East Cobb News

Moxie Burger, Moxie Taco close temporarily after COVID case

July 3, 2020 1:32 PMJuly 3, 2020 12:42 PM by Wendy Parker

Moxie Burger Moxie Taco close COVID — *The original Moxie Burger restaurant at Paper Mill Village.*

The two East Cobb locations of Moxie Burger and the Moxie Taco restaurant have closed temporarily after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

The East Cobb-based Moxie Restaurant Group alerted customers on its Facebook pages Friday morning that the three restaurants will undergo a full disinfecting process from a professional sanitation provider and that all employees will required to be tested.

The Moxie Burger locations at Paper Mill Village and 2421 Shallowford Road are closed, as is Moxie Taco, also at Paper Mill Village.

“Previous to this, Moxie Taco and all Moxie Burger locations have been relentless with their disinfecting efforts and social distancing. The safety of our customers is just as important to us as is the safety of our staff and we are doing everything in our power to take our sanitation and safety measures above and beyond,” the message states.

“We do not take this announcement lightly and fully understand the concerns you might have. We remain steadfast in our commitment to keep our staff, guests, and community safe and are here to address any concerns and questions that you have.”

The Moxie Burger location in Roswell remains open, as “we are confident our team at Moxie Burger Roswell was not in direct contact.”

That restaurant is open Friday and Sunday and will be closed on Saturday for the July 4 holiday.

The Moxie restaurants re-opened their dining rooms service on June 1 after being closed, and then open for takeout, in the wake of the COVID virus.

The number of positive COVID cases has risen dramatically in Georgia and in Cobb County, where a public health alert was issued on Wednesday.

Cobb and Douglas Public Health said it is investigating 300 businesses in both counties for outbreaks (when two or more individuals that are positive in the same place) but they have not been identified.

UPDATED, 1:23 P.M.: The Freakin’ Incan restaurant at Sandy Plains Village has announced that due to rising COVID cases, it’s closing its dining room and is staying open for takeout service.

“We are discussing with the landlord about adding outside tables and chairs and could possibly have them available by the end of next week. Please bear with us while we try to protect the health of our staff and our customers. We feel that limiting our exposure and preventing possible sickness to be the correct decision at the moment. This is a preventative measure to avoid getting sick and forcing a complete shutdown. All staff are in good health, I repeat, all staff are in good health! I would like to take this chance to wish all of you a safe and healthy Fourth of July!”

Cobb school year start date delayed 2 weeks; registration postponed

July 3, 2020 12:49 PMJuly 2, 2020 5:22 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board start date delayed

The Cobb County School District has delayed the start of classes by two weeks later than scheduled due to planning and concerns over COVID-19.

The Cobb Board of Education voted 7-0 Thursday in a special called meeting to begin instruction on Aug. 17, instead of Aug. 3.

“There are a number of things that are out of our control,” Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said, as the district plans for the coming school year.

A two-week delay, he said before the vote, “would give us ample time to get all the information we need to properly communicate” with parents about how the start of the school year will proceed.

Last week Ragsdale said the school year would be starting on time, and in classrooms on Aug. 3, and parents would be offered a remote option that they would have to commit to for at least one full semester.

But since then, Gov. Brian Kemp extended the state’s public health emergency to Aug. 11 and on Wednesday, a Cobb public health alert was issued.

Parents can still choose to have their children either in the classroom or a remote option. If they choose the virtual option, they must commit to it for at least one semester.

An online registration portal that was to have opened Thursday and closed July 10 is being postponed for now, Ragsdale said.

“More likely, it’s going to be an open date without a closing date.”

All teachers, principals and other staff scheduled to report on July 27 will still begin on that date.

The delayed Cobb graduation schedule announced last week also will continue as rescheduled, between July 13-24, at McEachern High School.

Cobb has the second-largest school district in Georgia, with nearly 113,000 students in 112 schools.

Ragsdale said the two-week delay will not alter the rest of the 2020-21 academic calendar, including week-long breaks in September and February.

“We are not looking to delete” either of those breaks, he said, adding that the district would not have to make up those dates, and that “we’re going to work” to meet curriculum requirements with the modified calendar.

The Cobb decision comes after Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order extending the state’s public health emergency to Aug. 11.

Last week, the Fulton County School System announced it would be delaying the start of classes by a week, from Aug. 10 to Aug. 17.

School board member Charisse Davis asked if masks will be required for students, teachers and staff in the school buildings.

Ragsdale said that while masks are “absolutely expected and strongly recommended,” and that social distancing cannot be guaranteed in a classroom, he will not be mandating that they be worn.

He said the extra two weeks will help those involved with digital and remote learning lessons and logistics and generally give the district flexibility in case health guidance shift again.

Students in remote learning environments will have teachers who will not be in the classroom, and vice versa.

Also complicating the district’s plans are a possible $62 million budget deficit. The board has not been able to adopt a budget for fiscal year 2021, which began Wednesday, due to delayed funding from the legislature.

The board is expected to enact a budget at its July 16 meeting.

“Quite honestly, we don’t have all the answers right now,” Ragsdale said, “and we don’t know what’s going to change next.”

The Cobb school district Coronavirus resource page keeps updated information on back-to-school plans, health guidance, regisration and more.

