Cobb Police said a motorcyclist was killed Sunday afternoon in a collision with a car at the intersection of Roswell Road and East Lake Parkway in East Cobb.
Officer Shenise Barner said in a release that Kathrynne L. Lynch, 28, of Marietta, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Lynch was riding a red 2003 Kawasaki VN1600 motorcycle at 2:32 p.m. Sunday, heading west on Roswell Road in a left lane.
A tan 2005 Toyota Sienna was heading east on Roswell Road when it veered into the path of the motorcycle, causing a collision, according to police.
Police said the motorcycle came to a stop in the intersection, and the rider was ejected, landing nearby. The Toyota, police said, stopped in a parking lot on East Lake Parkway.
The driver of the Toyota was identified by police as Maria G. Razo-Tierrafria, 48, of Marietta. She and a juvenile passenger were not injured, according to police, who said Lynch’s next of kin have been notified.
Police said the crash remains under investigation and that anyone with information is asked to call Cobb Police investigators at 770-499-3987.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
Roswell Road westbound between Barnes Mill Road and Robinson Road West is being blocked off by police after an accident.
We drove by shortly after 3 p.m. and saw emergency vehicles and investigators in the intersection (entrance to East Lake Shopping Center). There was an overturned motorcycle and a body next to it, covered.
Westbound traffic was backed up to East Piedmont Road.
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Cobb County voters can cast in-person ballots as soon as Tuesday as early voting starts for the 2021 elections, which culminate on Nov. 2.
Advance voting will conclude on Oct. 29 and will include two Saturdays, Oct. 16 and 23.
The only advance voting location in the East Cobb area is The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road); for more on locations, dates and times, click here.
While citizens in Cobb’s six cities will be voting in municipal elections, voters across the county will be asked if they want to extend the one-percent sales tax to fund construction, maintenance and technology projects for the Cobb County School District.
Among the major projects on the project list approved by the Cobb Board of Education is a reconstruction of the main Sprayberry High School classroom building. Also slated for new classroom additions are Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools in East Cobb.
Sprayberry rebuild supporters have been publicly advocating for several months for extending the SPLOST, noting that the 50-year-old building at Sandy Plains Road and Piedmont Road is wearing down while other high schools in the East Cobb area have had major renovations and rebuilds (Walton, Wheeler).
They’re holding an Oct. 19 open house to provide more information, where details of the new Sprayberry gymnasium and CTAE facility also will be available.
“We’re excited about being on [the ballot],” Sprayberry parent Shane Spink said.
In recent weeks some citizens have expressed concerns about renewing the SPLOST amid turbulence on the Cobb Board of Education. A reader wrote on the East Cobb News Facebook page this week saying that’s why she’s voting against a SPLOST for the first time.
“I have little confidence in some of the current Cobb County School District Board members and its Superintendent,” Melissa O’Brien wrote. “In a year and a half full of COVID-related chaos, one would expect the 25th largest school district in the country to step up to the challenge.”
She said she thinks the Cobb school district hasn’t wisely spent federal CARES Act funding and implemented stronger COVID-19 safety protocols, and was upset at board member David Banks sending an e-mail from his official address discouraging the vaccines.
Spink said he understands the concerns but said the SPLOST isn’t a partisan issue and has broad countywide impact.
“Every school benefits from this,” he said. “We shouldn’t be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. This is about our kids, the teachers and our community.”
As we noted previously, you can request an absentee ballot just as you did last year; the deadline for that is Oct. 22; absentee ballots will start going out in the mail on Monday for those who’ve already signed up.
Cobb Elections must receive your absentee ballot by 7 p.m. on Nov. 2, election day, either by mail or at an early voting location during voting hours. There won’t be the outdoor dropboxes that were available in 2020.
Voters who elect to go to the polls on Nov. 2 will cast ballots at their normal precincts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
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Reported COVID-19 case rates in the Cobb County School District are continuing to fall after the fall break.
The district reported on Friday that there are 262 active cases in the 112-school system, the lowest single-week tally since 185 cases the first week of the current 2021-22 school year.
Only four schools are reporting double-figures in active cases, including 11 at Tritt Elementary School in East Cobb. The others are Dowell ES (12), Teasley ES (21) and Osborne HS (11).
There are nine cases each at Eastvalley ES and Simpson MS.
A number of schools have no active cases, including Bells Ferry ES, Garrison Mill ES, Kincaid ES, Nicholson ES, Powers Ferry ES, Daniell MS, Dodgen MS and McCleskey MS in East Cobb.
Friday was the first reporting date since the fall break the last week of September. On Sept. 24, there were 394 cases.
