Traffic cases in Cobb State Court will be put on hold Wednesday and Thursday so court personnel can attend the funerals of two slain Cobb Sheriff’s deputies.
A message from Cobb government Monday said the traffic cases scheduled for those days will be rescheduled, and “notifications will be sent out to those affected.”
On Monday Cobb officials announced the funeral arrangements for deputies Jonathan Koleski and Marshall Ervin, who were shot and killed at a West Cobb home trying to serve a warrant to a man who had failed to appear on a theft by deception charge.
That man, Christopher Cook, 32, and the alleged shooter, Christopher Golden, 30, surrendered at the scene and are being held without bond.
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Funeral services will be held this week for the two Cobb Sheriff’s deputies who were killed Thursday in the line of duty.
Cobb government sent out a message Sunday night saying that the funeral service for Deputy Jonathan Koleski will take place Wednesday at North Star Church (3413 Blue Springs Road Kennesaw) at 12 p.m.
A visitation is from 9-11 a.m. at the church and burial will take place starting at 2:30 p.m. at the Georgia National Cemetery (1080 Veterans Cemetery Road
Canton).
Koleski, 42, had been with the Cobb Sheriff’s Office since 2007 and is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
The funeral for Deputy Marshall Ervin is scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m. at West Ridge Church (3522 Hiram Acworth Highway, Dallas), with visitation from 12—2 p.m.
Erwin, 38, had been a deputy for the last seven years.
The Cobb Sheriff’s Office said it would be releasing information about the routes of the funeral processions for members of the public who wish to pay their respects.
Deputy Marshall Ervin
On Thursday night, Koleski and Ervin were attempting to take into custody a man who was wanted for a failure to appear on a theft by deception charge.
Another man came out of the house and into the driveway with a weapon and ignored the deputies’ demands to drop it, according to Cobb Police, who said gunfire ensued.
The deputies were both shot and died, and the two suspects eventually surrendered. On Friday they were denied bond by a Cobb Magistrate judge.
Christopher Golden, 30, has been charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Christopher Cook, 32, the subject of the warrant, has been charged with eight counts of theft in charges stemming from this spring.
The Cobb Sheriff’s Foundation, a non-profit organization founded last year that serves Sheriff’s Office personnel and their families, has set up a donate button for its Fallen Officer Fund on its website for the families of Koleski and Ervin.
The Sheriff’s Office has set up a memorial to the slain deputies at its headquarters visitation center at 1877 County Services Parkway, Marietta.
Koleski and Ervin also were honored with a moment of silence Sunday afternoon at Mercedes Benz Stadium during the Atlanta Falcons game with the New Orleans Saints.
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Jonathan Jenkins, Director of the Cobb Sustainability, Solid Waste and Beautification Department
Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell reiterated Friday that there will be a motion made following a public hearing on Tuesday regarding proposed code amendments to table measures related to solid waste.
In her weekly e-mail newsletter, Birrell said that after the public hearing Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners, “the Board plans to make a motion and vote to table the Solid Waste code section. It is a consensus of the BOC—none of us are in favor of the proposed one hauler per district.”
Jonathan Jenkins, Director of the Cobb Sustainability, Solid Waste and Beautification Department, had initially proposed limiting each of the four commission districts to a single hauler.
Birrell, a Republican from District 3 in Northeast Cobb who is up for re-election in November, objected, saying citizens should be free to select their own trash service.
She started her e-mail Friday by saying that “as I have stated on the record in meetings, I am in support of open market and residents being able to choose their trash provider.”
She also wanted a delay in the trash code amendments to January. Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid initially balked, saying that too many citizens have been waiting for improvements for inconsistent trash service.
But after last week’s meeting with the haulers, such a delay appears to be likely.
The code amendment proposals cover a wide range of ordinances, including major changes to the county’s short-term rental provisions, apartment inspections, smoking in public parks, and zoning.
Commissioners will also hold a second and final public hearing during their Sept. 27 business meeting at which they will vote on code amendments.
Tuesday’s public hearing comes near the beginning of the commissioners’ business meeting that starts at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.
