Saturday is the final installment of the Summer Stars Concert Series at The Art Place, and the entertainment will come from blues-oriented slide guitarist and recording artist Peter Karp.
The free concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and the lawn opens at 7 p.m. A table for eight is $40. No alcoholic beverages are allowed.
Concessions are in exchange for a donation to the Mountain View Arts Alliance, or you can bring food from home.
The Art Place is located at 3330 Sandy Plains Road.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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 Mitchell Katz of the MDE School of East Cobb for letting us know about a fundraiser it’s holding Saturday from 7-11 p.m. at Red Hare Brewing (1998 Delk Industrial Blvd.). He tells us the private school currently serves around 50 K-12 children with varying special needs.
Here’s more from MDE on the BBQ event, which costs $35 a person:
The second annual event is a benefit for the MDE School, a non-profit, private school in East Cobb that serves K-12 children with varying special needs.The MDE School is the only school of its kind in Cobb County and provides an exceptional learning environment where students with special needs have access to academics, music, drama, adaptive PE, enrichment programs and life skills training. MDE serves students with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, communication disorders, and developmental delays.
The MDE School is entering its 10th academic year and this year marks the 10th anniversary of the sudden passing of Marc David Elkan who was the inspiration for the school. Marc loved all children and volunteered regularly with youth centered organizations.
After his passing, his wife Mrs. Mindy Elkan, was inspired to continue his legacy by establishing a school for children who learn differently. Since the inception of MDE, enrollment has increased from just 3 to 51 students from all over metro Atlanta and has served 230 children over the last 10 years. MDE is able to uniquely serve children with special needs who cannot be served in a traditional educational environment, and addresses each students’ learning, social, cognitive, and developmental goals allowing their students to maximize their potential.
The fun-filled, casual evening for adults is $35 per person for tickets. Sponsors include Honest-1 Auto Care, Alexander Blaire Financial Consulting Inc., Credit Union of Georgia, Ms. Donna Maslia, Haven Insurance Group, and Williamson Bros. Bar-B-Q. Sponsorships ranging from $250-$2,500 are still available.
Evening events include music by Shadowood, BBQ, local craft beer, raffle, and a silent auction with prizes ranging from $20 to $2,000. Proceeds from the event will go towards the purchase of new school fitness equipment and will help renovate the MDE playground.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
Right before the Labor Day weekend Cobb schools 2019 graduation dates were announced, and here’s the schedule for the six high schools in East Cobb:
Kell: Tuesday, May 21, 3:30 p.m. Kell (KSU Convocation Center)
Wheeler: Wednesday, May 22, 6:30 p.m. (Wheeler Arena)
Lassiter: Thursday, May 23, 2:30 p.m. (KSU Convocation Center)
Walton: Friday, May 24, 10 a.m. (KSU Convocation Center)
Pope: Friday, May 24, 7 p.m. (KSU Convocation Center)
Sprayberry: Saturday, May 25, 7 p.m. (KSU Convocation Center)
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
Learn more about local businesses and network with their owners while supporting public safety personnel: Those are the twin objectives of the East Cobb Business Association Expo, which takes place on Oct. 2.
That’s on a Tuesday, and the event runs from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Olde Towne Athletic Club (4950 Olde Towne Parkway).
(Disclaimer: East Cobb News is an ECBA member, and we’ll have a booth at the Expo, so if you plan to come please do say hello!)
Registration is free to the first 500 networkers, and will include giveaways, drawings, food and more (click here to sign up).
For the last three years, the ECBA has held the Expo for networking purposes and to promote small and independent business in East Cobb.
That dovetails with the mission of East Cobb News, which is catered to community-minded readers and solicits support from local businesses.
That’s because our motto is “Be local! Buy local! Support local!”
Proceeds from the Expo will help the ECBA organize its annual appreciation dinners for Cobb Police Precinct 4 personnel and the Cobb Fire Department (here’s our coverage from last year).
The police event is coming up in the fall, and if you’d like to help out, donations and sponsorships are still available.
The sponsors for the Expo include Solana East Cobb, Minuteman Press Sandy Springs, Honest-1 Auto Care and Providential Signworks.
