Submitted information about Thursday’s Cobb Master Gardeners open garden session on winter birding. It’s at the Wright Environmental Education Center (2661 Johnson Ferry Road):
Master Gardener and Chattahoochee Nature Center Docent Thea Powell will speak at 9:30 on “Winter Birding in Your Backyard.”
She will teach us how to create a bird friendly winter garden with native plants, bird feeders and habitat tips. You may also walk the lovely trails, enjoy a picnic on our tables, inspect our invasive plants jail, and check out our active frog pond.
Park at Chestnut Ridge Church, 2663 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta– at the intersection of Johnson Ferry Road and Post Oak Tritt Road. Easy access to parking off of entrance on Post Oak Tritt Road.
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Lassiter played Walton last weekend in the Class 7A state volleyball finals, but Trojans teams and those from Wheeler may compete next year in Class 6A. (ECN file)
After competing in sports in Class AAAAAAA (7A)—with the biggest high schools in the state—Wheeler and Lassiter may be dropping down for the next two school years.
The Georgia High School Association on Tuesday announced its reclassifications for 2020-22, and changes are proposed for those two East Cobb schools.
The listings that were made public (you can read them here) have Wheeler and Lassiter in Class AAAAAA (6A), where Pope and Sprayberry have been competing.
Kell would remain in Class AAAAAA (5A), and only Walton would be in Class 7A from East Cobb.
Currently, Walton and Lassiter are in the same Region 4 in Class 7A. Wheeler has been in a more far-flung region with Pebblebrook, Campbell, Newnan and East Coweta.
The GHSA reclassifies schools every two years, and it’s based strictly on enrollment figures. New region alignments also will be drawn.
Wheeler’s full-time enrollment in 2019-19 was 2,179, with a classification count of 2,654, which would be the largest school in Class 6A. Lassiter’s enrollment is 2,340.
They would be among 56 schools in Class 6A. Pope would remain there, with an attendance of 2,082, as would Sprayberry, which has 1,881 students.
Class 5A also would have 56 schools. Kell’s attendance last year was 1,502.
Walton’s attendance had held steady at 2,655 last year. Class 7A would have 47 schools.
The Walker School and Mt. Bethel Christian Academy would remain in Class A, private school division.
Schools can appeal their reclassification assignments until Nov. 11, and the GHSA will begin hearing any challenges the following day.
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Bill Simon of the East Cobb Alliance contacted East Cobb News to report that the meeting on Thursday has been cancelled.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The anti-cityhood group East Cobb Alliance, which has been critical of pro-cityhood efforts conducted in secret, is meeting on Thursday to prepare for cityhood-related events next week.
But the Alliance meeting at a public facility is not open to the public. The meeting is scheduled from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road).
The purpose of the meeting is to help formulate questions and responses before two cityhood-related events next week.
The Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb is holding a town hall on Monday at Wheeler High School, and next Tuesday, the cityhood group and the East Cobb Alliance will appear at a forum organized by the East Cobb Business Association.
The e-mail urged recipients not to post the meeting notice on Nextdoor or to forward the message, because “we do not want the press or the media or the pro-cityhood people to see what we’re up to. Nothing nefarious, mind you, but we’re trying to serve our members of ECA to help with planning and execution of our team strategy with as little interference as possible.”
When East Cobb News asked Bill Simon, a leader of the East Cobb Alliance, why the meeting isn’t open to the public, he said that it’s “because it’s a private meeting, paid for by private funds.”
(The cost to reserve the meeting room at the East Cobb Government Service Center is $25, the standard fee for any group wishing to meet there. The room has a capacity of 85 people.)
The East Cobb Alliance, which was formed this summer, has been critical of the Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb for what it calls a lack of transparency. The proposed City of East Cobb, according to the Alliance, “is a concept secretly planned by a small group of people for nearly a year before there was public notice of it. Since this group is being rather secretive about several things regarding the PCEC (including their professional backgrounds & why they might be involved), ECA has a page dedicated to exposing (via public records) who is who, and what does who do.”
(East Cobb News last year published stories along similar lines, including the resignation of a citizen from a cityhood ad hoc committee because he was told “it’s none of anyone’s business” who’s all behind the cityhood effort.
While some private, closed groups on Facebook do appear in search results, Residents Against East Cobb City Task Force is completely hidden.
In the e-mail, the message stated that “if you are on Facebook, there is a Closed FB Group that, upon you answering the two entry questions, you will be allowed to join: Residents Against East Cobb City Task Force Group. If the questions are ignored, you cannot gain entry.”