Sprayberry Crossing plans: 5-story buildings, more greenspace

July 2, 2020 2:08 PM by Wendy Parker

Sprayberry Crossing revisions

The developer of a proposed mixed-use project at the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center explained those plans and answered questions from the community Wednesday in the first public meeting on the subject.

In a Zoom call that included more than 100 participants, and others who took part via telephone and chat, Richard Aaronson of Atlantic Residential said that more revisions have taken place since another site plan was released last week.

It’s the latest version of a project that would contain 30,000 square feet for a national grocery store, retail and co-working/office space, townhomes, apartments, senior rentals and an entertainment and food hall, as well as community greenspace.

(Here’s the Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment page, which contains regular updates.)

Aaronson said talks are proceeding with a national grocer he would not identify, and those talks center on the store having visibility from Sandy Plains Road.

“We’re not under contract yet,” he said. “They do have a number of stores in the Atlanta market.

The 23-acre property is fronted on Sandy Plains by several outparcel standalone businesses.

That’s one reason Aaronson said in response to a citizen’s question that the proposed project isn’t more of a pure retail nature, like the new Sandy Plains MarketPlace a few miles away.

He also said one reason why the blighted current shopping center has stood there for years is because the current owners have been trying to sell it with retail in mind.

And in a time in which retail is experiencing decline, Aaronson added, “this seemed to be the only logical way to redevelop this property.”

The biggest change from the last site plan is a “reimagined” concept that stresses what’s being called “pedestrian interaction.”

Atlantic Residential, which is an Atlanta-based apartment developer, called in Lew Oliver, an architect who’s worked on town center projects in Marietta, Roswell and Woodstock. He’s also the town urbanist for Serenbe, in south Fulton, and the Vickery, a walkable community in north Atlanta.

The latest site plan (below) incorporates public feedback for more greenspace around an old family cemetery at the center of the property.

That will be preserved with new fencing, Aaronson said, as will trees in the vicinity. The cemetery issues also made it “impossible,” he said, to consider full-scale retail, since many family members of those buried there didn’t want their remains removed.

Sprayberry Crossing site plan 7.1.20 — *To view a larger map, **click here**.*

“The focus is to create community, promote pedestrianism and have this be a win-win for the developer and the community,” Oliver said during the call.

In order to add more greenspace there and in the residential areas of the project, 5-story buildings are being proposed for the apartments and the senior-living units. They initially were slated to be between two and four stories, with the first floor for retail and amenities.

Aaronson said the density hasn’t changed, and the architectural revisions call for flattening the roofs.

When a citizen asked if condominiums could be build instead of apartments, Aaronson said there isn’t the demand for them, especially in suburban areas of metro Atlanta.

“We’re trying to create a housing type that there’s demand for,” he said.

But questions of owner-occupancy have been raised frequently by nearby residents in a community that’s dominated by single-family neighborhoods.

Atlantic Residential has come down on the number of apartments, from 195 to 178. Another 122 senior “flats” are being proposed, as are 50 for-sale townhomes.

The apartment rents would range between $1,400 and $2,400 (between 700 and 1,100 square feet, respectively), and 75 percent of them would be studio or one-bedroom apartments; the rest would have two bedrooms.

The townhome cost range would be around $400,000 for units ranging between 2,000 and 2,800 square feet.

Traffic concerns also have been raised as the Sprayberry Crossing plans have taken shape.

On the call, Aaronson said Atlantic Residential commissioned a traffic study that showed a moderate increase in traffic, of about three seconds of additional traffic light wait times at peak periods.

The results of that study, which was conducted before traffic volumed dropped due to COVID-19 closures, are to be posted soon on the Sprayberry Crossing website.

Aaronson said he envisions the entertainment and food hall (upper left in the map) to be run by an independent operator, and that live music and performances would be a major part of the equation.

Atlantic Residential needs to get rezoning from the Cobb Board of Commissioners, and filing is expected to begin soon, with possible hearings and action in the fall.

A tentative timeline calls for planning and design completion finished by the spring and demolition of the current site by next summer. The first phase would be completed by 2023.

The Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group has more of a summary and links to Wednesday’s Zoom call and audience questions.

There’s also a Facebook group that’s formed that opposes apartments coming to Sprayberry Crossing.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Cobb school board to hold special meeting on starting date

July 1, 2020 5:27 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Education will hold a special called meeting on Thursday to discuss the starting date for the 2020-21 school year as concerns over rising COVID-19 cases have sparked new governmental responses.

The virtual meeting starts at 4 p.m. and can be seen online by clicking here or on television on the Cobb County School District’s public access cable channels (Channel 24 on Comcast and Channel 182 on Charter).

Last week Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the school year would be starting on time, and in classrooms on Aug. 3, and parents would be offered a remote option that they would have to commit to for at least one full semester.

But since then, Gov. Brian Kemp extended the state’s public health emergency to Aug. 11 and on Wednesday, a Cobb public health alert was issued.

Those were responses to rising COVID-19 cases in Georgia and Cobb County, which now has surpassed the 5,000 mark.

Another executive order from Kemp pertaining to social distancing guidance also called for the Georgia Department of Education to provide “rules, regulations and guidance” for the operation of K-12 public schools for local school boards “to depart from a strict interpretation on the definition of ‘school year,’ ‘school month’ or ‘school day.’ ”

Since then, the Fulton County School System has delayed the start of its school year by a week, from Aug. 10 to Aug. 17.

