This spring we’ve noted that a number of Walton and Wheeler students have been named recipients of National Merit Scholarships.
They’re included in the latest batch of winners announced on Wednesday, recipients of scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000 provided by the university of their choice.
Two others are from Pope and Sprayberry high schools, as part of a group of eight students from the Cobb County School District and 18 overall.
Nearly 7,500 high school seniors will receive National Merit Scholarships for undergraduate college worth nearly $28 million.
Applicants took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as an initial screening, followed by the naming of more than 16,000 as semifinalists, chosen on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.
They were the highest-scoring program entrants in their state. Those reaching the finalist stage fulfilled additional requirements, including an essay and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions.
They also had to display a superior academic record, be endorsed and recommendec by their high schools and earn an ACT or SAT score to confirm their qualifying test performance.
A final round of NMS recipients will be announced in July.
Madeleine M. Stewart, Pope High School
Probable career field: Wildlife Conservation
National Merit University of Tennessee Scholarship
Bradley Scott, Sprayberry High School
Probable career field: Real Estate Development
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship
Fevin Felix, Walton High School
Probable career field: Computer Science
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship
Ryann A. Jacobson, Walton High School
Probable career field: Theater
National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship
Sungwon Kim, Walton High School
Probable career field: Dentistry
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship
Carson D. Felton, Wheeler High School
Probable career field: Chemical Engineering
National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship
William P. Jewel, Wheeler High School
Probable career field: Biology
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship
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!
L to R: Dr. Sage Doolittle, Assistant Principal, Rocky Mount ES; Dianna Simmons, Preston’s teacher; Pamela Lagason, mom; Preston Lagason, Silver Pen Award winner; Henry Raper, dad; Jim Perry, Past President Golden K Kiwanis; Peggy Fleming, principal.
Fourth grade students from Rocky Mount, Tritt and Acworth elementary schools have been named recipients of the Silver Pen Award of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K.
The students are Preston Lagason of Rocky Mount, Ainsley Rowe of Tritt and Olivia James of Acworth.
Students were asked to write about how COVID-19 affected them, their families, their school and their relationships.
“We were pleasantly surprised at the level of engagement and the quality of the writing the subject stimulated,” the Golden K noted.
“We heard over and over from faculty and administration how engaged the kids were and how much thought and effort they put into these writing assignments. Kiwanis got kudos for inviting the kids to work through some of their feelings and experiences. In one school, the paper was so good that the Assistant Principal copied it and distributed it to all teachers.
“The kids obviously went through far more than even we were hearing about on news broadcasts. And it changed who they were. But the surprise to us was that they came through COVID with hope and determination. They caught the light at the end of the tunnel, as we were all still complaining about how dark the tunnel was. Our kids are resilient, and they have shown it in our post-COVID interactions with them and the comments they incorporated in their Silver Pen assignments.”
Here are excerpts from some of the responses:
“Wearing a mask was a tremendous change for me, because when I wear a mask, I get sores on my nose and those really hurt.”
“The aggressive protests during COVID made me scared that things were really getting out of control. This added to my levels of concern with my mental health and increased my fear, anxiety, and depression.”
“I was not allowed to see friends or even family members that lived out of state. My Grandma got real sick and died and none of the family was allowed to be with her. I was so lonely being isolated from family and friends. I can’t imagine how lonely that was for her.”
“I had countless times of pain, suffering, struggles, trouble, and sorrow. I could not eat. It was hard to get through the day.”
“COVID ruined a lot of stuff for me, my family, my friends, and my school. COVID was an awful virus. No one liked it, and I hope it never returns.”
“The skills I learned in the middle of the pandemic were a much-needed boost to my outdated self. Tons of computer programs gave me the skills I have today.”
“I decided it was not the end, so I didn’t give up. I pressed on, even through times of mass pain. It was my only hope. I decided to make a comeback – to strike from the shadows, and to truly press on. I eventually came out victorious and was able to get back to living my life.”
“COVID 19 has made an enormous impact on my everyday life because I would not be who I am today, and would not know what it would feel like to have something crazy be going on like this. I am so glad that my family and I were okay.”
Noted the Golden K in summary:
“Our kids hurt deeply, but they bounced back, too, not to where they were but to a new way of doing life. From what we heard, most of them are doing that fairly well, perhaps better than we are.”
The Silver Pen presentations also were posted on YouTube and can be watched by clicking here.
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!
Chief among them was for a seat on Cobb Superior Court. Chief Judge Robert Leonard had two challengers in attorneys Charles Ford and Matt McMaster. But Leonard eased to re-election by getting 67.8 percent of the vote.
You can check out more local results by clicking here; we’ve summarized the others below.
There will be a runoff on June 21 in another Superior Court race. Sonja Brown received 29 percent of the vote and James Luttrell got nearly 22 percent to forge another round of voting in a field of five candidates.
The winner will succeed retiring Judge Robert Flournoy. Judge Ann Harris won a third term after being unopposed.
Two other Superior Court vacancies have occurred in recent weeks due to retirements. Judge Tain Kell resigned to pursue private practice, and longtime judge Mary Staley also has stepped down.