The East Cobb Alliance does have a public Facebook pagethat updates with links and financial analysis of proposed city services but does not include information about the group’s innerworkings.
In a followup response to an East Cobb News request to attend the meeting, Simon said he would “politely decline your request. . . . There is a stated maximum room limit of the number of people who can attend, thus the reason why it is specifically NOT a public meeting accessible to the public, regardless of the subject matter we are discussing. . .
“Also, if you feel you have some First Amendment right on your side to crash this event, and you appear there on Thursday, just be aware of the potential consequences to your reputation if you are proven wrong.”
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The Tunnel Rats, a local string band, will perform at the East Cobb Senior Center on Friday. (ECN file)
Over the weekend we posted a story about how an East Cobb-based organization is providing assistance to veterans, including community outreach at a cookout on Saturday.
This coming Friday, representatives from United Military Care will be at the East Cobb Senior Center for an official Cobb County government salute to veterans.
The event is from 11-2 p.m., and includes a catered meal from Carraba’s Italian Grill. Also performing will be a Woodstock-based string band that appeared at Saturday’s cookout. The Tunnel Rats, named after the Vietnam War troops who performed underground missions, will play tunes from that era.
The East Cobb Senior Center event is free for veterans and their spouses. Space is limited and registration is required. For event contact info call 770-509-4900. (3332 Sandy Plains Road).
The Tunnel Rats will be playing Tuesday in a Veterans Day concert at the Jennie Anderson Theater at the Cobb Civic Center, starting at 6 p.m. It’s a fundraiser for the Georgia Vietnam Veterans Association, and will include a film screening, “In the Shadow of the Blade.” The cost is $10, $5 for veterans and seniors age 62 and older.
On Friday, the McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA Veterans Day event is from 5-8 p.m. at the Piedmont Church (570 Piedmont Road).
The cost is free for veterans and family of those who have served. Registration is open for those ages 18 years and older.
Please contact Gayle at 770-977-5991, or by email at GayleB@ymcaatlanta.org.
On Sunday, the Cobb Wind Symphony Veterans Day Concert will take place starting at 3 p.m. at the Lassiter Concert Hall (2601 Shallowford Road). Admission is free.
Also this weekend, The Art Place is staging “Piece of My Heart,” which portrays the stories of six women who served as nurses in the Vietnam War and how they were affected by the experience.
The performances will be at 7:30 p.m, on Friday and Saturday, and the suggested donation of $10 (3330 Sandy Plains Road).
Veterans Day is next Monday, Nov. 11, and on that day U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath will hold a ceremony at 2 p.m. at American Legion Post 201 (201 Wills Road, Alpharetta).
This ceremony will honor Vietnam veterans, who will receive a commemorative lapel pin and certificate of special recognition.
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Some more details on next Tuesday’s East Cobb Business Association forum on the subject of East Cobb cityhood that we first noted a couple weeks ago:
The ECBA says that to ensure you get a seat, you must make a reservation online, ideally by Sunday, when the cost goes up.
The forum featuring representatives from the Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb and the anti-cityhood East Cobb Alliance is part of the ECBA’s monthly luncheon event, from 11-1 on Nov. 12 at the Olde Towne Athletic Club (4950 Olde Towne Parkway).
Seating will be limited to the first 250 people (most ECBA luncheons are around 100) who register and pay online. You can pay at the door, but the cost does go up and there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get in.
Jen Starks of the ECBA said 78 people have registered thus far.
This is the only time pro- and anti-cityhood groups have appeared together in a forum-style event; the cityhood group is having a town hall meeting on Nov. 11 at Wheeler High School.
The advance registration cost (click here to sign up) is $20 for ECBA members and $25 for guests. After midnight Sunday and up to the door, the respective costs are $25 and $30.
The same event will honor the ECBA’s 2019 business person of the year, which was started last year. The finalists are:
Cindy Trow, health coach, Wellness Now
Tom Gonter, development officer, MUST Ministries
Butch Carter, owner, Honest-1 Auto Care East Cobb
Ann Lafferty, owner, Rakers Junk Removal
NCBA Events
The Northeast Cobb Business Association is holding two events this month, a Nov. 14 Alive After Five networking event from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Governor’s Gun Club (1005 Cobb Place Blvd., Kennesaw) that’s free to attend with registration.
The NCBA monthly luncheon is Nov. 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Piedmont Church (570 Piedmont Road), and the guest speaker is Sharon Mason, CEO of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. For details and to sign up, click here.
East Cobb Citizen of the Year breakfast
On Dec. 3 the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce will have its annual East Cobb Citizen of the Year breakfast.