Some Cobb parents and teachers have started petitions (here and here) demanding answers from the Cobb school district about the starting plans, which haven’t yet been detailed.

Those questions include the provision of resources for remote learning, class sizes for those who go back to school, cleaning and sanitizing procedures and protocols for when a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19.

Other requests ask that the start date be pushed back to Aug. 10 and extend the deadline for parents to choose remote or classroom instruction beyond July 10.

Cobb public health alert issued as COVID cases surpass 5,000

July 1, 2020 6:00 PMJuly 1, 2020 4:02 PM by Wendy Parker

The director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health issued a public health alert Wednesday as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb substantially, and with more people being hospitalized due to the virus.

Dr. Janet Memark said in the alert that there is “evidence of increased transmission throughout our community, outside of additional testing access, as supported by positivity rates at our testing sites that have surpassed 10%. This trend has been on an upward trajectory over the last few weeks. Last week, we saw the highest number of reported cases in our district since the pandemic began.”

(You can read the full health alert here.)

The age groups of those testing positive in recent weeks also has been trending younger, especially between the ages of 20 and 40, she said.

Memark said that while the numbers of COVID-19-related 911 calls, emergency room visits, hospitalizations and need for intensive-care beds has increased in recent weeks, the death rate “appears to be in decline.”

She said that’s likely the result of younger, healthier people testing positive and recovering, and due to healthcare system response to treating the virus.

Memark said more than 300 businesses in Cobb and Douglas counties have been affected by COVID and staff epidemiologists are investigating 75 outbreaks.

An “outbreak” is classified as when two or more individuals that are positive in the same place. In a nursing home, one individual is considered to be an outbreak.

Valerie Crow, a spokeswoman for Cobb and Douglas Public Health, said she could not release any information about businesses experiencing outbreaks due to federal health privacy laws.

There were 5,081 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Cobb County on Wednesday, 204 more case than the 4,877 reported on Tuesday by the Georgia Department of Public Health, which updates figures at 3 p.m. daily.

Last week, Cobb reported 685 positive cases, a one-week record.

The Cobb death toll rose by two on Wednesday to 245, the second-highest total in Georgia. Fulton County has reported 314 deaths.

The cumulative hospitalization numbers in Cobb County have gone up to 872, up from 861 on Monday.

Cobb’s cumulative test positivity rate—the percentage of confirmed cases against the number of people tested—is at 5.74 percent, but Memark said in the last few weeks, as noted above, that number has in some cases more than doubled.

On June 26, the last date for which figures are available, the test positivity rate was 9.97 percent (see graphic below). The day before, the figure was nearly 13 percent, the highest since early May, not long after Cobb and Georgia began reopening some businesses and public activities.

Those figures are only for people tested at the Cobb and Douglas Public Health testing facility at Jim Miller Park, where 14,153 total tests have been conducted.

Cobb DPH Test Positivity Rate 7.1.20

(You can find more Cobb COVID data here.)

Cobb’s figures are reflected in similar trends in Georgia, which has 2,827 deaths, 11,275 hospitalizations and has 84,237 positive COVID cases.

More than 855,000 people have had viral COVID tests in Georgia, with a positivity rate of nine percent, and nearly 158,000 additional antibody tests have been conducted (Cobb isn’t doing antibody tests).

On Wednesday 22 more deaths were reported in Georgia, along with 2,946 cases and 224 new hospitalizations. Nearly 14 percent of the reported 21.508 viral tests were positive for COVID.

The rising numbers have prompted Gov. Brian Kemp to extend the state’s public health emergency to Aug. 11 and continue social distancing restrictions. While he’s calling on Georgians to wear face masks, he’s not mandating it, although on Wednesday he said that having a college football season would be a “tall task” if COVID numbers stay on the rise.

In her order, Memark said those who are medically fragile should shelter-in-place through July 15, leaving home only for food and for medical reasons.

For everyone else, she’s encouraging familiar steps to help prevent the spread of the virus:

Frequently wash their hands or use hand sanitizer
Stand 6 feet away from others when outside their home
Wear cloth masks when social distancing is not consistently possible
Stay at home when you are sick
Continue to frequently disinfect your home and business
Avoid large gatherings (of more than 50 people).

East Cobb location of California Pizza Kitchen closes

July 1, 2020 4:25 PMJuly 1, 2020 1:06 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb California Pizza Kitchen closes

We got a text message from a reader showing that California Pizza Kitchen has closed its location in East Cobb at Pinestraw Place (4250 Roswell Road) for good.

The restaurant is located in the same retail center as Trader Joe’s.

There are five California Pizza Kitchen restaurants remaining in Metro Atlanta.

East Cobb California Pizza Kitchen closes

Georgia gas prices continue to rise ahead of July 4 weekend

July 1, 2020 12:55 PMJuly 1, 2020 10:43 AM by Wendy Parker

Georgia gas prices New Year

If you’re heading out of town for the July 4 holiday weekend, you’re going to pay a few pennies more per gallon to fill your tank than what it cost last weekend.

AAA––The Auto Club Group, which includes Georgia, said the average statewide increase has been around 8 cents a gallon, continuing an upward trend that has seen prices go up by 25 cents since the start of June.

Georgia motorists are paying an average of around $2 a gallon, and around $30 for a 15-gallon tank of gasoline.

That’s still a lot less than the recent peak of $2.74 a gallon in April 2019.