Their terms end in 2024 and Gov. Brian Kemp will be making appointments to fill out those terms.
Four Cobb State Court judges were unopposed and have been re-elected: Eric Brewton, Jason Fincher, Bridgette Campbell Glover and Ashley Palmer.
Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan is not seeking re-election. Courtney Martin Brubaker won the Republican primary unopposed. On the Democratic side, Makia Metzger advanced to the general election with nearly 58 percent of the vote against Chris Lanning.
Cobb Commissioner Keli Gambrill, a first-term Republican from District 1 in North and West Cobb, was unopposed, and has no Democratic opposition in November.
The Cobb Board of Education will have at least two new members after November elections. In Post 6, Democrat Nichelle Davis won unopposed and has no Republican opposition in November. She will succeed first-term Democrat Charisse Davis (no relation), who did not seek re-election.
Post 6, which currently includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters, was redrawn to exclude areas of East Cobb and will consist the Smyrna-Cumberland-Vinings area.
In Post 2, also in the Smyrna area, Democrat Becky Sayler and Republican Stephen George advanced to the November general election. The winner will succeed first-term Democrat Jaha Howard, who failed to reach a runoff for state school superintendent.
In Post 4, which includes the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberrry clusters, two–term Republican incumbent and current board chairman David Chastain and Democrat Catherine Pozniak ran unopposed in the primaries. They will meet in November.
Three justices on the Georgia Supreme Court were re-elected: Carla McMillian and Shawn Ellen LaGrua, both of whom were unopposed, and Verda Colvin, who got 68.8 percent of the vote in a primary against Veronica Brinson.
Three judges on the Georgia Court of Appeals were re-elected without opposition: Anne Elizabeth Barnes, Chris McFadden and Trea Pipkin.
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!
This Sunday the Atlanta Koi Club is holding its annual Pond & Garden Tour event at eight homes in the East Cobb and Marietta area.
The self-guided tour takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m., rain or shine. The tour will display the many varieties of koi and their pond ecosystems.
The cost is $15 a person and the tours begin at Splendor Koi & Pond (1552 Rosewood Circle). Tickets may be purchased at https://atlantakoiclub.org/shop
The addresses of the private residences will be made available after purchase, and the venue address listed is NOT on the tour route.
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!
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!
At the Taste of East Cobb festival earlier this month, Craig Chapin, the chairman of the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood, was approached by an irate citizen.
Less than three weeks before the East Cobb Cityhood referendum, tempers and allegations were flaring over what has been a contentious issue ever since it first arose in 2018.
With a vote looming over carving out a slice of a vast East Cobb community into a city of around 60,000 people, emotions were going into overdrive.
(Monitoring just a sliver of the cityhood chatter on NextDoor, a social media platform for people for whom Facebook apparently isn’t unhinged enough, is a vivid reminder for Internet oldies of the Wild West days of early Web message boards.)
Mindy Seger, Chapin’s counterpart with the anti-Cityhood group East Cobb Alliance, said she was called over “to help defuse the situation.”
She said they “discussed how heated things were getting and wanted to show our ability to share space.”
In between debates the two groups had agreed to—and before a forum at Pope High School that turned a little nasty— there was good-natured conversation, and the above photo-op.
“Craig and I agreed Top Gun Maverick is going to be a great movie, we both love BBQ and Righteous Q is one of the best, and that it is possible to be kind to people you disagree with,” Seger said Thursday, two days after the cityhood referendum was soundly defeated.
Mindy Seger of the East Cobb Alliance, who also debated Cityhood leaders in 2019, became a visible figure of the opposition.
She and what the Alliance claimed was a grassroots collection of citizens across political and social lines were gratified not just by the victory, but by the margin.
All but one of the 17 precincts voted handily against the referendum. It was a thumpin’, as President George W. Bush memorably described a midterm election that torpedoed his fellow Republicans.
More than 73 percent of those casting votes in the East Cobb referendum rejected it, a 46-point gap and by far a larger spread than defeated cityhood votes in Lost Mountain (58 percent voted no) and Vinings (55 percent opposed).
All three votes were, among other things, the victims of sloppy, poorly managed legislation that further riled up the citizenry and a chastened Cobb County government alike.
Instead of November referendums, they were pushed up to May. The East Cobb bill changed several more times, including how the mayor would be chosen and residency requirements for city council candidates.
Republican lawmakers responding to the new Democratic majority of the Cobb Board of Commissioners made a coordinated, and at times ham-handed, attempt to create the chance for more local control in the county’s most conservative areas.
Minutes after the Georgia House passed the East Cobb Cityhood bill, State Rep. Matt Dollar, its main sponsor, abruptly resigned, and non-locals were left to carry the bill.
State Rep. Sharon Cooper, a co-sponsor of the bill, and State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, whose seat was redrawn out of the proposed city, voted for allowing citizens to have a referendum, but neither spoke to the legislation during floor debate.
The East Cobb bill, predicated on the notion that our neighbors are best-suited to decide things like density and quality of life issues, was tellingly deflected by our neighbor-lawmakers.
Craig Chapin of the Cityhood committee talked up his longstanding ties to East Cobb, but opponents questioned the motives of leaders behind the scenes.