Last year’s winner was Brenda Rhodes of Simple Needs GA, and the award goes to individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership and community service.
The breakfast is from 7:30-9 a.m. at Indian Hills Country Club (4001 Clubland Drive). The cost is $25 for Chamber members and $25 for guests. To sign up, click here.
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Walton players and coach Suzanne Fitzgerald (standing at right) savor another GHSA state championship. (East Cobb News photos and video by Wendy Parker)
The first few minutes of Walton’s state volleyball title game were very un-Waltonlike.
Lassiter got off to a hot start, leading the first set 5-0 before Walton coach Suzanne Fitzgerald called a timeout to settle down her team.
“I just reminded them why they’re here, what they’ve been playing for,” Fitzgerald said. “They responded very aggressively.”
The Lady Raiders were able to come back with such a flourish several times as they downed their East Cobb rivals 25-18, 25-17 and 25-14 Saturday night at Marietta High School.
For Walton (32-8) to win a fifth consecutive Georgia High School Association Class 7A title was not a surprise.
The dynasty Fitzgerald has maintained—nine state titles in the last 10 years, and the school’s 13th in all—is as strong as ever.
But after last year’s seniors departed—and they were an integral part of Walton’s 2017 team that won the MaxPreps national title—some new leaders and a good number of new starters had to step forward.
“Every team is so different,” Fitzgerald said. “With this team, we had a lot of kids who have been in the program a long time. They were representing something larger than themselves, and they showed it tonight.”
Some of those players have been part of Walton’s feeder system since the third grade. That experience, and that sense of togetherness, paid off when the Lady Raiders needed to separate themselves from Lassiter.
In the second set, Lassiter (32-8) also led early, with Fitzgerald calling another timeout. Walton responded in a similar fashion, roaring to a 20-15 lead that the Trojans could not match.
During the break, Fitzgerald said was overcome with some emotion as she prepared her team to try and close out Lassiter in a sweep.
“I saw that they realized they really were playing for each other,” she said. “We played a very clean match today.”
In the final set, Walton never trailed, taking a 6-1 lead, then 13-4, before putting Lassiter away for the third time this season.
Like the senior class before them, this class of Walton seniors has never known anything but winning a state title: Madison Morey, Kendall O’Brien, Phoebe Awoleye, Sydney Barrett and Katie Strickland.
“This senior class has left a legacy of selflessness,” Fitzgerald said.
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“It’s real nice to know that there are people who want to appreciate veterans,” Vietnam vet Ed Reynolds said. (East Cobb News photos and videos by Wendy Parker)
Amid the aroma of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and with the sounds of his generation playing in the background, Ed Reynolds talks a little about his days serving in the Vietnam War, but mostly about what’s happened since then.
The Connecticut native, who’s lived in Kennesaw for the past couple of decades, served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early years of full American ground operations.
That was in 1965 and 1966, before hundreds of thousands of troops came over in military transport planes, like the C-5 manufactured at Lockheed’s Marietta plant.
“Got there before the big guns came,” Reynolds recalls. “We landed by boat.”
His combat experience was intense, and being a radio operator “was not a healthy occupation to have.”
The retired building construction supervisor said he didn’t endure the wrath of anti-war protestors like some Vietnam veterans. However, as the years continued, so did the frustrations of dealing with a system designed to help veterans like him.
Reynolds says he suffered a heart attack in 1992, and thinks it could stem from exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Other maladies have added up, and he noted he came back with one that lingers—ulcers.
“I was 20 years old,” Reynolds said. “Imagine that.”
On Saturday, an East Cobb non-profit that helps veterans in need treated Reynolds and other veterans to food, music and to give thanks for their service, with Veterans Day being observed in the coming week.
United Military Care, which moved to a building on Old Canton Road near Roswell Road 11 years ago, entertained a few dozen veterans on a sunny, blustery afternoon.
UMC helps veterans who are in danger of experiencing, or who have experienced, hunger, homelessness and lost hope.
“When you leave the military, you lose two things,” said Leenie Rubin of United Military Care, which began assisting active-duty personnel but has expanded to reach out to veterans.
“Your rifle, and your buddy. Our mission is to serve as a ‘battle buddy’ ” for veterans who often don’t know where to turn for help.
The Tunnel Rats, a local string band that includes Vietnam veterans, performed Vietnam-era pop tunes as well as country/bluegrass songs.
UMC served more than 8,000 veterans in 10 counties across metro Atlanta last year, and expects to serve more this year, according to President Kim Scofi.
