The current Good Mews cat shelter location opened in a standalone building on Robinson Road in 2015. ECN file photo.
The Good Mews Animal Foundation, a no-kill cat shelter in East Cobb, has announced that founder Gloria Skeen Cornell has died.
The organization posted a notice on its website and Facebook page on Monday.
“Gloria’s passion for animal welfare was no secret. She became inspired early in life after witnessing animal abuse and vowed to one day do what she could to put an end to it,” read the message by the shelter’s board of directors.
Gloria Skeen Cornell, Good Mews founder
A former flight attendant, she inadvertently started what became Good Mews out of her townhouse in 1988, taking in an abandoned cat after returning from a trip, then added another stray after that.
The shelter moved to space on Sandtown Road in Marietta, then to East Cobb, initially at the Fountains at Olde Towne shopping center.
When that center was razed for a medical office building, Good Mews built a standalone building on Robinson Road and relocated there in late 2015.
The shelter typically holds up to 100 cats at a time, and Good Mews also has created a foster cat program for about 30-40 cats.
Since its opening Good Mews has placed more than 10,000 neglected, abandoned and abused cats in homes and has an average adoption rate of 450 cats a year.
“It’s a place where thousands of homeless kitties found their forever home, a place that helped Cobb County Animal Services achieve no-kill status, a place that provides on-site TNR services to surrounding low-income areas, and an inviting place many consider a home away from home,” the Good Mews message read.
“Although there are many more programs and community involvement that have come to fruition since Gloria’s founding, we wouldn’t be here without her.”
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Tianya Hunter, a recent graduate of Sprayberry High School, is a recipient of a college scholarship from the Cobb Community Foundation.
Hunter is one of three inaugural recipients of the CCF’s Fostering Education Scholarship Fund. They are awarded to students who have been in foster care settings and are aging out as they leave high school.
Hunter, who is 19, plans to attend the College of Coastal Georgia, a four-year public university in Brunswick.
The other recipients are Collins Arrey of Campbell High School, who will be going to Albany State University, and Thinh Nguyen of Duluth, who’s headed to Georgia State University.
The three students combined received $7,500 in scholarship money.
“The instability of life in foster care often proves to be a distraction from learning and school performance,” the CCF stated in a release announcing the scholarship recipients.
“Financial resources, mentorship, support, and stability are not commonly available to help these individuals complete degree programs that lead to well-paying, stable employment. This is the reason why caring individuals in our community have joined together to fund these awards.”
Everlean Rutherford and Isaiah Wilcox created Village Connection which is an organization that supports children in foster care by providing duffel bags containing essential care items. Melissa Conti is a business owner and philanthropist who has a heart for children in foster care. The Cobb Community Foundation introduced the 2 Village Connection leaders to Melissa Conti, and the three of them worked to make the scholarship happen.
The program is the result of efforts by Everlean Rutherford and Isaiah Wilcox, who created Village Connection, an organization that supports children in foster care by providing essential care items. They were introduced to Melissa Conti, owner of Innovative Fitness in Kennesaw, who joined forces to create the scholarship fund.
CCF said it’s accepting donations for scholarship recipients for future years, and they can be made by clicking here.
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Cobb commissioners on Tuesday accepted a settlement with Rite Aid for $3.5 million after nearly four years of opioid-related litigation.
By a 4-1 vote, commissioners approved the settlement with the pharmacy chain as part of a “bellwether” series of lawsuits that included local governments in Durham, N.C. and Montgomery County, Ohio.
The lawsuit alleges that “Rite Aid failed to effectively monitor and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids from its retail stores and failed to implement measures to prevent diversion of prescription opioids, which contributed to an increase in opioid addictions, overdoses, and deaths” in Cobb, Montgomery County and Durham.
The lawsuit also claimed that “Rite Aid failed to adequately train pharmacists at its retail stores on how to adequately handle prescriptions for opioids and failed to institute policies and procedures at its retail stores to avoid the diversion of opioids.”
A trial was to have begun next year; Rite Aid admitted to no wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement, which will cost it $10.5 million total to all three jurisdictions.
Cobb also has joined broader litigation against opioids manufacturers, who are being sued for damages stemming from the opioids epidemic.
Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris will be forming a committee to determine how the Rite Aid settlement money is to be spent. The most likely designation could be for recovery and treatment expenses.
Before the vote Tuesday, Missy Owen of the Davis Direction Foundation, an addiction recovery non-profit, urged commissioners to agree to the settlement so the community can “begin to focus on the real task at hand—saving lives.”