Cobb County government set up a web portal on cityhood and held town hall meetings, in particular honing in on what they said would likely be slower response times for public safety calls in East Cobb.
In the final week of the campaign, Cobb public safety agency heads appeared on a Zoom call organized by the East Cobb Alliance, rehashing previous concerns.
Most of all, Cobb’s cityhood referendums were swamped by everyday citizens of communities who never bought the argument that there was a need to change their form of local government, and in the case of East Cobb, to create expensive police, fire and 911 agencies.
When East Cobb cityhood was revived in March 2021, the new focus was to be on planning and zoning and controlling growth and development.
Those were issues I thought could make for a stronger cityhood campaign, as I wrote when the first effort was abandoned in 2019.
But when a required financial feasibility study was released in November, it included public safety services. That study left a lot easy financial holes for opponents to poke at, and even shred.
Cityhood leaders said police and fire “kept coming up” when they met with citizens, but they never offered specifics.
The Cityhood group decried comments by Cobb public safety heads about what they said would likely be longer response times in a City of East Cobb.
Just as in the initial East Cobb cityhood campaign, however, there never was much of a groundswell for cityhood. It was a secretive initiative that blindsided the community when it first arose nearly four years ago and lacked any kind of grassroots appeal.
That some behind-the-scenes leaders had development interests fanned the flames of suspicion.
An East Cobb resident I spoke to in late March who supported cityhood felt even then it was ill-fated.
“Too much emotionalism,” he said, adding that as a small-government advocate, he’s leery of a Democratic-led county commission and thinks a City of East Cobb would be preferable on a number of fronts, not just development.
While that’s a novel way to make the case for smaller government, those against cityhood turned up their calls that a new city would add another layer instead.
This citizen also questioned the county’s financial estimates of the cost of losing cities, and the numbers and claims being peddled by the Alliance.
But East Cobb Cityhood was always a hard sell, and its public-facing proponents, while well-meaning, were fighting a multi-front war on multiple issues. All three of the failed referendums in Cobb (another comes in November, in Mableton) also were the subjects of lawsuits that were ordered to be set aside until after the elections.
In trying to press for the need to better control zoning and development, East Cobb cityhood advocates spent too much time and energy defending why police and fire services were necessary.
After receiving documents via an open records request, the Alliance contended that transferring the county fire fund millage rate was the only way to make a City of East Cobb financially viable.
The Cityhood group disputed that charge without elaborating, and resorted to some dog-whistle rhetoric that Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid and federal Democrats in Washington, notably the Biden Administration, were pushing policies “to incentivize states and localities to buck market forces to increase housing density.”
It smacked of desperation, and was meant to appeal to voters who’ve been concerned about zoning density and a proposed Unified Development Code in Cobb County.
Near the end of the campaign, the Cityhood group insisted it wasn’t obligated to file a financial disclosure report revealing who was funding its efforts.
The Cityhood group parked an electronic sign in front of the former Tokyo Valentino sex shop, but refused to divulge how it was paid for.
That harkened back to the early days of Cityhood, when the group explained that it wasn’t identifying its donors or others involved for fear of harassment from their “enemies” and the media.
To repeat such an arrogant, even paranoid refusal to be modestly transparent reflects disdain for the citizens of a community whose blessing they needed to realize their vision for local control.
This was a case study in how to rub a community the wrong way while seeking its vote.
The East Cobb Cityhood group may eventually be right about the development and housing concerns it raised.
“East Cobb will be under increasing growth and tax pressure from Cobb County to urbanize our community,” the Cityhood group said in a post-referendum statement, as it scrubbed its website.
Their issues may, like Sandy Springs and other North Fulton communities that are now cities, resonate over time and gain adherents to a new effort to create a city.
Cupid’s handling of zoning matters—especially the Dobbins case that prompted a rare protest from the Cobb Chamber of Commerce—has sounded some understandable alarm bells.
The theme of the East Cobb Alliance has been that it likes East Cobb “just the way it is,” but this community isn’t static.
It’s not merely a bedroom community any more, just as a once-rural area became an affluent, in-demand suburban hotspot for great home values, schools and quality of life several decades ago, when I was growing up here.
If you remember the Parkaire airfield, and farmland where retail centers and million-dollar homes stand, you understand how different East Cobb looks and feels now, and how it can change again.
From the outset, the masterminds of the East Cobb Cityhood effort never understood or seemed to care about what it takes to create a winning grassroots campaign.
They had money and political influence to get a referendum bill passed in the legislature, but that’s about it. During the second campaign, a more concerted attempt was made to garner community support, and did they did make some headway.
Broader public support was essential, but ultimately they didn’t trust the public enough to come clean about who they are, or to build authentic community connections.
If there’s to be another attempt, there’s got to be the kind of ground-up impetus that prompted successful cityhood efforts elsewhere.
A revived East Cobb Cityhood effort also would need to be rid of its original parties, who while sowing visceral skepticism, inadvertently gave rise to a new brand of community activism they could learn from.
“Many in this community stepped out of their comfort zones by attending meetings, wearing buttons, knocking doors, and waving signs on street corners,” Seger said. “Not only did we find a way to work together sharing various skills, we made some unexpected friendships along the way.”
