We got a message Wednesday morning from Rachel Bruce, who lives near the mixed-use project at the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford intersection being proposed by North Point Ministries, which wants to build the East Cobb Church there.
Yesterday we posted our interview with East Cobb Church Pastor Jamey Dickens; Bruce tells us she’s part of a group of more than 200 residents opposed to the project who have been gathering online.
They’ve also started an online petition to oppose Z-72, which includes townhomes and retail, “due to the high density, and not being in line with the JOSH study.”
That’s the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford master plan that was adopted last year, after more than two years of community input, and reflects a desire to keep a single-family residential area that way.
A number of the petition’s signatories have expressed that sentiment.
There’s also a petition that’s been created to support the rezoning, saying the project “will bring a community-centric church” and other amenities to property where “dilapidated homes and property have existed for over a decade.”
She’ll be joined by Cobb Planning Commission member Tony Waybright; and Dickens told us the meeting includes a presentation of the project by Kevin Moore, North Point’s attorney.
The town hall also will take questions from the public, pro, con or undecided.
The zoning case, as we noted yesterday, is being continued to March.
You can sign up for Richardson’s town hall by clicking here. Her office will send out an e-mail prior to the meeting with a link to the event and information on the meeting structure.
Dickens said in our interview that numerous changes are in the works, and what they’re including thus far will be presented by Moore at Thursday’s town hall.
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A rendering of the proposed East Cobb Church at Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads.
While he’s building a faith community during a pandemic, Rev. Jamey Dickens is also taking a crash course in how the zoning process works in Cobb County.
The pastor of East Cobb Church, the newest addition to the North Point Ministries family of Atlanta-area non-denominational congregations, Dickens lives not far from the proposed church home at the southwest corner of Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads.
His church’s motto is “to love where you live,” and Dickens said in an interview with East Cobb News on Monday that “we want to listen to our new neighbors.”
North Point’s request is for more than a new sanctuary and church-related facilities. More than 100 townhomes and some retail space are planned for the 33-acre site that’s at the heart of the “JOSH” community.
North Point’s zoning case, first filed last fall, was to have been heard Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission. But that has been continued to March by the Cobb zoning staff, which initially recommended denial for traffic, density and land-use reasons.
On Thursday, Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson and Planning Commissioner Tony Waybright will be conducting a virtual town hall to get public feedback on the project. Dickens said Kevin Moore, North Point’s zoning attorney, will make a presentation that is being revised from the original plans.
You can sign up by clicking here. Richardson’s office will send out an e-mail prior to the meeting with a link to the event and information on the meeting structure.
“What we’re doing is ever-evolving,” said Dickens, who indicated the number of townhomes may be reduced, among other changes.
Those have been in the works after North Point leaders met with nearby homeowners groups, as well as Richardson, Waybright and others in the community.
Dickens said he understands some of the concerns that have been expressed—especially about traffic from the church as well as the townhomes.
East Cobb Church is planning a facility with a four-story building and sanctuary for up to 1,300 people, as well as a parking deck.
Dickens said the parking deck, which would front Shallowford Road, will be at surface levels, as will all other parking areas.
North Point’s plans are to acquire the entire 33-acre site from prominent attorney Fred Hanna and his wife’s outreach ministry, which they tried to assemble for a residential project in 2016 that was withdrawn.
The church would then sell the portion of the land for the townhomes to a developer that North Point is currently negotiating with.
Rev. Jamey Dickens in his role as student pastor at Buckhead Church.
As for church activities, Dickens said only Sunday mornings will pose any traffic issues. Like the other North Point congregations, East Cobb Church will not have a pre-school during the week.
The East Cobb Church sanctuary is smaller than most of the other North Point churches, and Dickens said as is the case at the other locations, this one will have off-duty police who will “prioritize all traffic.
“If our people need to wait, then fine,” Dickens aid.
He said he’s hopeful that Thursday’s town hall will clear up some of the “misconceptions” about North Point’s plans.
“I don’t feel like that on our side it’s a battle,” he said. “I feel confident that we’re going to find a version of this that works.”
The Johnson Ferry-Shallowford site wasn’t something Dickens said he initially thought was the right “fit” for East Cobb Church, which became part of North Point Ministries in late 2019 and had been meeting at Eastside Baptist Church.
After serving as the student pastor at Buckhead Church, Dickens was tapped to lead the new congregation, which grew out of having members from various North Point churches who live in East Cobb, and who wanted to worship closer to home.
“We think we have an incredible message, and we know that people want to be connected to a church where they feel at home,” he said.
East Cobb Church has grown to around 800 people (children excluded), and he estimated that typical in-person attendance was around 600. Services have been continuing online during the pandemic.