Her son Davis died of a heroin overdose in 2014 at the age of 20. Since then, she and her husband founded the foundation that bears Davis’ name, as well as The Zone, a space off Fairground Street in Marietta for those in long-term addiction recovery.
She also began a recovery roundtable with former Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds that continues.
Owen said there were 30 hospitalizations in last month alone in Cobb for fentanyl poisoning, and that “15 of those 30 thought they were taking something other than fentanyl.
“No amount of money will ever make this right,” Owen said, fighting back some emotion. “When you ask a mother to put a price on the life of a child, there will never be enough to cover the cost. However, we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good that can be done with this settlement money right now.”
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell thanked her for her comments, saying “I know that it was difficult to speak up.”
Commissioner Keli Gambrill also noted Owens remarks but said that she wouldn’t vote to accept the settlement because “the lawsuit does not address the root cause” of substance abuse and addiction.
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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Leadership Cobb, a leadership development program of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, announced on Monday its Class of 2022-23.
They include elected officials and community and business leaders who will spend the next 10 months involved with “leadership training, teambuilding, and educational experiences highlighting our community’s greatest success stories and most significant ongoing challenges,” according to the Cobb Chamber.
The program began in 1983, and the new group includes 54 individuals:
Val Akopov, Wellstar Health System
Alex Almodovar, City of Acworth
Tiffany Barney, Cobb County School District
Megan Benvenuto, Northwest Family YMCA
Chris Britton, Brasfield & Gorrie
Flynn Broady, Cobb District Attorney
Daniel Browne, Georgia Tech Research Institute
Ann Burris, Georgia Department of Human Services
Stacey Chapman, CROFT & Associates,
Robin Cheramie, Kennesaw State University
Braxton Cotton, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
Stephanie Cox, Cobb Chamber | SelectCobb
Michael Cunningham, Deputy Chief, Cobb County Fire & Emergency Services
Chad Curry, 41 South Creative
Ross Dicken II, Cobb EMC
Joy Doss, The Doss Firm, LLC
Corey Ferguson, Dallas Smith & Company
Lara Ferreira, The Third Door & Temperance Trailers
Marla Ferrell, Genuine Parts Company
Jordan Fessehaie, Delta Air Lines
Lynn Flanders, Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority
Matt Giddens, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Joseph Goldstein, Goldstein’s, Inc. and Marietta City Council
Michael Gordon, Mauldin & Jenkins
Tim Gould, City of Smyrna
Christopher Hansard, Superior Court of Cobb County
Ashley Jenkins, Gas South
Bobby Johnson, Johnson & Alday, LLC
Sheree Knowles, HRKS
Jessica Lee, Atlanta Braves
Joseph Malbrough, The UPS Store Smyrna
Taneesha Marshall, Federal Aviation Administration
Felicia McDade, Salesforce
Tamie Montgomery, Walton Communities
Komal Patel, Lockheed Martin
Drew Raessler, Director, Cobb County Department of Transportation
Taylor Rambo, Sew Dreams Come True
Amy Reeves, Wellstar Medical Group Pediatrics at Brookstone
Adam Ross, Cumberland CID
Mike Schroeder, 1885 Grill
Monique Sheffield, Cobb Board of Commissioners
Jennifer Stanley, Northside Hospital Cherokee
Falecia Stewart, MUST Ministries, Inc.
Sean Stewart, Kaiser Permanente
Lydia Stinson, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Lisa Sunday, SouthState Bank
Andrea TheoJohn, The ADS Agency
Chris Thomas, Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Dennette Thornton, Arthur M. Blank Sports & Entertainment
Hillary Thrower, The Home Depot
Aimee Turner, Croy Engineering
Michael Urbina, Urbina Law Firm, LLC
Bobby Van Buren, The Insurance Gurus
Chris Young, Accenture LLP
The theme of the new class, according to the Cobb Chamber, is “Together We Can. . . . In addition to learning about all the great things happening in Cobb County and beyond, Leadership Cobb wants to confront inequities that exist and provide the class opportunities to step up as leaders to address these challenges.”
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Last year the organization raised nearly $100,000 for a number of local non-profits and drew the interest of more than 800 participants along a course around the McCleskey Family-East Cobb YMCA (1055 East Piedmont Road, between Roswell Road and Sewell Mill Road).
Dog Days Run coordinator Butch Carter, a longtime Rotary member, said the goals this year are to surpass those figures.