Seger said there’s an interest in trying to “raise the bar for Georgia’s Cityhood process. The community has the mic, we hope those in authority are listening.”
She said while she doesn’t have contact information for Chapin, with whom she momentarily tried to demonstrate some local goodwill, “I hope we can connect in the spirit of community.”
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!
A 17-year-old riding a motorcycle was killed Friday after a crash with a car on Piedmont Road.
Cobb Police said Gabriel McLachlan of Kennesaw was pronounced dead on the scene. The crash closed traffic in both directions on Piedmont Road.
Sgt. Wayne Delk said in a release that McLachlan was driving gray a 2022 Kawasaki EX400 motorcycle eastbound on Piedmont Road at 11:26 a.m. Friday as it approached Bob Bettis Road.
Police said a black 2016 Volkswagen Jetta, driven by 25-year-old Graham Dobbs of Rockmart, was heading north on Bob Bettis and preparing to make a left turn onto Piedmont.
As Dobbs made the turn, he entered the path of the motorcycle, which struck the front of the Volkwagen, according to police.
Police said McLachlan was thrown from his bike and landed on the westbound lanes of Piedmont Road. He was pronounced dead on the scene by the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office and his next of kin was notified, police said.
Dobbs was not injured, according to police, who said the crash remains under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call 770-499-3987.
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!
MUST Ministries is once again feeding needy children during the summer months, when school is out, and various Cobb organizations are providing assistance.
Mt. Bethel Church in East Cobb has produced a flyer outlining food items that it will be collecting, as well as “mind, body and soul kits.”
At Mt. Bethel, the collection day is Wednesday. Barrels are located at the entrance to the Mt. Bethel kitchen.
Items also can be ordered from Amazon and delivered to:
Mt. Bethel Church
MUST Summer Lunch Program
4385 Lower Roswell Road
Marietta, GA 30068
The church also is accepting financial donations that can be mailed or dropped off at the financial office, and is seeking volunteers to pack and deliver boxes to families in need.
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!
Tadiwa Zinyongo was the last member of Walton High School’s large graduating class to receive his diploma Wednesday during commencement exercises.
As shouts of joy rank out from this year’s seniors at the KSU Convocation Center, Zinyongo shook his head a little, smiling.
Like many of his Walton classmates, he graduated with honors. But beyond the world of academics, Zinyongo stood out in many ways during his high school career.
Tadiwa Zinyongo, Walton HS
He’s among the “inspiring seniors” chosen by the Cobb County School District from a number of high schools, whose graduations concluded on Friday.
They were chosen not only for their success in the classroom and in extracurricular and community activities, but also in how they perservered and helped impact other students.
Zinyongo, who will be attending Boston University as a Posse Foundation Scholar, has been vigorously involved in campus activities at Walton.
He was a member of the Raiders track and field team, the Walton Robotics Club and was president of the Walton Debate Club.
As a junior, Zinyongo honed his debate skills by taking part in debate tournaments in the Harvard Diversity Program. When he returned, he developed a debate curriculum and led outreach to other high school debate clubs.
But in the community, he has been just as busy, co-founding a non-profit called The Fight for Freedom, which raises money and awareness for sex trafficking and advocates for increased funding and services for sex traffic survivors.
Andrea Garzon Pena, Lassiter HS
Andrea Garzon Pena moved from her Venezuela in 2017 and attended Palmer Middle School and Mabry Middle School as she and her brother lived with a family friend until their mother arrived.
After starting at Lassiter High School, some stability arrived, and she eased into a number of academic and athletic pursuits.
“She has always worked hard and challenged herself in the classroom by taking upper-level Honors and Advanced Placement courses,” Lassiter counselor Liz Clarke said.
An honors graduate, Pena played varsity volleyball and was involved in chorus, the Step Team and Project HOPE. She will be attending Wingate University on a full-ride scholarship.
While he was in the 8th grade, Amblessed Nzenwata moved with his family to the United States from Nigeria, and suffered a loss in the family due to an airplane crash.
Amblessed Nzenwata, Wheeler HS
He was motivated to become an aeronautical engineer as a result, and as a student in the AVID program at Wheeler High School (previous post here) he received the support to excel in his studies.
Nzenwata took many AP and Honors classes at Wheeler, played three varsity sports, held down a part-time job and was on the co-ed cheer team with his twin sister Blossom.
They were named Wheeler’s homecoming king and queen. More than 40 colleges have offered him acceptance.
The Cobb school district said this week, as graduations ended, that its Class of 2022 of more than 8,000 students earned more than $106 million in scholarships.
More than 78 percent of graduates will be attending college, and combined the senior class logged more than 100,000 in community service hours.
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!
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!
A 2018 photo of flags in front of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church for Memorial Day. (ECN file)
Another school year is completed, and summer vacation season looms.
But the Memorial Day weekend includes a number of local events to honor those who gave their lives serving the country, and to enjoy some splendid weather outdoors.
On Friday, Food Truck Friday continues at The Auto Accident Attorneys Group (1454 Johnson Ferry Road) from 4-7 p.m., a weekly event through June.
