Cobb Police said Wednesday that a driver fell asleep behind the wheel this morning on Interstate 575 at Interstate 75, resulting in a crash that sent the driver and two passengers to the hospital.
Cobb Police said Prasanth Kotharu, 27, Jayakumar Palanisamy, 31, of Dunwoody, and Samuel Anbumani, 33, of Dunwoody, were taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with serious injuries.
According to a statement sent out by police, Kotharu was driving a black 2020 Hyundai Elantra southbound on I-575 near the merger with I-75 around 7:30 Wednesday morning when the driver fell asleep.
Police said the car veered off the road and onto a grass shoulder, then dropped down an embankment, crashed into a concrete drainage channel and rolled to one side before coming to a stop.
Police said they’re continuing to investigate and that anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 770-499-3987.
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Cobb District Attorney Joyette Holmes said Wednesday she will request an independent investigation into the recent deaths of Cobb jail inmates.
Holmes’ office issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying she intends to ask the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia to conduct the probe, following a federal lawsuit filed last week by the family of Kevil Wingo.
He was being held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on a drug possession charge in September 2019, and died in custody after begging for medical help from jail staff.
Wingo’s family, through attorney Timothy Gardner, had asked for an independent investigation, and here’s what Holmes said in response:
“The files that Mr. Gardner obtained through open records requests to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office were submitted to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, media, and other organizations. Those materials should be a part of an independent investigation into Mr. Wingo’s death and other inmate deaths at the jail. As I have previously stated, I am committed to ensuring that matters of public safety and the concerns of our citizens be addressed by our office or referred to the appropriate agency without favor or fear.”
Wingo, who was 36 at the time of his death, had complained of an ulcer and said he was having trouble breathing. According to the lawsuit, he was taken to an isolation room at the jail, and died an hour later after being taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
In February, the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office issued a report saying Wingo died of natural causes, with complications due to a perforated gastric ulcer.
Wingo is one of eight inmates to have died at Cobb jail since June of last year. According to 11Alive, his death wasn’t made public until the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, which oversees jail operations, completed an internal investigation.
The Wingo family lawsuit was filed against Wellstar Health system, six nurses and three sheriff’s deputies.
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Cobb County is included in a flash flood watch starting 2 p.m. Wednesday and continuing through 8 a.m. Friday due to storms and heavy rains from Hurricane Sally.
The National Weather Service in Atlanta issued the watch for most of north and central Georgia, and up to 5 or 6 six inches of rain could be expected over the next few days.
During a flash flood watch, low-lying areas and areas around rivers, creeks, streams, lakes and ponds are susceptible to flooding.
The forecast for metro Atlanta includes a 100 percent chance of rain starting at noon Wednesday and continuing until late Thursday night.
Hurricane Sally struck landfall early Wednesday along the Alabama Gulf Coast as a Category 2 storm, with sustained winds of 105 mph.
The storm is causing what local officials Alabama are calling “life-threatening” flooding, along with extensive tree damage.
Some weather estimates have that area getting 30 or so inches of rain.
The remnants of Sally were soaking lower Alabama Wednesday morning, and the path of the storm is expected to continue up through the Carolinas after reaching Georgia.
The rain in Cobb County is expected to taper off on Friday, with a 30 percent chance during the day and 20 percent on Saturday.
We probably won’t see the sun until Sunday.
Temperatures are cooling off too, with highs on the low 70s Wednesday and likewise through the rest of the week.
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Two members of the Cobb Board of Education have asked for discussions at Thursday’s work session on virtual learning and reopening plans.
There’s also a request for the board to approve emergency funding for electrical repairs at Mountain View Elementary School in East Cobb.
The school board’s work session starts at 10 a.m. Thursday, followed by an executive session and a business meeting.
The work session and business meeting will be conducted in public via Zoom, and you can watch here or on Channel 24 on Comcast Cable. Meeting agendas can be found here.
Board member Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, has asked for the virtual learning discussion. Cobb schools began all-online on Sept. 17, and dealt with technology issues for the first three weeks.
Elementary and special education students can start returning to classrooms on Oct. 5 in a phased-in approach that continues with middle school students on Oct. 19 and high school students on Nov. 5.
