East Cobb schools pace district results in 2019 CCRPI tests

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Mountain View Elementary School
Students at Mountain View Elementary School scored 100 in three categories of the 2019 CCRPI tests. (ECN file)

East Cobb schools at all grade levels topped Cobb County School District results for the 2019 CCRPI tests—the College and Career Ready Performance Index that the state of Georgia uses as its main educational accountability measure.

Timber Ridge, Mountain View, Murdock, Mt. Bethel, Garrison Mill, Shallowford Falls, Sope Creek, East Side, Kincaid and Tritt all had overall CCRPI scores of 90 or above (out of a possible 100) at the elementary school level.

Among middle schools, Hightower Trail, Simpson, Dodgen, Dickerson and Mabry also scored 90 or higher.

Walton, Lassiter and Pope scored likewise among high schools.

Some of the biggest year-to-year gains also occurred at other East Cobb schools.

Kincaid Elementary in northeast Cobb had an overall score of 92.2, up from 70.8 from 2018. Eastvalley’s score jumped from 73.9 to 81.8. Students at Powers Ferry raised their overall scores from 65 to 75.3.

Daniell Middle School enjoyed a significant boost, with a CCRPI score of 86.3, up from 66 in 2018. At East Cobb Middle School, students tested at 82.7, a rise from 67.1 last year.

Across the district, Cobb schools tested at an average of 6.5 points higher than 2018, at 86.1 points out of a possible 100. That’s higher than the state average of 75.9.

“Although we believe there are significant opportunities to better reflect what students know, CCRPI scores show students across the District and across all grade levels are finding success,” Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in a statement.

In the CCRPI tests, students are assessed in several ways, including content mastery (30 percent), progress (30 percent), closing performance gaps (15 percent), readiness (15-20 percent), and at the high school level, graduation rates (10 percent).

After the Georgia Department of Education changed the formula last year—much to the chagrin of Cobb school officials—schools saw their overall numbers, as well as figures in separate categories, adjust, especially at the elementary school level.

At Mountain View Elementary, for example, students scored 100s in content mastery, progress and closing performance gaps. What that means is all students tested in those categories achieved those benchmarks.

One of the most important indicators is closing the gap, which is a figure to calculate year-to-year improvement by subgroups of students.

As a big part of its improved score, East Cobb Middle School got a 100 score in closing the gap (as did Hightower Trail and Simpson).

What follows are overall CCRPI scores for schools in East Cobb, compared to 2018 results in parenthesis. A more detailed chart will be published early next week. For full Cobb school district details, click here.

Elementary Schools

  • Addison, 88.7 (83.2)
  • Bells Ferry, 86.3 (80.9)
  • Blackwell, 77.0 (76.7)
  • Brumby, 68.9 (63.0)
  • Davis, 83.9 (86.7)
  • East Side, 93.1 (89.5)
  • Eastvalley, 81.8 (73.9)
  • Garrison Mill, 95.3 (91.9)
  • Keheley, 73.2 (78.1)
  • Kincaid, 92.2 (70.8)
  • Mt. Bethel, 95.6 (95.6)
  • Mountain View, 98.6 (91.9)
  • Murdock, 96.4 (92.0)
  • Nicholson, 71.5 (73.9)
  • Powers Ferry, 75.3 (65.0)
  • Rocky Mount, 84.6 (82.7)
  • Sedalia Park, 76.5 (71.0)
  • Shallowford Falls, 94.7 (93.7)
  • Sope Creek, 94.5 (92.2)
  • Timber Ridge, 99.3 (93.3)
  • Tritt, 90.2 (84.7)

Middle Schools

  • Daniell, 86.3 (66.0)
  • Dickerson, 94.3 (90.0)
  • Dodgen, 95.3 (91.8)
  • East Cobb, 82.7 (67.1)
  • Hightower Trail, 96.4 (91.8)
  • Mabry, 94.7 (84.7)
  • McCleskey, 88.1 (83.0)
  • Simpson, 95.9 (94.7)

High Schools

  • Kell, 79.8 (80.4)
  • Lassiter, 96.2 (95.8)
  • Pope, 91.6 (91.5)
  • Sprayberry, 83.0 (83.9)
  • Walton, 96.3 (96.3)
  • Wheeler, 88.8 (87.8)

 

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East Cobb Weekend Events: Halloween; Fall Festivals; more

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East Cobb UMC Pumpkin Patch

Some spooky (and rainy) weather is in store for the weekend, but Halloween and related events in East Cobb haven’t been dampened—for the most part. From our calendar listings:

One event that has been called off was the Keheley PTA ES Blues Fest, which has been postponed from Friday to next spring.

