“In a time that not only do they need it, but also for morale,” Ragsdale said in his remarks about the proposed pay raise.
All employees—around 18,000 in all—will get a baseline 4 percent raise, with those eligible for STEP increases receiving more, depending on their status and length of service.
He said the funding would not come from “one-time money”—a reference to $182 million in new federal CARES Act funding that is coming to the Cobb school district.
“We are confident that this is going to be financially sustainable moving forward,” Ragsdale said.
Brad Johnson, the district’s Chief Financial Officer, said more budget details will be released Friday on the district’s website.
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The following East Cobb food scores for the week of April 19 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!
A new rendering of the proposed East Cobb Church parking area includes greenery fronting Shallowford Road.
With its rezoning case held until May, East Cobb Church has launched a new website to advocate for its redevelopment plans that have changed yet again.
“Revitalize JOSH” is the name of the renewed effort supporting plans for a church, residential and retail complex at the southwest corner of Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads.
The Cobb Planning Commission voted to hold the case until its May 4 meeting. The new proposal alters the residential mix. Initially most units were to have been townhomes, but they’re now with 55 percent of the 110 units, with the other 45 percent being single-family detached homes bordering an adjacent subdivision.
East Cobb Church is planning to sell the residential portion of the 33-acre tract to a developer if the rezoning is approved, and both entities would work together to create community space that includes a park on Shallowford Road, greenspace around a proposed creek where a lake once stood, and jogging trails to connect the adjoining Marlanta neighborhood.
There’s also a parking deck and area for 900 spots, which East Cobb Church says will be mostly below street level (rendering at top of this post) and will be shielded by a wall and greenery.
At the April Planning Commission meeting, several nearby residents objected to density and traffic issues, and commission members voted to delay for more updated information.
The new website has outlines of those plans along with renderings and links to a traffic study, but as of yet there’s nothing new in the Cobb Zoning Office files.
Kevin Moore, an attorney for the applicant, said through a spokeswoman for the East Cobb Church plans that a new site plan was submitted on Tuesday.
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The Cobb Board of Education will be asked Thursday to tentatively adopt a fiscal year 2022 budget in order to schedule public hearings before a formal vote in June.
That tentative approval is scheduled for Thursday’s board business meeting at 7 p.m., and also will be discussed at a board work session that starts at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The Cobb County School District gets roughly half of its funding from the state.
The school board also will be asked to approve spending $5.78 million in current Ed-SPLOST V funds to purchase 52 new school buses with air conditioning.
During the work session, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale will discuss the district’s learning recovery plan, something numerous school districts have been implementing since COVID-19.
After the work session, the board will hold an executive session.
During the night meeting, Wheeler High School students said they will be speaking during the public comment period. They will be presenting a PowerPoint about research they’ve done on the topic, and according to group member Caroline Hugh, “it will also be very timely, considering the verdict on the Derek Chauvin case.”
That’s a reference to the Minneapolis police officer who was convicted Tuesday for the murder of George Floyd last May.
The name change initiative started last summer, with those favoring the change saying Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate Civil War general, is not an appropriate namesake for what’s become one of the most diverse high schools in the county.
In-person attendance at the board meetings is limited to district staff and public speakers. Both public meetings will be livestreamed here and can be seen on Comcast Cable channel 24.
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The first of the Class of 2021 National Merit Scholarships have been announced, and two students from East Cobb are among the 1,000 recipients.
These are corporate-sponsored scholarships financed by 140 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.
The recipients are children of company employees or residents in communities served by those companies, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.
The scholarships range from $1,000 to $10,000.
Vishaal Kareti of Wheeler High School, who is interested in studying computer science, is the recipient of a Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc. compnay scholarship,
Victoria Ann Dutkiewicz, whose career field is undecided, has earned a James E. Casey Scholarship, which goes to children of United Parcel Service employees.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will name more recipients in May, June and July.