“Demand levels are likely to ebb and flow in the coming weeks as people continue to be cautious about travel,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman, AAA––The Auto Club Group. “As a result, pump prices will likely continue to increase through the end of July.”

The national average is $2.18, a jump of five cents from last week.

In metro Atlanta, the current average is $1.98 for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline, and in Cobb County, the average price is $1.97.

You can check more gas price averages 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!

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy prepares for a new school reality

July 1, 2020 12:12 PMJuly 1, 2020 8:17 AM by Wendy Parker

Not long after closing the books on a chaotic school year, staff teachers and at Mt. Bethel Christian Academy are preparing for what they hope will be a less disjointed academic year that starts in little more than month.

Although built-in to their plans is the flexibility to be able to handle disruptions.

Classroom instruction is set to begin on Aug. 6, as previously scheduled, and measures are being taken to emphasize in-person learning.

“If we have to go home, we have enough laptops,” said Lisa Nelson Kelly, the head of the lower school campus adjacent to Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church on Lower Roswell Road.

“It’s not an optimal learning environment, and we’re hopeful we don’t have to do it.”

She said laptops would be issued for students in grades 3-12, while those in kindergarten through third grade would get iPads.

Like the Cobb County School District, Mt. Bethel sent students home in mid-March, as the COVID-19 crisis prompted lockdowns of schools, businesses and most aspects of daily life.

Unlike the larger public school system—the second-largest in Georgia, with nearly 115,000 students—Mt. Bethel can adapt easier on the fly.

“We really wanted to be back on campus,” Kelly said. “But we wanted to make sure we could do it safely. We wanted to communicate with [students and their parents] so that they know the expectations.”

More than 530 students are enrolled on both Mt. Bethel campuses, including around 100 or so 9-12 students at the Upper School campus on Post Oak Tritt Road.

Daily chapel services will be streamed into classrooms, instead of students gathering in the church sanctuary. At the start of the school year, lunches will be served in classrooms, with the aim of moving to the cafeteria if and when it’s deemed safe.

The number of students allowed in restrooms or locker areas at any given time will be limited.

While they’re in class, mask-wearing won’t be required. But they will have to wear them as they’re going between classes, or to special classes and other events.

“We’re asking parents to provide 2-3 face coverings for their students” of any variety, Kelly said, “whatever the children feel comfortable wearing, on the limited occasions they’ll have to wear them.

Mt. Bethel parents have been sent a brochure (you can read it here) that explains the many changes that are in the works because of public health guidance.

A task force was created to put those plans into action, and Kelly said that group will be available as the school year goes on.

In addition to spacing out desks (as seen in the photo above), Mt. Bethel will be providing what Kelly calls a “safe room” for students who aren’t feeling well, a place where they can wait for parents to pick them up.

More cleaning and sanitizing of spaces on both campuses will take place, and everyone at both campuses must wash and sanitize their hands before entering a classroom.

A total of 25 hand sanitizing stations will be placed throughout the school buildings.

Water fountains have been shut off, to be replaced by bubblers. Students will be asked to bring water bottles with them that can be refilled.

Should remote learning be necessary, adapted lesson plans are being formulated for students and their parents to follow from home.

Unlike the remote learning option that the Cobb school district is planning, however, Kelly said Mt. Bethel will be offering that only to those families who have students who are health-compromised or if they have a family member who is.

The academic calendar has been altered and won’t have a fall break. The first semester will end before Thanksgiving and an extended break is scheduled around Christmas and New Year’s.

Kelly said after so many months of distracted learning, and so much in limbo about the upcoming year, she’s heard from many parents who are eager for their children to resume as normal a schooling as they can.

“They’re very much in favor of coming back to school,” she said.

Food collection, distribution events scheduled for Cobb seniors

June 30, 2020 8:27 PMJune 30, 2020 6:08 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb senior food distribution

On Thursday senior citizens in Cobb County will be able to pick up free food at the Cobb Senior Wellness Center (1150 Powder Springs St., Marietta) without an appointment.

The distribution event is from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and all Cobb seniors have to bring with them is a photo ID showing their age and home address in the county.

For a complete list of donation items needed, click here or visit cobbseniors.org.

If you would prefer to donate monetarily, click here or visit cobbseniors.org.

Items that are in particular need are shelf stable food and toiletries. Call Merline Tippens at 770-528-2009 to set up a time to deliver donation on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only.

Next Wednesday, the Senior Citizen Council of Cobb County is sponsoring a drive-by food drop-off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m in the parking lot in front of the Cobb Senior Wellness Center, at the same address above.

Members of the Senior Council will be collecting the donations and no one will have to get out of their car to make their contribution. Here’s a list of the items that they say they need in particular:

Peanut Butter; Instant Oatmeal/grits; Dried fruit; Chewy granola bars; Breakfast bars; Applesauce/fruit cocktail; Juice boxes; Cereal-small, individual boxes
Shelf stable milk; Chicken, tuna; Canned meats; Microwave rice
Crackers; Canned Soup; Canned vegetables; Canned Beans; Fruit cups; Canned fruit; Macaroni & cheese cups; Dried mashed potatoes (flakes); Spaghetti O’s/ Ravioli
Additional Items: Toilet Paper; Baby wipes; Travel-size toiletries (soap, shampoo)

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!