The district’s figures are staff and students combined and do not include individuals under quarantine.
Since the start of the school year, reported cases rose sharply in Cobb, to 1,033 the week of Aug. 27.
The entire fifth grade at East Side Elementary School was sent home to learn remotely for nearly two weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Parents demanding Cobb schools mandate masks were met by counter protestors. But Superintendent Chris Ragsdale didn’t budge from maintaining a masks-optional policy, even after the Cobb Board of Health—of which he is a member—issued a position statement in favor of a mandate.
But in September, those numbers began falling nearly as rapidly.
At the September Cobb Board of Education meeting, Ragsdale defended the masks-optional policy further, even as nearby districts maintained their mandate.
Four Cobb school parents filed a federal lawsuit against the district last week, saying its COVID-19 protocols, including a masks-optional policy, are preventing their medically fragile children from getting a proper education.
The district is facing a deadline to respond next week to a motion from the plaintiffs seeking a temporary injunction to require masks.
A Fulton County judge this week sided with the Fulton County School System after parents challenged its mask mandate.
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Mt. Bethel Church announced Friday it has filed a counterclaim in a lawsuit filed against it by the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
In a press release issued shortly after 5 p.m., Mt. Bethel said the counterclaim is asking that members of the East Cobb congregation be allowed to vote on disaffiliation before national UMC delegates are scheduled later next year to consider a protocol for allowing conservative churches to leave.
The Mt. Bethel countersuit is more than 300 pages; you can read through it by clicking here.
Mt. Bethel announced its intent to disaffiliate in April, after senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray was reassigned.
The church balked, saying it wasn’t afforded proper consultation, and has refused to provide office space and full salary to his appointed successor.
The Conference said those actions and others are violations of the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing documents, and declared that Mt. Bethel was not a church in good standing.
Churches under that status are not allowed to disaffiliate under UMC policies.
Since the lawsuit was filed, Conference attorneys have been attempting to prevent Keith Boyette, head of the conservative Wesleyan Covenant Association, from joining the Mt. Bethel legal team.
In a Sept. 30 court filing, they alleged that Boyette has “encouraged the congregation of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church to disregard mandates and other doctrine” handed down by the Conference.
Mt. Bethel’s administrative council is scheduled to have a meeting with members on Monday.
Mt. Bethel press release:
Mt. Bethel Church today filed its responsive counterclaim and third-party claim in the Superior Court of Cobb County against the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, its Trustees, Bishop, and District Superintendent (Regional UMC Administrators). The claim asks the Court to require that they permit Mt. Bethel to move forward with a vote to disaffiliate from the UMC as is afforded in the denomination’s Book of Discipline.
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference (NGC) orchestrated a pastoral conflict with Mt. Bethel beginning in April 2021. In response, on April 14, 2021, Mt. Bethel’s Administrative Council voted to begin the disaffiliation process, which has yet to be scheduled by the NGC despite a deadline for its completion.
“If the Regional UMC Administrators really believe the rhetoric they have been spreading—that [Mt. Bethel’s] 50-member Administrative Council unanimous vote was a rogue take-over by a few local church leaders who do not in fact speak for the majority—then, LET THE CHURCH VOTE!,” reads the filing.
Mt. Bethel is a thriving 10,000-member congregation with substantial assets. In addition to blocking the disaffiliation voting process, the NGC has retaliated against the church by proclaiming a sham “closure” and take-over of the local church and its assets, based on the Regional UMC Administrators’ inaccurate and pejorative claim of ‘exigent circumstances.’
Mt. Bethel leadership sought to resolve the issues with the NGC via the processes outlined in the Book of Discipline as well as through civil and church-led mediations, but on Sept. 8, NGC’s Trustees filed a lawsuit against Mt. Bethel intended to punish the church and to intimidate other traditional United Methodist churches in the conference that might also be considering use of the disaffiliation process.
“Despite this action by the Regional UMC Administrators to punish Mt. Bethel, Mt. Bethel continues today to perform ministry in the name of Jesus Christ throughout Metro Atlanta and in places all over the world,” the filing states. “It is sadly ironic that the Regional UMC Administrators accuse Mt. Bethel of violating unwritten ‘conditions of disaffiliation’ while themselves violating the express text of the Book of Discipline disaffiliation procedure the General Conference adopted.”
Declaring the NGC is asserting ownership over property in a deliberate effort by the Regional UMC Administrators to dry up Mt. Bethel’s resources by deterring member contributions, Mt. Bethel is seeking immediate injunctive relief from the Cobb County Court.