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In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, District Two Commissioner Jerica Richardson is hosting a women’s self-defense class and fundraiser 10 a.m.-noon, Saturday, April 24, at East Cobb Park. The class will be taught by A.C.T. Women’s Self-Defense and Chi Budo Kwon Martial Arts. Each participant should complete registration, have a partner (if possible), wear a mask and comfortable clothes and bring water. To register, click here. East Cobb Park is located at 3322 Roswell Road, Marietta.
The Cobb based nonprofit LiveSafe Resources provides help for sexual assault and domestic abuse survivors. To donate to this worthy cause, visit livesaferesources.org/donate.
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Dr. Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel UMC senior pastor, during his sermon on Sunday.
UPDATED, MONDAY, APRIL 26: Mt. Bethel announced it is leaving the United Methodist Church, and senior pastor Dr. Jody Ray is surrendering his credentials as an ordained minister in the denomination.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A new senior pastor has been appointed for Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in East Cobb, but the congregation’s leadership announced Sunday it is opposing the move.
A posting on the church’s Facebook page said that the church is informing Sue Haupert-Johnson, the bishop of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, that Mt. Bethel “is not in a position to receive a new senior minister at this time.”
Dr. Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor since May 2016, was among those reassigned in North Georgia Conference changes formally announced on Monday in what’s called “Clergy Move Day.”
Around 70 clergy were reassigned by the North Georgia Conference, which has 800 churches and more than 340,000 members.
Sybil Davidson, a spokeswoman for the Conference, told East Cobb News that reassignments are made every spring and that this is a lower figure than normal.
Appointed to succeed Ray, who was reassigned to a non-preaching position with the Conference staff in Atlanta, is Steven Usry, the senior pastor at Sugarloaf UMC in Duluth. The appointments are effective July 1, according to the North Georgia Conference.
Mt. Bethel is one of the largest churches in Cobb County with around 8,000 members and is the largest congregation in the North Georgia Conference.
“It’s always hard on congregations to lose a beloved pastor,” Davidson said, but that the appointment of Usry to Mt. Bethel stands.
East Cobb News has left messages with Mt. Bethel seeking comment.
The Mt. Bethel Staff Parish Relations Committee and Administrative Council are urging members to read and sign a petition “that affirms the SPRC’s and Administrative Council’s position. Our goal is to have as many signatures as possible by 5pm on Tuesday, April 20 – time is of the essence.”
More than 3,300 people have signed the petition, which says that having a new senior pastor would be too disruptive as Mt. Bethel is only recently returning to in-person services due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that “it is no secret these are very fragile times for our denomination.”
That’s a formal split in the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., in which some churches would pull away over theological differences, including issues involving the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy and allowing same-sex marriage.
The UMC has delayed taking up the Protocol until its 2022 General Conference. Here’s more about the issue from Christianity Today.
During an emotional sermon on Sunday (you can watch it here), Ray announced that he declined his new appointment, and that the North Georgia Conference has not offered him another position.
“To those who helped orchestrate the events of today, I want you to know forgive you and I love you,” said Ray, who was stopped several times by applause.
He also directed a message from the pulpit to his family, saying, “I want you also to remember this day, that your Daddy didn’t bow the knee, or kiss the ring, of progressive theology. . . . which is no theology.”
With that, the audience gave him a standing ovation.
The Mt. Bethel petition indicated that “in the spirit of that Protocol, people of theologically diverse opinions and goodwill are striving hard not to disrupt the mission and ministries of those with whom they disagree. We, the people of Mt. Bethel UMC, are honoring that spirit in word and deed.
“So, in light of the challenges of the pandemic and in anticipation of an orderly and amicable separation of the United Methodist Church, we feel strongly that this is not the time for disruptive change in the senior leadership of our church.”
Mt. Bethel, which also oversees the K-12 Mt Bethel Academy on two campuses in East Cobb, employs around 300 people.
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Among the Top 30 Cobb Chamber small businesses for 2021 is the East Cobb-based Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team.
