detection, criminal apprehension, tracking, building searches and evidence recovery.

Cobb Police said in a separate social media posting that Chase “seized thousands of dollars worth of illegal narcotics, with numerous arrests and apprehensions.”

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Activate IV and Cryotherapy opens at Providence Square

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Activate IV and Cryotherapy opens Providence Square
General manager Hope Smith demonstrates a compression therapy machine in a cryo room. East Cobb News photos

The third Georgia location of Activate IV and Cryotherapy, a wellness and recovery spa, opened recently at the Providence Square Shopping Center in East Cobb.

It’s a membership-based business for patients who want to treat a variety of ailments with a combination of non-medical treatments, including hydration, compression, vitamin infusion and cryotherapy, which uses a combination of heat and cold elements to reduce body flab.

There’s a medical doctor who oversees the operations, and there’s either a trained paramedic or a registered nurse on duty at all times.

A ribbon-cutting took place last week, and general manager Hope Smith said a soft opening has been underway for a couple of weeks.

She said patients don’t need a doctor’s referral and most insurance does not cover the services provided.

Activate IV’s IV Hydration Therapy includes a variety of intravenous drips to introduce electrolytes, minerals and amino acids directly into the body, as well as oxygen.

Other drips treat the flu, migraines, athletic ailments, menstrual issues and even hangovers.

In addition to a cryo room, Activate IV has a cryo booth with a temperature of -124 Fahrenheit. Patients can stay inside for up to four minutes.

“It helps reduce inflammation, gives you energy, helps you sleep better and address weight gain and pain,” Smith said. “I’ve lost five pounds in a week.”

A red light room offers red light therapy, and Smith said patients use it for athletic injury recovery and as a sleeping aid, among other benefits, including reduced swelling and inflammation and increased collagen production.

Those sessions last 10 minutes, and there’s a separate membership for that.

Lori Rambo, who was a paramedic in the city of Atlanta and worked at Grady Memorial Hospital, is one of the certified staff members at the East Cobb location.

She said patients must fill out a form indicating that they haven’t had a seizure or major heart issues in the last six months.

Activate IV and Cryotherapy is open at 4101 Roswell Road, Suite 310, from Monday-Thursday 10-7, Friday-Saturday from 10-4 and Sunday from 12-4. Phone: 678-398-9499.

Activate IV and Cryotherapy opens East Cobb

Activate IV and Cryotherapy opens East Cobb

Activate IV and Cryotherapy opens East Cobb

Activate IV and Cryotherapy opens East Cobb

Activate IV and Cryotherapy opens East Cobb

Activate IV and Cryotherapy opens East Cobb

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East Cobb residential real estate sales, May 15-19, 2023

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2632 Blanton Court, East Cobb real estate sales
Mabry Manor

The following East Cobb residential real estate sales between May 15-19, 2023, were compiled from agency reports:

May 15

3109 Hilltop Drive, 30066 (Overlook at Hilltop Drive, Lassiter): $720,000

2632 Blanton Court, 30062 (Mabry Manor, Pope): $1.2 million

1833 Lake Ebenezer Trail, 30066 (Ebenezer Farm, Sprayberry): $960,000

3277 Belmont Glen Drive, 30067 (Belmont, Wheeler): $849,000

2834 Clearbrook Drive, 30068 (Country Place East, Wheeler): $355,000

838 Shadybrook Drive, 30066 (Shady Brook, Sprayberry): $370,000

3300 Woods Field Drive, 30068 (Post Oak Square, Pope): $530,000

97 Kathryn Way, 30062 (Heartwood, Pope): $492,000

3954 Lookout Point Drive, 30066 (Lookout Point, Sprayberry): $310,000

5050 Lake Terrace, 30068 (Hampton Lake, Walton): $980,000

4513 Exmoor Drive, 30068 (Fainview Farm, Walton): $780,000

May 16

3998 Matty Drive, 30066 (Princeton Cove, Sprayberry): $792,300

2045 Dayron Court, 30062 (Piedmont Chase, Sprayberry): $540,000

3002 Colemont Court, 30062 (Breckenridge, Pope): $871,180

4027 Rocky Valley Court, 30066 (Rocky Mountain Estates, Lassiter): $385,000

2734 Chimney Springs Drive, 30062 (Chimney Springs, Pope): $385,000

May 17

4141 Fairgreen Drive, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): $800,000

866 Fairfield Drive, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): $2 million

3940 Manor House Drive, 30062 (Mar-Lanta, Pope): $495,000

3161 Ebenezer Road, 30066 (Shadowood, Sprayberry): $225,500

3350 Ranch Road, 30066 (North Forty, Sprayberry): $441,000

1486 Barnacle Street, 30066 (Lamplighter Cove, Kell): $425,000

May 18

636 Powers Ferry North, 30067 (Powers Ferry North, Wheeler): $260,000

3918 Chapel Heights Drive, 30062 (Chapel Heights, Lassiter): $1 million

3201 Lakeridge Drive, 30067 (Mill Ridge, Wheeler): $690,000

4166 Lakeshore Way, 30067 (Kings Cove, Walton): $810,000

5271 Forest Brook Parkway, 30068 (Forest Brook, Walton): $663,000

2081 Bishop Creek Drive, 30068 (Heritage Trace, 30062): $581,000

May 19

4967 Concert Lane, 30066 (Tanglewood Enclave, Lassiter):$1.325 million

3190 Walking Stick Overlook, 30066 (Wigley Preserve, Lassiter): $800,000

2942 Ansley Manor Court, 30062 (Ansley Creek, Pope): $975,000

680 Denards Mill, 30067 (Sibley Forest, Wheeler): $1.25 million

810 Birds Mill, 30067 (Sibley Forest, Wheeler): $800,000

3276 Belmont Glen Drive, 30067 (Belmont, Wheeler): $900,000

1152 Rebel Ridge Drive, 30062 (Rebel Ridge, Sprayberry): $396,000

2040 Clinton Drive, 30062 (Cedar Hills Estates, Pope): $542,000

3835 E Carlyle Court, 30062 (Cedar Hill Estates, Pope): $500,000

2476 Alston Drive, 30062 (Vermilion, Sprayberry): $582,500

2610 Rocky Springs Drive, 30062 (Post Oak Springs, Pope): $661,700

2282 Rainwater Drive, 30066 (Vandiver Heights, Sprayberry): $360,000

3518 Chastain Glen Lane, 30066 (Chastain Glen, Sprayberry): $415,000

908 Old Farm Walk, 30066 (Hadley Farm, Sprayberry): $395,000

4240 Meadow Way, 30066 (Northwind Meadows, Kell): $390,000

2284 Remington Court, 30066 (Winchester Manor, Lassiter): $430,000

4540 Reva Drive, 30066 (Stockton Place, Lassiter): $540,000

1868 Blackwater Way, 30066 (Country Meadows, Kell): $430,000

1837 Jacksons Creek Drive, 30068 (Jacksons Creek—The Bluffs, Walton): $926,00o

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