North Point was founded in 1995 in Alpharetta by Rev. Andy Stanley, the son of retired First Baptist Church of Atlanta Rev. Charles Stanley. Other North Point churches are located in Woodstock, Cumming, Decatur and Buford.
North Point congregations are known for having mid-week Bible studies in the homes of their members, as well as community outreach.
In October, East Cobb Church raised money for and donated a box truck for Simple Needs GA, which provides furniture and other household goods and everyday items for needy families.
While many of the new church’s members are young families like Dickens’—he and his wife have four children—some of the empty-nesters are among East Cobb Church’s most active volunteers.
He said of Thursday’s meeting that he’s hopeful the North Point presentation “will put some people’s minds at ease.”
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The Cobb County School District said Tuesday that all schools in the 113-school district were placed on a “brief lockdown” due to a systemwide issue with its AlertPoint emergency alert system.
In a social media message posted around noon, the district said that the lockdowns were lifted and “there was no threat to students or staff at any time. Teachers are teaching and students are learning.”
The message didn’t indicate how long the lockdowns lasted.
In 2017 Cobb schools began implementing AlertPoint, which allows each employee within a school—including administrators, teachers and other staffers—to activate a device should an emergency occur. This includes fires, active shooters and other intruders, physical altercations and medical emergencies.
When an AlertPoint device is activated, alert information is relayed via computer and mobile devices to school-level administrators and security personnel, as well as at the school district office, within seconds.
The location and identity of the person sending the alert also is transmitted. When a “Code Red” alert is triggered, flashing lights, beeping sounds and voice messages ring out, and the intercom system indicates a lockdown situation is underway.
The AlertPoint system is patterned after existing school fire emergency procedures.
Bells Ferry Elementary School in East Cobb was one of the first schools to use AlertPoint during a proof-of-concept period.
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The Georgia Department of Public Health on Monday said that 19 cases of a COVID-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom have been confirmed in the state, including in Cobb County.
The nine counties Georgia DPH identified as having variant cases are in metro Atlanta: Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Paulding.
The individuals diagnosed with the variant are between the ages of 15 to 61. They include eight males and 11 females, according to a Georgia DPH press release, which added that the agency is “working to identify close contacts of the individuals, and will monitor them closely.”
Georgia DPH didn’t break down the number of cases in each county.
Last week, Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark told county commissioners that a mutation of COVID-19 had been detected in Cobb, but didn’t elaborate.
The variant detected by Georgia DPH is called B.1.1.7, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said emerged in the U.K. and was first identified in the United States in December. At least 30 states have reported B.1.1.7 cases.
The CDC said that mutation “may be associated with an increased risk of death compared with other variants” and that it may become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March.
The Georgia DPH release said that Pfizer and Moderna, whose vaccines have been distributed in limited quantities in the state, say those vaccines “appear to work against this variant.”
Georgia DPH urged the public to follow familiar habits to prevent the spread of COVID: Wearing masks, washing hands and practicing social-distancing.
The agency also said that “just because [the variant] has not been identified in a particular city or county does not mean it is not there—individuals could be infected anywhere in the state, or in some cases out of state.”
Georgia DPH reported 2,587 new COVID cases and 44 deaths on Monday. In Cobb, there were 236 new cases and one new death, bringing the county’s cumulative totals from last March to 50,928 and 702.
After a serious spike in cases in early January—Cobb reported a single-day record of 981 on Jan. 8—case rates have been falling, both according to the “date of report,” when a positive COVID case is reported to health authorities, and “date of onset,” or the day someone feels symptoms and gets tested.
Also falling are Cobb’s figures on community spread—as seen in the Cobb GIS graphic above. After surpassing a 14-day average of more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 people, Georgia DPH data on Monday show that number is 611 in Cobb.
That’s well above the “high community spread” threshold of 100 cases, but Memark said in her remarks the drop is an encouraging sign.
What’s not encouraging are efforts to vaccine those at high risk in Georgia. Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Friday it is not taking any new appointments for vaccinations because of limited vaccine supplies, and is using what it has for those already with confirmed first appointments, and those people needing second doses.
The agency distributed only 400 vaccines on Friday, after providing nearly 700 on Monday. Memark said increasing the number of shipments may not happen until March or April.
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This past Wednesday, the East Cobb Rotary club distributed free face masks and hand sanitizers to many of our local charities and service organizations. Rotary club member Guy Gebhardt is seen delivering nearly 2,000 KN95 masks and hand sanitizers to the Cobb Police and Fire precincts on Lower Roswell Road.
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On Friday Brendan Murphy, the Chief Magistrate Court Judge for Cobb County, provided the following update on the evictions process:
You, your case, and everyone’s good health matter to the Magistrate Court! #MaskUpCobb
This is not intended to be used as legal advice. Please consult an attorney for legal advice about your individual case.