Students can continue virtual learning, but parents must choose an option by Sept. 20, and cannot switch back for the rest of the fall semester.
The school board also will be asked to approve $350,000 to make electrical repairs at Mountain View Elementary School.
District staff said a lightning strike damaged the school’s electrical systems, and the contingency funding is for emergency repairs and to provide temporary power.
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Rev. Ike Reighard said he realized how serious COVID-19 was going to be when churches and casinos closed at the same time in March, as lockdowns began.
Rev. Ike Reighard
“When Heaven and Hell agree, we ought to take note,” quipped the senior pastor at Piedmont Church in East Cobb and president and CEO of MUST Ministries.
He told an in-person and online meeting of the East Cobb Business Association Tuesday that one of Cobb County’s prominent non-profits had its hands full tending to the crushing need for food, clothing, shelter and job assistance as pandemic-related closings threw thousands out of work and homes, and needing help providing the basics for their families.
Before they could do that, he said, the MUST staff had to reorganize its own staff, especially since they couldn’t rely on a volunteer army of around 17,000.
Instead of serving around 33,000 people in a typical year in an eight-county area, MUST has provided some form of help to nearly 125,000 people since March alone.
“We’ve already quadrupled what we do in an entire year,” Reighard said.
That includes more than a million meals, a million pounds of food for direct distribution and via pantries, putting up 238 households in motels when the MUST shelter closed and serving 78,000 total households in one form or another.
Another 400,000 meals have been provided to school students over the summer, in conjunction with the Cobb County School District, as well as other partnerships.
“To witness how people come together like this is one of the most encouraging things I’ve ever seen,” he said. As overwhelming as the needs have been, “even more overwhelming is the generosity of this community.”
He was asked to inspire business leaders who like so many have been adversely affected by the economic impact of the response to the virus.
Brimming with his usual enthusiasm, Reighard said the only way to approach such daunting challenges is that “you have to choose your attitude.
“We decided we would have to rise above the situation. We weren’t going to shut our doors. We just couldn’t disappear in our community when our community needs us the most.”
He said his staff had to “get really creative” when its main food supplier, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, became overwhelmed with requests from other non-profits.
MUST volunteers helped distribute student meals at various schools that were paid through the federal school lunch program.
With the Cobb County School District phasing in classroom returns next month, Reighard said work is finishing on restocking 39 food pantries in some of those and other schools.
Next month, MUST will break ground on a new 130-bed shelter on its current campus on Cobb Parkway near Bells Ferry Road. It’s the first phase of a two-phase process to nearly double capacity, as construction will continue into MUST’s 50th year in 2021.
Reighard said while needs in the community will remain high and the challenges to provide basic services will prove considerable, “let’s not let that define us.
“We’ve got a lot of obstacles ahead of us, but we’re going to get through this. The best is yet to come.”
MUST continues to accept donations at its donation center (1280 Field Parkway, Marietta), from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For information on making financial contributions, click here.
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Updating our post from Aug. 25, here’s official word from Lidl about the East Cobb store opening at Woodlawn Square (1205 Johnson Ferry Road) on Sept. 30, the same day as a similar location opens in Woodstock:
The stores will open at 8 a.m. after a brief ribbon cutting in front of the store at 7:40 a.m. The stores will operate from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Sunday. The East Cobb and Woodstock stores will be Lidl’s tenth and eleventh in the Atlanta area and were part of its recently announced 50-store East Coast expansion.
“I am delighted to welcome another Lidl store to our county,” said Cobb County Commission Chairman Mike Boyce. “I’m certain the neighbors will enjoy their shopping experience and am glad Lidl is investing in Cobb County for their new locations.”
Lidl’s top priority is the health and safety of its customers and team members. A detailed overview of the protective measures in place can be found here: https://www.lidl.com/coronavirus-update.
Grand Opening Event Details
Customers will be able to take advantage of get-them-while-you-can grand opening special offers at the new stores. The first 100 customers will be presented with a special gift card ranging from $5 to $100 each. Shoppers can be entered to win a $500 Lidl gift card, as well as take advantage of special giveaways.