Submitted information:
Cobb County is home to some of Georgia’s most successful small businesses. As a pro-business advocacy and economic development organization, the Cobb Chamber is committed to exceeding the needs of small business owners and helping them to be successful. Each year, since starting this program in 1982, the Cobb Chamber celebrates the achievements of small businesses that contribute to the vitality of the community with the announcement of its Top 25 Small Businesses of the Year. For 2021, the Chamber is expanding the Small Business of the Year awards to a Top 30 Small Businesses of the Year.
“In the past year, Cobb’s small businesses have shown such resilience and innovation, we felt it was only fitting to expand our Small Business of the Year awards to include a Top 30,” said Sharon Mason. “Small businesses play such an important role in the health of Cobb’s economy and in a year of recovery, we wanted to show our support to local entrepreneurs and small business owners even more. We look forward to recognizing our Top 30 Small Businesses this year.”
The Cobb Chamber is proud to honor the following businesses as its 2021 Top 30 Small Businesses of the Year:
41South Creative
Innovation Compounding
All Roof Solutions, Inc.
InPrime Legal
AQC Traffic Control Services, LLC
Manay CPA, Inc.
CFO Navigator
Mills Specialty Metals, LLC
CROFT & Associates
Powers Electrical Solutions, Inc.
Darden & Company
Priority Jet, LLC
Deluxe Athletics, LLC
Prodew, Inc.
DynamiX
RE/MAX PURE
Eclipse Networks
SK Commercial Realty
Four Hats, Inc.
SpeedPro Marietta
Georgia Trade School
The Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team
Governors Gun Club
The Partnership of Atlanta, Inc.
GreenMellen
The UPS Store Smyrna
Henry’s Louisiana Grill, Inc.
Win-Tech, Inc.
HR Knowledge Source
Yalo!
An overall winner will be selected among the Top 30 and announced on May 10 at the Marquee Monday, presented by Superior Plumbing Small Business of the Year awards luncheon at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre. The top winner is determined by a thorough selection process including applications and site visits by a panel of outside judges. The luncheon will honor the Top 30 Small Businesses of the Year and the Small Business Hall of Fame inductees.
Additionally, the Cobb Chamber’s Small Business of the Year awards program includes recognition for the impressive accomplishments of many new Cobb businesses and startups with the Businesses To Watch awards. These are businesses that have launched three years ago or less and have already achieved substantial growth.
The 2021 Businesses To Watch are:
Abernathy Ditzel Hendrick Bryce, LLC
American Axes
Neighborhood Cuisine & Provisions
The Dwell Collective
Tickets to the luncheon are $35 for members and are $45 for general admission. Visit www.cobbchamber.org/SBOY for more information and event registration.
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Thomas Eye Group is happy to open our newest location in East Cobb at 4343 Shallowford Rd., Bldg. 500, Suite 510, Marietta, GA 30062. In an effort to be a full family practice, we are announcing two events focused on pediatric eye care. Special events will be held on Friday, April 23, and Friday, May 7, with Christina Locke, O.D at our Thomas Eye Group, East Cobb location where pediatric patients (ages 4+) will be eligible to receive a comprehensive eye exam.
“Pediatric eye health is imperative in helping kids succeed, says Dr. Locke, O.D. When children have trouble with vision, they can easily be misdiagnosed. We hope during our two separate events, we can provide eye exams to the East Cobb community and become their go-to for family eye care.
This event is by appointment only and as an added bonus all attendees will receive 50% off their complete second pair of glasses in our Optical Shop! Please visit our website at https://www.thomaseye.com/event.htm to make an appointment or call:
We ask all attendees to please wear a mask and practice social distancing.
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Five parents with students in the Cobb County School District have filed a lawsuit against the district’s face mask mandate.
The suit, filed April 9 in Cobb Superior Court, claims that the district’s mandate, which was announced before the start of the current school year, “has arbitrarily and capriciously segregated the student population.”
The mandate, which applies to all students, teachers and other staff working on school campuses, has effectively created two “separate, but unequal” learning environments, one in-person, and one virtual, according to the lawsuit.