“It’s a huge run, but we’d like to get to a thousand,” he said of the number of entries for the 5K event.
But he notes that while “every runner is important,” entry fees comprise only a portion of the money the event raises.
Carter said there’s a real need for more local businesses and organizations to sign up as sponsors, and Rotary members are busy knocking on doors and ringing the phone lines.
“That’s where we need to focus,” said Carter, whose auto repair shop, Honest-1, is among this year’s sponsors. “The vast majority of what we raise comes from some great local companies.”
Other sponsors include the Indian Hills Country Club, the YMCA, Pinnacle Orthopaedics, and the Malon D. Mimms Company.
Sponsorships range from $250 to $10,000, and for $1,000 or more a sponsor will get a table at the race site on the YMCA grounds.
Sponsorship levels also include a company’s name on the race shirt and event signage, as well as social media and website mentions and verbal recognition during the event.
A presenting sponsor—at $10,000—not only is the subject of a featured podcast highlighting its organization, but also receives eight complimentary tickets and gets to offer remarks during the Rotary Club’s Give Back Ceremony.
That’s a dinner held in the fall to announce the grant recipients from the Dog Days Run proceeds.
Recent organizations include Aloha to Aging, the Cobb Library Foundation, Family Promise, the MDE School, the Cobb Public Safety Celebration, The Exenstion, YMCA and the AVID program at Wheeler High School.
Carter said organizations must apply every year, and they “have to explain what they’re going to do” with the grant money.
All sponsorships also have at least one free race entry.
For other participants, registration is $30 through July 31, and $35 afterwards and for “phantom” runners, those participating elsewhere.
The Dog Days Run begins at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6, and race-day registration begins at 6:30 a.m.
There also are cash prizes for category winners, including overall male and female, master male and female, grandmaster male and female and senior male and female.
To register, and for more information, click here. For volunteer information, click here.
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The Cobb Police Department is continuing to collect school supplies for students who need them through the end of the month during what it calls its Book Bag Palooza.
Donations will be accepted at all five police precincts through July 30 as noted in the flyer, including Precinct 4 (4400 Lower Roswell Road).
KIDS CARE, a local non-profit for youth and teen community service volunteers, is collecting new back packs and school supplies through July 30 at the Cobb Civic Center, (548 S. Marietta Parkway).
Some other other dropoff options not included in the flyer: You can drive up at the Civic Center from 1-4 p.m. Friday, July 15 and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 30.
Also on July 30, Cobb Police will be holding a back-to-school festival at the Civc Center with bounce houses, games, clowns, train rides and more. This is a free event with free parking and proceeds will benefit KIDS CARE.
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From Cobb County government, the deadline has been extended to apply to the end of business today, and vendor selection will be announced next Monday, July 18:
Cobb’s annual International Festival is accepting applications until this Monday, July 11 for food vendors, artists and community groups for the event at Jim Miller Park Event Center in Marietta on Aug. 27. The festival features food, costumes and cultural performances from around the world.
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Local businesses can sign up now for the 2022 Cobb Chamber Taylor English Golf Classic on Monday, Sept. 19 at Indian Hills Country Club in East Cobb.
The event helps businesses enjoy time with business friends, clients or prospects, and to network with Cobb Chamber leadership and board members.
More from the Chamber on what’s slated, and how to sign up:
“The cost is $265 per golfer or $1,000 per foursome. This annual sell-out event fills up fast, so participants are encouraged to register early to be guaranteed a spot.
“The four-person, Ft. Lauderdale scramble begins with a shotgun start at 11 a.m. Registration and the driving range open at 9 a.m. and the chipping/putting contest is at 9:15 a.m. Box lunches are provided on the cart.
“Businesses can take advantage of the marketing opportunity the tournament presents through several levels of sponsorship. Sponsorship participation allows local businesses to show support for the Cobb Chamber and those participating, along with positive messaging for their company. All sponsorship levels include different forms of signage and advertising at the event and recognition in Chamber communications. The top levels include event tickets.
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It’s been a momentous ride through the first five years of East Cobb News.
I sit down to write this very special Editor’s Note exactly five years to the day I published the first post on East Cobb News.
July 8, 2017 was a Saturday, as punishingly hot then as what we’ve been experiencing in recent weeks, and I scrambled to find some shade in the parking lot at Sprayberry High School.
The Cherokee Wingmen Club had organized a fundraiser to benefit the Lcpl Skip Wells Foundation in the memory of the Sprayberry graduate and Marine officer who was killed in a terrorist attack in 2015 at the Chattanooga Naval Marine Reserve Center.