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An 81-home subdivision proposal on either side of Wesley Chapel Road gained final approval from the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday.
The vote was a unanimous 5-0, and residents of nearby communities that had voiced opposition for density, traffic and environmental reasons were generally in support after the developer added a number of stipulations.
The 49 acres of property is bisected on both sides by streams that feed into lakes at the Loch Highland community to the south, and is between Mabry Park and Garrison Mill Elementary School.
Brooks Chadwick Capital, LLC, an East Cobb-based developer, offered new stipulations on Sept. 9 (you can read the letter here) and on Monday met with the homeowners association of Highlands at Wesley Chapel, which surrounds what would be called Willis Woods, to iron out more differences.
The developer was seeking R-15 zoning, which would have a smaller density than nearby subdivisions.
Among the stipulations include tree preservation, increased setback areas along the rear edges in exchange for smaller setbacks at the front and additional green space around the creeks.
Kevin Moore, the attorney for Brooks Chadwick, said the county code allows for lots to come much closer to the streams than what his client was seeking.
A photo of runoff in the Springmill neighborhood, just below the proposed Willis Woods subdivision.
Stormwater issues have been a problem in the area for years, especially on the eastern side of Wesley Chapel, where streams and creeks feed into the Loch Highland lakes.
Debbie Fisher, speaking on behalf of the the Loch Highland Homeowners Association noted during Tuesday’s zoning hearing that residents there have spent more than $1.5 million dredging the lakes, much of it due to stormwater runoff upstream.
“We are the recipient of runoff for 2,400 acres, from Sweat Mountain on down,” she said.
During her presentation, she showed pictures of the effects of runoff from the nearby Springmill neighborhood.
“We have lost trees and some people have lost parts of their yard,” Fisher said, “and this is only going to be exacerbated.”
She asked for additional stormwater-releated stipulations and perpetual tree buffers and wanted assurances that the Loch Highland HOA would “have a seat at the table” at any kind of settlement discussions over negative impact of silt and runoff accumulations.
One of the stipulations agreed to by the developer is to allow no more than 35 percent of the developed area to be impervious surfaces.
The property falls in the districts of East Cobb commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrell. Ott said most of the stormwater issues fall on the east side of Wesley Chapel, which is in his district, and in his motion to approve included items from the developer’s stipulation letter.
He also added a condition that would require the county’s stormwater management chief to determine mediation steps for negative impact assessments, and also stipulated that the developer could not make any variances to the impervious surface provision.
A nearby resident said the density of the development was still too much, and said more than 1,000 people had signed an online petition in opposition.
But the Highlands at Wesley Chapel HOA president specified conditions to some of the revised Brooks Chadwich stipulations that he said would earn the support of his community.
“The applicant has addressed their concerns and that’s important,” Ott said.
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Starting Wednesday the Cobb County School District will roll out 27 buses equipped with WiFi hotspots to assist students who need Internet connectivity while all-remote learning continues.
Those buses will be going to 23 separate locations and the buses will be available for Internet use 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The district said in an announcement Tuesday that funding is coming from the Georgia Department of Education.
The locations include the following apartment complexes in the Wheeler High School cluster:
Westminster Square (2401 Windy Hill Road)—Wheeler, East Cobb MS, Brumby ES;
Riverstone (899 Powers Ferry Road)—Wheeler, East Cobb MS, Eastvalley ES;
The district said that “the goal of the bus wifi program is to serve the maximum number of students who currently may not be participating in remote classes due to limited or no internet connectivity. Ideal locations around the county were determined by examining CTLS use and access.”
The district said it has distributed more than 300 WiFi hotspots to families and nearly 40,000 devices, with 38,000 requests for devices in the current school year alone
About 35,000 of those devices have been picked up.
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As students, parents, teachers and staff in the Cobb County School District prepare for a return to classroom learning starting in October, the district is providing COVID-19 case updates on a weekly basis.
The district reported that as of Friday, a total of 216 people have tested positive for the virus since July 1.
That’s a little more than double since “approximately 100” cases were confirmed in early August, also dating back to July 1.
As was the case last month, the district said it can’t be more specific about that information, including indicating how many staff and students have tested positive, or school locations where people have had cases of the virus confirmed by Cobb and Douglas Public Health.