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 Cobb Master Gardeners held a garden fair and plant sale at East Cobb Park this spring. (ECN file photo)
The fall is not quite here—the weather and calendar tell us so—but those eager to star digging into a new season for their plants and gardens are already in autumnal mode. If you’re itching to join them, two Cobb Master Gardeners information sessions in September in East Cobb can help you get started.
The venues are libraries: Next Tuesday, Sept. 11, from 11-noon at Sewell Mill (2051 Lower Roswell Road), and next Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 10:30-11:30 at Mountain View (3320 Sandy Plains Road).
It’s a volunteer group started in 1980 that’s always looking to add more to its ranks. In 2017 alone they volunteered more than 22,000 hours for projects that include community gardens in conjunction with school groups and those feeding the needy.
The sessions are free and will go over the process of becoming certified and trained to be a master gardener. But you’re asked to call the UGA Cobb Extension office at 770-528-4070 to register first.
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!
Roswell Road will be one of the access points for East Cobb commuters using the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes, which open Saturday. (ECN file photo)
At long last (and especially for those of you who have been checking here recently), thre is a date for the opening of the Northwest Corridor Lanes along I-75 and I-575:
It’s this coming Saturday, Sept. 8, and the first two weeks are free, but only for motorists who sign up for a Peach Pass (more info here, including a new pricing structure that just went into effect).
Here’s what we posted earlier this summer, when Georgia DOT’s Stephen Lively briefed members of the East Cobb Civic Association about the reversible toll lanes.
From mid-morning Saturday through the Monday morning rush hour, access to the managed lanes will be for southbound traffic only.
Around mid-afternoon Monday, the lanes will be switched to accept northbound traffic for the p.m. rush hour.
The minimum charge is 10 cents a mile for all the managed lanes in the state, including the Northwest Corridor Lanes, from 5 a.m. to midnight.
Overnight, from midnight to 5 a.m., the cost is a flat 50 cents per trip.
The amount of a per-trip fee will be determined according to “dynamic pricing,” which is based on demand. The cost is higher with heavier traffic and drops when traffic decreases.
To get an idea how this works, you can check the real-time toll rates for the existing express lanes on I-85 in Gwinnett and DeKalb and on I-75 in Henry County.
The Northwest Corridor Lanes will have several access points for East Cobb commuters:
I-285 at Akers Mill Road
I-75 at Terrell Mill Road
I-75 at Roswell Road
I-575 at Shallowford Road
Georgia DOT projected a late-summer opening, but it was delayed due to repairs to collapsing retaining walls that were detected along I-75 near Windy Hill Road.
Gov. Nathan Deal will take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony next Thursday at 10 a.m. near SunTrust Park, in Braves Lot 29 at Circle 75 Parkway.
The Northwest Corridor Lanes, which cover nearly 30 miles, is the most expensive construction project in Georgia DOT history, at around $834 million.
It will eventually be eclipsed by the forthcoming I-285 Express Lanes, including a $4.2 billion price tag for a section stretching between I-85 and I-75 north.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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 Crystal Bradshaw for letting us know about the return of the Fore the Cure Golf Tournament at Indian Hills next month, as part of a larger fundraising and awareness campaign for breast cancer programs across the state:
Join us on Monday, October 22nd at Indian Hills Country Club for the fourth annual “Fore the Cure” golf tournament benefiting It’s The Journey, a local 501c3 that raises money exclusively for breast health and breast cancer programs in Georgia. This event is chaired by longtime East Cobb residents George and Kathy Bartelme.
“We love that It’s The Journey is a small organization making a big impact in our community. Since 2002, they have funded 335 grants totaling $14 million to support everything from breast exams, to biopsies, to research, all right here in Georgia. As a breast cancer survivor, it meant a lot to me find an organization that was helping the women and men in my community in meaningful, tangible ways.”
The Bartelme support has evolved into an annual golf tournament that is now in its fourth year. The annual “Fore the Cure” golf tournament has raised over $140,000 since 2015. This year the tournament will take place on Monday, October 22nd at the Indian Hills Country Club. Registration begins at 8:00 am, with a shotgun start at 9:30 am. Participants will receive the use of a golf cart, lunch, 18 holes of golf, and prizes for golf challenges. Individual, foursome, and corporate sponsorships are available as well as donations for the silent auction and in-kind gifts. It is a very fun tournament and players consist of both members/non-members of Indian Hills as well as men and women.