The lot filled with motorcyclists and as they revved up their engines, the sound roared across that busy Northeast Cobb quadrant with a vengeance.
As they filtered out onto Piedmont Road (see photo at the top), I hoped I had enough good photos to put together something publishable with my maiden post.
Among the many good news stories we’ve done at East Cobb News was the 30th anniversary of the Good Mews cat shelter.
To be honest, I had no idea when I set out for Sprayberry that day what I was going to do, or if anyone would notice. Not just for that story, but for others that followed.
It was just about getting started with an independent, truly community-focused local news website that I had planned for several months.
What I simply dubbed East Cobb News was actually the culmination of several years of reimagining more than 25 years of journalism experience in the corporate world.
Local news has been especially vulnerable to the catastrophic declines in legacy news media, and local news operations rooted in specific communities are even more endangered.
Corporate media entities like Gannett and investment firms and hedge funds have gobbled up local newspapers and stripped them down to practically nothing, booting longtime journalists and robbing citizens of vital news and information.
A hardy band of independents scattered across the country has been trying not just to fill the gap but offer a throwback to community news the way it used to be done.
My vision wasn’t original—serve readers and advertisers with professionally reported news and useful community information. The blessing of having an all-online format was that this could be done without being beholden to a print production cycle.
I had previously tried my hand at this as the founding editor of East Cobb Patch, a hyperlocal network started by AOL. After that effort foundered, AOL sold it off and I was out of a job.
A drive-by holiday light display shone brightly during two Christmas seasons under COVID.
But a seed was planted in my mind that a ground-up, grassroots approach would serve East Cobb well.
The comments I got from readers was encouraging. Yet going at it this way, especially in an area with The Marietta Daily Journal and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution—where I had spent most of my newspaper career—and other local outlets was daunting.
Another hyperlocal publisher told me when I started that if you can persevere, you can make it. I had no idea then what that would entail.
Five years, and nearly 4,000 posts later, I’m proud of what’s been built at East Cobb News. Over the last year, we’ve been averaging more than 120,000 page views and 60,000 unique visitors a month, and our newsletter subscribers total nearly 7,000.
There have been challenges and struggles and occasions when I questioned whether what I was doing would ever be enough.
In early 2019, I lost my mother, and that had a profound effect on me that continues today.
For the last two and a half years, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered many things. It provided me with a silver lining, as traffic increased due to coverage of the community response, especially schools, business closings, events and more.
Readers had come to this site to learn about those things, and some had expressed the value of what they found here. That, more than anything, helped me to keep pushing forward.
An East Cobb Cityhood effort that began in 2018 resulted in a whopping defeat in a May referendum.
There were days during those initial months of COVID when I wondered if I would write about anything else.
When the vaccines arrived, I received harrowing phone messages from frantic seniors, unable to contact the health department, desperately trying to book appointments.
Then we had educators in the Cobb school district who had died from COVID, and blistering criticisms of the district and school board ensued. Not long after that, a family member of mine became seriously ill from the virus, and it was touch and go for a few weeks before he began to recover.
It was in early 2021 that was the most difficult stretch, when I began to think if I wanted to continue with this. In a long career as a reporter, editor and now publisher, had I had enough?
But readers and so many others in the community helped me through, not just with comments and helpful feedback but by sending their own news of recognitions, honors and accomplishments.
There were so many important stories to tackle that have galvanized this community that couldn’t be ignored: The East Cobb cityhood saga, the Tokyo Valentino adult store controversy, the Mt. Bethel Church dispute, the Sprayberry Crossing and East Cobb Church rezoning cases.
Citizens demanding the redevelopment of Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center finally got their wish.
East Cobb News broke and/or led coverage of those stories, the stories that have the biggest impact to this community. I’m especially proud of that, and if it sounds like bragging, my apologies. Focusing on what really matters to a community is the foundation of everything I do.
After a lifetime of answering to corporate managers, and doing the news to curry access to movers and shakers, there’s nothing more gratifying that working on behalf of your neighbors and fellow local business owners and community members.
There is so much more work to do in a vibrant community that continues to change, and I’m eager to get started with that.
We have another round of elections in November, and a new school year is just around the corner. Zoning and development issues continue to resonate in East Cobb, and many local businesses are trying to regain their footing and figure out this post-pandemic world.