Here’s a summary of what’s new:
(1) The CDC has extended its limited, temporary halt in certain residential evictions until “at least March 31, 2021.”
(2) The Cobb County Board of Commissioners has appropriated CARES Act rental assistance funding to three (3) additional non-profit organizations, bringing the program to five total providers. The Center for Family Resources, MUST Ministries, and Sweetwater Mission join Star-C and HomeFree-USA’s Cobb County HomeSaver for Renters Program.
(3) After pausing all dispossessory hearings since December 11, 2020, the Magistrate Court will resume limited hearings on February 19, 2021. A hearing may be set down on the basis of a written request for emergency reason(s) including but not limited to physical violence, threats, criminal activity, other safety issues, and/or property destruction. If the landlord has received a CDC Declaration in a residential, nonpayment of rent case, no hearing may be set.
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Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark.
Due to a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine supplies, Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Friday it is temporarily “pausing” appointments for the public.
Since early January, the health agency had been releasing appointment slots each Friday for the following week, prioritizing health care workers, first responders and people ages 65 and older.
But the latest update, which didn’t specify when vaccinations might resume, indicated that current supplies may not increase until March or April.
In a message on its website, Cobb and Douglas Public Health also said that those who have a previously scheduled appointment for a first or second dose “will not be affected by this change unless you have been contacted.”
The agency said that when more appointments become available, they will be posted on its website and social media accounts.
In its status update on Friday—you can read through it by clicking here—Cobb and Douglas Public Health said it has administered 14,000 doses of the COVID vaccines since early January, including 11,896 at Jim Miller Park in Marietta.
But only 410 doses were given at Jim Miller on Friday, down from nearly 700 that had been distributed on Monday. That figure was provided in a briefing Tuesday to Cobb commissioners by Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark.
In her remarks, Memark said the agency was “prioritizing second doses” and that “if we have some extra we’ll schedule a first dose.”
But as the week continued the available vaccine doses began running out.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are being given by Cobb and Douglas Public Health, which is hopeful that it soon will get supplies of the Astra Zeneca and Johnson and Johnson vaccines. The latter is a single-dose vaccine.
As of Saturday there have been 50,173 confirmed COVID cases in Cobb County from PCR tests and 11,923 more from antigen tests since last March.
A total of 693 have died in Cobb since that time, and 38 have been reported since Monday. Those include 13 deaths reported on Wednesday and 12 on Thursday.
The case rate is starting to drop slightly in Cobb, as are the community spread figures. As of Saturday, the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people in the county is 661, after surpassing 1,000 earlier this month.
Earlier this week Cobb and metro-Atlanta school board members and superintendents sent letters to Gov. Brian Kemp asking for school staff to be prioritized for vaccines, but on Tuesday his spokesman said that Kemp “has repeatedly stated—as recently as today—that as soon as Georgia begins to receive increased vaccine supply, teachers and school staff will absolutely be included in any expanded criteria.”
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The Cobb County School District is reducing the quarantine period for asymptomatic staff and students who are considered “close contacts” of those with COVID-19 from 14 to 10 days, effective Monday.
In a statement issued Friday, the district said the decision was based on guidance from Dr. Janet Memark, the director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health.
What that means is that individuals who show no symptoms after 10 days of isolation and who have not been tested can return to school.
You can read the full statement by clicking here; the district noted that the Centers for Disease Control is still recommending 14-day quarantine period for asymptomatic people exposed to those with COVID-19 “to be safe.”
The district statement said that if an asymptomatic person experiences even one symptom of fever, chills, shortness of breath, coughing or loss of taste and smell and two symptoms from the following conditions: sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, muscle pain, extreme fatigue, a severe or very bad headache, new nasal congestion or a stuffy or runny nose, they should follow symptomatic guidance.
Cobb schools returned to classes this week after going all-virtual the week before, due to what the district said were high COVID case counts and high numbers of students and staff being out due to quarantine.
Also on Friday the district updated its weekly COVID case totals to include 384 new cases for the past week. Since last July 1 there have been 3,168 confirmed cases of the virus, with the vast majority coming since students returned to campuses in October.
The Cobb school district does not break down the number of students and staff who get COVID, nor does it disclose how many individuals are out due to quarantine.
Earlier this week three Cobb school board members sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp asking for teachers to be prioritized for the COVID vaccine, and two days later Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale joined other metro Atlanta superintendents in asking for the same.
But Kemp’s spokesman said there aren’t enough vaccines as it is for the current phase, which includes seniors and first responders.
At an emotional Cobb school board meeting last week, following the deaths of three of their colleagues, teachers asked to remain all-remote or to allow teachers with health issues to teach from home.