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As noted previously, we’re going to run a weekend events post as the East Cobb and nearby calendar begins to fill up, and there’s plenty going on over the next few days in and close to the community.
Already underway and continuing through Sunday is the Cobb Library Book Sale at the Cobb Civic Center (558. S. Marietta Pkwy)—back after a hiatus in 20202. Books, magazines, DVDs, books on CDs and cassettes and much more, priced from 40 cents to $4; proceeds benefit the public library system. 9-5 Friday-Saturday, 1-5 Sunday; masks are required;
On Saturday and Sunday is the return of Chalktoberfest, near the Marietta Square, presented by the Marietta-Cobb Museum of Art (30 Atlanta St). It’s a combination of the museum’s Chalk Art Festival and its Craft Beer Festival, with food, live arts, entertainment, an artists’ market and other activities. Admission is free (the beer is not), with more than 80 artists and 40 breweries represented. 10-5 Saturday, 11-5 Sunday; the beer festival is Saturday from 12-5 (tix information here). Areas around the event will be blocked off to traffic. Proceeds support the museum;
As we’ve been noting the last couple of weeks, The Avenue East Cobb (4475 Roswell Road) is holding its first Fall Fest from 3-6 Saturday, and it’s a free event to attend. Live music, roaming entertainment, a hayride, cornhole tournament and artists’ row staged on Central Row, between Kale Me Crazy and Banana Republic;
At Town Center at Cobb (400 Ernest Barrett Pkwy), the Dreamland Amusements Carnival is underway through Oct. 17, with rides, carnival games, and classic fair food. For ticket and admission information, click here.
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Garden Bargains is the Gardeners’ Night Out program at 6:30 pm Tuesday at Mountain View Regional Library, 3320 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta.
Master Gardener Joy Chanin will share many time-, money- and space-saving ideas in the October 12 program. Gardeners’ Night Out programs are free and open to the public.
Gardeners’ Night Out programs are presented at Cobb County libraries by Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County in conjunction with Cobb County UGA Cooperative Extension Service.
Upcoming fall 2021 programs presented by Master Gardener Volunteers, all on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm, also include:
Perennials: Divide and Conquer! on October 26 at North Cobb Regional Library, 3535 Old 41 Highway, Kennesaw, and November 9 at South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road, Mableton.
Cherokee Ethnobotany – If Plants Could Talk at North Cobb Regional Library on November 30.
For information, visit www.cobbmastergardeners.com or call the Master Gardeners Help Desk at 770-528-4070.
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Keith Boyette, Wesleyan Covenant Association. Photo: UM News
Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has until Monday to respond to a lawsuit filed against it by the denomination’s North Georgia Conference.
In the initial filings in Cobb Superior Court dated Sept. 8 is a notice stating that Mt. Bethel has 30 days to provide a response, excluding the date of the complaint, or “judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.”
Mt. Bethel is being sued by the North Georgia Conference as part of a months-long dispute over the East Cobb church’s refusal to accept the assignment of a new pastor, and to turn over property and assets after it announced its intent to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church.
In April, North Georgia Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson reassigned Mt. Bethel senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray to a non-ministerial role in the Conference as part of the UMC’s traditional spring moving day.
But Ray and Mt. Bethel refused, claiming they had not been provided proper consultation as called for in UMC policies.
After turned in his UMC ministerial credentials, church leadership retained him as CEO and head lay minister.
The Conference said those and other Mt. Bethel actions violated the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing policies.
Mt. Bethel also is not providing office space to Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, the Conference’s designated successor to Ray, nor paying him his full salary.
East Cobb News has left a message with Mt. Bethel seeking comment on its response to the lawsuit.
Mt. Bethel has nearly 10,000 members and is the largest denomination in the North Georgia Conference.
It’s been grappling for years with doctrinal and other disputes increasing in the UMC, especially over same-sex marriages and lesbian and gay clergy.
Mt. Bethel has been actively involved in the creation of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which is being tapped as a future destination for conservative Methodist congregations.
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Casey Alarcon, chairwoman of the Mt. Bethel Staff Parish Relations Council (the church’s main governing body), wrote a commentary on the WCA website defending the “unashamedly theologically conservative congregation’s” positions.
She wrote that Mt. Bethel “is a healthy vibrant church despite all the turmoil and disruption Bishop Haupert-Johnson has caused. . . . But now our bishop thinks it is necessary to drag one of her healthiest congregations into the secular courts. It is truly a sad day.”
The national UMC is scheduled to meet next September to decide whether to accept protocols to allow congregations to leave.