There will also be a silent auction the day of the tournament. Items for auction include golf packages, sports memorabilia, original artwork, themed gift baskets, and more.
The fight against breast cancer is not a single battle. It’s an ongoing struggle that is faced with courage and determination. It is, in fact, a journey. It’s The Journey, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 2002 that raises funds for Georgia breast cancer organizations offering support to many women and men across the state.
It’s The Journey, Inc.’s mission is to support Georgians by raising money for breast health and breast cancer programs that focus on screening, diagnostics, genetic counseling and testing, support services, and research.
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!
Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty’s Cobb Office opened its doors with 21 agents and staff members, all equipped with prestigious and intimate knowledge of Cobb County and a commitment to providing extraordinary service to home buyers and sellers.
On Tuesday, August 14, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce formally welcomed the leading Metro Atlanta luxury real estate firm’s fourth branch with a special ribbon cutting ceremony.
“Our affiliation with the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce is an honorable partnership,” said David Boehmig, President and Co-Founder of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. “We opened the Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty Cobb Office to offer residents our award-winning and unparalleled business strategy, and the Chamber not only recognizes that, but also supports our mission. With combined efforts and a shared passion for Cobb County’s growth, we look forward to future opportunities with this organization!”
As Vice President and Managing Broker for Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty’s Cobb Office, Jim Glover offers more than 20 years of experience, including 10 successful years as a top-performing agent with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.
“As a six-generation Marietta native, I couldn’t be more thrilled, and proud, about our new office,” said Jim Glover. “With a team of some of the finest agents, I’m confident and enthusiastic about our future in Cobb County!”
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
Coming soon to the Pavilions at East Lake, likely this month: Kayhill’s Sports Bar and Grill, next to the J. Christopher’s.
Kayhill’s will take up more than 10,000 square feet, the largest space in the retail center at 2100 Roswell Road behind the Kroger store, according to Brixmor, the Pavilions management company.
Owner James Kayhill formerly owned the Marietta Billiard Club in the East Cobb Station strip center at 1355 Roswell Road (formerly Town and Country), and in January announced the new location that was tentatively called Archer’s Place.
That’s a reference pro pool player Johnny ‘”The Scorpion” Archer, a Marietta Billiard Club headliner and Acworth resident. No word on the name change for the moment.
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 Gina Duncan of the Georgia Metropolitan Dance Theatre for passing this along about next month’s performance of Dracula. Labor Day means the unofficial end of summer, but before long it will be time for Halloween-themed events. Tickets went on sale Friday:
Dracula is brought to life again as Georgia Metropolitan Dance Theatre opens its 62nd season of dance with their fall performance of this legendary classic, October 5th through October 7th at The Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre on the historic Marietta Square.
Back by popular demand, with four shows this year. GMDT’s Dracula will be an intriguing display of talent and exciting storytelling. Professional dancers Jonah Hooper, Calvin Gentry, Gray Stoner, and Peter Powlus, will join a cast of 40 local GMDT company dancers ranging in age from thirteen to eighteen. Dracula will proudly feature the original work of two talented choreographers, Raul Peinado and Ashleigh Whitworth, set to the hauntingly beautiful score of Philip Feeney.
Grab your seats early to enjoy a live organist that will play before all shows. Let us transport you to Transylvania where dance and myth mix together in this spellbinding story of Count Dracula and his three brides, the misfortunes of Jonathan Harker and fiancé Mina Murray, and the ultimate struggle between good and evil. Audiences will be mesmerized as they are pulled in to the world of vampires, gypsies, castles, vampire hunters, superstition, and eternal love in this chilling ballet based on the classic novel by Bram Stoker.
Just in time for Halloween! The 2:00 p.m. shows on October 6th and 7th will include a youth costume contest during intermission. 18 years old and under come dressed in costume and walk the stage for a chance to win a picture with Dracula and his brides after the show! Adult audience members are encouraged to come wearing your favorite vampire attire.