Since in-person classes resumed in October, teachers have been required to teach from their schools.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The following East Cobb food scores from Jan. 11-29have 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!
Wheeler senior Ishaan Chaubey in a tutoring session with a student from India.
Wheeler High School senior Ishaan Chaubey began what he calls the Virtual Outreach Tutoring (VOT) program at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, and is looking to expand the program to help fellow students on a longer-term basis.
He wrote in to explain how VOT—website link here—developed, who’s been involved, and what’s next for the organization:
In March of 2020, after my school had become fully virtual, I saw that many of my peers were struggling in their academics due to the huge transition from in-person learning to a virtual learning setting. As a tutor for an after-school club before COVID-19, I also wondered how those students, who had struggled in their everyday academics, were coping with this new learning method as well.
One night, in a video call with friends, many of them complained that the mass-cancellation of so much in the community had eliminated any opportunity for their community service requirements. Hence, I decided to create an organization named Virtual Outreach Tutoring (VOT), which would provide free virtual tutoring to all elementary, middle, and high school students in a wide variety of subjects and also give high school students several opportunities for community service.
Currently, the VOT administrative team consists of myself, Jahnvi Bhagat (Senior at Wheeler High School) who is the lead administrator for Wheeler High School tutors, Rohan Mathur (Senior at Campbell High School) who is the lead administrator for Campbell High School tutors, Yasmin Sharifian (Senior at Lassiter High School) who is the lead administrator for tutors from Lassiter and other United States schools, and Jack Turbush (Senior at Wheeler High School) who helps in designing various promotional flyers for VOT. As for the number of tutors in our organization, we have approximately 120 tutors who help students in various subjects.
Today, my service initiative has greatly expanded, and my team and I have been able to help over 150 students across the United States and some from India and Germany. This initiative has also acquired significant recognition that it was recently featured on the Cobb County School District website and made an official tutoring option in the CCSD. In addition, various honor societies such as the Wheeler National Honor Society and the Campbell Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society have decided to make our virtual tutoring organization their official tutoring option.
Furthermore, with the help of several nonprofit organizations such as the United Way of Greater Atlanta, this virtual tutoring initiative has also inspired students to join as tutors from different states, such as New York, Texas, Florida, and Virginia, to help their communities. Today, along with providing free virtual tutoring, my team and I have conducted several Group AP Review sessions in the spring of 2020, aided students in SAT/ACT preparation, and produced a virtual musical performance to recognize the hard-work of healthcare workers fighting against COVID-19 for the AG Rhodes Health and Rehab Center in Marietta, Georgia.
For the production of the virtual musical performance, my team consisted of Charles Yu (Editor), Keaton Kotarba (Editor), Joseph Nguyen (Performer- Violin), Hannah Lee (Performer- Violin), and myself (Performer- Piano).
As time progresses, my team and I plan to continue this successful service initiative into college, and we also plan to appoint a new administrative team to lead and manage the tutoring service at the school level after our graduation. Finally, our collective vision for VOT is to remain persistent in helping numerous students by further expanding this initiative across the world and ensuring that each student has the necessary resources to genuinely succeed in their academic endeavor.
Ishaan says students at any level can get tutoring from VOT by going to the website, and that’s where any interested potential tutors can also sign up.
Hannah Lee working with a student in Marietta.A VOT group review session for AP chemistry.
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Following up a story we’ve been reporting since the fall, about the proposed mixed-use development at the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford intersection:
Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson and Cobb Planning Commission member Tony Waybright are having a virtual town hall next week to hear from the public about Z-72-2020.
The town hall meeting is set for Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. and is free for the public to attend.
The February zoning files indicate that Z-72, which was continued from November, will not be heard on Tuesday before the Cobb Planning Commission. The case is being continued again, likely until March.
The development would be anchored by what’s being called East Cobb Church, townhomes and retail on 33 acres. The Cobb Zoning Office has initially recommended denial based on traffic and density concerns.
The church would seat up to 1,300 have four stories and a parking deck, while 125 townhomes are being planned.
The church would be part of the Alpharetta-based North Point Church. Since early last year, East Cobb Church has been formed and is holding services at Eastside Baptist Church.
The land is owned by prominent attorney Fred Hanna and his wife’s outreach ministry, and which they tried to assemble for a residential project in 2016 that was withdrawn.
This will be the first major zoning case in District 2 for Richardson, who succeeded now-retired commissioner Bob Ott this month. Cobb doesn’t hold zoning hearings in January.
If you want to sign up for the town hall you can do so by clicking here. Richardson’s office will send out an e-mail prior to the meeting with a link to the event and information on the meeting structure.
For questions and information contact Allie Korucu, Richardson’s assistant: [email protected].