From 6-8 p.m. Friday, it’s the McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA Spooktacular, geared for kids and featuring carnival games, crafts, and a costume parade. The cost is $5 per child. (1055 E. Piedmont Road).

High school football games continue with playoff contention at stake, and all six East Cobb teams are on the road: Kell vs. Cass; Lassiter vs. Woodstock; Walton vs. Roswell; Sprayberry vs. Sequoyah; Pope vs. Cambridge; Wheeler vs. Campbell. All kickoffs are at 6 p.m.

Take a jaunt down Johnson Ferry Road Saturday morning: It’s the Northeast Cobb YMCA Haunted Hustle 5K, from 8-11 a.m., and it’s a qualifier for the Peachtree Road Race. Same-day registration is available on site. (3010 Johnson Ferry Road).

From 10-5 Saturday, the newly opened Frenchie’s Modern Nail Care is holding a Jewelry Show and Donation Collection. Shop for jewelry presented by Rebecca Deutsch at Park Lane Jewelry. A portion of jewelry sales will be donated to the Center for Children and Young Adults in Marietta for the purchase of healthy snacks and feminine hygiene products. (3154 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 102).

The weather forecast doesn’t look promising for The Avenue East Cobb Fall Festival from Saturday 3-5 but it will go on rain or shine, moving indoors to vacant space if necessary. Arts and crafts, entertainers and movie characters will be on the scene. (4475 Roswell Road).

Another big East Cobb Halloween event is the Sprayberry HS Trunk or Treat, from 4:30-7:30 Saturday. Candy, food trucks, raffles, games and more, kids can come in costumes; admission $3 per child or 2 for $5. (2525 Sandy Plains Road).

This won’t rained out: Two more showings of the Pope Haunted Theater: Things That Go Bump in the Night. Thursday’s session was sold out; the Saturday and Sunday events are from 6-10 in the school’s performing arts center. Tickets are $5. 3001 Hembree Road).

Likewise for the indoors: Two sessions on Saturday for the Wizarding Academy at The Art Place, from 1-3:30 p.m. and from 5-7:30 p.m. For ages 5-12, this event includes games, crafts, magic, snacks and more; Harry Potter dress-ups are welcome. Cost is $25 per person. (3330 Sandy Plains Road).

On Sunday, another indoor event, this a fundraiser for suicide prevention efforts. It’s the 2nd annual Passionate Artists With a Cause, with a portion of local artists’ sales going to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; see ECN post. (LM Frame + Gallery, 1062 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 150).

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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East Cobb Food Scores: Chicken Salad Chick; Los Arcos; more

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East Cobb food scores, Chicken Salad Chick

The following East Cobb food scores from Oct. 21-25 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing to view details of the inspection:

Chicken Salad Chick
4101 Roswell Road, Suite 811
October 22, 2019 Score: 97, Grade: A

Delray Diner
2475 Delk Road
October 22, 2019 Score: 77, Grade: C

Dickerson Middle School 
855 Woodlawn Drive
October 21, 2019 Score: 100, Grade: A

Firehouse Subs
2900 Delk Road, Suite 550
October 25, 2019 Score: 82, Grade: B

Heritage of Sandy Plains Assisted Living
3039 Sandy Plains Road
October 25, 2019 Score: 83, Grade: B

La Bella Pizza
2635 Sandy Plains Road, Suite A-7
October 24, 2019 Score: 83, Grade: B

Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant
3101 Roswell Road, Suite 104
October 21, 2019 Score: 90, Grade: A

Mr. Wonton
3595 Canton Road, Suite 328
October 22, 2019 Score: 56, Grade: U

The Patty Wagon
4796 Canton Road, Suite 500
October 23, 2019 Score: 100, Grade: A

Peace Love & Pizza
1050 E. Piedmont Road, Suite 154
October 25, 2019 Score: 86, Grade: B

Winston’s Food and Spirits
1860 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 101
October 22, 2019 Score: 84, Grade: B

Zaxby’s
750 Johnson Ferry Road
October 23, 2019 Score: 89, Grade: B

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The Fresh Market announces East Cobb store closing sale

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The Fresh Market East Cobb closing

Following up last week’s story about The Fresh Market closing in East Cobb: Here’s what’s posted at the store entrance now.

All sales of beer and wine are 25 percent off and 30 percent off everything else; all sales are final.

The special closing sale hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The tentative closing date is Nov. 18.

(1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 109)

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Attending LION Publishers conference for the rest of the week

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Just dashing off a quick note to readers that I’m in Nashville Thursday-Saturday at the LION Publishers conference, and will be traveling the rest of today.Lion Publishers conference

It’s an annual meeting of those who, like East Cobb News, publish local, independent online news sites (hence the name LION).