The district is citing medical privacy laws “based on instruction provided by the Cobb and Douglas Public Health Department” for not saying more.
The weekly case figures will be updated every Friday through the end of the school year.
Cobb schools started all-remote on Aug. 17 due to what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said was guidance from public health officials about “high community spread” of COVID-19.
Some staff and students have been on campuses and at district facilities, including athletes and others picking up textbooks and other class materials.
The district is the second-largest in Georgia with more than 112,000 students, and is Cobb County’s largest employer with more than 13,000 front office staff, principals, teachers, and support workers on the payroll.
Students will be able to return for in-person classes on Oct. 5, starting with K-5 and special education, followed by middle school on Oct. 19 and high school on Nov. 5.
School district staff members are also returning to schools on phased-in basis: elementary, Sept. 21; middle school Oct. 5 and high school Oct. 22.
As of Monday afternoon, there were 18,505 overall COVID-19 cases in Cobb County, the fourth-highest total in the state, with 1,520 coming in the last two weeks.
A total of 2,263 cases have been confirmed between ages 0-20 in Cobb, the fourth-highest of any age group.
But after a summer spike, Cobb’s average cases per 100,000 over the last two weeks has dropped to just under 200. One-hundred cases per 100,000 is considered high community spread, but Ragsdale said he was looking at getting that metric between 100-200 in order to reopen schools.
At one point, that figure was well over 400 cases per 100,000. Cobb has 413 deaths, second only to Fulton County, and 1,670 overall hospitalizations.
After the reopening announcement, the Cobb school district outlined health and safety protocols that include mask requirements for everyone and deep cleaning procedures.
The district said that anyone testing positive for COVID-19 will self-isolate for 10 consecutive days from the date of a positive test and is asymptomatic.
Students and staff also will have to go into quarantine if they have a suspected case and symptoms of the virus or were within close contact with someone who’s positive.
All schools will have designated isolation areas for anyone with COVID-19 symptoms.
Parents are in the process of choosing whether to let their students return to school or to remain all-remote through the end of the fall semester.
That deadline is this Sunday, Sept. 20. Once parents choose an option, they cannot change their minds before the end of the semester. More information can be found by clicking here.
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On Tuesday the first batch of absentee ballots requested by voters in Cobb County and Georgia will be mailed out, 50 days before election day on Nov. 3.
As noted here previously, absentee ballot dropboxes have been placed at various locations throughout the county by the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration.
The elections office said on Monday that those dropboxes, which were to have been opened on Wednesday, will now open starting Saturday, Sept. 19, and will be available 24/7 until 7 p.m. on election day.
They include the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) and the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road).
The latter location is a late addition and will be one of 10 dropbox locations.
You can also mail in your absentee ballot to:
Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration
P.O. Box 649
Marietta, GA 30061-0649
Those ballots must be postmarked by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3.
Absentee ballot applications can be requested from Cobb Elections by clicking here, and you can also get a prompt to a customized application that will be mailed to you.
The deadline for registering to vote is Oct. 5, and you can do that and check your registration status, polling location and get sample ballots by clicking here. More information about registering can be found here.
The Cobb County Public Library System and the Cobb Collaborative are holding a voter registration drive, and there are two upcoming dates to register at branches in East Cobb.
There will be sign-up periods this Friday, Sept. 18, from 12-5 p.m. at the Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road), and next Monday, Sept. 21, from 3-6 p.m. at the East Cobb Library (4880 Lower Roswell Road).
As they did during the primaries, Cobb Elections officials are strongly encouraging voters to send in absentee ballots. That’s how the vast majority of Cobb voters cast their votes this summer in primary and runoff elections.
Heavy voter turnout is expected with a presidential race and competitive local races on the ballot, social-distancing measures will be enforced and there is a shortage of poll workers.
Advance voting will start on Oct. 12, and there will be several East Cobb locations to cast ballots in-person before election day.