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An East Cobb church that’s been a site for COVID testing in recent weeks posted a message Wednesday urging support for teachers and efforts to reduce the spread of the virus.
On its social media channels, East Cobb United Methodist Church called for a “For Our Teachers” initiative following the deaths of three Cobb school teachers.
Last Thursday, nearly 100 teachers protested outside Cobb Board of Education meetings to demand all-virtual learning. Last week the district went fully remote but this week returned to face-to-face instruction.
The board did not discuss COVID response at those meetings and Ragsdale only briefly mentioned the dead teachers by name during those meetings. Neither he nor board members David Banks and David Chastain of East Cobb put on masks.
Following “the blatant disrespect for teachers’ health and safety at last week’s school board meeting, silence for us is no longer an option,” said the East Cobb UMC message, which continues:
For our teachers, we listen.
They are saying this is the “craziest, most difficult, most frustrating school year” of their careers, and they feel “unsupported and unacknowledged” (a direct quote from a long-time county educator).
For our teachers, we pray.
We ask God to grant all educators the strength and perseverance needed during this difficult year.
For our teachers, we give thanks.
Thank you for the endless hours you have spent reworking the curriculum to fit modified and hybrid classrooms. Thank you for the extra time spent scrubbing desks and sanitizing markers. Your care and creativity do not go unnoticed.
For our teachers, we wear a mask.
Not just once-and-awhile, but every time we leave the house. We must #StopTheSpread.
For our teachers, we get the vaccine when we can.
Ultimately, this is the only way the dreadful pandemic will ever end.
For our teachers, we advocate.
We will contact our school board representatives and implore them to take the same actions we pledge to take.
For our teachers, we do better.
After all, our children would not have an education if it was not… For Our Teachers.
Add the “For Our Teachers” frame to your profile picture and join us in solidarity with educators everywhere: https://tinyurl.com/xz1n4lp2
Along with this, we invite you to post a tangible way you will support teachers in your community. You may model ours or create one of your own. #ForOurTeachers
In November, East Cobb UMC became a pop-up site for COVID testing by a private company, and that part of the church parking lot has been busy ever since. The public can drive up without an appointment to get a test. There are no out-of-pocket costs and insurance is accepted.
On Monday three Cobb school board members signed a letter sent to Gov. Brian Kemp demanding more safety measures at schools, including prioritizing vaccines for teachers.
On Wednesday, the Cobb school district announced that Ragsdale had signed a similar letter from metro Atlanta superintendents.
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!
Chris Ragsdale signed a letter sent Tuesday by metro Atlanta superintendents to request that teachers and other school employees be added to the 1A category—the highest in the tiered vaccination system being rolled out by the Georgia Department of Public Health.
“The longer we delay in vaccinating our teachers and school staff, the more we risk having to close our doors once again,” the superintendents wrote in the letter, which you can read in full here. “The educators in our districts have given tirelessly in time, effort, and dedication, especially during the pandemic; we ask you to recognize their value and importance to our communities and our state.”
The other superintendents signing the letter include those from the Atlanta, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Marietta school districts.
Three teachers in the Cobb school district have died from COVID since Christmas, including two on Thursday. The same day, the Cobb school board met but was silent on the matter, despite hearing emotional pleas from protesting teachers to go to all-remote instruction.
Ragsdale briefly mentioned the dead teachers by name but did not discuss COVID response, and when a board member tried to ask him about it, he was cut off by the chairman.
In a release sent out by the Cobb County School District Wednesday, Ragsdale said that “I, along with other superintendents, have been advocating for our employees with decision-makers for some time now. The letter was simply a culmination of our efforts to get access to the vaccine for educators. We all understand the most extreme hurdle for us to overcome is the quantity of vaccine available to be administered.”
Vaccine recipients in the 1A category include frontline medical and health-care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
This is the third week that people in the 1A+ category—first responders and citizens age 65 and older—have been able to get vaccinations.
But the supplies have been severely limited and many older people have expressed frustrations with an online appointment booking website that has crashed, or that shows no vaccination slots available.
Cobb and Douglas Public Health is vaccinating around 700 people a day, six days a week and is asking for public patience as they try to get more vaccine supplies.
In Georgia, only 80,000 vaccines are being distributed a week to around 2,000 public and private providers.
Kemp spokesman Cody Hall issued a message via Twitter later Tuesday saying there is “a simple math problem” and said there isn’t enough vaccine for 400,000 teachers.
“These superintendents should explain which currently eligible population should be, in their view, sent to the back of the line for vaccination. Seniors? Healthcare workers? First responders and law enforcement?
“The Governor has repeatedly stated—as recently as today—that as soon as Georgia begins to receive increased vaccine supply, teachers and school staff will absolutely be included in any expanded criteria.”