Performance dates and times at the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre:
Friday, October 5th at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 6th at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 6th at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 7th at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: Tickets range in price from $15 to $25. To purchase tickets, visit GMDT’s ticket website www.georgiametrodance.tix.com or visit its official Facebook page at GA Metro Dance Theatre, for more information. Tickets go on sale September 1st.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
Jewish food and culture, music and vendors’ goods were on display Sunday at Noshfest 2018 at Temple Kol Emeth.
One of the highlights of the first day is the Bagelicious bagel-eating contest, and it was a record-setting seven whole plain bagels in five minutes, for a $500 cash prize.
The bluesy sounds of the Alex Guthrie Band wafted through the Kol Emeth grounds, along with the aromas of kosher and Jewish delicacies.
Patrons purchased food tickets and brought canned goods to benefit MUST Ministries.
Noshfest continues on Monday from 11-4 at Temple Kol Emeth (1415 Old Canton Road). Admission is free and parking is available across the street at Eastminster Presbyterian Church.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
From Cobb Parks and Rec is a reminder of the Terrell Mill Park adult coed ultimate frisbee season that’s soon to be underway, and with a registration deadline approaching:
The ultra-fun Coed Ultimate Frisbee league is returning for fall season! The league will be held at Terrell Mill Park on Monday nights. Each team will play 7 games plus a single elimination tournament. Teams consist of 5 males and 2 females. Games will be one 90-minute time period to 15 points each week, starting at either 7pm or 8:30pm.
Registration is in progress through September 10th. If you don’t have a team, you can register individually at the Atlanta Disc Flying Club’s website. Team fees are $150 and teams can register at the PARKS registration page. Games will begin Monday, September 17th. Be sure to join in the fun!
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
Two East Cobb rivalry games headlined Friday night’s high school football action, and they turned into convincing wins.
Walton routed Pope 35-3 and Kell dispatched Lassiter 29-3.
After sputtering early–including losing a fumble near the Pope goal line—Walton settled down by the end of the first quarter.
That’s when running back KD Stokes scored the first of his two short touchdown runs. Brandon Spencer ran back an interception 50 yards for a touchdown as the Raiders, ranked No. 4 in Class 7A, improved to 3-0 on the season.
A fourth quarter field goal by Hudson Standfest was all the scoring for the Greyhounds (0-2).
At Kell, the homestanding Longhorns gave up the opening points of the game on a Lassiter field goal.
But quarterback Evan Conley threw for two touchdowns and Logan Flesher booted three field goals for Kell (3-0). Lassiter fell to 1-2.
The game was delayed in the third quarter when Lassiter defensive back Evan Manring was injured and taken off the field on a stretcher. Both teams gathered together at midfield for a prayer.
Sprayberry (1-2) earned its first victory of the year in stirring fashion, driving more than 95 yards late in the game to defeat South Cobb 28-27 on the road. After Isiah Abbey scored a touchdown at the end of a long drive, QB Aaron Bibbins ran in the 2-point conversion.
Wheeler is now 3-0 after pulling out a last-ditch 31-24 win at Shiloh.
Quarterback Chidi Ogbonna threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kiasa Trabue with 1:15 to play in the fourth quarter.
Next week, Kell stays at home for an important region game against Rome. The Longhorns are ranked No. 10 in Class 5A, but the Wolves are second, and are coming off a 35-0 win over North Clayton.
In the only other game for an East Cobb team on Friday, Pope will play at Centennial. Walton, Lassiter, Wheeler and Sprayberry all will have a bye week.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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 restaurant scores from Aug. 6-31 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing to view details of the inspection:
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 former roommate and business partner of an East Cobb man murdered in 2014 has been arrested and charged with plotting the killing, and then conspiring to conceal it.
Ross Allyson Byrne, 55, of Woodstock, was booked on murder and other felony charges on Thursday afternoon, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
He was arrested at The Best Dang Bakery Around on Highway 92 in Woodstock and is being held without bond at the Cobb Adult Detention Center, according to jail information.
Byrne is charged with three counts of felony murder, one count of malice murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and racketeering, Cobb Sheriff’s Office records show.
According to an indictment issued by a Cobb grand jury on Thursday, Byrne is accused of orchestrating the murder of Jerry Moore, who was found stabbed 32 times at his home of Holly Springs Road on Jan. 25, 2014.