I will still be publishing to the site, although it may be not be as frequent for the next few days. If you’re a newsletter subscriber, don’t worry, you’ll get your East Cobb News Digest on Sunday as usual.

If you have breaking news to share, don’t hesitate to get in touch: editor@eastcobbnews.com or phone/text 404-219-4278.

As for other items readers and others send, I may not be able to respond and post as promptly as when I’m home. I’ll be taking my laptop with me so I will be doing East Cobb News work when I’ve got a break.

LION was formed in 2012 in response to the need to revitalize local news, as newspapers and other legacy media outlets were cutting staff, space and resources.

Many of us LIONS are like myself, former reporters and editors, mainly from the newspaper diaspora, who are learning how to build and grow sustainable businesses.

We’re now about 200 members strong nationwide, and we’re generating the interest of representatives from Facebook, Google, web publishing entities and other technology companies, as well as journalism foundations that understand the importance not just of preserving local news, but strengthening it.

The decline of the newspaper industry is as deep as it is real, and more and more communities are losing that local news source altogether.

What many of us in LION are aiming to do is not just to fill in the gaps, but to reimagine community news the way it once was done, that really connects with citizens, businesses and organizations in a meaningful way.

At this conference, I’m eager to gain more insights and ideas for furthering the twin missions of East Cobb News—to meet the news and information needs of this community, and to assist local businesses with getting out their messages.

If you’ve got thoughts, ideas or questions along those lines, please feel free to get in touch.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to stepping back a bit, getting out on the open road, soaking up knowledge and enjoying the Music City!

 

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Jim ‘N Nick’s East Cobb opens in Sandy Plains Marketplace

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From Tuesday’s opening day and ribbon-cutting of Jim ‘Nick’s Bar-B-Q in East Cobb, the first business to open in the new Sandy Plains Marketplace:Jim 'N Nick's East Cobb opens

Today we celebrated our East Cobb Grand Opening and we are so excited to be a part of this wonderful community! At our official ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony with Cobb Chamber of Commerce we proudly presented a donation to the Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation.

The Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation was started after a terrorist shooting on July 16, 2015 in Chattanooga took the life of Skip Wells, as well as 3 other Marines and a Navy Sailor.

Skip graduated Sprayberry High School in Marietta where he was active in both the band and NJROTC. The Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation offers scholarships to help students go to college or tech school to further their education.

Visit www.lcplskipwellsfoundation.com for more information on this wonderful foundation.

Jim ‘N Nick’s started in Birmingham and now has more than 30 locations in seven states, mostly in the the South.

The East Cobb location is the 10th in Georgia and is located at 3420 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 100. Hours are Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

 

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East Cobb cityhood foes blast financial review as ‘baloney’

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East Cobb cityhood financial review
A City of East Cobb fire department “will not have the resources to operate” at a top certified level of protection, according to a group opposing cityhood. (ECN file)

A group opposed to East Cobb cityhood is criticizing an independent financial review that concluded that a proposed city would be fiscally viable.

The five-member Independent Financial Group, consisting of East Cobb residents who are finance and legal experts, volunteered to examine a Georgia State University feasibility study and issued its report in September.

The East Cobb Alliance, which formed over the summer to oppose cityhood, said in a posting on its Facebook page over the weekend that “in the beginning, there were 5 people on the IFG, but the 5th guy resigned when he couldn’t stomach the baloney the other 4 were proposing…and, ‘baloney’ is putting it nicely.”

(Shailesh Bettadapur, a member of the IFG group, resigned two days before the report was released, according to Bill Green, another member of the review group.)

The ECA post further stated that “several members of ECA who have choked their way through reading this document consider it nothing but a bunch of mumbo-jumbo malarkey.”

The East Cobb Alliance took issue with the report above all over fire services. The Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb had state legislation introduced in March that would create a city of East Cobb with police, fire and community development services.

The ECA noted in its posting that in the IFG report, members of the review group and the cityhood group “are concerned the [GSU feasibility] Study may not have included all necessary fire protection expenditures.”

The ECA post continued:

“This is a group of 4 people, NONE of whom have ANY experience in the fire protection services world. No one on the GSU research team had ANY experience in fire protection services. No one on the Pro-Cityhood Committee has ANY clue as to what it takes to operate an effective fire department.

“Our County Fire Department, and our personal lives and property, should NOT be subjected to the whims of fools who have NO IDEA of what it takes to assemble, hire, train, OR operate a world-class Fire Department like we have right now.