The suit, which names Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and the seven members of the Cobb County Board of Education as defendants, also alleges that the district’s contact tracing procedures are an invasion of privacy and violate federal health privacy laws.
The plaintiffs—listed as Caryn Sonderman, Matt Gill, Andrei Marcu, Gretchen Brochard and Erin White—are seeking a temporary restraining order against the mandate and a hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday at 11 a.m. before Senior Presiding Judge James Bodiford in Cobb Superior Court.
Ragsdale announced the mask mandate last July, after initially saying masks would be “highly recommended.”
The plaintiffs claim that masks don’t work, saying it’s a “scientifically baseless ‘solution’ that is pure political theater and harms children in its own way.”
Affidavits signed by the plaintiffs claim their children have been adversely affected by having to wear masks when attending classes in-person.
They include a student at Walton High School whom, the lawsuit claims, has been able to attend classes on campus only a couple weeks this school year. The masks constrict the breathing of the student, who has ADHD.
Another student at Wheeler High School has found it “difficult to breathe” wearing a mask throughout the school day and “has developed cynicism at 15 years old” and distrust of adults at the school.
A kindergarten student at Timber Ridge Elementary School also has complained of not being able to breathe, according to a parental affidavit filed with the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is being filed with about a month left in the 2020-21 school year.
The Cobb school year began all-virtual in August due to high COVID-19 case figures, which prompted protests by parents. An incremental classroom return began in October.
The final days of the fall semester also went all-online in November with another case surge, but the spring semester began in hybrid fashion in January.
Some teachers and parents pleaded for an all-virtual return after three Cobb school teachers died in December and January from COVID-19.
More recently, some Cobb parents have been speaking out against the mask mandate, including the mother of four students in East Cobb schools who organized the protest against the all-virtual start to the school year.
Amy Henry told the school board last month that “we’re putting on a show and denying our children in the process” by requiring students who attend classes in person to wear masks at all times.
“They need to have a normal childhood,” she said. “We’re teaching them that they’re dirty. We’re creating a fearful environment that for these kids cannot be normal.”
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Another comes on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the campus (2525 Sandy Plains Road), and it’s expected to last an hour.
Organizer Sharona Sandberg said participants will then go to the Sandy Plains-East Piedmont Road intersection and hold signs and banners for motorists to see until 5 p.m.
There’s going to be bottled water and pizza for attendees, and here are some of the ground rules if you plan to come:
If you want to park in the front of the school (there are approx. 55+ spaces up front) you need to arrive by 2:30 p.m at. the latest as we will be closing off the entrance for the Rally to begin and to serve the food.
The main parking lot (behind the school) will be open with plenty of spaces for all!
The community group is advocating for a rebuild of the 48-year-old campus if a new SPLOST referendum passes later this year.
The Cobb County School District is currently developing a tentative project list that will be finalized later in the year. Sprayberry principal Sara Griffin has submitted a request for a classroom building rebuild.
The Sprayberry advocates say their school has been overlooked when it comes to new facilities, especially compared to other East Cobb high schools. The say renovations that have taken place for many years have amounted to “lipstick on a pig,” which has inspired the t-shirts like the one above.
Sprayberry has been slated for a new gym and career training center in the current SPLOST, and an architect was approved in late 2018. But there has been no announcement about when construction will begin.
The group has organized on Facebook and will be providing further updates there on Sunday’s rally, and other activities.
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For more Cobb COVID data, click here: Source: Cobb and Douglas Public Health
As of Friday afternoon there have been 940 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in Cobb County since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health, which also has listed 77 probable deaths in its latest daily status report.
As has been the case for most of the pandemic, the COVID-19 deaths have largely occurred in older people. Cobb and Douglas Public Health’s latest data shows that 42.2 percent of the deaths have been people 80 and older; 304. percent are between ages 70-79; and 14.5 percent are between 60-69.
Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, said in an updated message on Friday that while case rates are going down in the county, the public must continue to be vigilant.