A full agenda of Tuesday’s meetingcan be found here; other items include a recognition of Cobb County government marking 25 years of having a AAA credit bond rating by Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.
Commissioners also will be asked to finalize the appointment of a new county economic development director and to allocate more than $3.1 million in the county’s share of American Rescue Plan Act funding for workforce development, mental health training, and an infectious disease testing project.
The majority of the proposed funds, $2.1 million, would be used to purchase transport vehicles to assist those affected by COVID-19.
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The following Cobb food scores for the weeks of Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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Slain deputies Jonathan Koleski, left, and Marshall Ervin Jr. Photos: Cobb Sheriff’s Office
The day after two of his deputies were shot and killed trying to serve a warrant, Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens said his department remains heartbroken by the tragedy.
At a press conference Friday afternoon, Owens identified the two slain deputies as Jonathan Koleski, 42, and Marshall Ervin Jr., 38, the latter of whom was the father of two children.
Their identities were revealed after two suspects arrested at a West Cobb home following a standoff with law enforcement had their first hearings in Cobb Magistrate Court.
Christopher Golden, 30, is being held without bond after being charged Friday with two counts of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Christopher Cook 32, has been charged with eight counts of theft. He also is being denied bond after his original bail was set at $1.230.
They were apprehended late Thursday night after the deputies attempted to serve Cook a warrant for failing to appear on a theft by deception charge.
Instead, Golden emerged from the home on Hampton Glen Court, in the Cheatham Hill area, and fired on the deputies, according to police.
“This has broken the hearts of my deputies,” Owens said at the press conference at the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, which was attended by various law enforcement officials and Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.
“It hurts all of us.”
He said he’s spoken with the wives of both deputies, and pleaded with the media to give the families “the personal space they need” to grieve.
Cobb Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer, whose department is leading the investigation, provided limited details about the shootings, both because the evidence is still forthcoming, and out of fairness.
He said that at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Koleski and Ervin were attempting to serve a warrant and take Cook into custody in the driveway.
VanHoozer said Golden came out of the house with a weapon and was given “clear” verbal commands to drop it, but did not. Gunfire was exchanged between Golden and the deputies, both of whom, VanHoozer said, “succumbed to their wounds.”
VanHoozer said there were no other people in the home during the incident. He did not provide a description of the weapon used to shoot the deputies.
Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady issued a statement saying that “We extend our sincere condolences and prayers to the families of the two sheriff’s deputies killed in the line of duty, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, and the Cobb law enforcement community.”
But he refrained from further comment due to the pending investigation.
Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens speaks, joined by (from left) Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, Cobb Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer, GBI Director Mike Register and other law enforcement staff.
An individual named Stacy Cook is listed in Cobb tax records as the owner of the home, and Golden is listed in jail records as living at the same address.
According to court records, Cook was sentenced in 2015 to 10 years probation after pleading guilty to burglary and theft charges that were pressed in 2012.
VanHoozer declined to comment on previous incidents when asked by a reporter.
Law enforcement officers, VanHoozer added, “do this job knowing that they may have to give their lives for this job.”
They do it “to seek justice and to prevent incidents like this from happening.”
VanHoozer and Owens thanked not only other law enforcement agencies for their support, but also from citizens in the larger Cobb community and throughout the country.
“What we saw was not just a law enforcement community come together, but we saw the community come together,” VanHoozer said, noting such responses at the shooting scene and when he later went to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
“The sense of gratitude we saw from the community was amazing,” VanHoozer said.
Koleski joined the Cobb Sheriff’s Office in 2007, and Ervin in 2012.
According to the Officers Down Memorial Page, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office has had only one officer killed in the line of duty previously. That was Deputy Donald Terry Garrison, who died on Aug. 27, 1990 when his patrol car was struck by a speeding vehicle.
The Cobb Sheriff’s Foundation, a non-profit organization founded last year that serves Sheriff’s Office personnel and their families, has set up a donate button for its Fallen Officer Fund on its website.