The Cobb school district release said that the school system “would continue to offer choice for as long as it was feasible.”
Nearly two-thirds of Cobb’s 107,000 enrolled students are attending class in person for the spring semester that began Jan. 6. Last week, students worked remotely due to high COVID case numbers and students and staff being out due to quarantine.
Classes resumed in-person Monday. The district has said there would be another period for parents to choose face-to-face or remote instruction for the rest of the spring semester, but it has not announced when that will be.
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Cobb Planning Commission member Judy Williams died Monday from COVID-19, according to Cobb commissioners who announced her death at their meeting on Tuesday.
Williams was appointed by Commissioner JoAnn Birrell from District 3, which includes Northeast Cobb, and had served as the five-member board chair for two years until last year.
“We lost a great public servant and a true friend,” Birrell said in remarks at the end of Tuesday’s meeting. “She was my rock.”
The commissioners also held a moment of silence for Williams.
Williams was a lifelong Cobb resident who graduated from Marietta High School and was a planner for Cobb County government from 1972 until her retirement in 2000. According to her obituary, one of the first projects she signed off on was the creation of Indian Hills in East Cobb.
Williams later returned to serve on both the planning board and the zoning appeals board.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday will be limited to family only but can be viewed on the Mayes Ward Dobbins website.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
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From L to R: Maz Islam , owner of the Windy City Grill US Flag Canon and Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K members Margy Rogers, Jim Farley, Mike Kaplan and Jan Williams.
The Kiwanas Club of Marietta Golden K branch—which is made up of retirees and is based at the Tim D. Lee Senior Center in East Cobb—has had many virtual and Zoom meetings in recent months due to COVID-19.
After one such recent meeting, several of the members met for an outdoor lunch at the Windy City Grill on Canton Road. The group is called the “lunch bunch” and Golden K publicity volunteer John Kone relays what happened next:
While having lunch, Kiwanis Club member Jan Williams noticed that the US flag being flown was in a “rough and tattered” shape. It was old and needed to be replaced. She obtained a new flag from US Flag Maker Inc., which was later presented to Maz Islam, owner of the Windy City Grill.
Jan requested just one thing, “I just want the ‘canon’ from the old one.” The canon is the blue part of the flag with the stars on it. “I am what is known as a ‘star maker’ … I cut out the stars from the old flag and then, the stars are presented to US vererans. The rest of the flag is given to the Scouts for proper disposal”, she added.
So, next time you stop by for something to eat at Windy City Grill, rest assured that the previously flown old “Old Glory” has now been replaced with a new “Old Glory.”
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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Three members of the Cobb Board of Education have signed a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp asking him to prioritize teacher vaccinations and provide other safety measures related to COVID-19.
The letter was written by Cobb school board member Jaha Howard and signed by Charisse Davis and Tre’ Hutchins, as well as 10 other school board members from other metro Atlanta school districts, including Atlanta, DeKalb, Clayton and Gwinnett.
The letter, which was dated Sunday, mentions two teacher deaths in the Cobb County School District last week, and said that “we stand as champions for the men and women who dedicate their lives to educating our students.”
In addition to prioritizing vaccines, the signatories are asking for medical grade face masks be provided for every school staff member and for the state to “collect and review anonymous COVID-related feedback from public education staff.”
The letter comes after the Cobb school board last week announced that two elementary school teachers died after being hospitalized with COVID and pneumonia.
They were Dana Johnson of Kemp Elementary School and Cynthia Lindsey, a paraprofessional at Sedalia Park Elementary School.
Their deaths prompted a protest by more than 100 teachers outside the Cobb school district offices Thursday during school board meetings.
Several of them addressed the board, demanding all-remote learning due to high COVID case counts and teacher absences.
The board didn’t discuss COVID during their meetings, and when Howard asked Superintendent Chris Ragsdale to comment, he declined. When Howard pressed him for an answer, board chairman Randy Scamihorn cut him off.
Among those addressing the board was a school counselor who asked Ragsdale and two board members not wearing masks—David Banks and David Chastain of East Cobb—to wear them in honor of Patrick Key.
He was an art teacher at Hendricks Elementary School who died of COVID on Christmas Day.
Face-to-face classes resumed in Cobb on Monday, after all instruction was remote in the school district last week.
During that week, however, the Cobb school district reported 383 new COVID-19 cases. They include 13 active cases each at Dickerson Middle School and Pope High School, 11 at Lassiter High School , 10 at Walton High School and 9 at Bells Ferry Elementary School.
You can read the board members’ letter to Kemp by clicking here.