Georgia DPH data as of Friday indicated that the 14-day average of PCR tests per 100,000 people in Cobb is at 126, close to the definition of “high community spread” threshold of 100 cases per 100,000.
But as school students in Cobb returned to classes this week, she said there figures to be a bump in those and similar metrics.
The British variant B.1.1.7. makes up about 45 percent of Cobb’s cases, a doubling from the last couple of weeks, she said.
That variant, one of three that’s been discovered in Cobb, is more transmissable, and is affecting younger age groups (30-50 in Michigan, where there’s another COVID-19 wave taking place).
“It may not be as deadly,” she said, perhaps because it’s not significantly affecting older people, one of the primary groups to be vaccinated.
“We’re not done yet,” Memark said. “If you are not vaccinated, you are still at risk. We still cannot gather with large groups of people yet. You cannot be risking high-risk folks that can’t get vaccinated.
“We’ve got to keep wearing our masks when we go out in public because not everybody’s vaccinated.”
She said 17 percent of Cobb’s more than 760,000 residents have been fully vaccinated, meaning that 83 percent have not. To reach herd immunity, Memark said, “that number’s got to flip.”
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We got an update from a representative of the forthcoming gusto! casual eatery at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center, who says the opening is generally slated for the summer.
There’s not a date or more specific time range that’s been announced, and initial renovations are underway.
gusto! (it’s smaller case g) will occupy the former space of Moe’s Southwest Grill (688 Johnson Ferry Road), which closed in November.
The Atlanta-based chain, which has seven other locations, is making its foray into East Cobb. The menu includes salads, bowls and wraps, many with Tex-Mex ingredients. Here are more details about what you’ll be able to order:
“a choice of four base options: crisp mixed greens, seasoned brown rice, half and half or a steamed flatbread wrap topped with a grilled protein (such as grilled chicken, umami tofu, shrimp or new baby bellas) and a gusto! – a signature flavor profile, with choices including chipotle mango avocado, ginger lime peanut, chile sesame barbeque, tahini cucumber feta, sweet soy sriracha and tzatziki lemon artichoke. Each order comes with house-made sweet potato chips and in addition to the traditional menu, gusto! East Cobb will offer family meal and meal prep options along with catering.”
The gusto! East Cobb spot will have outdoor dining and “limited indoor dining” when it opens, and will be the second such location with drive-through ordering.
The hours will be Sunday from 10:30 AM to 10PM for lunch and dinner, and delivery will be availalble through select third-party partners.
“Our goal is to truly permeate the community and its subcultures within sports, churches, schools and beyond. We look forward to representing something different and becoming ingrained as an East Cobber brand,” gusto! founder Nate Hybl said.
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The following East Cobb food scores for the week of April 12 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!
State Reps. Sharon Cooper and Matt Dollar have co-sponsored a new East Cobb Cityhood bill.
In their first interaction with the public, leaders of the revived East Cobb Cityhood movement on Wednesday stressed the importance of local control, especially when it comes to zoning and development matters.
During a virtual town hall meeting, cityhood legislation sponsors and members of the East Cobb Cityhood Committee took pre-screened questions from the public and sent out a survey for further feedback.
The committee also released biographical details about the cityhood committee members.
“It’s really about self-determination,” said State Rep. Matt Dollar, who introduced a cityhood bill before the end of the 2021 session. “If people in the cities of Marietta and Smyrna have that right, then the citizens of East Cobb should have that right as well.”
Much of the conversation revolved around the pro-cityhood theme of “preservation” of what’s been established in East Cobb—single family homes, limited density and quality-of-life amenities—as other areas of the county are becoming more urbanized and feature mixed-use developments.
“If people want density, they can go to the Cumberland area or Smyrna,” Dollar said. “People in East Cobb live here because they want the suburban lifestyle. They don’t want density.”
Former Cobb school board member Scott Sweeney, a member of the cityhood committee, added that it’s important for East Cobbers to protect “what’s in our back yard.”