“Tell your friends and neighbors about this IDIOCY being pushed upon us.”

The GSU feasibility study estimated an annual fire budget of $5.9 million. According to the IFG report (read it here), a city finance director in a nearby municipality said a City of East Cobb may have relatively lower costs for fire because it “has a low proportion of multi-unit residential housing and fewer tall buildings.”

The IFG, in its report, added $4 million for fire expenses estimates “as a placeholder” pending further budgeting information becoming available.

The East Cobb cityhood bill includes a proposed municipality of around 96,000 people, and five fire stations currently part of the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services Department.

The ECA in recent days has examined other aspects of the cityhood proposal, including the possible purchase and use of the East Cobb Government Services Center on Lower Roswell Road, and the proposed cost of buying those five fire stations for the new city from the county.

The ECA also claims that a new City of East Cobb fire department “will not have the resources” to provide the top certified level of protection, also known as ISO-1. Cobb is one of around 240 fire departments nationwide to have that status, which is given by the Insurance Services Office, a non-profit that provides insurance information, including for fire and building codes.

“Should we kill a great Fire Department to build a new police department? Seems like kind of a weird trade-off,” the ECA asks.

Another topic covers police and jail services that have been proposed by the cityhood group. The GSU feasibility study suggested a 140-officer East Cobb police force, nearly double the number of officers on patrol in Cobb Police Precinct 4, which covers an area well beyond the proposed city lines. Currently Precinct 4 has a staffing of around 50 response officers, a shortage of less than 20 for what it’s been allocated.

“That just seems very bizarre to us when the land area will be half of their current coverage,” concluded the ECA. “Why should we vote to form a new city to correct a deficiency of 16 people . . . when the coverage territory of a new city will be 50% of the original precinct territory? For all we know, 71 people may be the ideal force for a PCEC.”

The East Cobb Alliance and the East Cobb cityhood group have been invited to a Nov. 12 forum hosted by the East Cobb Business Association.

The day before, on Nov. 11, the cityhood group will hold a town hall meeting at Wheeler High School.

The cityhood group’s public events, which follow town halls in the spring, also tentatively will include more meetings after the first of the year, when the Georgia legislature would take up the East Cobb cityhood bill.

That bill would have to pass the entire General Assembly for a cityhood referendum to take place in 2020.

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Ott critical of Cobb public safety step and grade proposal

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Cobb Police Recruiting Graphic
A Cobb Police recruiting graphic drawn up after commissioners approved pay increases for public safety employees for FY 2020. 

After hearing a first draft of a proposed step and grade salary and promotion system for Cobb County public safety employees, commissioner Bob Ott Monday said the plan isn’t any better than what’s in place now.

The proposal calls for a salary increase for police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and other workers, and in increments with a three-percent raise as they move up in grade.

“I don’t see any difference,” said Ott, who represents District 2, which includes part of East Cobb, at a Monday commissioners’ work session. “There’s just a difference in the numbers.”

Cobb public safety officials worked up the new plan as the next step in a series of salary, retention and promotional incentives after commissioners approved the fiscal year 2020 budget with a seven-percent pay raise for many public safety employees.

They previously received a one-time bonus of $1,450 as a good faith gesture from commissioners during the budget process.

The additional funding came after months of public lobbying from public safety employees and citizens to pay public safety employees better, provide more recruiting incentives, and increase morale. Cobb public safety has significant staffing shortages, especially with police and the Sheriff’s Office.

Cobb Police, which has a shortage of around 80 officers, has been actively sending out recruiting messages on social media, posting signs around the county (including at the entrance to East Cobb Park) and conducting job fairs in north Georgia.

Step and grade is similar to what Cobb County School District employees receive—annual, incremental raises based on a combination of factors, including years of service, promotions and performance reviews.

The Cobb public safety step and grade draft would boost the starting salary for an entry-level police officer from around $41,000 a year to $45,776 annually.

Cobb interim public safety director Randy Crider said under the proposal, an officer making $54,000 at Grade 16 and Step 6 could earn $54,976 instead under a “blue” plan that would take effect in March 2020.

Under an alternate “yellow” plan, that same officer would make $56,818 a year, with the new pay scale starting with the fiscal 2021 budget next fall.

Cobb public safety step and grade

Crider said his numbers were figured with current budgeting numbers in mind, and he told Ott that “this is to give you a structure to approve.”

The problem, as Ott saw it, was that under the draft proposal, raises would come to commissioners each year for approval. “That’s not step and grade,” he said.

Most step and grade plans, including that for Cobb schools, have automatic increases factored into budgets.

Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce said the current “pay and class” system was meant to be a one-time solution. With step and grade, “the anticipation is that we’ll do this annually.”

He said it was important for the county to “continue to provide incentives” to attract police officers and firefighters for years to come. “This won’t be a one and done.

“We don’t fix this overnight. We fix it over time.”

Ott countered by saying that in a “true step and grade, you get a raise every year. And you get another raise and you get promoted.”

The proposal brought before commissioners, he insisted, means that “each year, it requires the board to make the same decisions we’re making today.”

Public safety officials had scheduled individual meetings with commissioners after Monday’s work session.

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Cobb 101 Citizens Academy application deadline is Dec. 2

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Cobb 101 Citizens Academy

Submitted information from Cobb County government:

We’re taking applications for the 3rd class of “Cobb101.” It is a deep-dive into the workings of your county government. Past participants have come away with a better appreciation of what the various departments in Cobb County do for our residents.
• 30 people in the upcoming class
• Applications accepted through December 2
• Cobb101 Class of 2020 dates: February 27, 2020, through May 7, 2020
• Classes on Thursday nights from 6 pm – 9 pm (nothing Spring Break week)
• 9 classroom sessions and a graduation ceremony

For more information: www.cobbcounty.org/cobb101.

 

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Murder indictment against East Cobb couple’s accused killer thrown out

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A South Georgia man indicted for killing an East Cobb couple in 2015 has had the dismissal of his murder indictment upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court.Elrey and June Runion, murdered East Cobb couple

By a 7-2 vote, the state’s high court agreed with a lower-court ruling that a Telfair County grand jury that indicted Ronnie Adrian Towns was unlawfully constituted because “some of the grand jurors were not selected randomly.”

The ruling was announced on Monday.

(You can read the entire court ruling here.)

Towns was charged with the Jan. 2015 murders of Elrey “Bud” Runion, 69, and his wife June, 66, of East Cobb, who had traveled to McRae, Ga., to buy a 1966 Ford Mustang Towns had posted for sale on Craigslist.

After their daughters reported them missing, the bodies of the Runions were found in their car in a pond in Telfair County a few days later. Authorities in that southeast Georgia county said the Runions had both been shot in the head.

Prosecutors alleged that Towns tried to lure the victims with the prospect of buying the car, but intended to rob them.

Towns, who was 28 at the time of the Runions’ deaths, turned himself in, and he was indicted for murder by a grand jury.

According to the Supreme Court ruling, 50 prospective grand jurors were summoned to appear on March 16, 2015, but fewer than 16 showed up on time. The presiding judge ordered some of those who hadn’t appeared to be located by the Telfair sheriff, and asked the court clerk to identify four possible candidates for the grand jury from a list of prospective petit jurors who could show up quickly.

Two of those four reported, and others summoned for the grand jury later also reported, and a grand jury was empaneled on March 16.

That grand jury, with the two originally on the petit juror list, returned a murder indictment against Towns the same day.

Towns filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, alleging the two on the petit juror list were not chosen at random. Towns’ attorney said the clerk telephoned those four individuals, whom she knew personally. In a 2017 ruling, the trial court concurred and dismissed the murder indictment.

Prosecutors appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court. The high court majority concluded that while the petit jurors were selected at random from a master jury list, in selecting the two individuals who eventually served on the grand jury, the clerk:

” . . . relied on her personal knowledge of the prospective petit jurors, her own assessment of the extent to which she had the information necessary to contact them, and her estimate of the likelihood that they would be available to report immediately. Those selections were not ‘random’ in any sense of the word.”

The Oconee Circuit District Attorney, which prosecutes cases in Telfair and six other South Georgia counties, is seeking the death penalty against Towns.

The Runions, who lived in the Wendwood subdivision off Holly Springs Road, were married for 38 years. According to their obituary, in 1991 the Runions founded Forever Greatful Ministries, which helps families in need in the Marietta area. He was retired from AT & T and she was a preschool teacher at Johnson Ferry Christian Academy.

They were longtime members of Mt. Paran Church of God North on Allgood Road.

 

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ARC to hold Cobb open house for long-range regional plan

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Submitted information:ARC Cobb open house

Atlanta Regional Commission staff is hosting a open house 5-8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 24, at the Strand Theatre to share information about the Atlanta Region’s Plan — the region’s plan through the year 2050. Residents will be able to provide their input on a major update to this plan, which is the region’s long range blueprint that details investments needed to ensure metro Atlanta’s future success. The Strand Theatre is located at 117 N. Park Square, Marietta.