Indian Hills cancels July 4 fireworks show; Cobb issues reminders

June 30, 2020 11:31 AM by Wendy Parker

One of East Cobb’s most notable July 4 events is not taking place this year: The Indian Hills Country Club’s fireworks show. Cobb fireworks New Year's Eve

A social media posting Tuesday morning said COVID-19 restrictions were the cause:

“We wish things were different and like you, we hope to get back to normal very soon. Until then, we are doing our part to keep everyone in our community safe. Thanks for understanding.”

The message asked individuals not to gather on the golf course on the night of July 4, as is the custom when fireworks take place.

Individuals and neighborhoods will be allowed to fire off fireworks until midnight on Friday, July 3, as well as Saturday, July 4, as Cobb County government has outlined in a reminder it issued earlier this week.

The county said there have been more complaints about late-night fireworks during the pandemic.

Most other local July 4 events also have been called off including the City of Marietta’s July 4 parade and celebrations, as well as the City of Roswell’s fireworks extravaganza.

Kemp extends Georgia public health emergency to Aug. 11

June 29, 2020 8:21 PMJune 29, 2020 7:27 PM by Wendy Parker

Georgia public health emergency extended — *In a social media posting Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp said “Wear your mask, Georgia—and Go Dawgs!”*

With a significant rise in COVID-19 cases in Georgia in recent weeks, Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday extended the state’s public health emergency for a third time.

The current declaration was to have expired on Tuesday, but in a new executive order Kemp on Monday said he was extending it to Aug. 11 (you can read it here).

In another executive order on Monday, Kemp banned public gatherings of 50 people or more unless they can keep at least six feet apart and imposed other social distancing restrictions. Those requirements include regular and in some cases increased sanitizing measures.

“As we continue our fight against COVID-19 in Georgia, it is vital that Georgians continue to heed public health guidance by wearing a mask, washing their hands regularly, and practicing social distancing,” Kemp said in a statement. “We have made decisions throughout the pandemic to protect the lives —and livelihoods—of all Georgians by relying on data and the advice of public health officials.”

The social distancing order, which begins on Wednesday and continues through July 15 (you can read it here) outlines mandatory criteria for businesses and requires those living in long-term care facilities and the medically fragile to continue to shelter in place.

Georgia has had a record number of COVID-19 cases reported for three days running, with 2,207 positive tests on Monday, and a relatively high positivity rate (number of positive cases to the number of tests) of 13.4 percent.

(The Georgia Department of Public Health COVID Daily Status Report is updated every day at 3 p.m.)

On Sunday, the new positive cases statewide totaled 2,225, and the seven-day average of 2,207 over the last week is 60 percent higher than the previous week.

The number of COVID-related deaths in Georgia is 2,784, a mortality rate of 0.2 percent and that represents 3.5 percent of the 79,417 confirmed cases.

The death rate has flattened out in recent weeks, with six new deaths being reported since Sunday, and the hospitalization rate in Georgia also is holding steady, with 113 more reports of a cumulative total of 10,824.

In Cobb County, there have been 4,713 cases in all, and last week (June 22-28) a record 685 cases were reported.

On June 20, there were a reported 108 new cases in Cobb, a single-day high. Another 83 cases were reported last Monday. By Saturday there were 34 new cases, and Monday’s total is nine more than Sunday.

*Cobb COVID cases are in yellow; Douglas County in blue. View a larger version **by clicking here**.*

The test positivity rate in Cobb is 5.74 percent, according to Cobb and Douglas Public Health, which publishes its own daily tracking data.

Cobb has the second-highest death total in the state, with 242 fatalities, though none were reported on Monday.

Kemp also is embarking on a statewide tour to encourage people to wear masks in public, but unlike governors in other states, he is not mandating it.

Marietta Campmeeting alters schedule for 183rd revival event

June 29, 2020 12:24 PM by Wendy Parker

Marietta Campmeeting

The Marietta Campmeeting has been cancelled only once since it began in 1837.

That was during the Civil War.

Organizers of the summer religious revival discussed the possibility of calling off this year’s event due to COVID-19. They heard from longtime attendees, some of whom said they would not be coming under any circumstances. Others said that if there was a campmeeting, they would definitely be there.

“We tried to reach a happy medium,” said Cheryl Lassiter, president of the Marietta Campmeeting Tentholders Association, explaining the decision to go on.

“We just hated to just not completely have it at all.”

Most large-gathering festivals and events in East Cobb have been either postponed or cancelled altogether since March and into the fall, including the EAST COBBER parade and festival.

Instead of the usual 10 days of worship, music and food and social activities at the 23-acre Marietta Campground on Roswell Road, this year’s campmeeting will be reduced to one weekend, July 17-19.

Lassiter said the schedule change also accommodates the Georgia public health emergency, which is set to expire July 12.

The public is still invited to attend the campmeeting, but there will be only four services: One on Friday night, two on Saturday and another on Sunday morning. There also will be a tentholders’ meeting for those occupying the nearly two dozen cabins on the campground property.

But there won’t be the usual opening night picnic, watermelon-cutting, ice cream social, ministry feeding events and the children’s church service.

Instead of full choirs, singing will be led by a handful of people under the arbor, a covered outdoor tabernacle that’s the focal point of the revival.

Reusable programs and hymnals will be replaced by throwaway songsheets with familiar tunes.

The arbor can hold up to 400 people, but Lassiter said in recent years that daytime worship services have averaged between 25-50 people, and 150-250 people at night.