Mt. Bethel has petitioned in Cobb Superior Court to allow Keith Boyette, the head of the WCA and a licensed attorney in Virginia, to join its case.
But according to the most recent court filings, North Georgia Conference attorneys are attempting to quash that move.
In a petition filed Sept. 30, North Georgia Conference attorney Tom Cauthorn said Boyette should not be allowed to participate because of a conflict of interest—he has “encouraged the congregation of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church to disregard mandates and other doctrine” handed down by the Conference.
“One of Mr. Boyette’s primary goals was to take land and buildings currently used by the United Methodist Church from the United Methodist Church so that they can be used by a newly formed denomination,” the Conference filing states.
“One of his organization’s goals is to encourage churches to do exactly the type of things that [Mt. Bethel] did in this matter.”
Cauthorn concluded that Boyette’s application “may be an attempt to prevent discovery into communications” between Mt. Bethel and Boyette.
Cauthorn’s memo included a copy of a July 28 Mt. Bethel e-mail to congregation members recounting the saga and defending its defiance of Haupert-Johnson and Conference directives.
The e-mail was signed by several dozen WCA board members and chapter presidents around the country. It concludes:
“We have sadly acknowledged that we would not be able to remain as one church. But not all are through with the fighting. Not all are committed to a gracious parting. There are still those who are determined to have winners and losers and who are committed to winning, even if a different view of ‘the faith once and for all delivered to the saints’ and a belief that victory can be achieved through power and intimidation.
“The attempt of your bishop and the North Georgia Conference to seize control of your property and assets, as a thriving church, is unprecedented as far as we are aware. . . .
“Other churches in your conference are frightened that if this can be done to you, it can certainly be done to them. Orthodox churches around the country with progressive bishops are also watching closely, knowing that how your situation is resolved may embolden or restrain their bishop from following Bishop Haupert-Johnson’s lead.”
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The following food scores for the week of Oct. 4 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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“We will be having our second virtual town hall on Monday October 11 at 6:00pm where we will be recounting our initiative, giving updates, and opening the floor to questions.
“We are continuing to reach out to the board and attend board meetings, though we are still unable to elicit a response. Over the summer, we attended the June board meeting then launched an email campaign sending emails three times a week throughout the month of July.”
More specifically:
“Each board member received 22 emails from students within the initiative, but majority of the Board failed to respond even once.
“If the Board cannot adequately address the concerns of the community, they cannot properly represent said community. The sole obligation of the Board members is being willfully neglected, and we deserve better.”
There are two ways to sign up to watch the town hall: GoTo Webinar and Linktree.
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Judges and staff of the Superior Court of Cobb County congratulate five men who celebrated recovery and completed the Drug Treatment Court program on Monday, Oct. 4.
The intensive program, suited for criminal offenders who are generally non-violent, lasts a minimum of two years and aims to treat an individual’s underlying addictions and return him or her to a productive member of society while reducing incarceration costs.
Judge Mary Staley Clark recently took over as presiding judge of this accountability court program.
“You persevered and kept going,” she told the graduates at the start of the celebration. “It takes enormous courage to do a program like this. You dug deeper into your mind, your heart, your soul.”
She is pictured above with graduates (from left) James, Jason, John and Joel.
Joel, 42, entered the program in December 2019, and during his time in the program has grown his business, gotten married, and become a father.
“Life as I knew it has taken on a whole new meaning,” he said. “Drug Court provided me with the tools and resources, along with structure and accountability, to achieve and maintain a sober and happier life.”
Each graduate introduced family and friends who were attending in person or via Zoom, and thanked the staff and nonprofit groups that helped them get back on track.
Jason, 44, began Drug Court in summer 2019. “I have my life back,” he proclaimed.
More than 650 people have graduated from Cobb’s Drug Treatment Court. Many continue to support each other in their recovery, including through an alumni group.
New graduates of Drug Treatment Court join program officials in Judge Mary Staley Clark’s courtroom, Oct. 4, 2021.
A team that includes prosecution and defense attorneys, treatment counselors, probation officers, administrators and the presiding judge reviews each application for Drug Treatment Court and monitors admitted participants throughout. Punishment for violations can range from a night in jail to expulsion from the program.
Porsha Middlebrook is the Coordinator of Drug Treatment Court. Kayla Tomes is the Case Manager.
Various county and state offices collaborate in operating individual Accountability Courts. Additional support is provided by nonprofit groups including the Davis Direction Foundation, Restoring Lives Alliance, and WorkSource Cobb.
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In late June, he filed a Declaration of Intent form with the same agency but didn’t specify which office he was seeking.
Official qualifying begins early next year for the May 2022 primaries.