That’s because word’s growing about how the organization is trying to fill the gaps in veterans’ assistance.
UMC has two food pantries, and delivers food regularly at Fort McPherson for distribution around the Atlanta area.
The assistance includes help with clothing, government and agency referrals, home visits and phone calls and special events, such as Saturday’s cookout.
Making human connection is often the most important thing UMC does, Scofi said.
“It’s offering hope.”
She said she got a call several months ago from a staffer at the East Cobb Senior Center, about a regular visitor there who’s a Vietnam veteran and who was threatening suicide.
Scofi got in phone contact with the man, and offered up some tough love—military-type directives about getting help, and how to do it.
“Now he’s living in Mississippi, near his family,” and isn’t in deep isolation any longer, she said.
Raffling off items for veterans that were donated by local businesses and organizations.
Reynolds has stayed involved in Marine League and other veterans events. But as he got older, and as his health declined, he grew frustrated in getting health care and other veterans benefits for himself. He had to quit work to care for his wife for six years (she died in 2012), while he was seeking to 100 percent disability payments from the Veterans Administration.
“It took me 14 years,” he said.
His experience is common. Scofi said that some so-called “blue water” Navy veterans—those who transported Agent Orange to Vietnam—are only now getting VA benefits. That’s because of bureaucratic red tape that denied them to veterans who literally didn’t step foot on Vietnamese soil.
While much is made of the suicide rate of veterans from the Iraq War, Scofi said the largest percentage of veterans who take their own lives is in an age group of 50 and older—from Vietnam to those who served during the first Iraq War, in the early 1990s.
Reynolds noted that it’s groups like UMC, more than those from the larger civilian world, that are reaching out to veterans.
“It’s real nice to know that there are people who want to appreciate veterans,” he said.
If you’re a veteran or know of a veteran who needs assistance with food, housing or just need someone to talk to, you can reach United Military Care by clicking here or calling 770-973-0014.
UMC also accepts donations to carry out its services. You can donate online by clicking here.
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The Walton boys cross country team placed two runners in the Top 10 of the Georgia High School Association Class 7A state meet on Saturday, and that helped the Raiders claim the team title.
Walton finished with 98 points, ahead of Lambert, West Forsyth and Marietta, on the course in Carrollton.
Connor Old of Walton was 5th with a time of 16:18, and teammate Zac Shaffer was 7th with 16:21. The other Raider team includes:
Sam Balboa, Brick Conway, Evan Sommer, Wylie Bingham and Harrison Waddell.
The Walton girls finished in 3rd place, behind Hillgrove and South Forsyth. In the individual standings, Walton’s Sarah Burwell came in fourth, with a time of 19:31. The Raiders girls team also includes:
Isabella Bazan, Hannah Walker, Ellen Chamberlain, Arden Keeter, Emily McNiece and Riley Michaud.
On Friday, Pope’s teams finished among the top teams in the Class 6A state meet, also in Carrollton.
The Greyhounds boys were seeking a second state title in a row, but finished second behind Cobb rival Harrison. Three Pope runners finished in the Top 10:
Cole Heron (2nd), Will Brown (4th) and K.C. Heron (8th).
The Pope boys team also includes:
Zane Pizutti, Nicholas Corso, Carter Spohn and Alec Wark.
The Pope girls finished third, behind Cambridge and Allatoona, and their team members include:
Charlotte Dunn, Sophie Boice, Lorel Golden, Rachel Dodsworth, Isa Blair, Bella Hock and Sarah Juhn.
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A townhome developer who wants to build a dense project on undeveloped land on Canton Road has asked for a delay in having its rezoning case heard until December.
Garvis Sams, the attorney for Smith Douglas Homes, notified the Cobb Zoning Office on Oct. 25 that his client was seeking a continuance.
The Smith Douglas proposal was for 61 attached units on 6.6 acres at Canton Road and Kensington Drive. It was to have been heard Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission, but has been continued to Dec. 3, according to the meeting agenda (view it here).
The Cobb zoning staff had recommended denial of the proposal (read it here), which would convert land zoned for office and industrial (it’s located across Canton Road from retail and commercial properties) to RM-12, a dense multi-family residential category.
Surrounding land is zoned RA-6, for lower-density homes, and in his letter, Sams indicated Smith Douglas Homes would be reducing the density of the proposal, likely for detached homes (read the letter here).
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The following East Cobb food scores from Oct. 28-31 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing to view details of the inspection:
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The Cobb Board of Education next month may consider a resolution seeking eminent domain to purchase 15 acres of vacant land near Walton High School.