“The funds that we will get will go to those families,” Foundation founder and executive director Robert Haley said at the press conference.
That includes setting up a scholarship fund for Ervin’s children, but also direct and immediate resources, including attorneys’ services.
“We are prepared to provide them with funding right now for their immediate needs,” Haley said. “We are ready to respond to this terrible, terrible tragedy.”
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Three young adults from Florida were arrested last week near the Sope Creek parking lot of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area on loiter prowling charges after Cobb Police said they were committing car break-ins.
Arrest warrants for Manuel Orellana, Diego Rivera and Yanara Riveros, all of Kissimmee, Fla., indicate they have been charged with loiter prowling, a misdemeanor, and possession of tools for the commission of a crime, a felony.
They are all in their late 20s and were arrested on Aug. 29, the warrants state. They remain in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on $10,000 bonds, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.
The warrants stated that between 1-1:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, the three suspects were sitting in a vehicle in the Sope Creek parking lot of the Chattahoochee NRA (3726 Paper Mill Road).
The officer who took out the warrant was in a patrol car in the parking lot, and wrote that the accused were “in a place at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals under circumstances that warranted a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons and property in the vicinity.”
The vehicle the suspects were riding in began to back out of a parking space, and someone noticed the patrol car, according to the warrants.
The vehicle, identified in the warrants as a GMC Terrain with Florida plates, then pulled into a parking spot, and the individuals went for a walk, the warrants allege.
Upon returning from the walk, the Terrain left the park but was pulled over due to what police said was a failure to maintain a lane of traffic, according to the warrants.
The Sheriff’s Office booking reports indicate the arrests were made in the Paper Mill/Terrell Mill Road area.
The warrants further states that the officer searched the vehicle after detecting a marijuana odor, and found marijuana and THC vaping cartridges.
The officer also said in the warrants that screwdrivers were found in the Terrain, as was a cylinder from a vehicle door lock.
Also discovered during the search were four gift cards, “common proceeds from entering autos,” according to the warrants.
The warrants state that the suspects gave conflicting stories on where the gift cards came from and how the tools got there, but that all three said they were in the area visiting local parks and sports arenas for “tourism.”
The warrants said that one of the suspects told police they broke into a car at another park, and also had done so in Florida before coming to Georgia.
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The Cobb Sheriff’s Office said Friday afternoon that the two men arrested after the shooting deaths of two deputies Thursday night will have first hearings Friday afternoon.
Officer Jeremy Blake identified the suspects as Christopher Cook and Christopher Golden, and said their hearings will be at 4 p.m. Friday in Cobb Magistrate Court.
Golden, 30, has been charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault and is being held without bond, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
Cook, 32, is being booked on at least eight charges of theft by deception and theft by receiving stolen property and is being held on a bond of $1,320.
Blake said Cobb Sheriff’s Office, Cobb Police and Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials will have a press conference after the hearing to provide more details.
The names of the two deputies have not been made public as of 2 p.m. Friday.
They were shot while serving a warrant at a home on Hampton Glen Court in West Cobb Thursday evening.
Deputies were trying to serve a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of theft by deception, but no one was home, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
A vehicle then pulled into the driveway and shots were fired, the Sheriff’s Office said. An hours-long standoff ended after midnight Friday as two men peacefully surrendered.
The deputies were only the second and third from Cobb to die in the line of duty.
Cobb tax assessor’s office records show that Cook is the owner of the Hampton Glen Court home. Golden’s home address is listed at the same location, according to jail records.
UPDATED FRIDAY 1:15 A.M.:
Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens said two suspects he said “ambushed” two of his deputies Thursday were taken into custody after an hours-long standoff at a West Cobb home.
The names of the deputies have not been released pending notification of family, and the identities of the suspects also have not been revealed.
Owens said the deputies were trying to serve a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of theft by deception at a residence on Hampton Glen Drive, but no one was home.
A vehicle pulled into the driveway and gunfire ensued, according to Owens, who said the deputies were able to call for help.
One of the suspects was arrested shortly after the shootings, he said, and the other was arrested after a standoff.