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Since the summer the Atlanta Community Food Bank has coordinated a drive-through food pantry at the Stratton Library in Marietta. This coming Wednesday, that’s going to take place at the Cobb Civic Center (548 South Marietta Parkway), and is being organized by the Cobb Public Library system and the Cobb Parks and Recreation department and other county agencies
The hours are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (or while supplies last), and anyone who drives up gets a package of up to 20 pounds of produce and shelf-stable items on a first-come, first-served basis.
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Cobb District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. is proud to announce his support of a new Expungement Help Desk, in partnership with the Georgia Justice Project and other Cobb County offices and departments.
The Expungement Desk is expected to be established later this year and housed in the Circuit Defender’s Office. Lawyers and volunteers trained by the nonprofit Georgia Justice Project will assist eligible individuals in getting their criminal records expunged as Georgia law allows. Cobb’s Expungement Desk will be the first of its kind in Georgia.
“This is justice in action,” DA Broady said. “Removing barriers that keep nonviolent people from being productive members of society benefits everyone.”
Georgia’s “Second Chance Law,” SB 288, took effect Jan. 1 and expands eligibility for expungement, also known as record restriction, to include many nonviolent misdemeanor convictions. Georgia law has long allowed records of misdemeanor and felony arrests that did not result in convictions to be expunged. The new law also allows for expungement of some pardoned felony convictions.
“Georgia Justice Project helps many Georgians each year with their criminal record, but we can’t do this work alone, and we do so with strong partnership support,” says Doug Ammar, Executive Director of Georgia Justice Project. “Since 4.3 million people have a Georgia criminal history, we need to find creative ways to collaborate with our local institutions to serve as many Georgians as possible. We appreciate District Attorney Broady for joining us in this effort.”
Cobb Solicitor General Barry E. Morgan added that the service provided by the Georgia Justice Project is needed.
“Prosecutors and court clerks cannot give legal advice, and many people are in limbo if they can’t afford to pay an attorney to navigate the additional, cumbersome process required for record restriction,” Morgan said. “This service will help fill a gaping hole.”
The Cobb Circuit Defender’s Office, led by Randy Harris, is also a partner on the Expungement Desk.
Georgia Justice Project has served Georgians who have been impacted by the criminal justice system for almost 35 years. Learn more at www.GJP.org.
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On the darkest day in the Cobb County School District since the COVID-19 pandemic began, neither the superintendent nor the school board had much to say about it.
As the board was in session twice Thursday for their monthly meetings, two teachers in the school district died of COVID-19.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale did mention them by name during the meetings: Dana Johnson, a first-grade teacher at Kemp Elementary School and Cynthia Lindsey, a paraprofessional at Sedalia Park Elementary School here in East Cobb.
The perfunctory “thoughts and prayers” from Ragsdale were all that were even referenced about their deaths and the district’s ongoing pandemic response.
With classes being all-virtual this week, I figured Ragsdale would provide an update. Are case numbers easing off? Is there ample staffing available for in-person learning? What about the schools that closed early last week?
It was his decision to shut down in-person learning this week due to increasing COVID cases in the schools and teachers absent due to quarantine. It has been his decision to offer parents a choice of face-to-face or remote instruction.
During these months of uncertainty, he’s explained his thinking about these matters in some detail. While not everyone has been happy with the decisions, he’s been above-board in laying out the difficult task of reopening, establishing safety protocols and providing dual learning environments.
This week, with concerns about the safety of students and staff rising along with a case count that’s higher than ever, there was nothing on the board agenda to discuss the COVID response.
Even though Dr. Janet Memark, the director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health who’s advised Ragsdale, continues to urge students and adults to stay home as much as possible.
At both school board meetings, teachers and their advocates urged that all-remote learning continue. They were mourning the loss of their colleagues, and emotions were also rising high.
Face-to-face learning resumes on Monday, and with tensions and case numbers growing, Ragsdale had nothing to say about it.
At a Thursday afternoon work session, school board member Jaha Howard wanted Ragsdale to comment on the COVID-19 situation in the schools, but board chairman Randy Scamihorn put a halt to the inquiry.
“Would you be open to a dialogue?” Howard asked Ragsdale. “There are a lot of concerns out there [from the public] and we’re about to move on.”
“That’s it,” Scamihorn said.
Scamihorn had more than the power of the gavel at his disposal. The Cobb Board of Education, at least at its public meetings, has chosen to censor itself.
It was a contentious time marked by the additions of Howard and Charisse Davis, first-term Democrats whose elections in 2018 trimmed a 6-1 GOP advantage on the school board to 4-3.
Howard in particular has ruffled feathers, sometimes eagerly so, making regular accusations about racial disparities in the district, and he has used his comment time at board meetings to denounce Republican elected officials elsewhere.
His grandstanding can be over the top, but the attempt to silence him and Davis was absurd. Partisan bickering since then has grown even worse, and members of both parties are to blame. There’s no spirit of compromise at all, even with the serious business of navigating a pandemic.