They include:
East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) from Oct. 12-Oct. 30, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.; Oct. 17 and 24 (both Saturdays), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Art Place-Mountain View Black Box Theater (3330 Sandy Plains Road) from Oct. 12-Oct. 30, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.; Oct. 17 and 24 (both Saturdays), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Noonday Baptist Church East Campus (4120 Canton Road) from Oct. 26-30, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information on advance voting click here.
On Election Day voters will go to the polls in their assigned location. If you’re unsure of your precinct, you can check by clicking here.
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Today, the Cobb ChamberBoard of Directors announced they will extend the terms of their 2020 Board of Directors chair leadership.
As the 2020 Chairman of the Board, John Loud, President of LOUD Security Systems, will now remain Board Chairman until the end of 2021. Loud will be succeeded by Britt Fleck, Regional Director of the Metro West Region of Georgia Power, who will continue as Chair-Elect in 2021 and will begin her term as Chairwoman in 2022. Greg Teague, President of Croy Engineering, will now begin his role as Chair-Elect in 2022 and will become Chairman of the Board in 2023.
“In order to help the Cobb Chamber best navigate the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Board of Directors held a special vote to extend the term for its board chair leadership,” said Mitch Rhoden, Immediate Past Chairman of the Cobb Chamber Board of Directors. “During these uncertain times, the board wants to provide consistent leadership for the Chamber.”
“This consistency of our board chair leadership will enable our chamber to continue focusing on leading this community’s needed economic recovery,” said Sharon Mason, President and CEO of the Cobb Chamber. “John Loud, Britt Fleck, Greg Teague, Mitch Rhoden, our entire board and team have been instrumental working together through this crisis and it is a blessing to work with each of them.”
The Cobb Chamber’s Board of Directors is the organization’s governing body. The Board of Directors consists of 91 voting board members, including a 21-member Executive Committee, representing the county’s diverse populations, geographies, and industries.
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As he spends his last few months in office, Cobb commissioner Bob Ott is getting invited to speak about his 12-year tenure.
Ott addressed the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce last week, reviewing business and economic development, zoning and land use issues, infrastructure, health care, libraries, parks and more.
(You can watch his full presentation at this link).
“Indeed it has been a ride,” said Ott, who announced in January he would not be seeking a fourth term.
Ott is a former president of the East Cobb Civic Association and served on the Cobb Planning Commission. In 2008, he defeated commissioner Joe Thompson, who had appointed him to that board.
The Republican who lives in the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill area has represented District 2, which includes most of East Cobb as well as the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area.
Ott said the biggest economic driver was the construction of the Atlanta Braves stadium, now called Truist Park, that he said has generated 22,000 jobs in the district.
“We didn’t just get a stadium” he said, referencing the adjacent The Battery Atlanta development and the 22-story Thyssen-Krupp tower that’s opening soon.
Another major development that he steered is the MarketPlace Terrell mixed-use project that’s underway at Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill.
It’s the centerpiece of the Powers Ferry corridor that was the subject of the first of four master plans that have been developed in District 2.
“If we get certain things to go, everything else will follow,” he said, referring to nearby businesses that have upgraded, including a BP station across the road.
A Wendy’s restaurant has opened at the MarketPlace Terrell Mill, with other restaurants and eateries coming on line soon, as well as an apartment complex. The anchor will be a Kroger superstore.
Ott said that in his time in office, 5,000 apartments have been built in District 2, with around 3,500 of them in the Cumberland/Battery area, “where they should be.”
The other master plans included Vinings, design guidelines for the Johnson Ferry corridor and last week, when commissioners approved one for the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area.
He said those plans include 60 percent of land in District 2, and give developers a solid guideline for developers.
For the most part, Ott said, “if they develop according to the master plan, the community is going to support it.”
In November, District 2 voters will choose his successor. Republican Fitz Johnson, a Vinings resident who serves on the board of the WellStar Health System, will face Democrat Jerica Richardson, a first-time candidate who lives in the Delk Road area.
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Marietta Police are looking for a vehicle they say struck a road construction worker on Interstate 75 near Delk Road Saturday night.
The construction worker, identified as Martin Rivera, 30, of Chicago, was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Marietta Police.
They said Rivera was placing signage on the shoulder of I-75 northbound, just north of Delk Road, around 8:53 p.m. when he was hit by two vehicles.