Owens held a press conference shortly after midnight Friday at the Cobb Sheriff’s Office headquarters with heads of other law enforcement agencies standing by.
Cobb Police is leading the investigation.
More to come later Friday.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday night that two of its deputies have been killed in the line of duty.
In a social media posting at 9 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office said the deputies were at a residence serving a warrant when they died. The message said a saw suspect is being barricaded and that Cobb Police SWAT and Fugitive Apprehension Support Team personnel are on the scene.
The location is on Hampton Glen Drive, a residential street west of Marietta in the Cheatham Hill area.
It’s off Irwin Road near John Ward Road, and law enforcement from multiple agencies are responding.
“We will release additional information, including the names of the fallen deputies, as it becomes available,” the Sheriff’s Office message said.
According to the Officers Down Memorial Page, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office has had only one officer killed in the line of duty previously. That was Deputy Donald Terry Garrison, who died on Aug. 27, 1990 when his patrol car was struck by a speeding vehicle on Roswell Street in Marietta.
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Cobb Collaborative and the SAM Foundation will present Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid, at East Cobb United Methodist Church next week.
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and the ASIST program “teaches participants to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety,” according to a release about the workshop.
The workshop is free, and is being made possible by Cobb Collaborative, a consortium of community non-profits, and the Alabama-based SAM Foundation (Suicide Awareness Means . . . ), which raises awareness of and provides training for the prevention of suicide.
It’s named after a young man who took his own life in 2002.
The workshop takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Thursday and Friday at East Cobb UMC (2325 Roswell Road).
Participants must be at least 16 years old and don’t need any previous formal health care training to attend.
The workshop will teach participants about how to prevent suicide by recognizing signs, providing a skilled intervention, and developing a safety plan to keep someone alive.
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Bring your fishing pole (and license) to Ebenezer Downs Park Saturday morning.
There’s a good chance of rain with a number of free outdoor-oriented events scheduled in East Cobb, so check weather updates before heading out.
On Friday, another weekly Electric Avenue Concert take place at The Avenue East Cobb (4475 Roswell Road) near what’s going to become the heart of the retail center’s redevelopment. From 6-8 p.m. guitarist Jeff Gillman will be performing on stage. You can bring your own tailgate chairs but coolers and outside beverages are not allowed.
The Battery Atlanta will be the venue Saturday morning for the American Heart Association’s Greater Atlanta Heart Walk. It’s free for individuals and groups to take part (although they’re asked to register) to help raise funds and awareness for improving heart health and reducing heart disease (800 Battery Avenue).
Saturday morning recreational events are on tap, with a fishing outing on tap from 9-10:30 a.m. at Ebenezer Downs Park (4055 Ebenezer Road). It’s Fish With Your Commish, District 3 Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell’s occasional series of community meetings at the area’s newest passive park. It’s also being billed as a chance to have a “Conversation With Your Cop,” as Cobb Police personnel will be on hand to talk about public safety issues. If you’re going to bring a fishing pole, make sure to bring your license too.
The monthly Hyde Farm Walking Tours led by Cobb Parks and Recreation continue Saturday at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., and give the public a chance to explore what life on an 1840s-era working farm was like. The 45-minute walks explore the Chattahoochee River and lowland forests, lush with orchards and wildlife. The walks are free; but you’re asked to register at the above link (721 Hyde Road).
Sunday afternoon marks the fall return of Music in the Park, sponsored by Friends for the East Cobb Park. The electic sounds of the Dark Star Brothers can be heard from 4-6, and you can bring chairs, blankets and food to quad by the concert shell. Other concerts in the series are Sept. 25 and Oct. 9 (3320 Roswell Road).
You can find our calendar listings in one handy place on our site. If you have events to share with the public, please e-mail: calendar@eastcobbnews.com and we will post them here.
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Photo Credit: Chris Savas for Georgia Symphony Orchestra
The Marietta-based Georgia Symphony Orchestra has announced what it’s calling a “Give Back” initiative to award funding to music programs in metro Atlanta, specifically in local schools.