From 6-8, another Electric Avenue concert at the Central Boulevard area of The Avenue East Cobb (4475 Roswell Road). The Atlanta acoustic trio of Lilac Wine returns to the stage. Admission is free. While guests can bring their own food and lawn chairs, coolers and outside beverages are not permitted.
Wellstar Health System is the sponsor of the continuing Music in the Park series Sunday from 4-6 p.m. at East Cobb Park (3322 Roswell Road). Bring food, blankets and chairs to the concert pavilion to enjoy a “Bach to Rock” event. It includes performances from young people and is meant to introduce children to musical instruments and styles.
Several Memorial Day observations will take place in Cobb County on Monday, including at the Marietta National Cemetery (500 Washington Ave.) starting at 12 p.m. The guest speaker is Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation President Donna Rowe. The organizing committee is looking for volunteers to help Scout troops plant flags starting at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Other Memorial Day events include a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial at Patriots Point in Acworth (4425 Beach St.) from 10-11 a.m. and a ceremony in Smyrna at 9:30 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial next to City Hall, 2800 King Street.
The City of Roswell also is having a Memorial Day observation starting at 11 a.m. at City Hall (38 Hill St.). The Roswell Garden Club will dedicate the Blue Star & Gold Star Families Memorial Markers. Live music and food trucks will be available after the ceremony.
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 final but official overall tally is 16,290 NO (73.4 percent) to 5,900 YES (26.6 percent), still to be certified by the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration (you can click through the results here).
A total of 22,190 Cityhood votes were cast in all: 13,043 Tuesday, with 7,686 during early voting and 1,461 absentee by mail votes.
In that lone YES precinct—Sope Creek 3, near the Atlanta Country Club and Chattahoochee Plantation where several Cityhood leaders live—that was a narrow YES, 643 to 600 votes, or 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent.
In all the others, NO votes won in a rout, ranging from 85 percent at the Murdock precinct to 65 percent at Mt. Bethel 3.
Cityhood referendums in Lost Mountain and Vinings also were defeated by narrower margins, with 58 percent and 55 percent, respectively, voting NO.
Sixteen of the 22 precincts in Lost Mountain (full results here) voted NO, with the six voting YES located in the most northwestern part of that proposed city, and none with more than 56 percent of the vote.
In Vinings (full results here), all five precincts voted NO, ranging from 51-59 percent.
A cityhood referendum will take place in Mableton in November.
We’ve compiled precinct-by-precinct breakdowns below for the East Cobb referendum. A couple of notes: the totals in the Pope and Sewell Mill 1 precincts are lower than the others because only a portion of those precincts are located in what was the proposed City of East Cobb.
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 following East Cobb food scores for the week of May 23 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!
Cindy Cooperman and Craig Chapin of the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood at an April debate.
Hours after a stinging referendum defeat Tuesday, the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood took down its chief online vehicles for communicating with the public.
The cityhood’s Facebook page no longer exists, and its website includes only a link to Tuesday’s results and an MDJ story about Cobb commissioners favoring a 30-year transportation tax.
The referendum was defeated in landslide fashion Tuesday, with 73 percent of voters rejecting the creation of a City of East Cobb.
UPDATE: The website homepage has been restored, but information tabs that included Cityhood analysis of proposed services and biographies of group leaders is gone.
“Thank you for your support, we continued to be committed to East Cobb and protecting our neighborhoods,” said the homepage message, which links to the cityhood legislation and feasibility study as well as the proposed city map.
All three Cobb referendums on the ballot failed, with voters in Lost Mountain spurning cityhood with 58 percent of the vote and Vinings voters turning it down with 55 percent of the vote.
A cityhood referendum in November will take place in Mableton.
In commenting on the referendum results, East Cobb Cityhood group spokeswoman Cindy Cooperman told East Cobb News on Wednesday that the group “has worked hard for the citizens’ right to vote for a city and as advocates for the proposed city. Although the county and opposition didn’t want citizens to vote, the community had their voices heard.
“Make no mistake; the facts have not changed. East Cobb will be under increasing growth and tax pressure from Cobb County to urbanize our community. Our polling told a different story from the results last night. Cobb’s policy direction explains why the county worked so hard to stop the cityhood effort(s).”
Cobb government officials held several town hall meetings over the last two months about the cityhood referendums and the county launched a cityhood web portal with what it said was objective information in response to requests from the public.
The Cityhood group heatedly objected, and tried to keep the focus on development and density issues.
Ppponents and Cobb leaders tried to cast doubt on a city’s ability to provide proposed police, fire and emergency 911 services.
Last week, as the campaign reached its final days, some Cobb public safety department heads took part in a Zoom call conducted by the East Cobb Alliance, the main opposition group to cityhood.
Those opposed to cityhood took note of the Cityhood group’s web disappearance.
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!
Three Republican elected officials serving East Cobb at the county and state level had primary challenges on Tuesday, but all three won handily.
District 3 Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell cruised into the November general election by defeating first-time candidate Judy Sarden with 77 percent of the vote.
With all 52 precincts reporting, Birrell received 25,329 votes to 7,538 votes for Sarden, who during the campaign had been critical of Birrell’s votes on key zoning issues.