The land is being eyed for the construction of a softball field and tennis courts that were displaced for the new Walton classroom building that opened in 2017.
The two parcels at 1495 and 1550 Pine Road have been unoccupied for several years. A white house, built in 1923, fronts the road and there’s another building in the back that is accessed by a gravel driveway.
The rest of the property is undeveloped and most of it is wooded, with the northern part of the 1550 Pine Road parcel fronted by Bill Murdock Road, just across the street from Walton.
A Cobb Tax Assessor’s aerial map of the Pine Road properties; click here for larger view.
There’s a sign on the property giving notice of the eminent domain resolution at the Nov. 14 school board meeting.
According to a Cobb County School District spokeswoman, the board has been negotiating with the property owner, who “has expressed interest in selling” and that “the District has offered more than full market value for a property that has most recently been used as a garbage disposal service.”
The offer from the Cobb school district is $3 million, a price the spokeswoman said is for property that appraised for 10 percent less than that amount. That comes to around $200,000 an acre.
According to Cobb Tax Assessor’s Office records, the land owner is Thelma McClure, who took possession of the property in 2013 after the death of her husband, Felton McClure.
Cobb school board member Charisse Davis represents the Walton cluster. She said while the prospect of seeking eminent domain is a serious one—it’s the government taking of private property for public use with compensation—”the district has been trying to work with the property owner” for years, and “we just weren’t getting where we needed to make a deal.”
The decision to seek eminent domain, Davis said, came “after careful consideration.”
Walton softball parents have been pressing the school for a return to the campus, which was called for when the new classroom building plans were being made. New softball and tennis facilities are included on the Cobb Education SPLOST V project list.
For Davis, who was elected last November and lives in the Smyrna area, “it was January when I first learned about this issue,” she said. “I wasn’t aware of what had been happening here.”
After speaking out at a town hall meeting Davis held at Dickerson Middle School, the Walton softball parents went public at a board meeting in February.
Davis said the negotiations with McClure bogged down on price, but she wouldn’t be more specific except to say that the process included a property appraisal.
The 15 acres has some longstanding historical significance. According to Cobb property deed records, Felton McClure purchased the property in 1977 from Lannie Murdock, the daughter-in-law of Bill Murdock, who once had more than 200 acres of farm land in the area that now includes Walton, Dodgen Middle School and surrounding subdivisions.
The Walton campus is situated on nearly 46 acres on Bill Murdock Road at Pine Road, and has been undergoing a major transformation. In addition to the new classroom building, the school recently christened a new theatre and gymnasium complex where the original classroom building stood.
Private funds are being raised for a new athletic fieldhouse.
Walton softball and the boys and girls tennis teams have been playing their home competitions since 2015 at Terrell Mill Park.
The district potentially faced some issues with Title IX—a federal sex discrimination law in education—with the softball field off campus, since the baseball field was relocated to another part of the Walton campus.
Davis said there’s not a particular timeline for now on when the softball and tennis facilities would reopen near campus.
“We’re purchasing a lot of land,” she said. “These were facilities that were on campus that had to be moved. And now we’re bringing them back.”
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It’s been wet this week, and as the weekend beckons, it’s going to get cold—as in freezing cold, at least overnight—as Halloween passes and autumn sets in for real.
Weekend events in East Cobb are themed around the season, but there’s a wide variety of activities on tap we’re highlighting below from our calendar listings:
Fall church festivals are in the air, and from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday it’s the Faith Lutheran Fall Festival (2111 Lower Roswell Road). Admission is $3 a person.
The high school football season is winding down, with East Cobb teams pushing for playoff berths. After several weeks on the road, Walton finally gets to play at Raider Valley in its homecoming game Friday against Cherokee. Also playing at home is Kell (vs. Hiram) and Wheeler (vs. Westlake). Lassiter is at Etowah, Sprayberry visits Creekview and Pope travels to Northview. Kickoff at all games is 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s weather should be sunny, a good day to do some fall cleaning. From 9-3, you can drop off recyclables at the Walton Band Recycling Event, located in the back parking lot of the school (1590 Bill Murdock Road). The cost is $10 per vehicle, and details on what you can and cannot bring can be found at the link.
If you’re looking to get an early start on holiday shopping, the Lassiter Craft Fair takes place Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday from 11-4. As usual, dozens of vendors will have their wares spread throughout the school (2601 Shallowford Road) from the gym to the cafeteria. You can also purchase baked goods and other things to eat. Proceeds benefit the Lassiter band programs.