According to a GSO release, participating programs will receive 15 percent of all ticket sales associated with their organization through the 2022-23 season.
That season begins Saturday with a “Brass Splash” event. “Give Back” participants will receive their donations at the end of the season, when ticket sales are finalized.
“We want to partner with the community to invest in local schools,” Susan Stensland, the GSO’s interim co-executive director, said in the release. “This initiative perfectly aligns with our mission to enrich our community and to instill and fulfill a lifelong appreciation for the arts.”
The GSO’s 72nd season includes nine concerts and 14 performances, including matinees, and concerts also will include the GSO Chorus and the GSO Jazz ensembles.
For more information and for music program partnership eligibility details, e-mail info@georgiasymphony.org or call 770-615-2908.
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A handful of public electric vehicle charging stations in East Cobb are primarily centered along Johnson Ferry Road.
The latest are at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center, where two free Volta charging stations have been installed in the corner of the parking lot closest to the East Cobb Library.
They provide a Level 2 charge, delivering 6.2 to 19.2 kilowatts, requiring a 208-240 Volt, 40 Amp circuit.
According to Evocharge, an EV charging station manufacturer, a Level 2 charge typically provides 32 miles of driving range per hour of charge, and takes an estimated 6-8 hours to fully charge.
Most electric vehicles are equipped with a Level 1 charge that provides a 1.2 kilowatt charge using a common household 120-volt circuit and provides typically four hours of driving range per hour of charge. The estimated time for a full charge is 11-20 hours.
Based in San Francisco, Volta has nearly 3,000 free EV charging stations across the country, including nearly 200 in metro Atlanta. Volta also has installed six chargers at Six Flags Whitewater and four at Town Center at Cobb.
Other EV charging stations in East Cobb charge customers to use their stations.
SemaConnect has installed two Level 2 stations at Woodlawn Point Shopping Center (1100 Johnson Ferry Road) that costs $1.50 an hour.
The same cost applies for two Level 2 chargers at the Koala Express Shell Station (1280 Johnson Ferry Road).
At Merchants Walk (1311 Johnson Ferry Road), there are two ChargePoint Level 2 chargers at the front entrance to the Kohl’s department store. The cost is $1.25 an hour.
The AAA Car Care Plus at 1197 Johnson Ferry Road has two EVGo Level 3 chargers. Those are considered the fastest chargers. An EVGo membership is required, and there are various levels of charging rates available.
Charge Hub, which helps EV drivers find charging stations, has created an interactive map. Other East Cobb-area EV stations include the Walgreens at 2975 Delk Road, the Franklin Gateway Sports Complex and GE Complex at Wildwood Office Park.
EV owners are encouraged to check with each charging station provider for availability, pricing and reservations before heading to the pumps.
Rivian, which received more than $1.5 billion in state tax incentives in the largest industrial project in Georgia, has drawn opposition for environmental reasons, and from locals who don’t want their rural way of life to be affected.
California recently became the first state in the country to ban the production of gasoline-fueled vehicles, by 2035, and other states could follow suit.
Georgia is not among those states that have tied state laws to federal vehicle emissions standards.
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Fall break in the Cobb County School District takes place from Sept. 26-30, and special arts-oriented camps have been scheduled for children during that week.
They include dance camps at The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road) called Get It! Jazz and Hip Hop Dance Camp for children ages 6-10. There’s also the Island Adventure Musical Theater Camp for children ages 6-12. Please register online or call 770-509-2700.
At the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road), there will be a Disney-themed Island Adventure Musical Theater Camp for children ages 5-12. Register online, in person, or over the phone at 770-509-2711.
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Last year James Whitcomb, an East Cobb resident, swam 10 miles at the Mountain View Aquatic Center to help raise money for Tunnel to Towers.
He got pledges exceeding $20K, and recently let us know he’s asking for the same this year as he repeats his “Mega Swim” challenge.
This year, however, he’s extending his time in the pool to 13.1 miles—a half-marathon—when he pops into the pool at 6:30 a.m. Friday.