The legislation sponsored by Dollar and State Rep. Sharon Cooper—both East Cobb Republicans—is vastly different from a 2019 bill he introduced and that she was lukewarm to support.
Cooper, who said last October she thought the cityhood issue was dead, said that some other Cobb cityhood bills introduced this year—in Lost Mountain and Vinings—also have been spurred by concerns over density.
The five-member Cobb Board of Commissioners, which represents nearly 800,000 people, is currently grasping with major redevelopment cases in East Cobb, including the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford and Sprayberry Crossing areas, that have drawn community opposition.
A city of East Cobb, Cooper argued, “would be people from our neighborhoods, people we live with, making those zoning decisions.”
The new effort scales down the size of the proposed city of East Cobb from more than 100,000 to about 55,000, mainly along the Johnson Ferry Road corridor.
Dollar said feeback he received from 2019 indicated that the initial boundaries were too big, and didn’t lend themselves for a clear community identity.
The new bill calls for a six-member city council, with a mayor and vice mayor to be chosen every other year by the council.
While the 2019 East Cobb cityhood bill would have called for police and fire services, the new legislation is what’s called “city light” and includes planning and zoning, code enforcement and parks and recreation.
Dollar said the “hope here is to be revenue neutral,” meaning no millage rate would need to be established.
“It’s a very stable tax base with light services,” he said. “It is not an expensive endeavor.”
Still, some of the questions addressed at the town hall were over whether a new city would create another layer of government.
Dollar disagreed, saying it was a “shift” in selected services.
The other proposed services, code enforcement and parks and recreation, weren’t discussed much.
There was a mention of the former in reference to the Tokyo Valentino adult retail store that opened on Johnson Ferry Road last summer, and that now tied up in the courts as Cobb County is trying to shut it down.
Dollar said adding parks and recreation “seemed like a good fit,” noting that they’re services offered in the newer cities of Milton and Brookhaven.
The cityhood leaders also said Wednesday that a new financial feasibility study conducted by researchers at Georgia State University will cost an estimated $22,000 and will be ready by July.
Dollar said that what’s happening now is just the beginning of a process, that there’s plenty of time before the 2022 legislative session. The Georgia General Assembly would have to pass the cityhood bill before it would come up for a local referendum next November.
“What I ask people, whether you’re for [cityhood] or against it, is just to keep an open mind,” Dollar said.
Anyone interested in completing the cityhood survey can do so by clicking here.
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A rendering of the proposed Nexus Gardens project on Powers Ferry Road, south of the Marietta Loop.
After months of delays and a torrent of opposition from nearby residents, the Marietta City Council on Wednesday quickly nixed two proposed redevelopment projects in the Powers Ferry Road with little discussion.
By unanimous 7-0 votes, the council rejected rezoning requests by Nexus Gardens and Nexus Marietta for a mixed-use and housing developments, respectively, along either side of the South Marietta Parkway.
The projects would have been built by Macauley Investments, an Atlanta developer, on assembled land parcels owned by real estate investor Ruben McMullan and his related interests.
Several times the rezoning requests were tabled or otherwise delayed, including last month, after the Marietta Planning Commission voted to recommend denial.
Residents who turned out for the meeting implored the council beforehand to reject the rezonings, saying they’re too dense, provide access through their narrow neighborhood streets and will devastate their quality of life.
The Nexus Gardens project, according to Anna Holladay, a resident of nearby Virginia Place, “will ruin the lives of everyone in this neighborhood.”
Cloverdale Heights resident Brian Peters, who lives near the proposed Laurel Park residential project, said he moved from Buckhead a decade ago to to escape “runaway development” and was aghast he was fighting it in Marietta.
“We’ve had enough,” Peters said, referring to the constant delays in the rezoning case. “We’re pushing back. End of story.”
Before Wednesday’s council meeting, Kevin Moore, an attorney for both projects, submitted a revised plan for Laurel Park, scaling down what had been a mainly townhome project of 204 units to 134 units, with 84 townhomes and 50 single-family homes.