Police said the first vehicle, which may be a black Volkswagen Golf GTI, fled the scene. The driver of the second vehicle did stop and is cooperating with the investigation, according to police.
Marietta Police are asking for the public’s help finding the first vehicle, which they said “abruptly” exited I-75 north on the South Marietta Parkway exit ramps.
Police said anyone who may have seen the incident or who has information should call STEP Investigator C. Henry at 770-794-5364.
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Marlow’s Tavern at Merchant’s Walk put up special signs when it reopened after COVID closures in the spring.
The Cobb Travel & Tourism office is rebranding what it’s called Cobb Restaurant Week into Cobb Foodie Week, which gets underway on Saturday.
Several East Cobb restaurants are taking place as the promotion focuses on helping eateries recover from COVID-19 closures.
Each restaurant has special items, prices and discounts that are described at the link above, as well as links to each participating restaurant. Here’s which East Cobb establishments are taking part, and the specials continue through Sept. 19:
Camps Kitchen & Bar (Paper Mill Village, 225 Village Parkway, Suite 310)
Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar (The Avenue East Cobb, 4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1410)
Grand Champion BBQ (Shallowford Corners, 4401 Shallowford Road, Suite 168)
J. Christopher’s East Lake (2100 Roswell Road, Suite 2116)
Kale Me Crazy (The Avenue East Cobb, 4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1620)
Marlow’s Tavern Merchant’s Walk (1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 208)
McCray’s Tavern (Parkaire Landing, 4880 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 850)
Seed Kitchen & Bar (Merchant’s Walk, 1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 504)
Stockyard Burgers & Bones (The Avenue, 4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1700)
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The following East Cobb food scores for the week of Sept. 7-11 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for details of the inspection:
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A pop-up version of the Lululemon Athletica women’s yoga and exercise apparel store is opening Saturday, with special hours from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12-6 p.m.
It’s located between the Sephora and Versona stores, and to celebrate the opening, Lululemon is giving away a $100 gift card. Customers should text “FITNESS” TO 444222 and reply YES! The winner will be notified on Monday.
The store is the 12th in Georgia for Lululemon and the first in Cobb County.
Grand opening
The grand opening and ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the Anytime Fitness location at Parkaire Landing is Oct. 1 at 11 a.m.
As we noted previously, it’s run by Durran Dunn, “The Freeze” from Atlanta Braves games, who’s an elite-level sprinter. The celebration lasts until 6 p.m. and includes food, door prizes, giveaways and more.
The Cobb Chamber’s Partners in Education program is launching an effort to connect local businesses with Cobb’s public school systems to provide specific items and support to help each school meet the needs of students during the coronavirus pandemic.
“In responding to the coronavirus pandemic, our local public schools have faced unprecedented challenges, all while continuing to provide the world-class education that sets Cobb County apart,” said Dana Johnson, COO of the Cobb Chamber and Executive Director of SelectCobb. “Every year Partners in Education brings businesses and schools together, bringing valuable resources to classrooms across the county.”
This year, the Cobb Chamber is partnering with Cobb County School District and Marietta City Schools through the Partners in Education COVID-19 Response program to address specific equipment, financial, and additional support needs for local schools.
Each district has shared that schools have needs in the following areas:
Financial Donations: Supporting needs like childcare, food security, and digital/distance learning equipment;
In-Kind Donations: Especially impactful donations include, but are not limited to, school supplies, computers and tech accessories (ear buds, headphones, etc.), mobile hotspots, and services such as preparing donated computers for student use;
Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteers may be helpful for a variety of needs;
Social, Emotional, and Academic Support: Providing services and experiences that support the social, emotional, and academic development of students, such as stress management classes, internet safety classes, internships, virtual business tours, and virtual “day in the life of” experiences.
Businesses can visit www.cobbchamber.org/pie to join the Partners in Education COVID-19 Response program. For more information about Partners in Education, contact Nate Futrell, Workforce Initiatives Senior Manager at [email protected] or (770) 859-2374.
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The Kell-Hillgrove football game won’t be played Friday after a positive COVID-19 case was reported on the Hillgrove team.