A pediatric dentist from Vinings, Howard has been a controversial figure in his nearly three-year tenure on the school board, pressing for action on racial and diversity issues and challenging the Cobb County School District’s COVID-19 policies.
When he attempted to question Superintendent Chris Ragsdale about those protocols at the September board meeting, he was cut off by chairman Randy Scamihorn.
He and fellow board Democrats Charisse Davis and Tre’ Hutchins then walked out of the meeting room in protest.
That was the latest of several instances of party conflict on the Cobb school board since 2019.
Earlier this year, the three Democrats requested a special review by Cognia, the Cobb school district’s accrediting agency, that is expected to be released soon.
Howard is one of three school board members up for re-election in 2022.
Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters in Post 6, has not announced whether she’s seeking a second term.
Also in East Cobb’s Post 4, Republican David Chastain has said he will be running again. Kennesaw State University student Austin Heller is an announced candidate as a Democrat for that post, which includes the Kell and Sprayberry clusters.
No candidates have yet announced for Post 2. That was one of two school board seats that swung from GOP to Democrat in 2018 (along with Post 6), reducing Republican majority to 4-3.
Howard unsuccessfully ran in a special election for a State Senate seat in 2017, losing to Jen Jordan. She has announced she’s running for Georgia Attorney General next year.
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As Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced during the August Cobb Board of Education meeting, Cobb families will once again have an opportunity to choose the learning environment that best supports the needs of their student(s).
The District is offering all students (PK-12th grade) the option to enter a lottery for seats in the Elementary Virtual Program (EVP) or Cobb Online Learning Academy (COLA) at Cobb Horizon starting in January 2022.
Elementary lottery winners will remain enrolled in their current schools but will receive all instruction virtually from a certified EVP teacher starting in January. Middle and high school lottery winners will be withdrawn from their current schools and enrolled in COLA for the spring semester.
Enrolling adults may enter the lottery for full-time online learning between October 6th and October 19th, 2021.
Starting on October 6th, enrolling adults may enter the online learning lottery through ParentVue. Once logged in to ParentVue, enrolling adults should click Online Learning Lottery in the menu on the left and then click again at the top of the page. Select your choice for each of your students and click submit. You will receive an email confirmation regarding your lottery entry after the lottery window closes.
Lottery results will be emailed in early November.
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David Banks taking the oath of office at the start of his fourth term in January. Photo: Cobb County School District
Cobb Board of Education member David Banks has sent an e-mail to constituents that strongly discourages them from getting the COVID-19 vaccine and accuses the government of “intentionally killing its citizens.”
Banks, who is in his fourth term representing Post 5 (Pope and Lassiter clusters), sent the e-email Sunday afternoon via his official school board e-mail address, that cited figures about adverse effects of the vaccine from a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The body of the message is as follows:
“It just gets worse and worse. The CDC has now published the Adverse effects of Covid Shots through September 24, 2021. (see item 8 of the attached.) The number of deaths resulting directly from Covid shots in the US alone are at a minimum of 122,592 based on the CDC September 24 report. Serious permanent injury from the shots has happened to more than 100,000 people. That is unacceptable. The government is intentionally killing its citizens. The Governments at all levels in America continue to take actions to force people to take the shots. There is no medical reason supporting those actions. Covid shots were proven NOT TO WORK almost two years ago in the governments own mandated trials performed by Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J. See item 2 of the attachment. My advice. Do not take the shots if you have not already done so. Contact your state and federal legislators and share the attachment with them.”
The attachment referred to, entitled “Things to Know About Covid19,” can be found by clicking here.
The source is from Macht Im Wissen Inc. of Georgia, and its CEO is Emery Leonard.
The phrase is German for “Knowledge is Power” and Leonard is an Atlanta resident and retired benefits professional.
At the bottom of the attachment, Leonard explained that he started an e-mail list to send “confirmed facts about current issues. My intention is to provide only true facts, show how they may interplay, or even affect you personally. Any factual information I may cite will not come from the media, as the media is not a reliable and trustworthy source.”
The attachment is broken down into several subjects, including the effectiveness of masks (“masks don’t work”), the COVID-19 vaccines, presidential COVID-19 advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and alternative treatments.
Leonard claims the the COVID-19 virus was created in a lab in China “and does not exist in nature,” and advocates for the use of substances such as Ivermectin and Hyrdoxycloroquine, which have been controversial subjects..
He also alleges that “there is no valid test for Covid19” and “there is NO valid test for any variation of the Covid virus.”
East Cobb News has left Banks a message seeking comment.