Veterans Day activities begin this weekend in East Cobb, and from 11-4 Saturday you can thank them at the 2nd annual Give Thanks For Those Who Served event at United Military Care (1220 Old Canton Road). It’s free to anyone in the public to attend, not just veterans. There will be a cookout and music from The Tunnel Rats, a band of veterans who will play tunes popular during the Vietnam War era.
Also on Saturday, it’s the 20th anniversary of the Wheeler High School Magnet Program, from 2-5 in the performing arts theater at the school (375 Holt Road). The public is invited and it’s free to attend; please RSVP here if you’re interested.
Saturday is All Souls’ Day, a remembrance of those who’ve died, and for the first time a venue in East Cobb is taking part in a movement giving individuals a respectful and confidential setting to talk about death. It’s called the Death Café, and it takes place from 3-5 at the Marietta Campground Cemetery (next to East Cobb United Methodist Church, 2325 Roswell Road). It’s free and you can sign up at the link; they’ll be serving tea and cake. The objective is to help attendees “increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.”
Are you ready for some volleyball? The Georgia High School Association state championship matches are in Cobb County on Saturday, and in Class 7A it’s going to be an all-East Cobb final pitting Walton vs. Lassiter. The Raiders are aiming for their fifth title in a row and 13th overall, while the Trojans would like to enjoy their first. The match starts at 6:30 p.m. at Marietta High School (1711 Whitlock Ave.), and admission is $8.
If you need to get your pet caught up on shots or get it microchipped, there’s another Good Mews Microchip & Vaccination Clinic Sunday from 10-3 at the shelter (3805 Robinson Road). You’re asked to make an appointment at the link above, which details services and prices, and you’ll need to bring your pet on a leash or in a carrier.
Also on Sunday, step back from the hubbub and take in the sounds of the Mariwell String Quartet, which will be giving a concert from 3-5 at the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation (1200 Indian Hills Parkway). As the name indicates, they’re musicians from the Marietta and Roswell areas, and will be playing across several genres, including classical and rock.
You’ll find more details about those events and can check out more of our calendar listings for this weekend and beyond.
Send your events to us and we’ll post ’em here: calendar@eastcobbnews.com.
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U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia’s 6th Congressional District voted with the Democratic House majority on Thursday to move forward with an impeachment process against President Donald Trump.
The vote, which passed 232-196, is not a vote to impeach, but to set forth procedures for conducting an impeachment inquiry.
Only two Democrats voted against the resolution, which followed some fierce floor debate. All House Republicans, among them Barry Loudermilk of the 11th District of Georgia, which includes some of Cobb County, voted against the measure.
The vote comes after revelations of the president’s communications with the government of Ukraine. Specifically, Trump is alleged to have told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a July phone conversation that U.S. military aid to that Eastern European nation was contingent upon conducting an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden.
The White House has denied what has been referred to as a “quid pro quo,” and Republican members of Congress last week stormed a closed-door impeachment meeting held by Democrats, delaying a deposition by several hours.
McBath, a first-term Democrat from Marietta, is a member of the House Judiciary Committee. She voted September in favor of an impeachment inquiry based on information presented in special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in U.S. elections.
That report could not conclude that Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government.
Since then, Trump supporters have protested in front of McBath’s district headquarters in Sandy Springs.
Last fall, McBath edged Karen Handel to win the 6th District, which includes most of East Cobb, a flip that helped the Democrats take control of the House.
The 6th District is considered a swing seat for 2020, and it’s where Trump won with only 51 percent of the vote in the 2016 presidential race.
In a statement issued by her press office, McBath said Thursday afternoon that “I voted to formalize the rules for the inquiry process and continue to support the responsibility of this Congress to secure the truth and defend the Constitution.”
Handel, one of several Republicans who’s announced for the 2020 race, said that “today’s resolution continues the illegitimate sham process that has been underway in the House for some 37 days. It’s a process that denies fairness, denies due process, and provides for selective leaks and secret interviews.”
State Sen. Brandon Beach, another GOP candidate, said “Lucy McBath finally showed her true allegiance to Speaker Pelosi & ‘woke’ Democrats who have been working for three years to remove a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED President and undo his economic policies.”
Only two presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln’s successor, in 1868, and Bill Clinton in 1998. Both survived Senate trials that would have removed them from office.
In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee returned three articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, but he resigned before a full House vote.
Should Trump be impeached, he also would be tried in the Senate, which has a Republican majority, including Johnny Isakson and David Perdue of Georgia.
But a trial would likely come after Isakson’s retirement at the end of the year due to health reasons. Gov. Brian Kemp has not yet selected a successor who would serve through a special election next year.