So is East Cobb News. Many of the editorial and business plans I set aside as COVID-19 was declared I’m restarting and revising now, and you’ll hear more about them soon.
I’ve sent out a reader survey to ask all of you what you like about East Cobb News, and what you don’t, what you think we can do different, or better.
Your responses (here’s the survey link) will help me guide the next phase of this publication, which I want to grow beyond daily news.
I’m reading through some of the survey results now, and they’re very interesting and helpful. I’ll share them in a future column.
While I don’t really get into too much anniversary stuff, I wanted to take this occasion to thank all of you for your thoughts, suggestions and support over these last five years.
East Cobb News is in this for the long haul, and I want to fashion this into a community voice for all of you. There is no more honorable mission.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, and please stay in touch.
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The following East Cobb food scores for the week of July 4 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The addresses include ZIP Codes and the subdivision names and high school districts are in parenthesis:
June 13
5009 Kingsley Manor Court, 30066 (Kingsley Manor Estates, Kell): Capstone Fund LLC to George Thomas and Jennifer Cumberbatch; $720,000
4498 Browning Court, 30066 (Winchester Manor, Lassiter): Pamela and Michael Roberts to Pamela Roberts; $323,390
3187 Walking Stick Overlook, 30066 (Wigley Preserve, Lassiter): John Hacek to Christopher and Tamara Fudger; $829,000
4267 Trickum Road, 30066 (Kell): GCO Capital LLC to 510 SFR Ga. Operations LLC; $390,000
598 Charing Cross Drive, 30066 (Canterbury North, Sprayberry): Wayne and Diana Tollison to Shania Janelle Oke; $450,000
3936 Bellair Drive, 30066 (Philmont Estates, Sprayberry): Manuela Gunnells Dalton, executor, estate of Elfriede Gunnells, to VM Pronto LLC; $245,000
1636 Hampton Oaks Bend, 30066 (Hampton Oaks, Sprayberry): Andrea Dresdner, trustee, Andrea Dresdner Living Trust, to Crystal and Yeavis Mathis; $805,000
2851 Seagrave Way, 30066 (Heritage Manor, Sprayberry): Brittany Holland to Preston and Bevan Spencer; $565,000
2451 Annandale Drive, 30066 (Village North, Sprayberry): Todd Geeting to Uddhav Das Shrestha and Nili Amatya; $525,000
June 14
3304 Greencastle Chase, 30062 (Wellington, Pope): Mario Cajati to Benjamin and Jody Hunt; $731,000
134 Vintage Club Circle Building 5, 30066 (Vintage Club Condos, Sprayberry): Martha Rais to Cynthia Landis; $430,000
2425 Renny Court, 30066 (Village North, Sprayberry): Jose Izaguirre to SHV Homes 4 LLC; $420,000
29 Jekyll Drive Unit 8, 30066 (Barrett Creek Townhomes, Sprayberry): Edith Schiwy to Clarissa Baker; $355,000
June 15
1584 Willow Drive, 30066 (Willow Creek, Kell): Britni Bruce to Jeffrey and Nancy Rhineheart; $435,000
2854 Lamer Trace, 30066 (Windsor Oaks, Lassiter): George McDonnell to Benjamin Halter and Sarita Montalvo; $690,5000
2109 Owls Nest, 30066 (Christopher Robbins, Kell): Jeffrey and Julie Glawatz to Gary Turner; $625,000
3890 Rock Mill Parkway, 30062 (Rock Mill, Lassiter): VN Master Issuer LLC to BTR Scattered Site Owner LLC; $448,410
3601 Canton Road Suite 132, 30066 (Willows at Chastain, Sprayberry): Kelly Waggoner Glenn and Lisa Waggoner Pope, co-executors, estate of Mary Waggoner, to James and Susan Wallace; $400,000
3009 Bunker Hill Road, 30062 (Bunker Hills, Pope): Sarah Ann Howard to Opendoor Property Trust; $429,400
306 Mark Avenue, 30066 (Kingswood Estates, Sprayberry): Melissa Abernathy to Rishika Laliwala; $150,000
1651 Mooregate Court, 30062 (Oaks at Sewell Farm, Walton): Wendy McCrabb to Shashank Jain and Sneha Shashindra Rao; $1.1 million
June 16
4232 North Mountain Road, 30066 (Highland Pointe, Lassiter): Oluwatoyin Adelaja to Joanna O’Leary; $735,000
3255 Devaughn Drive, 30066 (Village North Crossing, Lassiter): Katelyn Bento to Cory Gaddis and Jennifer Busca; $530,000
3150 Trickum Road, 30066 (Sprayberry): Janice Miller Edmundson and Jonathan Miller, trustees, Revocable Trust of Edna Miller to Effingham Holdings LLC; $545,000
3631 Cherbourg Way, 30062 (Dorset, Pope): Ryan and Shayna Goldfine to Zachary and Amy Thompson; $735,000