Birrell, who is seeking her fourth term, won all but the Chalker precinct. You can search the results by clicking here; they are unofficial until certified by the Cobb Board of Registration and Elections.
The new District 3, redistricted by the Georgia legislature, will include most of East Cobb.
In November, Birrell will face Democrat Christine Triebsch, a former candidate for the Georgia Senate.
State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick
Triebsch twice faced but lost to Republican Kay Kirkpatrick, who trounced Andy Soha in Senate District 32, which includes northeast Cobb and parts of Cherokee County.
Kirkpatrick, who is seeking her third full term, got 22,473 votes, or 85 percent, to 3,923 votes for Soha, a conservative political activist in Cherokee and Donald Trump campaign volunteer.
In November, Kirkpatrick will face Democrat Sylvia Bennett.
Another legislative leader from East Cobb targeted in the GOP primary is headed to the general election with a big victory.
State Rep. Sharon Cooper, the chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, trounced Cobb GOP activist Carminthia Moore in District 45.
Cooper received 10,713 votes, or 78 percent, to 2,954 votes for Moore (view results).
Cooper has represented District 43 since 1997, but during reapportionment she and former State Rep. Matt Dollar were redrawn into District 45.
State Rep. Sharon Cooper
Dollar announced last fall he would not seek re-election; both were the leading sponsors of the now-defeated East Cobb Cityhood referendum.
But Cooper said little about her support during the legislative session and did not speak to the bill on the House floor.
Her Democratic opponent in November, Dustin McCormick, made his opposition to East Cobb Cityhood a central issue in his special election campaign for District 45 this spring.
McCormick was defeated in a runoff on May 3 by Mitchell Kaye, who is filling out the rest of Dollar’s term this year.
In the new District 43, restaurant owner Solomon Adesanya defeated attorney Benjamin Stahl to win the Democratic primary.
Adesanya got 1,712 votes, or 56 percent, to 1,318 votes for Stahl to advance to the November general election against Republican Anna Tillman.
Primary winners in another open East Cobb legislative seat were determined handily on Tuesday.
In State Senate District 6, Fred Glass routed Angelic Moore with more than 67 percent in the Republican primary.
Gov. Brian Kemp
He will be challenged by Democrat Jason Esteves, the former chairman of the Atlanta Board of Education. Esteves got more than 55 percent of the vote against Luisa Wakeman, who twice came close to unseating Cooper in the last two elections.
Republican incumbents at the statewide level also had easy times in their primaries, including two of the most heavily watched races.
Gov. Brian Kemp cruised over former Sen. David Perdue, getting 73 percent of the vote. Perdue, who got less than 22 percent, conceded before 9 p.m.
In November, Kemp faces a rematch of the bitter 2018 gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was targeted by former President Donald Trump after the 2020 elections, staved off a challenge from pro-Trump Congressman Jody Hice and won the primary without a runoff.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
Raffensperger received 53 percent of the GOP vote and will face either State Rep. Bee Nguyen or Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who will be in a Democratic runoff next month.
Former UGA football star Herschel Walker was the easy winner of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, setting up a November general election against Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock.
There will be a runoff in one of the primary races in the East Cobb area.
In the U.S. House District 6 GOP primary, Rich McCormick and Jake Evans will square off on June 21 to determine that party’s standard-bearer in November.
McCormick got 43 percent of the vote and Evans collected 23 percent in a field with nine candidates.
In the general election, the runoff winner will face Bob Christian, who won the Democratic primary Tuesday over Wayne White with 55 percent of the vote.
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!
From L-R valedictorians Kunling Tong (Walton), Mark Wellman (Lassiter) and Keegan Ryan (Sprayberry)
The Cobb County School District on Tuesday announced the Class of 2022 valedictorians and salutatorians, and students from East Cobb schools had some of the highest grade-point averages in the county.
Overall, the valedictorians in the Cobb school district combined for an average GPA of about 4.7, with salutatorians just short of that threshold.
Six seniors in Cobb schools had grade-point averages above 4.8. Two of them are from Walton, valedictorian Kunling Tong (her 4.883 is tops in the county) and salutatorian Daniel Liu (4.867).
Wheeler valedictorian Maxwell Jiang has a GPA of 4.803, and the other three are from Campbell High School.
What follows are the vals and sals from the six East Cobb high schools, their grade-point averages, college choices and intended majors.
Seven of the vals and sals from East Cobb are headed to Georgia Tech, with two bound for Princeton and one each headed to UGA, Duke and Cal Tech.
Sprayberry valedictorian Keegan Ryan will be enrolling in Columbia University in a dual bachelor’s degree program with Trinity College of Dublin, Ireland. She will be studying classics, ancient history and archeology.
Kell High School
Valedictorian —Emmanuela Omole, 4.734, Princeton University, economics and international affairs.