Tunnell to Towers is a non-profit that assists seriously injured first responders and military veterans with mortgage-free homes and other housing assistance.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
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A participant in a 2018 town hall regarding the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center expresses a common sentiment of our times.
In April, the journalist-turned-venture capital entrepreneur Katherine Boyle penned a widely-read essay that really lit a fire under me at the right time.
A reporter at The Washington Post when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purchased the newspaper, Boyle has had a front-row seat at the convergence of media and technology in the early 21st century.
She’s now a general partner at Andreesen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley VC firm started by Marc Andreesen, the web browser pioneer behind Mosaic and Netscape.
Boyle has made the leap of many journalists going into something else over the last two decades, as our profession and various media industries have been in major transformation if not rapid decline.
In her piece for the Common Sense newsletter founded by Bari Weiss, a former columnist at The New York Times, Boyle concluded that American dynamism is lagging primarily because we’re just not all that serious about building for the future.
She takes aim at the massive institutional decay and warped priorities that have marked our times. Yet she strikes a tone of optimism in closing when she writes that “We do not need aging institutions to pave the way for American dynamism. But we need American will.”
I nodded my head often while reading this blunt, but hopeful argument. This paragraph from Boyle in particular I want to shoot straight into my veins:
“Building is an action, a choice, a decision to create and move. It is shovels in the dirt with a motley crew of doers who get the job done because no one else will. Building is the only certainty. The only thing we can control. When the projects we believed were Teflon strong are fraying like the history they toppled, the only thing to do is to make something new again.”
I’m among the journalists who couldn’t imagine doing anything else but the news, and that’s what prompted me to start East Cobb News. The idea was to bootstrap it for a couple of years, then ramp up the editorial and business side.
In March 2020, just as I was seeking office space and lining up freelancers, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, and we all know what happened next. I buckled up to cover a story unlike anything else in my 40 years as a professional journalist.
Building something from scratch is hard enough, but carrying on during such a surreal time was something I never imagined.
There were days when I literally did not know what day it was, or if I would ever write something that wasn’t about COVID.
As I’ve noted previously, we got major increases in web traffic due to extensive coverage of the local COVID response, which affected people in every aspect of their daily lives.
That was a silver lining, to know how valuable your product has become to others, and I’ve tried to identify others as we appear to have put the worst of the pandemic behind us.
As another Labor Day holiday approaches, I feel very gratified to have made it this far, re-energized and grateful to the community that we’re serving.
I hear from readers frequently about how they appreciate what they read at East Cobb News, and I can’t overstate how much that means to me. I get some complaints, too, and try to address them in the same way as the compliments.
It was 14 years ago this week that I left the newspaper business, when I took a buyout at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I was taken aback this week to read that the place that nourished my career over 18 years appears to be ending daily print editions, publishing a newspaper only on the weekend.
This scenario isn’t all that surprising, and other newspapers are likely to follow suit.
The ink-stained wretches in my profession have been nostalgic about the old days for years. While I will always love what newspapers have been (for the most part), the news isn’t about a delivery system. It’s not about the feel of a newspaper in your hands with your morning coffee.
Tactile pleasures aside, it’s about the news, and the best way to provide it and deliver it to a readership. That’s why it’s imperative to keep building outlets that meet their readers and advertisers where they are.
The slogan under my masthead is “Local News for the Way You Live Today,” and that’s my the premise of my building project.
I’ve watched my own industry evaporate in front of my eyes, and chronicled the last couple years of death and loss during a pandemic, tearing and burning things down, the ripping apart of the social fabric and the public trust. All I want to do is keep building, keep making this site the best it can be for a community that nurtured me.
It’s not on a scale of the tech companies or a larger news media entity. I’ve planted a seed where I am, and want to cultivate it.
Most of all, I want to build something that will outlast me. A former colleague at Patch who started her own news site and magazine in Walton County has sold them to the local newspaper.
Her example and determination helped inspire me to start East Cobb News. Cynthia Rozzo, the founder of the EAST COBBER, recently sold the magazine to her advertising manager, Laren Brown, who is carrying the publication into its third decade.