At the open house, attendees will have the opportunity to:

  • Explore the Atlanta region’s future through hands-on activities, including an online scenario planning game and a “living infographic” station where residents can give feedback on their biggest desires and concerns for the region.
  • Learn about key regional issues, such as advances in transportation technology and innovative efforts to address the region’s housing affordability challenges.
  • Search an online database to learn about transportation projects that are planned throughout the region over the next 30 years.

The Atlanta Region’s Plan incorporates a range of planning and programmatic elements, including transportation, community development, natural resources, workforce development and aging and independence services. The plan aims to improve mobility, create vibrant, walkable communities, ensure a clean, abundant water supply and meet the needs of the region’s population of older adults and disabled individuals.

For more information, click here.

 

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East Cobb cityhood group schedules town hall for Wheeler HS

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East Cobb Cityhood town hall

Wheeler High School will be the venue for a Nov. 11 town hall meeting held by the Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb.

Group spokesman Rob Eble told East Cobb News the event begins at 6:30 p.m. in the B.B. Williams Auditorium at Wheeler (375 Holt Road).

It’s the second town hall the pro-cityhood organization has conducted, following a similar event at Walton High School (above) in May.

Cityhood leaders also spoke at Cobb commissioner Bob Ott’s town hall meeting in March, and at a Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance meeting in May.

The day after the Wheeler town hall, the East Cobb Business Association is having a forum with representatives of groups supporting and opposing cityhood.

The Wheeler town hall comes a couple of months after an independent financial review of the East Cobb cityhood feasibility study concluded such a city is financially viable without raising property taxes above current levels.

A group that opposes cityhood, the East Cobb Alliance, says a new city would add an extra layer of government and disputes the financial analysis of the feasibility study.

State Rep. Matt Dollar of East Cobb has sponsored a cityhood bill that, if passed next year, would call for a cityhood referendum later in 2020.

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KSU economist downplays election-year recession fears

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Roger Tutterow of Kennesaw State University said while housing starts are “quite strong,” he’s concerned about an overbuilt stock of new multi-family units. (ECN file)

The U.S. economy has experienced 121 consecutive months of economic expansion, nearly a full decade since the 2008-09 recession began to fade.

That streak, noted Kennesaw State University economist Roger Tutterow, “is the longest of the post-World War II era.”

According to some forecasts, Tutterow said in remarks before the East Cobb Business Association last week, “that means we must be due for a recession.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily true.”

The year 2020 is a presidential election year in the United States, which typically brings with it economic concerns. Some economists are rating the chance of a recession at 50-50 or higher.

Tutterow, an economic forecaster, said that in election years, the risk of a recession is “elevated,” but thinks there could be a one-in-three chance of an American economic backslide.

“Most likely,” Tutterow said, there will be “a continued trajectory of growth” in the U.S. economy.

What bolsters his view is that “consumers are keeping the economy humming on all cylinders.

“It’s confidence in the consumer sector that’s keeping us out of a recession,” Tutterow said.

Roger Tutterow, KSU economist
Roger Tutterow

There are some trouble signs, though, including the manufacturing sector, which Tutterow said “is under a lot of stress.”

The impact of Trump Administration-imposed tariffs on the economy also figures to create some uncertainty, especially as the president will be running for re-election.

Tutterow, who describes himself as a free trader, said Trump “believes he needs to level the playing field that he believes is unfair for American producers.

“That raises the prices for goods you buy from overseas.”

A stronger American dollar also has affected trade; Tutterow said its value has grown by a third since 2011.

“A strong dollar doesn’t help those things that we export,” he said.

As for the housing market, Tutterow  said that it’s “quite strong.” A total of 1.4 million new starts since the recession is “not bad, but we’re nowhere near we were from 2005 to 2007.”

He said the Cobb housing market is maturing, and that the rate of growth for the moment isn’t as much as it has been in the past.

“I am worried that multi-family housing is being overbuilt,” Tutterow said.

Overall in the Atlanta area that’s not true, he said, but locally there’s “too much vertical high-priced housing” that is coming online.

As for the 2020 elections, primaries get underway in February, with the Democratic presidential nominee likely to be determined by the spring.

The presidential campaign, “Tutterow said, “will be a debate about the fundamental direction of the country.”

 

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Pope softball team advances to state finals for 4th straight year

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For the fourth year in a row, the Pope softball team has advanced to the Georgia High School Association finals in Columbus.East Cobb sports update

The Greyhounds are the only Cobb County representative in the Class 6A bracket, which starts play on Thursday.

Pope, which sports a school record 19-game winning streak, is slated to face Apalachee at 2 p.m. in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament, which ends on Saturday.