A constituent who forwarded his e-mail and attachment to East Cobb News said that she found it “very disturbing that this information is being circulated from an elected official and makes me despair over the decisions being made for the safety of my three children in Cobb County schools.”
Banks is the board’s current vice chairman and is part of a four-member Republican majority. Most of those members have not worn masks during in-person board meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic (along with Superintendent Chris Ragsdale).
Banks has said previously he doesn’t wear a mask because he thinks they don’t work.
Last August, he included an item in his “Grapevine” e-mail newsletter to constituents making reference to COVID-19 as the “China Virus,” upsetting some constituents.
He didn’t reply to an East Cobb News story for comment, and later responded that he got few negative replies to that e-mail and that “these people are racists and you carried their water.”
The Cobb County School District is one of the few in metro Atlanta with a masks-optional policy for the 2021-22 school year, after requiring masks last school year.
Before school board meetings in August and September, there have been pro-mask mandate rallies met by counter-demonstrators arguing that mask use should not be a parental and student choice.
On Friday, Cobb schools were sued by the parents of four medically fragile students who said the district’s COVID-19 policies, including masks-optional, make it impossible for their children to have an in-person education.
They included East Cobb parents and a family with students at East Side Elementary School affected by the decision for fifth graders to learn remotely for more than two weeks.
The story was written by Nicole Carr, an Atlanta journalist who has pulled her own children from Cobb schools because of the masks-optional policy.
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Photo: Karl L. Moore/Mooreshots LLC, Courtesy of Cobb Chamber of Commerce
The Cobb Chamber of Commerce on Monday honored public safety personnel at its annual Public Safety Appreciation luncheon.
Among those honored were Cobb Police officers David Cavender, John Pearson and Bryan Moore, who responded to a carjacking in the Powers Ferry Road area in June 2020 that led to the shooting death of the suspect (previous ECN story here).
One of the officers was shot by the suspect, and for their work, they received the Chamber’s Medal of Valor, “the highest award recognizing an individual for an act of bravery in a life-threatening situation. The award is only presented when a deserving candidate is found.”
Here are more details about that incident:
On June 25, 2020, Cobb County Police officers responded to the area of Powers Ferry Road and Delk Road regarding a carjacking that had just occurred in a grocery parking lot. The victim reported that a male had brandished a knife and stole his Tesla vehicle. The suspect had arrived at the shopping center in a truck that he had earlier carjacked before fleeing in the Tesla. Cobb Police officers were able to locate the suspect and pursued him for several miles until the suspect abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. He fired several rounds from a rifle at the pursuing officers, who took cover and lost sight of the suspect. Cobb Police SWAT Team officers David Cavender and John Pearson responded to nearby townhomes where residents had called 911 after observing the suspect entering their complex.
Officer Bryan Moore, of the Cobb Police K-9 Unit, responded to the townhomes and spoke with a resident who said that he had seen the suspect run behind a trash dumpster at the end of a parking lot. As Officer Cavender and Officer Pearson approached the dumpster on opposing sides. Moments later the suspect fired on Officer Cavender without warning. Officer Cavender was struck in the right temple by shrapnel from the one of the suspect’s rounds that had hit the holographic sight on his rifle. As Cavender turned his head to the right, he was struck on the back of his head by another rifle round. Fortunately, the round only grazed his scalp, and he was able to return fire and move to cover behind a vehicle. As that was occurring, Officer Pearson quickly located the suspect and stopped the threat. Once additional officers arrived, Officer Pearson escorted Officer Cavender to the front of the townhomes complex to meet with medical personnel. A short time later, supervisors created a tactical plan to approach the suspect and found him deceased.
Officers Cavender, Pearson and Moore are veteran members of the Cobb Police SWAT Team and K9 Unit. As they were searching for the suspect in the residential area that had dozens of potential danger areas and hiding spots, the three officers utilized their tactical training to analyze the situation and make an effective plan to solve the crisis. Had they not changed their approach route to the suspect’s location, the incident could have had fatal consequences for Officers Cavender, Pearson and Moore, as well as many other officers and dozens of civilians who were enjoying the summer evening.
The 2021 Public Safety Appreciation Breakfast was made possible with the support of our event sponsors, including Platinum Sponsors, Cobb EMC and Wellstar Health System; Awards Sponsor, LoRusso Law Firm; Gold Sponsors, Genuine Parts Company and Walton Communities; Silver Sponsors, Barrow Wrecker Services, C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. Inc., GLOCK, Governor’s Gun Club, Kennesaw State University, Marietta Wrecker, MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service, Puckett EMS, Six Flags Over Georgia, The Cooper Firm, and Vinings Bank; and Patriot Sponsors, E. Smith Heating & Air Conditioning, Georgia Power, Marietta Family Restaurants, Mauldin & Jenkins, and Northside Hospital.