Kell athletic director Richard Norman sent a message to the “Kell Family” Thursday night saying that the school’s administration was told of the confirmed positive case earlier in the day:
“While this outcome is undesirable, our highest priority is the health and safety of our students and staff. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support. Tickets purchases will be refunded from GoFan.”
GoFan is an online ticket sales hub that many high schools have been using to sell limited tickets for sports (here’s the Kell link).
The Longhorns, who are 0-1 after a season-opening loss to Walton last week, are the second East Cobb football team to have a game cancelled due to COVID.
Wheeler was to have played North Atlanta last weekend, but that opponent backed out for similar reasons. Instead, the Wildcats played Marietta, which also had an opponent cancel, and the Blue Devils prevailed 35-14.
In other games tonight, Wheeler plays at home against Dutchtown, Pope is at Walton, Sprayberry at Collins Hill and Lassiter is at Lambert.
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Three major holiday-season shopping events in East Cobb are a no-go for 2020.
The organizers of the Lassiter Craft Fair are the latest to announce that the event has been cancelled.
It’s typically one of the earliest events on the holiday shopping calendar, and was to have taken place on Nov. 7-8 at Lassiter High School.
The fair is a fundraiser for the Lassiter band programs, and here’s the message that was sent out Wednesday:
“All vendors who submitted an application for the 2020 craft fair should have received an email regarding the event cancellation. Thank you for supporting Lassiter Marching Band! Please reach out to[email protected] with any questions.”
The 40th annual Apple Annie Arts & Crafts Show at the Catholic Church of St. Ann also has been cancelled. That was to have taken place in early December, with proceeds supporting projects of the church’s women’s ministry:
If you are interested in applying for the 2021 show, applications will be posted at https://st-ann.org/apple-annie in early November 2020 with a deadline of March 31, 2021.
Also slated for mid-November was the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church Craft Show. The tentative dates for 2021 are Nov.12-13.
Cancellations relating to COVID-19 have affected nearly all major events in East Cobb since March. Saturday was to have been the EAST COBBER magazine’s 25th annual parade and festival, but that is not taking place.
Those behind another big holiday shopping event, the Sprayberry PTSA Arts and Crafts Show, have indicated their long-running arts and crafts show scheduled for Nov. 21-22 may also be cancelled.
They’ve organized a virtual fundraiser in partnership with Panda Express on Sept. 18, and plans are to have future monthly virtual fundraisers; you can find more information here.
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With just a couple weeks remaining until the deadline for completing 2020 U.S. Census forms, the response rate in East Cobb is among the highest in Cobb County.
According to a Cobb County government GIS map seen above, all but one Census tract in East Cobb are reporting response rates of 75 percent or higher.
That’s of Sept. 2, and that’s just the self-response rate. The Census Bureau has listings for all states in that category, and follow-up response rates that it adds to its cumulative total, that you can find here.
The Census bureau also has interactive maps that show the most recent updates for every Census tract (a screen grab is shown below), and some East Cobb census tracts have total response rates of higher than 80 percent and in some cases as high as 88 percent.
Georgia’s self-response rate is 60.8 percent as of Wednesday, and combined with the follow-up response rate now stands at 80.2 percent.
The states with the highest overall rates for the moment are Idaho (98.5 percent), West Virginia (97.7 percent), Washington (96.5 percent), Hawaii (96.1 percent) and Kansas (95.6 percent).
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Leaders of the Walton Marching Raider Band have announced that their biannual recycling event – known for accepting metal, electronics and paint – will be held this Saturday. Proceeds support the marching band program and help provide a high-quality experience for East Cobb students attending George H. Walton Comprehensive High School.
The recycling event will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Walton High School, 1590 Bill Murdock Rd, Marietta, GA 30062.
Support of the event is especially needed this year due to the novel coronavirus and its impact on regular band fundraising activities.
All residents and businesses are welcome to donate and support this Walton Marching Raider Band event. People who have cleaned their homes during the pandemic and don’t know what to do with the metal, electronics and paint they want to dispose of and local businesses who are in the same situation are all welcome to support the event.
The Walton Marching Raider Band is participating in a limited number of school events and following stringent protocols including wearing masks and being physically distanced during outside performances.
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