So on Thursday, we saw one board member cutting off another who wanted ask the superintendent about the most important subject in the second-largest school district in Georgia.
Board members can put items on the agenda, but a policy change pushed through last month by Scamihorn on a party-line vote now requires the approval of a board majority.
Given the deep partisan divide, anything that Howard, Davis and newly elected Democratic board member Tre’ Hutchins want to bring up needs at least one Republican vote. There’s no budging going on in the slightest.
With anxiety heightening and parents wondering how their children might be learning in the coming weeks, the public was owed much more than petty parliamentary maneuvers.
The policy to muzzle unwanted speakers and topics also stifled any comments from elected representatives to the Cobb school district about a very sad, grim day.
At the end of the public comment period Thursday night, Scamihorn thanked the speakers for being “informative and succinct,” but to paraphrase him, that was it.
On Friday, Davis offered some school-related public health guidance on her Facebook page “in the absence of ANY COVID-related discussions or presentations from the superintendent at our board meeting. . . . These are difficult times, but like many of our teachers tell their students: we can do hard things.”
While Cobb County government and public health leaders carved out dedicated time this week to help frazzled citizens navigate the COVID-19 vaccine process, the Cobb school board and superintendent offered nothing of reassurance on the one day of the month they have to come before the public.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
At a Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday night, a coordinated effort by several teachers and other district staff calling themselves members of “one team” seeking “team trust and accountability” demanded answers about the district’s response to the ongoing pandemic.
They didn’t get any.
Cynthia Lindsey, a paraprofessional at Sedalia Park Elementary School in East Cobb, and Dana Johnson, a teacher at Kemp Elementary School, died Thursday after being hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia.
Cobb schools this week have reverted to remote learning, but those students who chose face-to-face learning for the spring semester are scheduled to return to their schools on Monday.
“There are a lot of people out there,” said Cobb County Association of Educators president Connie Jackson, referencing to the parking lot outside. Only one speaker at a time is allowed inside the board’s meeting room at the district office in Marietta due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“They’re mad, and they’re scared, and they’re angry, because they don’t think anybody cares,” she said.
Jackson said after the two deaths on Thursday, “this needs to be a topic for the school board. This needs to be publicly talked about . . . We need you to hear you discuss it and make us feel like it matters to you.”
But other than Superintendent Chris Ragsdale offering condolences to Lindsey, there was no discussion. Speakers at the board’s Thursday afternoon work session also asked that classes stay remote, but an attempt by board member Jaha Howard to raise the topic, and to discuss the district’s pandemic response, was cut off.
Board members are prohibited from making comments at their meetings after a 2019 policy change that Howard and member Charisse Davis said was aimed at silencing them.
The decision by Ragsdale to go remote was based, he said, on growing cases (nearly 500 across the district last week alone) and high numbers of teachers and staff in quarantine.
He didn’t say anything on Thursday about the return to face-to-face learning next week.
(You can watch replays of both of Thursday’s meetings by clicking here.)
Jennifer Susko, a counselor at Mableton Elementary School, told board members Thursday night she was offended by Ragsdale’s letter that went out to district staff on Christmas Day, when Hendricks Elementary School teacher Patrick Key became the first district in the teacher to die of COVID.
She said Ragsdale’s brief mention of Key in that message was “dismissive” and she admonished him and two board members who weren’t wearing masks. In his obituary, she said, Key had asked the public to wear masks.
“We see where your priorities are,” said Susko, who was critical of what she said was “false gratitude” for district staff.
Teacher Trish McNally asked the board to consider hiring more counselors and support staff to address social and emotional learning needs that she said should be a top priority.
As for teachers, she said, “we are burning out.”
Another educator, Justin Julian, said that teachers should have the same choices as parents and be able to teach from home.
Teachers have been required to teach at their schools, although they’ve been doing that remotely this week.
“Be the leaders who unite rather than inflame,” Julian said.
Anna Clay said that in Cobb County, “we are in a worse COVID situation than we were last week” and she doesn’t feel safe returning to school on Monday.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, there were 383 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cobb County. The 14-day average of cases per 100,000 is 867, well above the “high community spread” threshold of 100 per 100,000.
Only one speaker, Kelly Crutchfield, was in favor of keeping the face-to-face choice available.
She said that “when we suffer heartbreak, it is easy to let emotions cloud our judgments.”
She said that “schools are essential” and they “are not super spreaders” of COVID and that children are not transmitting the virus.
Forcing the entire district into all-remote learning, Crutchfield said, “is unscientific and dangerous.”
Roughly 66 percent of all Cobb students are in face-to-face learning for the spring semester that began Jan. 6.
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!