He said the Loop corridor between Roswell Road and Interstate 75 hasn’t seen new development in 50 years. The Nexus Gardens project, Moore said, is an opportunity that “would be fantastic for the city and fantastic for the nearby community.”
In addition to the density of the Nexus Marietta project—two five-story apartment buildings totalling 280 units served by a three-story parking deck, a five-story senior-living building with 160 units, 39 townhomes and restaurants and retail space—nearby residents in unincorporated Cobb objected to a single point of access, along Meadowbrook Lane.
City council members were unconvinced of Moore’s claim. Michelle Cooper-Kelly, whose district includes the Nexus Gardens land, told residents that “you guys came together as a community. You’re doing exactly what democracy is designed to do.”
After acknowledging the heavy amount of e-mails she received about that rezoning case, Cooper-Kelly said that “I don’t think this project is right for this community.”
She made a motion to deny the request, and the vote was unanimous with no further discussion.
Council member Joseph Goldstein, whose district includes the Laurel Park property, said even less, commenting that the rezoning proposal was inappropriate” as he made a motion for denial.
None of his other colleagues offered comments before the vote.
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Cobb Senior Services announced that it is planning to welcome more seniors back into its centers. Effective Monday, April 19, the centers will operate Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and add more ongoing activities such as, but not limited to, billiards, table tennis, bridge, needlework and woodcarving. Additionally, the gyms at all five multipurpose centers will be open once again.
NOTE: Registration is still required to participate in all activities, including gym usage. Please visit the center’s pages for listings of added ongoing activities through https://www.CobbSeniors.org.
On Monday, May 3, registration for Spring classes will open with classes beginning May 10. A list of classes offered at the centers may be found on each center’s page beginning Friday, April 16. Please note that registration for classes and all activities is only available by telephone or online using My Active Center. If you do not have an account with MAC, please call the center near you for assistance.
For your safety, the following protocols will remain in place:
Masks are required to be worn inside all CSS facilities, except when actively exercising
Your temperature will be screened upon arrival
COVID-related questions will be asked upon arrival
Water fountains and bottle fillers are closed
Please contact Senior Services at 770-528-5355 or CobbSeniors@cobbcounty.org. If you have any questions, updated information may be found at https://www.CobbSeniors.org.
Also:
Cobb Senior Services is hosting its last food distribution event from 11 a.m. to noon (or while supplies last) Friday, April 16. Residents age 60 and older are encouraged to get shelf stable food at Cobb Senior Services, 1150 Powder Springs St., Marietta. An ID showing date of birth and Cobb County home address for each senior is required upon arrival. No appointment is needed.
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Commissioner Jerica Richardson held her first town hall in virtual format and with a selected audience at the Sewell Mill Library on April 6.
During a town hall address last week, Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson laid out her priorities for the rest of 2021 and provided constituents with a review of her first three months in office.
Richardson is a Democrat elected in November to succeed Bob Ott in representing District 2, which includes some of East Cobb, as well as parts of Smyrna and the Cumberland-Vinings area.
She conducted a “priorities tour” since taking office, and came up with nine priorities. The details can be found here, and they include the following:
Continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
Improving salary, benefits and other conditions for public safety personnel;
fiscal responsibility in the upcoming budget process;
an environmental agenda with an “environmental justice agreement” and expansion of Keep Cobb Beautiful programs;
expanding mobility options, including sidewalk improvements and repaving projects;
planning and housing affordability, especially workforce housing;
a youth, diversity and inclusion program that includes the creation of a youth board of commissioners and the establishment of a “Little Brazil” community initiative;
revitalizing libraries to position them as economic development centers.
She also said that a number of community chats will be scheduled this year to focus on other issues mentioned by constituents, including major zoning decisions, short-term rentals, an increase in violent crime, stormwater management, gun safety and code enforcement.
The topic of East Cobb Cityhood did not come up during the town hall meeting. A renewed effort to incorporate a portion of East Cobb includes legislation that will be considered in 2022, after a previous effort fizzled in 2019.