Byrne’s arrest comes nearly two weeks after Johnathan Allen Wheeler was convicted of the murder in Cobb Superior Court and sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole.
Wheeler worked at the bakery, which was operated by Byrne, and where Moore had been an equal partner, according to Cobb prosecutors. They said the business had been struggling and Moore wanted to end the partnership.
According to the indictment, the “primary purpose” for murdering Moore “was to steal an interest in the business of Best Dang Bakery (or bakery) as well as other property and things of value,” forming the basis of the racketeering charge.
The indictment further states that Byrne and Moore, who opened the bakery in 2008, each held a $35,000 investment; Byrne oversaw day-to-day operations while Moore handled finances.
According to the indictment, the partnership agreement stated that in the case of the death of one of the partners, “the interest of the deceased member shall be transferred to the other surviving Member or Members.”
Jerry Moore was 46 when he was found stabbed to death at his East Cobb home in Jan. 2014. (Photo: Cobb District Attorney’s Office)
By late 2013, the indictment states, the partnership was troubled. There were disputes about how to run the business, and Moore was concerned about Byrne’s spending habits.
The indictment states that by January 2014, Moore was planning to end his business partnership with Byrne and concludes that “it is unlikely” Byrne would have been able to buy out Moore’s share of the bakery.
Moore had gone as far as to draft the terms of dissolving the partnership, according to the indictment.
By then, Wheeler was no longer working at the bakery but still had a “close relationship with Byrne, whom he considered a mentor, the indictment states.
By the first of the year in 2014, according to the indictment, Byrne moved out of the home he shared with Moore on Gracewood Drive, off Holly Springs Road and north of Post Oak Tritt Road.
The indictment alleges that Byrne plotted to have Wheeler—who was released from jail in 2010 after serving 10 years in Cobb and Cherokee for robbery and assault—commit aggravated assault, burglary and theft.
Prosecutors allege that Wheeler and Byrne were in contact before, during and after the murder. Afterward, prosecutors say, Wheeler went to Byrne’s new residence in Woodstock, where he showered and was offered a change of clothes.
Wheeler returned to Moore’s home and with his cousin, Cynthia Wheeler, cleaned up the premises and stole household items, according to prosecutors. She pleaded guilty in 2016 to those charges.
The indictment states that Byrne stole Moore’s partnership interest and as of his arrest still was the owner of the bakery.
Byrne also helped Johnathan Wheeler and Cynthia Wheeler pay bills and purchased a truck for the former that was returned, according to the indictment.
Johnathan Allen Wheeler
The indictment states that Byrne had been interviewed by the police shortly after the murder but denied any involvement and said nothing about Wheeler, who was arrested on Aug. 16, 2014
Byrne and Wheeler continued to stay in touch over the next four years, according to the indictment, both over the phone and in writing, and prosecutors say they have recordings of conversations between the two. The indictment also states that written correspondence from Wheeler was found in Byrne’s possession when authorities obtained a search warrant earlier this week.
The indictment didn’t detail the subject matter of that correspondence, nor did it describe the recorded conversations.
In arguments to the jury at Wheeler’s trial, Cobb assistant district attorney Jesse Evans called the murder “a relentless, sustained, malicious attack by a cold-blooded killer. . . The defendant [Wheeler] pursued, out of greed and out of malice. No human being should ever have this inflicted on them.”
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
It wouldn’t be Noshfest without “Hava Nagila.” The Jewish food and culture festival returns at Temple Kol Emeth Sunday and Monday. (East Cobb News file photos)
Just a few days remain until two signature East Cobb Labor Day weekend events make their festive returns.
Here’s the latest info we have on the Noshfest, which takes place from 11-5 Sunday and 11-4 Monday at at Temple Kol Emeth (1415 Old Canton Road):
Admission is free, but each attendee is asked to bring two canned food items to be donated to MUST Ministries.
Once inside, you’ll purchase food and drink tickets as you please, and either with cash or by credit card. Craft items for sale can be bought with cash, credit card or debit card, depending on vendor availabilty.
The Highlights: Entertainment from the blues-and-folk Alex Guthrie Band (he’s a local musician and recording artist) returns to the Noshfest stage at 3 p.m. Sunday. Before that, starting at noon, is a cooking demonstration from Chef Wilson Gourley of the famed General Muir deli in Dectatur, and the festival’s 3rd annual bagel-eating contest (sponsored by Bagelicious in East Cobb) is at 2 p.m.