The campmeeting will follow social distancing protocols, she said, allowing for families to be able to sit together. There also will be hand sanitizing stations on the property and masks and gloves will be available.

Despite all the rearrangements, Lassiter admitted there is a chance everything may have to be cancelled, given growing concerns over continuing rises in positive COVID cases in Georgia, especially in the metro Atlanta area.

“I don’t think anyone would doubt our reasons if we did,” she said.

Lassiter noted that during the Spanish Flu pandemic which hit the United States hard in the winter of 1919, the Marietta Campmeeting went on the following summer.

That was a stroke of good seasonal fortune.

However, like so many aspects of daily life today, and especially special events like a venerable religious revival, planning for the Marietta Campmeeting has been a very fluid thing.

“It’s still pretty iffy,” Lassiter said, “but we’re gonna try.”

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!

East Cobb small businesses honored by Cobb Chamber of Commerce

June 29, 2020 2:18 PMJune 29, 2020 8:57 AM by Wendy Parker

MUST Ministries urgent call food supplies — *East Cobb realtor Janice Overbeck with Tom Gonter of MUST Ministries.*

Several small business in East Cobb are included in the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s top small business list for 2020.

They 25 businesses include the following from the East Cobb area:

Artisan Custom Closets, 600 Wylie Road (home renovation)
Deluxe Athletics, 800 Scott Drive (synthetic field turf and lawn manufacturer)
InPrime Legal, 1640 Powers Ferry Road (outsourced business legal provider)
Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team, 2250 Sewell Mill Road (residential real estate)
Southeastern Engineering, 2470 Sandy Plains Road (civil engineering firm)
Three-13 Salon, Spa and Boutique, 2663 Canton Road (hair care and spa)

They will be among those competing for the Chamber’s overall top small business of the year, to be announced in August.

In addition, the Chamber has named four small businesses to watch out for that include The Auto Accident Attorneys Group, 1454 Johnson Ferry Road. “These are businesses that have launched three years ago or less and have already achieved substantial progress,” the Chamber said in a statement.

Here’s more about the Chamber’s small business of the year program that includes a hall of fame and explains the selection criteria.

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Updated 6.27.20: More than 40 COVID-19 deaths in East Cobb

June 27, 2020 2:29 PMJune 27, 2020 1:35 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb COVID Zip Code Map — *To use hover map, **click here**. Source: Cobb and Douglas Public Health.*

Here’s the latest update in our somewhat-weekly look at COVID-19 cases in East Cobb, Cobb County and Georgia, as we’ve been getting more detailed breakdowns from local and state public health agencies.

There’s a significant new addition to daily reporting data posted and mapped by Cobb and Douglas Public Health to include where COVID-19 deaths are occurring in the county.

That’s also being done according to ZIP Code, just as we’ve noted in recent weeks for positive cases.

The figures below show the number of positive cases and deaths in East Cobb as of Friday. These are cumulative figures:

30067: 248 cases, 7 deaths
30062: 242 cases, 12 deaths
30066: 200 cases, 9 deaths
30068: 138 cases, 16 deaths
30075: 21 cases, 0 deaths

Those totals are compiled by the Georgia Department of Public Health, State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SENDSS).

What’s not known is if these mortality figures include deaths reported at senior, nursing and long-term care homes.

Every Friday the Georgia Department of Community Health updates those figures from around the state, and here’s the latest for care facilities in East Cobb:

A.G. Rhodes Home, 900 Wylie Road (30067): 6 deaths, 26 resident cases;
Alto Senior Living Marietta, 840 LeCroy Drive (30068): 8 deaths, 22 resident cases;
Arbor Terrace of East Cobb, 886 Johnson Ferry Road (30068): 3 deaths, 7 resident cases;
Manor Care Rehabilitation Center, 4360 Johnson Ferry Place (30068): 0 deaths, 9 cases;
The Solana East Cobb, 1032 Johnson Ferry Road (30068): 0 deaths, 1 resident case;
Sterling Estates, 4220 Lower Roswell Road (30068): 5 deaths, 10 resident cases;
Sunrise of East Cobb, 1551 Johnson Ferry Road (30062): 1 death, 4 resident cases.

As of Friday afternoon, Cobb County has 4,467 confirmed cases of COVID-19 overall, a jump from 3,751 a week ago. To date there have been 240 deaths (up from 224) and 845 cumulative hospitalizations (up from 790).

Those figures come from the Georgia Department of Public Health, which updates figures daily at 3 p.m.

As of Friday, there were 72,995 confirmed cases in Georgia and 2,770 deaths. There also have been 10,605 total hospitalizations and 2,244 intensive-care admissions.

For more data from Cobb and Douglas Public Health, click here.

As we noted last week, while more positive tests have been occurring within younger age groups, the vast majority of deaths have occurred among people ages 70 years and older.

There’s also a new independent tracker of Georgia DPH virus data that’s collected at covid-georgia.com and contains analysis, tracks trends and explains statistics and reporting data in accessible fashion.

The Avenue East Cobb to hold custom car show on Sunday

June 27, 2020 11:56 AM by Wendy Parker

The Avenue East Cobb custom car show — *A 1956 Chevy on display at the Bradley’s Bar & Grill Car Show in 2017. (ECN file).*

While many festivals and community events continue to be scratched from the calendar in East Cobb into the fall, Sunday will provide a chance to get out and about (weather permitting) in an actual public gathering designed to follow ongoing health protocols.