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Thursday in Cobb County will be much like Wednesday, with storms in the forecast, and colder temperatures ushering afternoon and evening Halloween activities.
Cobb is included in a flood watch across much of north Georgia until 8 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Atlanta.
Here’s what the NWS issued earlier Wednesday afternoon:
There is a chance for flooding across northern Georgia as multiple rounds of rain could produce several inches of accumulating rainfall. Two to Four inches of rain are forecast along and north of the I-85 corridor, with locally higher amounts possible.
There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms across portions of northern and west-central Georgia, including the Atlanta metropolitan area. This marginal risk exists this afternoon and evening, but will be increasing early Thursday morning. The primary threat will be damaging wind gusts associated with stronger storms, with an outside chance of a weak, brief tornado for far northwestern Georgia.
Thursday’s high temperatures are expected to be much like today, in the low 70s, and also with a 90 percent chance of rain in the Cobb area. The rain is expected taper off to around 60 percent Thursday night.
Friday will be sunny but colder, with highs in the high 50s, and that’s the forecast for the rest of the weekend as the rain clears out.
Lows will be just above freezing from Friday through Sunday, only in the high 30s.
Temperatures will be a little warmer next week, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s, but more rain will return by midweek.
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Submitted information from Cobb Police about staying safe for Halloween (keep in mind rainy weather is in the forecast for Thursday as well):
Walk Safely
Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks.
Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross.
Put electronic devices down and keep heads up and walk, don’t run, across the street.
Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them.
Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.
Drive Extra Safe on Halloween Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways. Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs. Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully. Eliminate any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings. Drive slowly, anticipate heavy pedestrian traffic and turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances. Popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. so be especially alert for kids during those hours.
Always remember to Trick or Treat with an adult!
Keep Costumes Both Creative and Safe Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. Choose face paint and makeup whenever possible instead of masks, which can obstruct a child’s vision. Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers. When selecting a costume, make sure it is the right size to prevent trips and falls.
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Walton and Lassiter will play for the Georgia High School Association’s Class 7A volleyball state championship this weekend after sweeping their semifinal opponents on Tuesday.
Walton (31-8), which is seeking its fifth consecutive state title and 13th overall, downed Roswell, while Lassiter (32-7) did the same at Etowah.
Neither the Raiders nor the Trojans have lost a set during the state playoffs.
The state championship match will be played Saturday at Marietta High School (1171 Whitlock Ave.) at 6:30 p.m., after matches to determine the winners in Class 4A, 5A and 6A. Tickets are $8 per person and admission is for all the matches.
Lassiter has never won a state championship in volleyball. The teams have met twice this season, with Walton winning by a 3-1 score in August and 3-0 in the Region 4AAAAAAA tournament.
Pope also was aiming to repeat as state champions in Class 6A, but the Greyhounds were defeated in three straight sets on Tuesday by Sequoyah, which will meet Cobb school Allatoona for the title.
The Greyhounds ended their season at 37-13.
The Walker School volleyball team has reached the finals of the GHSA’s Class 1A/2A private school division, and will play Hebron Christian Saturday at 11 a.m. at McEachern High School (2400 New Macland Road, Powder Springs). Tickets also are $8
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The release last week of a key Georgia K-12 educational testing assessment for 2019—the CCRPI—revealed that Cobb schools performed above the state and national averages, with East Cobb schools leading at all levels.
John Floresta, CCSD Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer
It’s among the myriad ways that local school districts meet required state assessment benchmarks, along with the Georgia Milestones.
The Cobb County School District had applied for a waiver to use its own pilot testing model, CobbMetrics, in lieu of the Milestones. However, that request was turned down by the U.S. Department of Education over the summer.
The district had the option of reapplying, but instead will continue administering CobbMetrics—a “formative assessment” which calls for shorter, continuous and individualized tests issued throughout the school year—along with the Milestones.
In the Milestones, students in grades 3-8 are tested at the end of each school year in English arts and math, while students in grades 5-8 are also tested in science and social studies.
The high school Milestones tests come at the end of each course, and students are tested in the 10 courses designated by the Georgia Board of Education.
In its application, Cobb schools argued that its model offers a better gauge not only of student progress, but gives teachers the tools to adapt to what they see as learning needs.
Think of it as a regular series of glorified pop quizzes.
“Instead of one big test at the end of the year, we’re testing [in] small chunks in real time,” John Floresta, the Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer for Cobb schools, said in an interview with East Cobb News at the start of the current 2019-20 school year. “The whole school year is worked around the Milestones.”