The winning contestant will win a cash prize of $500 for eating the most bagels in five-minutes.
On Monday, live music will abound, including the Dixie Saints, who will perform Dixieland and klezmer specialties at 2 p.m.
Temple tours of the synagogue will take place Sunday at 1, 2:30 and 4 and on Monday at 12, 1:30 and 3.
Admission is also free on Monday to the Holy Smoke Festival, held from 10-3 at the ball fields and south parking lot at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church (955 Johnson Ferry Road).
Food tickets for the Williamson BBQ-catered meals are $6.50 (and if they run out, other food vendors will be on hand), and the events include live music, Christian illusionist Shane Wilbanks (above), kids’s inflatables, a silent auction and a classic car show.
The Highlights: Local musician Jay Memory will perform in the Big Tent between 11-2 (that’s where and for how long the food will be served). Wilbanks’ shows are at 11:15, 12:45 and 1:45.
At 12:15, the Fort Benning Silver Wings aerial show takes place.
At 2, the silent auction closes, with the grand prize winner announced, as well as the car show awards.
Holy Smoke proceeds will benefit the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, East Cobb chapter.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
For the second time this summer, action on adopting a Cobb parks master plan through 2028 has been put on hold by county commissioners.
The proposal was for master planning services for land purchased recently with 2008 parks bond money. The master plan, according to Cobb Parks director Jimmy Gisi, is a “road map that will take us through the next 10 years.”
After a discussion at Tuesday’s commissioners meeting, they weren’t ready to take the first step down that path. The proposal first came up in July at a work session but wasn’t discussed.
On Tuesday, commissioner Bob Ott of District 2 in East Cobb said the proposal was “putting the cart before the horse” since no money has been earmarked to build and operate new parks.
The land purchased with the $27.4 million in parks bond funding this year include 18.3 acres on Ebenezer Road (above), slated to become a passive park, and nearly 30 acres of Tritt property on Roswell Road next to East Cobb Park, which will remain greenspace.
While appreciative of the details that went into the recommendations, Ott said that “while we’re getting all this land,” spending around $90,000 for the planning design work “gets too far ahead of where we are.”
The master plan proposal includes projected spending on parks of around $300 million over the next decade. Lose & Associates, a consulting firm that prepared the master plan proposal, also made the the following recommendations:
increased staffing and funding;
the creation of an administrative services division;
the creation of a park maintenance plan;
the adoption of a comprehensive revenue policy;
enhanced branding and marketing to help generate revenues;
establishing a rental system for pavilion use;
increasing user fees;
expanded programming for fee generation;
assessing a per-participant maintenance fee;
increase staffing of Cobb Police Park Ranger staff.
Ott said he wanted to see more specifics about funding, pointing out that the report didn’t indicate how much money would be generated by more user fees.
“It’s a little bit shallow on how you’re going to pay for it,” he said. “I’m uncomfortable with the financing part.”
Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce asked for the proposal to be delayed at least until the first commissioners meeting in September.
Also on Tuesday, the commissioners approved using SPLOST money to build a playground at the Mabry Park under construction and for baseball-related maintenance at Sewell Park (previewed here).
Also approved was spending SPLOST funds on sidewalk projects, including $655,865 for a sidewalk on the west side of McPherson Road between Post Oak Tritt Rad and Shallowford Road, and the east side of McPherson near Mountain Creek Drive. The project covers a stretch of 0.50 miles and includes replacing existing curbs and gutters.
Another SPLOST-approved project on Shallowford Road, costing $35,800, will add sidewalks near Nicholson Elementary School and McCleskey Middle School, covering 0.25 miles.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
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!
Thank you to Mary Stokes, the care coordinator at Roswell United Methodist Church, for passing along the following about a Roswell Alzheimer’s caregivers support group that will begin soon:
Do you care for someone with Alzheimer’s or Dementia? Do you find certain behaviors challenging or frustrating? You are not alone. Join us for a caregiver’s support group on the second Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at Roswell United Methodist Church.