The Avenue East Cobb is holding what it calls a “Cruise, Brunch, Shop” event from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday. The first part of that is a reference to a custom car show that will be on display, with restaurants and shops also open as retailers there start to drum up some regular business.

There’s no cost to come out and look around, and the organizers are estimating that more than 100 custom cars and trucks will be on hand for your perusal.

The retail center at 4475 Roswell Road was almost completely closed for several weeks, with the exception of a few non-essential-designated businesses, during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Around 40 retailers and restaurants will be open Sunday morning.

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!

Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment public town hall scheduled

June 26, 2020 4:08 PM by Wendy Parker

The potential redeveloper of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center has done another revision of its proposed mixed-use project and has scheduled a virtual public town hall meeting for next week to go over the plans.

What’s now being called the Sprayberry Neighborhood Center is still anchored by a 30,000-square foot national grocery space, rental units and townhomes.

Additional neighborhood retail space has been added, as have some affordable housing options.

Shane Spink of the Sprayberry Crossing Action Group said the public town hall will take place next Wednesday, July 1, at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

The plans by Atlantic Residential, an Atlanta-based apartment developer, have more of a residential mixed than what it proposed back in April (below).

Sprayberry Crossing site plan

What’s scaled down are the townhomes, from 56 to 36, with the addition of a dozen or so “mews units” and a handful of micro homes.

An apartment building originally set for 195 units was cut to around 177, and there’s another building for 120 rental units for those age 55 and older.

The last site plan called for 8,200 square feet of retail space and 12,000 more square feet of co-working space. The new renderings total around 16,000 square feet for retail.

The revised plans also call for 707 parking spaces, residential amenities and a multi-use trail.

Atlantic Residential still needs to get rezoning for its final plan.

After the April site plan revision, Atlantic Residential took public feedback and responded to various questions, saying it intended to come back to the community for a public meeting.

Due to COVID-19, that will be taking place online. Here’s how participate in the public town hall on Zoom, by clicking here. The Meeting ID is 873 1849 1772.

Spink said more details about the call will be coming soon.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Cobb school board adopts spending resolution for July

June 26, 2020 6:29 PMJune 26, 2020 12:18 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday adopted a spending resolution to fund Cobb County School District operations during the month of July.

The resolution, passed on the board’s consent agenda at its voting meeting, was necessary since the board hasn’t been able to adopt a fiscal year 2021 budget.

The Cobb school district’s fiscal year begins in July, but the board was awaiting passage of the Georgia state budget, which was delayed when the legislative session was suspended in March due to COVID-19. Nearly half of Cobb’s school budget comes from state funding.

The Georgia Senate passed a budget resolution later on Thursday that included nearly $1 billion in public education spending cuts. The House was scheduled to vote on the budget on Friday, the last day of its resumed session.

The Cobb school district’s current fiscal year 2020 budget of $1.17 billion included $589 million from the state under the Quality Basic Education Act.

Under state law, public school districts that cannot adopt a budget must adopt a spending resolution in the interim.

A monthly spending resolution also cannot total more than one-twelfth of a district’s current adopted annual budget.

According to an agenda item from Thursday’s meeting, the Cobb school district is estimating revenues of $107,899 million for July, and expenses of $111,231 million.

The district will release a proposed budget once the state budget is finalized. The district also is awaiting word on the size of the Cobb tax digest, which is revealed in early July.

Initially state budget reductions were projected to be around 14 percent, which would have left Cobb schools with an $80 million deficit.

The district has received $16 million in federal CARES Act spending through the Georgia Department of Education.

The district also could receive CARES Act funding through the Cobb Board of Commissioners, which has around $80 million and is holding a special meeting on that topic July 13.

At the board’s work session Thursday morning, Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said he would not be including any furlough days or pay cuts for full-time staff in his fiscal year 2021 budget proposal.

Cobb schools will be returning for a new academic year on Aug. 3, with a mix of classroom instruction and students learning from home whose parents choose a remote option.

Georgia law requires public school districts to hold public hearings on the proposed millage rate and budget.

Cobb schools have scheduled several “virtual” sessions in the month of July:

July 9, 11:30 a.m.: Virtual tax digest public hearing
July 9, 6:05 p.m.: Virtual budget public forum
July 16, 9 a.m.: Virtual budget public forum
July 16, 9:30 a.m.: Virtual tax digest hearing

The school board is scheduled to adopt a budget at its July 16 voting meeting.

More Cobb school budget information can be found here.

Suspect killed, officer shot in Powers Ferry Road carjacking

June 26, 2020 10:09 AM by Wendy Parker

Powers Ferry Road carjacking

A Cobb police officer is recovering after being shot in the head in a carjacking incident on Powers Ferry Road Thursday night in which the suspect also was killed, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The GBI said Friday morning that the incident began around 7:30 p.m. Thursday when Cobb Police were asked by Atlanta Police to check the parking lot of the Publix at 2900 Delk Road, at Powers Ferry Road, for a stolen vehicle.

When Cobb Police arrived, they were told by a citizen that his car had just been carjacked, got a description and found the vehicle nearby, according to the GBI.

When officers tried to stop the vehicle, the vehicle fled and police pursued, the GBI said.

Police learned that the suspect inside the vehicle had a rifle and as the pursuit reached Powers Ferry Road and Riverbend Club Drive, the suspect jumped out of the vehicle and shot several times at police, hitting a police car, the GBI said.