During her campaign, Richardson said she was opposed to East Cobb Cityhood (as was Fitz Johnson, her Republican opponent).
She recently told East Cobb News that during her priorities tour, she has continued to hear a lot of opposition.
“There’s just not a lot of support for this,” she said.
You can watch a replay of Richardson’s town hall meeting by clicking here.
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Cobb District Attorney Flynn D. Broady, Jr. announces that several events are planned to mark National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 18-24. This year’s theme is “Support Victims. Build Trust. Engage Communities.”
“Victims suffer emotionally, physically, and financially from the criminal acts committed against them. As a community and as service providers, we have an obligation to recognize the impact of crime on victims and to provide resources and assistance to help victims heal,” said Kim McCoy, Director of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit in the Cobb DA’s Office. “This week of recognition and these planned events reinforce the commitment of this office to serve crime victims with dignity, respect, and honor and to engage community partners in the continuation of victim services, to build trust, and to engage the entire community in these efforts.”
This year marks the 40th anniversary of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. First designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week increases public awareness of, and knowledge about the wide range of rights and services available to people who have been victimized by crime.
Local Crime Victims’ Rights Week events will include:
April 13 – The Cobb Board of Commissioners will present a proclamation to mark Cobb County Crime Victims’ Rights Week during the Commission’s 9 a.m. meeting at 100 Cherokee St. in Marietta. Meetings are shown on cable TV; on the county’s website, www.cobbcounty.org; and on the Cobb County Government YouTube channel.
April 18 – The Crime Victims Advocacy Council and First Baptist Church, Decatur, will host the 31st Annual Homicide Memorial, from 3-5 p.m. outside at the church, 308 Clairemont Ave., Decatur. Please RSVP at www.cvaconline.org. DA Broady will be speaking at this event.
April 22, 1 p.m. – Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and partner agencies will host a virtual ceremony. Visit Georgia.cjcc.gov by April 15 to register.
April 24 – Premiere of “Run for Justice,” a virtual 5K run/walk fund-raiser to benefit liveSAFE Resources, Inc. and SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center. This year, participation is limited to our office and partner agencies, though our goal is to make this is annual public event beginning in 2022.
In addition, Cobb recently embarked on a multi-year project to establish a Family Justice Center to better serve victims of domestic and interpersonal family violence, child and elder abuse, and human trafficking. Project partners will attend the 21st Annual International Family Justice Center Conference, hosted by the Alliance for Hope.
Cobb’s FJC Site Coordinator TaNesha McAuley is also conducting several Listening Tours with community partners to learn about the services they provide to victims, and providing education on the FJC model.
The Listening Tour will ultimately expand into our Cobb communities as residents are invited to be part of the planning, development, and implementation of Cobb’s FJC. For FJC updates, visit www.cobbda.com or email fjccobb@cobbcounty.org.
Residents can stay informed about events, and look for a series of brief videos for Crime Victims’ Rights Week, on Facebook, @cobbda.
For information about national efforts to promote 2021 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, visit the Office for Victims of Crime website at www.ovc.gov and the National Organization for Victim Assistance at www.trynova.org/ncvrw.
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The Georgia Department of Public Health on Tuesday announced that it is temporarily stopping the administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control have urged a halt after blood clot side effects were reported in six known cases. Johnson & Johnson has distributed more than 7 million doses of the single-dose vaccine.
The FDA-CDC statement said all six cases of blood clotting occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.
Johnson & Johnson is one of three COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, and has more than 330,000 doses that have been allocated Georgia, according to the DPH vaccine dashboard.
More than 3 million Pfizer vaccines have been distributed in the state, along with more than 2.8 million of the Moderna vaccines.
In Cobb County, nearly 300,000 vaccine doses have been administered, with more than 116,000 residents, or 16 percent, fully vaccinated, according to Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark.
She told the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday that “I am grateful that they are looking at the safety of this as we go along. . . . This is very rare right now.”
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