Last year, Pope was state runner-up, losing to Cobb rival Harrison in the finals. This fall, the Greyhounds easily won Region 5 in Class 6A. In the state tournament thus far, they have swept Douglas County and Houston County, scoring 49 runs and giving up only one run in those four games.

Pope coach Chris Turco also earned his 300th career victory at the school during the early playoff round. Pope has won the state title once, in 2014.

In the Class 7A tournament, Lassiter was eliminated by Grayson in the second round. The Trojans won their first game in a best-of-three series, then fell by scores of 11-0 and 5-0.

The Kell softball team defeated Arabia Mountain in the first round of the Class 5A tournament, then was swept by Starr’s Mill 3-1 and 16-0 in the second round.

 

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East Cobb art show to benefit suicide prevention efforts

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East Cobb art show, Passionate Artists with a Cause

Thanks to Mary Wyman for asking us to share information about an art show in East Cobb  she’s involved in next weekend that will aid suicide prevention efforts.

The show, called “Passionate Artists With a Cause,” will take place next Sunday, Oct. 27, from 3-6 p.m. at LM Frame + Gallery (formerly Thompson’s Frame Shop).

She’s among the artists, many of them from the Indian Hills area, who will have their artwork on display. A percentage of the sales will be going for suicide prevention work.

Wyman said this is the second year for the art show, which benefitted ALS research in its first year after the death of a golfer in the community.

This year, the decision to assist the American Association for Suicide Prevention came after an “unfortunate death.”

The art show is free to attend and is open to the public.

LM Frame + Gallery is located at the Shops at Woodlawn, 1062 Johnson Ferry Road, next to Big Peach Running Co.

 

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Congregation Etz Chaim food drive continues through October

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Congregation Etz Chaim food drive

Thanks to Gina Gory, a preschool teacher at Congregation Etz Chaim, for the information and photos:

Congregation Etz Chaim, along with the Atlanta Community at large is collecting food items between now and the end of October. These items will go the the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Kosher items will be separated out and given to Jewish Family and Career.

It’s never too early to inspire our youth about the spirit of charity and giving back. The three year old Puppy class and their families donated several food items to help the cause. By participating in this event we are encouraging them to grow up with a healthy sense of compassion and a strong charitable spirit.

Upon depositing items in the collection bins we asked how this act of Tzedakah (charitable giving as a moral obligation) made them feel.

“My heart felt good. I felt happy. I felt better.”

Please consider donating your non-perishable food items to the Etz Chaim Lobby to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Congregation Etz Chaim is located at 1190 Indian Hills Parkway.

Congregation Etz Chaim food drive

 

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Update: Mt. Zion UMC Party in the Patch postponed to Sunday

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Due to rainy weather on Saturday the Mt. Zion UMC Party in the Patch event has been pushed back a day, to Sunday. Here’s what they’re sharing with the community about what’s taking place a day later:Party in the Patch postponed, Mt. Zion UMC

Bad weather is never fun, and we want our Party in the Patch to be the most fun for everyone who attends!

We are moving Party in the Patch to Sunday evening, October 20! Same time, same place, same bouncy, same pumpkins, same fun!

Festivities begin at 4:30 with our double feature of films beginning at 7:15!! It’s Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! followed by Spookely the Square Pumpkin! Be sure to bring a chair or a blanket!

All of the events are free to you, but all proceeds from pumpkins sales go directly towards benefiting our Youth Ministry!

Mt. Zion UMC is located at 1770 Johnson Ferry Road.

For other weekend events and our full calendar listings, click here.

More Halloween events in East Cobb can be found here.

 

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Report: Lidl to replace The Fresh Market store in East Cobb

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Lidl East Cobb, The Fresh Market East Cobb

Two years after being thwarted in a bid to enter the East Cobb grocery market, Lidl appears headed for the Johnson Ferry Road corridor.

ToNeTo Atlanta is reporting that the German-based discount chain will be coming to the Woodlawn Square Shopping Center, replacing The Fresh Market, which is set to close Nov. 18.

Lidl, which has opened two other locations in Cobb, is slated to open in East Cobb next summer, according to the report.

In 2017, Cobb commissioners turned down Lidl’s rezoning request to convert the Park 12 Cobb theater on Gordy Parkway into a grocery store after heated community opposition.

Nearby residents complained of traffic issues, but an attorney for Lidl noted during the zoning hearing that some “want to keep the movie theater as much as anything.”

The Fresh Market, a gourmet foods chain, has been at Woodlawn Square since 2003 and has been closing some of its stores around the country in the last couple of years.

Lidl, which operates 10,000 stores, mostly in Europe, made its foray in the U.S. in 2017 along the East Coast.