We meet in B239 in the Chapel Building. Our first meeting will be on September 12th. Find support. Learn useful tips. And identify helpful resources.
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!
By the end of the week the Walton volleyball team is facing a fundraising deadline for a trip that will take them to three elite tournaments out West in September.
The Lady Raiders have dominated high school volleyball in Georgia for years, and are seeking their fourth consecutive Georgia High School Association title.
They’re also coming off national championships, as voted by PrepVolleyball and Max Preps, and are looking to test their prowess early in the new season. They’ll be participating in a “Tour of Champions” that will take them to Nevada, Arizona and California.
For several weeks they’ve been soliciting funds and sponsorships to help support their trip, having reached 70 percent of their goal. That’s nearly $15,000, but the goal is $22,000, and Friday is the deadline for the fundraising effort.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Cobb County government has sent word late this afternoon that a remediation order has been issued for the owners of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center that’s long been the subject of community efforts to get cleaned up.
That means that NAI Brannen Goddard, an Atlanta-based real estate agency that owns the 16-acre site at 2692 Sandy Plains Road, has to make some immediate improvements to the property (detailed below), which includes some existing businesses.
Mostly, it’s empty commercial space, including a former bowlling alley, as well as a cemetery, that’s been deteriorating for nearly a couple decades.
Citizens have complained of criminal and even gang activity, especially around the bowling alley area. Cobb commissioners in 2017 adopted a blight ordinance. That would impose additional taxes on property identified as blighted and deemed uninhabitable and unsafe if remediation actions to improve it weren’t conducted.
That’s where this case, the first test of that ordinance that’s reached the court stage, stands now.
Under the remediation order issued in Cobb Magistrate Court, NAI Brannen Goddard must do the following to and around the bowling alley building:
install and maintain adequate lighting on all sides of the building within 15 days of the order;
install and maintain a camera security system within 15 days;
post “No loitering allowed” and “You are being video recorded” signs in conspicuous and prominent locations within 15 days of the court order;
provide an engineer’s report detailing the proper repairs required to correct the safety & structural issues created by the canopy’s removal within 30 days of the court order;
complete the repairs in the engineer’s report;
have a representative or project manager visit the site at least once per week to inspect for illegal activity & property damage and correct issues within 48 hours;
remove litter within 48 hours;
promptly respond to development inspections or code enforcement issues;
install fencing around the perimeter of the building to prevent passage onto the property.
Per the Cobb government information, the building doesn’t have to be demolished (as some in the community have wanted). But “non-compliance with the order will result in additional tax remaining on the property until the remediation is complete.”
Citizens living near the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center turned out en masse to a community meeting in March to demand the property be cleaned up.
The order is only for the bowling alley area, not for the rest of the Sprayberry Crossing property.
If additional taxes are levied, they would be seven times the county general fund millage rate value of their properties. According to a Cobb Community Development Agency estimate announced at a community meeting in March, that total would come to around $17,000. That figure prompted many citizens at the meeting to groan with dismay.
The order comes as commissioners were scheduled to designate several blighted properties for incentivized redevelopment on Tuesday, including the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center (No. 15 on the map). It’s been on previous lists.
Some nearby residents, working through the Sprayberry Crossing Action group, also have been preparing possible civil action against NAI Brannen Goddard. A series of meetings, starting Thursday, has been scheduled for citizens interested in filing a claim against the property owner.
The Cobb government statement included this response from commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who represents the area:
“I’m pleased with the court’s decision in designating this property as blighted although I would have preferred the building be demolished. However, I’m glad to know the court heard the county’s and the citizen’s concerns. The county is doing everything within its ability under the code to address the concerns related to this property and will continue to monitor conditions.”
Here’s what Joe Glancy, organizer of the Sprayberry Action group, posted after hearing the news:
“It’s not enough.
“But a word of warning to Mitchell Brannen, Sam Hale, Bo Brown and the other owners of that blighted shopping center – summer with all its wonderful distractions is coming to a close, and you will have our full attention in the coming months.”
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Sprayberry (1-2) earned its first victory of the year in stirring fashion, driving more than 95 yards late in the game to defeat South Cobb 28-27 on the road. After Isiah Abbey scored a touchdown at the end of a long drive, QB Aaron Bibbins ran in the 2-point conversion.