The GBI said the suspect then fled on foot along the Chattahoochee River with the rifle and was found near a dumpster in the Cumberland Chase townhome complex. The GBI said the suspect was given multiple commands by police and did not respond, and the man then fired his rifle at officers, hitting one of them in the head.

The GBI said police returned fire and shot the suspect, who died at the scene.

The suspect was identified as Martin Humberto Sanchez Fregoso, 37, of Smyrna. The GBI said the officer who was shot was treated and released from a hospital.

The GBI is continuing to investigate, as it does in officer-involved shootings.

Cobb school board delays action on anti-racism resolution

June 25, 2020 6:10 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board anti-racism resolution delayed

After a lengthy discussion on Thursday, the Cobb Board of Education agreed to delay consideration of a proposed anti-racism resolution to work out a compromise.

During a work session, board members Randy Scamihorn and Jaha Howard jostled over their differing versions of the resolution (see previous ECN story here).

Ultimately, the board agreed the two of them should sit down and develop a measure ideally to garner a unanimous 7-0 vote.

“I’m excited about what the two of you are going to craft,” said board member David Morgan of South Cobb, who repeatedly pushed for a resolution that he said would get the Cobb County School District “to a greater good.”

He’s one of three black Democrats on a Cobb school board that has split along partisan lines on a number of matters in recent months, including racial diversity and equity issues.

Charisse Davis, Cobb Board of Edcucation — *Charisse Davis*

The two other black Democrats, Howard and Charisse Davis of the Walton and Wheeler clusters, were most resistant during the board’s discussion Thursday to support Scamihorn’s resolution.

They were upset they weren’t asked for their input in the drafting of the resolution, and said the language Scamihorn proposed didn’t go far enough to acknowledge, much less to address, what they said was “systemic racism” in Cobb schools.

Scamihorn touted Cobb schools as a “fantastic school system” that has made substantial racial progress over the decades. “We’re doing something right.”

When Howard pressed him about whether Cobb’s had a history of systemic racism in its school system, Scamihorn, one of four white male Republicans on the board, said “I see no evidence of that.”

Howard’s alternate resolution also named black citizens, including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, who’ve died recently at the hands of police, as well as Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Ga. Three white males have been indicted for shooting him to death while jogging in February.

Scamihorn didn’t name anybody by name, but led his resolution by saying that all associated with the Cobb school district “are saddened by the tragic events that have recently occurred across the country.”

Randy Scamihorn, Cobb school board member — *Randy Scamihorn*

Davis said that language was too vague. She also cited figures showing higher rates of serious levels of discipline for black students as evidence of lingering racial disparities in the Cobb school district, which has nearly 115,00 students, 30 percent of them white and 22 percent black.

“When you say there’s no evidence, you’re ignoring the evidence,” Davis told Scamihorn. “I can’t support a resolution that just checks a box but that doesn’t direct us how we can do better.”

She accused him of “making stuff up” about the level of communication between board members on such matters, and Scamihorn snapped that he didn’t appreciate being “called a liar. It’s outrageous and unprofessional.”

Scamihorn said his resolution was meant as a starting point for the board and district.

“We need a common spot to build from,” said board chairman Brad Wheeler, another Republican. The other Republicans on the board, David Chastain and David Banks of East Cobb, didn’t offer their thoughts during the work session.

During an earlier sequence in the work session, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale addressed the resolution and related issues, saying “we have to come together. We have to stop the hate.

Chris Ragsdale, Cobb school superintendent — *Chris Ragsdale*

When Howard asked him if he thinks black lives matter, Ragsdale reiterated a previous mention of The Golden Rule.

“When I say to treat people right, that’s how I try to live my life,” he said.

Davis said she’s heard from many parents and students who say the district hasn’t properly handled their concerns about racial mistreatment or inequities.

“We’re not going to golden rule our way out of this,” she said.

Ragsdale responded that when such issues “are brought to us, we’re going to address those situations as we have always addressed them.”

He said every issue is addressed in the same manner, following formal rules of procedure.

“We have a culture problem,” Davis said, “that are not just one-off issues” and said the current approach “doesn’t address what so many of us are feeling.”

The board agreed to table the resolution until its next meeting on July 16.

East Cobb teen charged with vehicular homicide in Feb. crash

June 25, 2020 12:57 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb teen charged vehicular homicide

Cobb Police have charged a 19-year-old from East Cobb with vehicular homicide in a fatal car crash on Johnson Ferry Road in February that took the life of a 61-year-old man.

Cobb Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Colin William Outz, of an address in the Princeton Lakes subdivision, was booked in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon and was released a few hours later on a $22,000 bond.

He’s facing one felony count of vehicular homicide and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving, according to jail records.

Outz was identified by Cobb Police as the driver of a Mercedes C300 that struck another Mercedes, at Johnson Ferry Road and Powers Drive around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 22.

The other Mercedes, driven by Robert Higginbotham of East Cobb, was attempting to turn left onto Powers Drive when it was hit by Outz’ car, which police said was heading southbound on Johnson Ferry in excess of 90 mph.

The posted speed limit in that part of Johnson Ferry Road is 40 mph.

Police said Higginbotham, who lived near the crash scene on Green Point Way, was ejected from his car and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Outz was treated at WellStar Kennestone Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

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