June 17
4516 Steinhauer Road, 30066 (Hunters Valley, Lassiter): John Yeager Jr. to Jacob and Kayla Cox; $455,000
4297 Rocky Glen, 30075 (Westchester, Lassiter): Kimberly Van Rysselberge to Vanessa Ann Luhr and Kelly Ethan James; $580,000
4001 Philmont Drive, 30066 (Philmont Estates, Sprayberry): Doris Simmons to Charles Edwin Gammage III; $325,000
4405 Lake Chimney Place, 30075 (Chimney Lakes, Lassiter): Michael David Picchi to Michael and Haejin Farinas; $670,000
3115 Big Shanty Trail, 30066 (Big Shanty Plantation, Sprayberry): Karen Camille Josey, executrix, estate of Robert Josey to James Purrington; $330,000
2970 Wayward Drive, 30066 (Oak Knoll, Sprayberry): Christopher Moffat, administrator, estate of Gerald Moffat to Julio and Wendy Arrecis; $270,000
2883 Laureate Court Unit 1, 30062 (The Laureate on Lassiter, Pope): Ankit Parekh to Adil Bensaid; $525,000
635 Piedmont Road, 30066 (Sprayberry): Frank Lynch III, trustee of the Frank T. Lynch Family Trust to Elmer Raul Juarez Morales; $199,900
2102 Hawthorne Point, 30062 (Chadds Ford, Pope): Barbara Pieters to James and Caroline White; $610,000
2185 Northfield Court, 30066 (North Field, Sprayberry): James and Brenda Sharp to Flor Cruz Munoz and Jose Cruz Hernandez; $392,500
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Catherine Mallanda, the principal at Walton High School in East Cobb, has been named the Chief Academic Officer for the Cobb County School District.
Catherine Mallanda
Mallanda’s appointment was announced early Thursday afternoon following an executive session of the Cobb Board of Education.
A Walton graduate in the Class of 1991, Mallanda has been the principal at Walton since 2018 and has been on the staff there for the last 20 years.
She will succeed Jennifer Lawson, who has been the district’s chief academic officer for the last three years.
Of Mallanda, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said he is “excited about what she will do.”
She had been an assistant principal at Walton when she was named to succeed longtime principal Judy McNeill.
Mallanda holds degrees from Georgia Tech and the University of West Georgia and a Ph.D. from Southern Mississippi.
She was a classroom teacher at Walton and McEachern High School before becoming an administrator at Walton in 2003.
Matthew Bradford
Cobb schools human resources officer Keeli Bowen also announced Thursday that Matthew Bradford, an assistant principal at Wheeler High School, has been named the new principal at Pope High School.
He will succeed Dr. Thomas Flugum, who has retired.
Bradford had been at Wheeler since 2019 after coming from South Cobb High School.
In a message sent Friday to the Pope community, Bradford noted that his entire 20-year career in education, including a role as a teacher at Kell High School, has been in the Cobb school district. His wife also has taught in the district for 25 years and they have two high-school-age children.
“I strongly believe that education is a life-long journey that comes with great responsibility for ourselves and others,” Bradford wrote. “I believe that as educators, we must always allow students to be involved in the decision-making process. As leaders, we help and guide them to achieve their goals by providing opportunities to succeed.”
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The space that’s been open next to the J. Jill store at The Avenue East Cobb will be occupied this fall by New York Butcher Shoppe.
North American Properties announced Thursday that the South Carolina-based chain will open its third metro Atlanta location in November.
NAP also said Warby Parker, an eyeglass retailer, and Tempur-Pedic, a sleep products manufacturer, will be opening stores at The Avenue this fall.
New York Butcher Shoppe, which was founded in 1999, has 20 locations in five states, including Milton and Sandy Springs. Most of its locations are in South Carolina and North Carolina. Other locations include Augusta, Birmingham, Ala. and Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and another is opening soon in Arizona.
In addition to premium Angus steaks, New York Butcher Shoppe offers chicken, pork, veal and lamb entrees, salads, fresh seafood, parmigiana meals and roasts.