The Cobb stores are on Powder Springs Road, near the East-West Connector, and on Floyd Road in Mableton.

Another Lidl store was recently approved for Whitlock Avenue in Marietta, after the Marietta City Council rejected an initial rezoning request in 2017.

The only other Georgia store for now is in Snellville. ToNeTo has reported that Lidl is planning stores in Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Peachtree Corners, Roswell, Lawrenceville and Suwanee.

Lidl is a rival to Aldi, another German discount grocer, which has a store at the East Lake Shopping Center in East Cobb (2125 Roswell Road, Suite 30).

 

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Cobb animal shelter reopens after strep zoo outbreak

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Cobb animal shelter closes

Two weeks after closing due to a strep zoo outbreak, the Cobb animal shelter reopened on Friday.

The shelter was closed Oct. 2 after staff discovered the highly contagious bacterial disease had killed two dogs. The remaining animals were quarantined and given antibiotics and the facility at 1060 Al Bishop Drive was thoroughly cleaned.

The county said Friday there have been no reports of any newly adopted animals becoming ill so the shelter was reopened.

A fall adoption special is continuing, with fees reduced to $20 (typically they’re $115). The shelter is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 2-5 p.m. Sunday.

 

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East Cobb Weekend Events: Party in the Patch, Sunday Funday and more

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Jerry Hightower, East Cobb weekend events
Jerry Hightower of the Chattahoochee NRA will speak to the Cobb Master Gardeners on Saturday at the Wright Enivironmental Education Center.

Now it’s really starting to feel like fall, with very cool temperatures coming in this week and a couple more weeks before Halloween. East Cobb weekend events are ideal for those and other activities of the season.

On Friday, high school football continues with key region games giving East Cobb teams a shot to jockey into playoff position.

At Wheeler, it’s homecoming, as the Wildcats take on East Coweta. Lassiter is also at home to face Roswell, Kell entertains Carrollton and Sprayberry will meet Dalton.

Walton stays on the road to play Etowah. All those games kick off at 7:30 p.m. At 8 p.m., Pope plays at North Atlanta.

The final weekend of CenterStage North’s season finale, “Point of Order, continues at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road). Tickets are $20 each.

More board-trotting, this on the high school stage, as Pope Theater completes its presentation of “Edward Foote,” a Southern Gothic mystery set in the Depression-era Appalachians, on Friday and Saturday, both at 7 p.m., as well as a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. The shows take place in the school’s performing arts theater (3001 Hembree Road), and tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, as the Pope troupe prepares for next weekend’s Georgia High School Association One Act Regional Competition.

Weekends are ideal for getting the stress out, and on Saturday, you can learn how to handle it at a special Breathing and Meditation Session from 11-12:30 at the Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road). Khyati Doshi of The Art of Living Foundation will discuss how you can find your “space” with the simple act of breathing. The session is free but you should dress comfortably to practice some new breathing techniques.

If the rain holds off on Saturday, it should be a great day to explore one of East Cobb’s underrated nature preserves. From 12:30-2:30 p.m., the Cobb Master Gardeners Open Garden features a “walk and talk” at the Wright Environmental Education Center (2663 Johnson Ferry Road), led by Jerry Hightower, Park Ranger at Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. The event is free and parking is available at the adjacent Chestnut Ridge Chistian Church.

If you love high school marching bands, Sprayberry High School is the place to be Saturday for the 36th annual Southern Invitational Music Festival. Bands from around Cobb, metro Atlanta and Georgia will be performing in a judged competition, and the Sprayberry Band of Gold will be giving an exhibition performance at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 students with an ID, and free for kids 6 and under. Everything takes place at Jim Frazier Stadium (2525 Sandy Plains Road).

Halloween events are starting to kick into gear, and one of East Cobb’s longstanding pumpkin fests is the Party in the Patch at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church (1770 Johnson Ferry Road). It’s free family fun starting at 5 p.m., so bring the kids in their costumes and enjoy a pumpkin maze, face painting, jumpy houses, family fun and more. A movie screening begins at 7:30 p.m., and they’ll have pumpkins on sale until 7:30 p.m.

UPDATE: Party in the Patch has been delayed due to rainy weather to Sunday, starting at 4:30 p.m., with a double-feature film starting at 7:15 p.m.

Sunday should be gorgeous, sunny and in the mid 70s, and it’s the last Sunday Funday of the year from 4-6 at East Cobb Park (3322 Roswell Road), presented by WellStar. The McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA will have Yoga and Zumba classes, Soccer Clinics, and kids activities. Bring a picnic and enjoy the Loose Shoes Band.

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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