That’s remarkable staying power, something I hope to realize some day. But there’s still a lot of building to do. I’m unpacking the results of a recent reader survey, and plotting out editorial and business objectives for the rest of the year.
For the first time in a long time, however, I’m going to take a couple days away from the screen, Sunday and Monday—barring major breaking news—and absorb the true meaning of Labor Day.
I hope you will too, and I encourage you to stay in touch.
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The McCleskey Family-East Cobb YMCA and Northeast Cobb YMCA are among the branches participating in the Metro Atlanta YMCA’s Annual Days of Service events next Saturday, Sept. 10.
The events bring together volunteers to complete service projects at the branches and to benefit those in need in surrounding communities.
The McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA (1055 E. Piedmont Road) will host volunteers to assist with outdoor painting projects from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The Northeast Cobb Family YMCA (3010 Johnson Ferry Road) will host volunteers for a beautification day, also from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Volunteers will assist with weeding, trimming, painting curbs, and cleaning up the parking lot. The Northeast Y will also be packing hygiene kits and making blankets for children.
For information and to sign up to volunteer, click here.
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The 14th Cobb Diaper Day is returning in September and October in virtual format, with a goal of collecting 100,000 diapers for families in need.
Simple Needs GA is one of the Cobb non-profits distributing diapers to parents in need.
Organizers said those interested in contributing can do so in several ways. They can make direct contribution to the Cobb Diaper Day website, purchase them on Amazon through the Cobb Diaper Day Wish-list and declare a collection day at workplaces and organizations and with families and friends.
Since its inception in 2008, the non-profit Cobb Diaper Day has collected and distributed more than a million diapers.
Two Wednesdays in October have been designated for dropping off diapers at the solar flower garden of Cobb EMC (1000 Emc Pkwy NE, Marietta): Oct. 12 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Oct. 26 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Once collected, the diapers will be turned over to several community organizations for final distribution:
Cobb Douglas Public Health Teen Pregnancy Program
Communities in Schools of Georgia in Marietta/Cobb County
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Single-family homes on half-acre lots are being planned by Brooks Chadwick. For a larger view, click here.
A noted East Cobb development firm will soon submit plans to Cobb officials for a single-family subdivision on Shallowford Road near Blackwell Road.
Brooks Chadwick is proposing to build 29 homes on nearly 18 acres of the Powers property, which includes a 13-acre lake.
But the developer isn’t seeking a change from the present R-20 zoning, so there won’t be any public meetings.
Todd Thrasher, a managing partner at Brooks Chadwick Capital LLC, told East Cobb News that although there’s a denser R-15 neighborhood nearby, “we feel like our future community will be prettier, and allow for a better development as an R-20 community than if we were to rezone and cramming for density on our site.”
The issue of density has come up about the project, and Thrasher said “I wanted the community to know that we’re not putting up apartments.”
Density has become a hot topic in recent months in an area of Northeast Cobb that’s been undergoing substantial development.
Cobb commissioners last fall approved a 92-home subdivision on Ebenezer Road despite objections from nearby residents over density and stormwater issues, but the developer, Pulte Homes, later pulled out of the project.
Also last year, commissioners approved the redevelopment of the Sprayberry Corners Shopping Center that includes senior apartments. A plan to include market-rate apartments was scotched by the developer, Atlantic Realty, after commissioner JoAnn Birrell opposed them.
The Powers property is is in an area that is strictly single-family residential.
The homes being planned by Brooks Chadwick in its 23rd residential development in East Cobb would start at around 4,000 square feet, with prices starting around $1 million.
Thrasher said they’re just inside the Lassiter High School attendance zone and will have one access point, on Shallowford Road.
Brooks Chadwick sold off those 49 acres to other developers and Thrasher said his firm is likely to follow suit with the Shallowford Road property.
“We’ll buy the land, put the street in” as well as other basic infrastructure before selling off to another homebuilder, Thrasher said.