Specialty items include cheeses, pastas and “exotic sausages” as wall as “premium” charcoal, “high-quality” vegetables and “international” grocery items.
NAP said in a release that The Avenue East Cobb location will also include the first wine bar for New York Butcher Shoppe.
The news comes a few days after Stockyard Burgers and Bones announced it was closing at The Avenue after nearly eight years, due to labor and supply shortages.
Warby Parker will open in November across from Panera Bread and Temper-Pedic will open a showroom between the New York Butcher Shoppe and High Country Outfitters next spring.
NAP, which recently unveiled overhaul plans at The Avenue, said in the release that the permitting process for its “jewel box” concept—with two retail/restaurant buildings and a concierge area with valet parking, a public plaza and live music and events stage—will begin soon, with a groundbreaking event in the fall.
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Thursday’s high temperatures in Georgia are expected to be similar to Wednesday, and with heat values above 100. Map: NWS Atlanta
Cobb and most of Georgia have been issued heat advisories during afternoon and early evening hours this week, and that’s expected to continue for at least another day or two.
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday, as temperatures in metro Atlanta reached into the low 90s.
But with humidity approaching nearly 60 percent, what’s called “heat values” surpassed 100 degrees Wednesday.
Thursday’s forecast is much the same, with highs in the low- to mid-90s and similar humidity levels. The anticipated heat values could exceed 102 degrees.
To beat the heat, drink plenty of fluids, stay out of the sun as little as possible and take extra precautions for spending time or working outdoors.
Those precautions include outdoor activities outside of heat advisory periods and wearing light, loose-fitting clothes.
Do not leave children or pets inside vehicles, and people at risk of heat stroke in particular should limit outdoor activities.
Friday’s highs are forecast to be in the mid-90s, with temperatures falling to around 90 and the high 80s over the weekend.
There’s also a 50 percent chance of rain expected Thursday and Friday, and more rain is coming this weekend.
Saturday’s forecast includes a 60 percent chance of rain and it’s 70 percent on Sunday.
The rain will taper off early next week and could return by the middle of the week. High temperatures are expected around 90 or the high 80s, but heat index forecasts are usually made on shorter notice.
For more information on local weather, click here.
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On Saturday there will be a cleanup event along Sewell Mill Creek to prevent litter from reaching the Chattahoochee River.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to noon at East Cobb Park (3322 Roswell Road), in conjunction with the Cobb Water System’s water steward program and Friends for the East Cobb Park.
Sewell Mill Creek stems from a pond on Davis Road near Holly Springs road and winds southbound through East Cobb. Below the park, the creek flows into Sope Creek along the Indian Hills golf course near Greenfield Drive.
You don’t need to bring any equipment to the cleanup on Saturday but you’re asked to wear clothes that can get wet.
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Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard has reimposed a mask mandate at the Cobb courthouse complex, due to the county being designated in the “high” category for COVID-19 transmission.
Cobb government made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that Leonard made the decision “reluctantly” and indicated “they will review trials and hearings moving forward.”
There was no indication in the message how long the mask mandate may be in place.
There was a link to CDC data tracking information by county and that shows that Cobb has a case rate of 233 per 100,000 people (100 cases per 100K is considered “high” community transmission).
The mandate applies to anyone entering Cobb courthouse buildings, including the Superior, State and Magistrate courts.
The Cobb message was posted on the county’s Facebook page and generated a barrage of negative comments, including claims that mask mandates don’t work.
Among those commenters is Salleigh Grubbs, head of the Cobb Republican Party, who wrote, “Ridiculous! Stop the madness!!”
Other commenters said cases are up because citizens aren’t wearing masks or taking the virus seriously.
“Y’all make it seem like you have to go in the courthouse. Fake outrage,” wrote another commenter.
Cobb County government lifted a mask mandate in March in other county indoor facilities.
In response to a question from East Cobb News about whether a county mandate may be reimposed, Cobb spokesman Ross Cavitt said “not right now.”
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A 16-home environmentally-friendly subdivision proposed on rocky terrain in a Northeast Cobb neighborhood got a quick recommendation of denial Tuesday from the Cobb Planning Commission.
By a 3-0 vote, and with no discussion, the planning board voted against a proposal by Green Community Development, LLC to switch from R-20 zoning to OSC R-20 for 7.5-acre tract off Kinridge Court.
Planning commissioner Deborah Dance, who represents the area, was absent from the meeting.