Salutatorian—Cooper Gates, 4.656, Georgia Tech, neuroscience
Lassiter High School
Valedictorian—Mark Wellman, 4.76, Georgia Tech, computer science
Salutatorian—Anna Patel, 4.754, Georgia Tech, neuroscience
Pope High School
Valedictorian—Harshita Khazanchi, 4.778, Georgia Tech, computer science
Salutatorian—Keira Cullinan, 4.768, University of Georgia, bioengineering and business
Sprayberry High School
Valedictorian—Keegan Ryan, 4.75, Columbia University and Trinity College Dublin, classics and ancient history and archeology
Salutatorian—Jeremy Thomas, 4.708, Georgia Tech, biomedical engineering
Walton High School
Valedictorian—Kunling Tong, 4.883, Duke University, pre-med
Salutatorian—Daniel Liu, 4.867, Princeton University, economics
Wheeler High School
Valedictorian—Maxwell Jiang, 4.803, Georgia Tech, undecided
Salutatorian—Sujit Iyer, 4.791, Cal Tech, undecided
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!
A pro-Cityhood electric sign parked at the former Tokyo Valentino adult store at left; an anti-Cityhood sign in Indian Hills.
UPDATED 2 A.M. WEDNESDAY
With all 17 precinctsreporting, the East Cobb Cityhood referendum has been defeated by a 73.4-26.6 percent margin.
The unofficial totals are 16,289 voting NO and 5,900 voting YES.
More details and reaction Wednesday.
UPDATED, 12 A.M. WEDNESDAY
The East Cobb Cityhood referendum is going down in a crushing defeat.
With 70 percent of precincts reporting, NO votes are 13,706, or 72 percent, to 5,218 YES votes, or 27 percent.
That’s been the most lopsided of the three Cobb cityhood referendums on Tuesday’s ballots.
Cityhood votes are trailing with 58 percent of the vote in Lost Mountain having voted NO, (59 percent of precincts reporting); and with 55 percent voting NO in Vinings, (60 percent of precincts reporting).
In the results thus far, all but one of the 17 precincts have voted overwhelmingly against Cityhood, with only Sope Creek 3 (with 52 percent of the vote) favoring incorporation.
Early voting totals were 5,841 votes NO, and 1,844 votes YES.
UPDATED, 11:30 P.M.
With 54 percent of the precincts reporting, NO votes are 8,659, and YES votes are 3,467 in the East Cobb Cityhood referendum. That’s 71.4 percent to 28.6 percent.
The Lost Mountain Cityhood referendum votes have NO leading YES 56-44 percent with 45 percent of precincts reporting, and the Vinings vote is trailing 55-44 with 20 percent of precincts reporting.
UPDATED, 10:30 P.M.
With 23 percent of precincts reporting, NO votes are 3,119, and YES votes are 1,016 in the East Cobb Cityhood referendum.
That’s 75-25 percent.
Only one of 17 precincts is close. In Sope Creek 3, NO votes are at 52 percent; in many others, the NO votes are at 80+ and even 90+ percent.
The results coming in from Cobb Elections in a number of races are painfully slow tonight, and we may not get final decisions until the morning.
UPDATED, 8:55 P.M.
In the East Cobb Cityhood referendum, NO votes are 497, YES votes are 128, roughly 79.5 percent to 20.5 percent, still early voting totals only.
UPDATED, 8:20 P.M.
The first results are trickling in, and “no” votes for the East Cobb Cityhood referendum lead “yes” votes 87-13 percent.
Those are just a few dozen early votes: 99 no, and 15 yes, with more to come before today’s in-person tallies come in.
Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell leads Judy Sarden 75-25 percent in the Republican primary for District 3, also with only a few hundred early votes cast.
Birrell has 481 votes to 156 for Sarden.
In the Lost Mountain cityhood referendum, “no” votes have 851 votes, or 64 percent, to 472 yes votes, or 36 percent.
No results have been reported yet from the Vinings cityhood referendum.
State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick and State Rep. Sharon Cooper, both Republican incumbents, were easily leading in their primaries.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has been declared the the winner of the Republican primary as he seeks re-election. Former Sen. David Perdue conceded after early results showed Kemp with 73 percent of the vote.
In November, Kemp faces a rematch of the bitter 2018 gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Former UGA football star Herschel Walker was projected the winner of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, setting up a November general election against Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock.
ORIGINAL POST, 7 P.M.
The polls have closed in Georgia, and the counting has begun for the 2022 primary elections and the East Cobb Cityhood referendum.
Voters who were in line by 7 p.m. Tuesday will be able to vote.
East Cobb News will continuously update this post all evening with results.
Three-term Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell is facing a challenge from first-time candidate Judy Sarden in the Republican primary in District 3, which includes most of East Cobb.
East Cobb legislative incumbents Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick (District 32) and Rep. Sharon Cooper (District 4) have GOP primary challengers in substantially redrawn seats.
There’s a nine-candidate field in the GOP primary for U.S. House District 6, and new representatives will be chosen in State Senate 6 and State House 43.
Two contested non-partisan primaries are taking place for seats on Cobb Superior Court, including one held by incumbent Chief Judge Robert Leonard. The other race includes candidates vying to succeed retiring Judge Robert Flournoy.
In statewide races, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock were facing primary challenges. In the former contest, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue was trailing Kemp among Republican voters. The primary winner will face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November.
In the latter race, the Republican field is led by former UGA football star Herschel Walker. Warnock, elected in 2020 to fill the term of Johnny Isakson, has nominal opposition:
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!