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The Cobb Board of Education will hold a special called meeting on Thursday to discuss legal matters, according to a notice posted on by the Cobb County School District website Monday.
The notice says the meeting will begin at 1 p.m. in the board room of the CCD central office (514 Glover St., Marietta) and then the board will convene to an executive session.
Elected bodies can discuss land, legal and personnel matters in executive sessions.
The district message didn’t elaborate what specific legal issues will be discussed.
On Friday, four parents with students in the Cobb school district filed a federal lawsuit, claiming COVID-19 protocols are preventing their medically fragile children from getting a proper education under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Cobb schools is one of the few districts in metro Atlanta with a masks-optional policy, which the lawsuit cites, along with other distancing and safety measures the plaintiffs have alleged are not adequate.
In response to a request from East Cobb News for comment about the lawsuit, a district spokeswoman said this on Monday:
“As is the case with any issue, individual student needs are supported on a student-by-student basis and we actively encourage any student or family to discuss their needs with their local school. We cannot comment on pending lawsuits but appreciate the support of Nelson Mullins on all legal matters concerning the school district.”
The Cobb school district also is awaiting a report from its accrediting agency, which conducted a special review in August after getting complaints from three board members and 50 community members about governance, equity and academic performance issues.
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On Tuesday the Cobb Planning Commission will consider an application for another church in the East Cobb area, albeit on a smaller scale.
The proposed Praise Harvest Community Church would go on Jamerson Road, west of Canton Road, in a small building zoned for neighborhood shopping (NS).
The church is seeking neighborhood commercial retail (NRC) zoning and the Cobb Zoning Staff has recommended approval with conditions (the staff analysis, site plan and other details can be found here).
The existing building includes 20,000 square feet, and the church is proposing a capacity of 100 people (membership is around 45) using the facility Wednesday-Friday evenings and Sunday mornings.
The Praise Harvest case is included on the Planning Commission’s consent agenda (summary here), and the meeting begins at 9 a.m.
It’s in second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta), and COVID-19 measures are in place, including required masks.
The meeting 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.
Also on the agenda is a proposal to convert a single family home on Scufflegrit Road, just below Sandy Plains Road, for a coffee shop with a conference room and tutoring service available by reservation only.
The current home is behind a closed drug store and faces the Sandy Plains Exchange shopping center.
But it’s surrounded by low-density single-family housing and also is on the consent agenda, which mean’s there’s no announced opposition.
The staff is recommending approval (agenda item here) with conditions that include buffering and exterior modifications to be approved by the district commissioner.
The full meeting agenda can be found here; a case that was scheduled to be heard Tuesday in the East Cobb area is being held back to November. The Furniture and Mattress Warehouse wants to develop a 30,000-square foot retail and professional center on and a car wash a vacant lot on Piedmont Road, east of Bells Ferry Road, between a CVS store and a subdivision (agenda item here).
In addition to the East Cobb Church case, Cobb commissioners will reconsider the Ebenezer Road rezoning it’s delayed several times when it holds its next zoning hearing on Oct. 19.
No new filings have been added for either application since the September meetings.
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 rainy start to the week is expected to intensify through Wednesday, and the National Weather Service in Atlanta has issued a flash flood watch until then for much of north Georgia.
Cobb County is included in a stretch that’s expected to get the heaviest amounts of rainfall, between 4 and 6 inches, during that time.
The watch began Sunday night (when the above map was released) and is set to expire at 2 a.m. Wednesday.
On Monday there is a 60 percent chance of rain, followed by a 100 percent chance on Tuesday, 90 percent on Wednesday and an 80 percent chance on Thursday.
Temperatures will reach into the high 70s with lows in the mid 60s through that time.
The rain will begin to clear out by the weekend, with sunny weather in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday.
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!
After being cancelled in 2020, the East Cobb Business Association Expo is returning on Tuesday, and East Cobb News will be there as a proud member and exhibitor.
The Expo, in its fourth year, is a great opportunity for the members of the public and other business owners in the community to come together.
In addition to the networking opportunities, you can enjoy food and drink, raffle prizes and other giveaways.
The event is Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Olde Towne Athletic Club (4950 Olde Towne Parkway), and the cost is $10 per person. But there are some limited free networking tickets (Click here to register) that have been donated, proceeds benefitting East Cobb public safety personnel.
If those free tickets are gone, you can still sign up at that link with the $10 charge.