The land is on a sloping ridge at 2077 and 2079 Kinridge Court, which includes a homesite and wooded, undeveloped land. Rezoning would increase the number of approved homes from 12 to 16.
The Open Space Community Designation would preserve some property for green space but has a density limit of 1.75 units per acre.
Green’s proposal would increase the density to 2.34 units per acre, prompting the Cobb Zoning Office to recommend denial.
A total of 15 residents from nearby subdivisions turned out in opposition, saying the development is too dense and presents public safety and stormwater issues.
Allen Smith, who lives across from the property on Kinridge Court, said a fire years ago at a home at 2077 Kinridge Court presented difficulties for responding fire crews.
A rezoning request in 2003 for four homes on the property was rejected in part to that and other factors, he told planning commissioners.
Christopher Hunt, the applicant, said in sometimes combative language that he’s been up-front with residents at several community meetings to discuss what’s being called Serenesee at Kinridge.
It proposes homes of at least 3,000 square feet made of four-sided brick, stone and/or hard coat stucco.
Hunt proclaimed that the project, with rooftop gardens, “greenpaved” parking and other sustainability and LEED features, would win awards.
He said he wasn’t invited to the first meeting and explained that the four additional homes are needed because of the expenses associated with building a “sustainable” community, and with the topographical challenges of the land.
Most of the preserved space is along the northern and southern boundaries of the property.
“The density shows that it’s R-20 on three sides and then R-15 on the largest face of the property,” Hunt said, referring to surrounding rezoning categories. “It’s super-expensive to develop there.”
Opposition also came from the East Cobb Civic Association. Case manager Chris Lindstrom was asked by Planning Commission Chairman Stephen Vault about her concerns with the case, and she responded by saying that everything about it, including the site plan, was vague and confusing.
There were no renderings of the proposed homes included in the application.
The proposal also would include an underground retention area under a private road in the subdivision that Cobb Stormwater Management said would be very difficult to manage.
“At some point it’s going to have to discharge,” Cobb stormwater engineer Carl Carver said.
He said a solution would have to be engineered to simulate the drainage “in a sheet-flow fashion. It’s going to be kind of difficult, but I won’t say that it can’t be done.”
The Planning Commission recommendation will be considered by the Cobb Board of Commissioners on July 19.
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“It has been an extremely challenging time for restaurants over the last couple years. Unfortunately, we were never able to recover from the effects of the pandemic, continuous cost increases and labor shortages at this location.”
The original Stockyard restaurant on the Marietta Square, which opened in 2014, and another in Vinings remain. There was a Stockyard location in Sandy Springs that closed in 2018.
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Plans to carve out a 16-home subdivision on a challenging 7.5-acre tract off Kinridge Court in Northeast Cobb are being recommended for denial by the Cobb Zoning Office.
An application submitted by Atlanta-based Green Community Development, LLC is scheduled to be heard Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission.
Most of the parcels at 2077 and 2079 Kinridge Court are largely undeveloped on a sloping wooded area, although there is a homesite on the latter.
Green is proposing changing the existing R-20 zoning category, which would permit up to 12 homes, to R-20 OSC.
That stands for Open Space Community, a special “overlay” zoning designation meaning that some of the land would be protected as open space. Green plans to designate 35 percent as “green community space.”
The only point of access would be on Kinridge Court, between two homes in the Sandy Plains Estates subdivision.
Green is calling the proposed development Serenesee on Kinridge, with homes at least 3,000 square feet made of four-sided brick, stone and/or hard coat stucco. Parking, according to a stipulation letter, “will have 4 spaces per home on Grasspave directly across the street from homes.”
But in its analysis, Cobb zoning staff said that while the topography of the land allows an OSC designation, the density of the project (2.34 units an acre) is over the OSC limit of 1.75, as well as Sandy Plains Estates, which has a density of 1.49.
Nearby Cambridge Park is zoned R-15 but has a density of 2.21 units an acre, according to the staff analysis.
The zoning staff also cited potential runoff issues, noting the Cobb Stormwater Management comments that “due to the steepness of the topography downstream properties could be adversely affected by this project.”
A number of variances reducing front and side setbacks and reducing the width of the subdivision road present traffic and fire safety concerns, the analysis concluded:
“With the number of variances necessitated by the currently submitted plan, Staff believes that the property can be more suitably developed under its base R-20 zoning or, perhaps, with a more compliant OSC plan that may include less lots.”
Planning commission recommendations will be considered by the Cobb Board of Commissioners on July 19.
The hearing also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.
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!