A Woodstock man was killed Saturday when his motorcycle crashed with another vehicle at an intersection in Northeast Cobb.
Cobb Police Sgt. Wayne Delk identified the victim as Jason Williams, 51.
Delk said that a white and red 2004 Sprinter 2500 van driven by Steve Folds, 75, of Woodstock, was in an eastbound lane of Alabama Road (Highway 92) around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, ready to turn left at the intersection of Old Mountain Park Road.
As the van made the left turn, it was hit on the right side by a blue 2016 Yamaha FJR motorcycle driven by Williams, according to police.
Delk said Williams was ejected from the bike and was pronounced dead on the scene, and his next of kin was notified.
(A reader who passed by the scene took the above and other photos as police arrived.)
Folds was not injured, according to police, who said the crash investigation is continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Cobb Police at 770-499-3987.
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!
For primary election and East Cobb cityhood referendum results, click here.
ORIGINAL POST:
After record-breaking early voting turnout across Georgia, voters are finishing up the 2022 primary elections Tuesday at their home precincts.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Click our election day voters guide for more details about on what’s on the ballot, and how to cast it.
East Cobb News will provide real-time coverage and results on a separate post to be published after the polls close.
In addition to a number of local, state and federal races, voters in a portion of East Cobb will be deciding whether to incorporate a City of East Cobb.
It’s one of three cityhood referendums in Cobb County, along with Lost Mountain and Vinings.
During the final days of the campaign, the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood has sent messages urging voters to “preserve the suburbs in East Cobb” and stop high-density development.
The group’s bogeywoman during the campaign has been Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.
“The county is changing, like it or not,” according to a Cityhood group e-mail that was sent Sunday.
“Chairwoman Cupid is already working hard to put her plan for Cobb County in place . . . one that promotes higher taxes, more spending, density, and mass transit. Cityhood is a real and effective strategy to put the decision-making for East Cobb in the hands of the people who live here.”
Although it’s pledged to be non-partisan, the Cityhood group blamed federal government policies for the high-density push.
“Closing the housing gap, and manipulating the housing market, is a top priority of the Biden White House,” the e-mail states. “Predictably, President Biden falsely blames state and local zoning laws (i.e., the same ones that preserve and maintain the character of a community) for creating a land shortage that drives lot and property prices to higher levels. Thus, the Democrats’ plan is to incentivize states and localities to buck market forces to increase housing density.”
They’ve also accused the East Cobb Alliance, which opposes cityhood, of being run by Democrats.
In response, the Alliance said it’s “co-led by an even mix of Republicans and Democrats, as a lot of people of all political persuasions are against cityhood for East Cobb.”
The Alliance has used allegations of voter fraud against former State Rep. Matt Dollar in the final days to solicit donations and to urge citizens to vote against the referendum.
Cobb Democratic Party Chairwoman Jackie Bettadapur said Dollar, who resigned his seat in February, illegally voted in the cityhood referendum.
He sold a condo near Parkaire Landing Shopping Center in late February and moved into a home outside the proposed city limits.
But the complaint said the voter affadavit he signed when he voted early—and obtained by the Alliance via an open records request—shows that he listed his Parkaire Landing residence.
The Cobb Elections office has forwarded the complaint to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office to be investigated.
The Alliance also has complained that the pro-Cityhood group hasn’t filed a financial disclosure report. The Cityhood committee says it’s not obligated to do so, but pro-cityhood groups in Lost Mountain, Vinings and Mableton have filed those reports.
Visit our Cityhood tab for more information about the referendum, which will be the last item on the ballot of voters eligible to cast a vote regarding cityhood.
A Republican primary for District 3 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners pits three-term incumbent JoAnn Birrell against political newcomer Judy Sarden. After redistricting, that district includes most of East Cobb.
Several East Cobb-area GOP legislative incumbents also are facing primary challenges: District 32 Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick and State Rep. Sharon Cooper, who has switched from District 43 to District 45.
Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock also are facing challenges in the Republican and Democratic primaries, respectively.
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!
Several Cobb County high school students, include some who attend Pope and Walton in East Cobb, recently volunteered with the Cobb County High School Coalition on a recent home project in Mableton, along with the Lutheran Coalition for Habitat.
The groups co-sponsored the project with Smyrna-based Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta and dedicated the first house of the year to single mother Kimberly Sylvester and her three children.
It’s the 25th Habitat home built by the students of the Habitat clubs of the Cobb County High School Coalition, and the 33rd Habitat home built in the region by the Lutheran Coalition for Habitat.
Other students attend Campbell and Hillgrove high schools.
The Lutheran Coalition for Habitat is a group of Lutherans in the metro Atlanta area who have agreed to partner with Habitat affiliates to eliminate substandard housing. Since 1994, the coalition has helped build 32 homes for families across northern Georgia, and for the last 15 years held an annual fundraiser to make this possible, called Taste of Habitat.
Kimberly Sylvester, 39, is a paraprofessional with the Cobb County School District and has children who are 18, 11 and three months old.
She was born in St. Lucia and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands and moved to Cobb County seven years ago, renting an apartment.
Sylvester is the first in her family to own a home. The Lutheran Coalition and student volunteers built the home over nine Saturdays beginning in February.
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!