The Powers property includes 42 acres, and he said that land along the north side, bordered by Eula Drive, is being sold to another builder for nine residential lots.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
John Swierenga, owner of Trash Taxi: “We can fix this without disrupting what we have.”
A number of mostly small and independent trash haulers pleaded with Cobb officials Wednesday to work with them to resolve long-standing service issues.
Most adamantly, they asked that Cobb not approve a code amendment that they claimed would put many of them out of business.
Even before the “trash summit” at the Cobb Civic Center, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said neither she nor any of her colleagues were in favor of a designating a single hauler for each of four commissioner districts.
That was at the heart of a proposal by the Cobb Sustainability, Solid Waste and Beautification director presented last week during a work session.
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell had previously suggested delaying trash service changes until January, but Cupid was hopeful changes to the proposal could be hammered out by the time commissioners vote on code amendments later this month.
UPDATE: After we published this story, Birrell included the following information in her weekly e-mail newsletter:
“As the code amendment package has been advertised, there will still be a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Sept. 13 on all proposed code amendments. However, after the public hearing, we plan to make a motion and vote to table the Solid Waste code section. It is a consensus of the BOC—none of us are in favor of the proposed one hauler per district.”
She and fellow Republican commissioner Keli Gambrill attended the summit along with Cupid. You can watch the full two-hour summit below.
The trash-related proposals are expected to be pulled before commissioners vote on code amendments later this month.
“We want a code amendment framework to address all these issues,” Cupid said at the outset of the meeting, referring to five areas of concern that she said have continued since the recession.
They include some areas that haulers will not serve, inconsistent service, multiple trash haulers serving the same neighborhood, illegal dumping and a lack of curbside recycling.
Kimberly White, executive director of Keep Cobb Beautiful, a government agency, said the county had to close several recycling dropoff spots it maintained because the private hauler it contracted with “couldn’t keep up.”
Some of those locations became an eyesore, she said, and KCB is trying to reopen more spots.
Shannan Salvey, co-owner of S & B Junk Removal, said in prepared remarks that the county “couldn’t handle recycling and now you want to manage trash for the whole county.”
She said the proposed code amendment would “take away our customers’ pursuit of happiness.” A single-hauler monopoly, she said, goes against “the foundations of our country.”
Unlike the previous work session, Wednesday’s meeting with the haulers included a lengthy discussion on recycling.
The proposed code amendment also would have required trash haulers to provide recycling services, something Cupid said residents have been complaining about.
Jon Swierenga of East Cobb, owner of Trash Taxi, said he and other haulers offer recycling, but it’s not mandatory and it comes with an additional fee.
When White said that “charging extra for recycling is too much” for some customers, he responded that “it’s not that we don’t want to recycle. But we cannot absorb all that cost.
“It’s not that the service isn’t available,” Swierenga said. “It’s that customers don’t want to pay for it. That’s the issue. We want to provide the services but we can’t do it for free.”
Also sitting at the table was Parks Huff, a noted Cobb zoning attorney who was representing the haulers. He suggested improving communications with the public as well as the haulers.
“It costs the same to pick up recycling as it does trash,” he said. “That needs to be communicated.”
He also said he didn’t know there was a recycling station at Lost Mountain Park until he went there one day.
Haulers said they were blindsided by the code amendment, which was proposed without their input. Jonathan Jenkins, head of the Cobb solid waste department, said he hadn’t met with haulers since 2019.
“We need time to address these issues,” Swierenga said. “We would like to hear of complaints that we can respond to in 24-48 hours. We can fix this without disrupting what we have.”
He said he was optimistic in saying that “I see a win-win down the road on this.”
Cupid reiterated that there isn’t a proposed 18 percent fee increases for sanitation services that some opponents of the proposed code amendments had claimed.
“We want every resident to have access to trash service, a robust recycling program and reduce litter in the county,” she said in a statement in her newsletter Friday. “This is a constructive meeting, and we are going to work to improve communications and work towards a solution.”
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Cobb Collaborative and the SAM Foundation will present Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid, at East Cobb United Methodist Church next week.