East Cobb News has been working hard over these last 18 months or so to bring you all the latest COVID-19 news and everything else that’s been going on in very challenging times, and we’re eager to reconnect with fellow ECBA members, business owners and community members.
We’re increasingly becoming the go-to source for news, information and online community connection in East Cobb. That’s what we hear from readers, and that’s our pledge as we forge ahead in the wake of COVID-19.
While other media outlets are cutting back, East Cobb News is growing and adapting not only to how residents get their news, but how local businesses are having to tailor what they do.
We’ve updated our Media Kit (that you can download here) that’s designed to fit the promotional needs and budget of any kind of business, and we’re flexible to help you develop your marketing plan in these uncertain times.
We also want to work with civic and community organizations as they get back to having events, especially as the holidays approach, and we offer special advertising plans for those purposes as well.
If you’re coming to the Expo, please stop by our table to say hello! We’d love to meet you!
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!
An update to the story we ran in late August about James Whitcomb, who was preparing for a 10-mile “mega” swim at the Mountain View Aquatic Center to raise funds for a 9/11 organization:
He reports that his “Swim2Help” the Tunnel to Towers non-profit on Sept. 10 raised $20,601, from 119 donors.
Here’s his report—dated Sept. 11—and some photos from the pool:
The 10-mile MEGA swim was accomplished yesterday at 12:47 p.m. EDT. (I began swimming at 6:14 a.m.)
To this moment collectively 105 supporters have contributed $19,017.00. Wow! Well done! Thank you!
It was a great day to swim with wonderful encouragement all throughout.
We had a very precise lap counter and time keeper in Suresh Sharma. Swim time was 5 hours and 48 minutes. I took 3 breaks which totaled 45 minutes.
My wife and our eldest, Philip, set up and kept everything operating pool side.
The Japan American Society of Georgia hosted the live stream. Many have commented that Yoshi Domoto should be a newscaster – he’s got the looks and voice. Go Yoshi-san! You can see a replay at https://youtu.be/C2U6rNsH65M.
Support swimmers (Natalie, Stephen and Jim Reed) provided me much needed motivation to keep swimming despite cramping and general fatigue.
As always, the staff at Mountain View Aquatic Center were phenomenally supportive. From setting up and breaking down to lifeguarding and sharing food with hungry supporters!
Many people stopped in to cheer and keep spirits high.
Each of you played a very important role by sharing your resources. Your time, money donation, sweat and good cheer is very much appreciated. Our vets, first responders and their families will be helped and I know are grateful.
In closing, I sincerely thank each of you for your support of T2T (www.t2t.org) via my MEGA swim. Many hands do make light work and your hands helped make this task easy.
James Whitcomb (back row, second from right) with the volunteers, family and Mountain View Aquatic Center staff who assisted him during his swimming marathon.
Whitcomb praised the Mountain View Aquatic Center lifeguards as “always attentive!”
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A couple weeks back we mentioned that The Avenue East Cobb was having its inaugural Fall Fest on Saturday, Oct. 9, part of the expanded events calendar that’s the result of its new management partnership with North American Properties.
The thumbnail schedule is as follows:
2 p.m. – Artist’s Row opens
3 p.m. – Event begins with live music and roaming entertainment
3:30 p.m. – Cornhole ATL tournament starts
4 p.m. – Hayrides commence
6 p.m. – Event ends
More details have been provided that NAP has passed along as noted below, with the event slated from 3-6 p.m.:
Starting at 3 p.m., Super Deluxe band will get the Central Boulevard rockin’ with crowd-favorite tunes. Throughout the afternoon, complimentary face painting, balloon art, hayrides and other surprise offerings will be available for guests to enjoy. Cornhole ATL is also hosting a cornhole tournament during Fall Fest and interested participants can pre-register online (October 8 deadline). Tournament winners will receive an Avenue East Cobb Experience basket filled with retailer and restaurant goodies.
Before Fall Fest officially kicks off, the first-ever Artist’s Row, curated by the Marietta Arts Festival, will come to life in the Avenue’s Central Boulevard and feature hand-crafted goods from local makers. The Artist’s Row opens at 2 p.m. and attendees are encouraged to arrive early to select their favorite pieces. A full list of participating artists can be viewed here.
All Fall Fest activities will happen in the Central Boulevard between Kale Me Crazy and Banana Republic. Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar will also provide drinks for purchase at its pop-bar in the Central Boulevard all afternoon long.
To stay in the know on updates at The Avenue East Cobb, follow the lifestyle center on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or visit the website.
The festival is free for the public to attend; you pay for your own food, drink and shopping purchases.
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!