In medical parlance, what Cobb is aiming for is “a biopsy, not an autopsy,” he said.
The CobbMetrics model has evolved over the last few years, and came about when current superintendent Chris Ragsdale served as Cobb schools’ chief technology officer.
“He knew a lot more about our students than what the Milestones tell us,” Floresta said.
That includes the ability for teachers to get more immediate feedback to make adjustments to meet a particular student’s needs, instead of waiting until after the end of the school year.
“The very best hope for any student is for a teacher to take them in and help them learn better,” Floresta said. “They can’t do that if they don’t have the tools for knowing what they need to know.”
Three different testing models have been approved in Georgia, including MAP (which Marietta schools use and which did receive a waiver). Cobb’s was turned down, Floresta said, because it didn’t meet certain comparability measures used by the U.S. Department of Education.
Floresta said Cobb was hesitant to adopt yet another testing model: “We don’t think that’s good for students, teachers and parents.”
During the current school year, Cobb will continue administering the Iowa assessments in grades 3,5 and 7 and the PSAT in 10th grade, along with the Milestones.
“Nothing is changing with testing this year,” Floresta said.
Middle-school and elementary-school students taking the Iowa assessments were tested in September.
High school sophomores were given the PSAT earlier this month. The first batch of high school Milestones tests come Nov. 28-Dec. 14, at the end of the first semester.
In the meantime, Cobb will continue to work on “equating” CobbMetrics with state and federal guidelines during its pilot period in hopes of eventually getting a waiver.
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Michael Carino of PITA Mediterranean Street Food has reached out to update a story we noted last month: The new East Cobb location, at the Sandy Plains Centre (2960 Shallowford Road, Suite 112), is holding its grand opening Nov. 15.
He said the event includes free food from 6-9 p.m. (details at its Facebook page). Each customer is limited to one main item, a side and a drink during the promotion.
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!
Thanks to Tammi Ryley, parent coordinator of the East Cobb Rugby Club, for the photos of the team and information about its fall registration and recruitiment event on Nov. 4:
For our 2019/2020 Season, East Cobb Rugby Club is actively seeking middle school and high school men and women to fill our ranks as one of the Southeast’s fastest-growing rugby clubs. Rugby experience is not necessary, but those athletes with a strong desire to learn, who possess integrity, passion, and grit are bound to succeed in this sport. We’ve seen incredible success with football players, lacrosse, soccer, and wrestlers who have just joined this sport! We welcome athletes from all East Cobb schools as well as home schooled.
Join us for our Fall Introduction and Registration Event at Mt. Zion Methodist Church [1770 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta] this Monday, November 4th at 7pm sharp.
Shake hands with the players and coaches leading our teams. Learn the rules. Learn about rugby’s focus on proper tackling techniques. Learn about rugby scholarships and leadership opportunities. Stop by to experience just a bit of the community that we are all a part of. The opportunities for this global sport are endless.
Rugby is more than a sport. If it is a ‘fit’ for your athlete, it will become an important part of your child’s life and the leadership, sportsmanship, and athletic skills your child will gain will chart them on a very positive path. Any questions, send an email to: eastcobbrugbyclub@gmail.com. See you November 4th at 7pm.
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A man who was convicted of choking the mother of his baby at her East Cobb home last year has been given a 22-year prison sentence, with 20 to serve.
Derek James Burns, 29, of Carrollton, was sentenced Monday by Cobb Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs, after a jury convicted him last week of aggravated assault (strangulation), false imprisonment, simple battery and simple assault.
According to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, Burns, who has been in jail since the April 2018 incident, will get credit for time served.
Prosecutors said at the trial that Burns and the victim were arguing at her home on Bradford Lane, off Barnes Mill Road, on April 19, 2018. According to testimony, Burns put the woman in a chokehold until she lost conscious and control of her bladder.
Prosectors said the woman realized after she regained consciousness that she had been dragged across the floor and placed in a corner, and said that Burns threatened to shoot her if she looked up or raised her head until he was gone, and would “make it look like a suicide.”
Also testifying at the trial was a former girlfriend of Burns, who said he had choked her, also rendering her unconscious, when they were dating.
Grubbs, who said Burns was “vicious and harmful,” also ordered him to serve the final two years of his term on probation.
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The Greyhounds boys were seeking a second state title in a row, but finished second behind Cobb rival Harrison. Three Pope runners finished in the Top 10:
Lassiter has never won a state championship in volleyball. The teams have met twice this season, with Walton winning by a 3-1 score in August and 3-0 in the Region 4AAAAAAA tournament.
