Honors for Walton football coach, star receiver as all-Cobb teams named

East Cobb football
Walton coach Daniel Brunner at an East Cobb kickoff breakfast in August.

First-year Walton football coach Daniel Brunner has been named coach of the year for 2017 by the Cobbhsfootball website, and Raiders’ star receiver Dominick Blaylock was tabbed as offensive player of the week.

Blaylock led the 22-man all-Cobb team that was released just before Christmas, and that includes three other players from East Cobb high schools.

They include Walton linebacker Malik Adams, Kell offensive lineman Johnathan Bass, and Lassiter defensive back Derrik Allen.

Brunner, a former assistant at Walton, led the Raiders to an unlikely 11-1 season, after the program came off a losing season under Mo Dixon in 2016.

Walton’s only loss came in the state playoffs to eventual state runner-up Colquitt County, where Dixon is now an assistant. In Brunner’s first game, in the Corky Kell Classic, the Raiders defeated North Gwinnett, which went on to win the Georgia Class 7A state championship.

Brunner, who was named Cobb coach of the year by The Marietta Daily Journal, is a graduate of Roswell High School and also coached there before coming to Walton.

Before the season started, he inaugurated “Raider Day,” a jamboree-style event that included all the Walton football teams, from varsity down to the grade school-level.

With Blaylock, who has committed to play at the University of Georgia, and Adams returning, Walton is expected to contend in the region and state in 2018.

Bass was part of another Kell state playoff team under Brett Sloan, a former Walton assistant in his first year as head coach. Bass has signed to play at Georgia State University.

Allen, considered one of the top high school players in the country at his position, had another strong season for Lassiter, whose state playoff streak ended this season. He has signed to play at Notre Dame.

 

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Keep Cobb Beautiful tree recycling date is Jan. 6, includes 4 East Cobb locations

Christmas is over, but you’ve still got time to enjoy your tree before Keep Cobb Beautiful’s annual free recycling event.Keep Cobb Beautiful Bring One for the Chipper

The date for “Bring One for the Chipper” is next Saturday, Jan. 6, and there’s one East Cobb location change from previous years.

Sewell Park is not a drop-off point due to the construction of the new library and road entrance that’s still being finished.

But four other locations in East Cobb return as venues. Two of them are Cobb public parks:

  • Fullers Park, 3499 Robinson Road;
  • Noonday Creek Park, 489 Hawkins Store Road.

The other locations are the Home Depot stores at Providence Square Shopping Center, 4101 Roswell Road, and at Highland Plaza, 3605 Sandy Plains Road.

The times to drop off trees at all locations are between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Chipper program includes free mulch; only trees with all decorations removed will be accepted.

 

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East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels program delivers Christmas dinners for 34th year throughout the county

East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels
Volunteers of all ages fill fruit baskets with special Christmas messages to be delivered to seniors in Cobb County. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

On Christmas Day, the East Cobb Lions Club and the Marietta Lions Club prepared special holiday meals for elderly citizens and their families, and community volunteers helped deliver them around Cobb County.

More than 100 volunteers turned out at Powers Ferry United Methodist Church by mid-morning Monday to cook food, fill plates and fruit baskets, and deliver special messages for about the same number of shut-ins.

East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels

East Cobb LIons Club Meals on Wheels

East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels

Longtime East Cobb Lions Club member Ray Moore said the Meals on Wheels program started when he and other Lions learned that the Cobb Senior Services Department didn’t make deliveries on holidays.

What began as a two-day turnaround before Thanksgiving in 1983 has turned into one of the lasting charitable Christmas traditions anywhere in Cobb County.

In early November, Moore contacts Cobb Senior Services for a list of those in need of meals, and starts making holiday delivery plans. If some recipients need extra meals, then the Lions volunteers make sure to note that.

“I’ve got food for 120 people here,” he said. “We’ve got to do something with it.” The Lions groups raise money throughout the year for the holiday deliveries, including selling $5 tickets for a homemade quilt that will be raffled off in May.

East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels

Pamela Williams, a member of the Marietta Lions Club, said she wanted to be a part of the program after her grandmother received Meals on Wheels in South Carolina. “I could see the light in her eyes,” Williams said. “It showed me that they cared.”

Each recipient is given a plate with sliced turkey and ham, green beans, sweet potatoes, dressing and gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls, small cakes and a fruit basket. The meals are cooked on-site in the church kitchen, which wafted with the savory smells of holiday food.

East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels

Santa Claus paid a visit as volunteers continued to create the fruit basket messages. A first-time volunteer is Dorie Gallagher of the Roswell area of East Cobb, who is spending Christmas alone after her husband died earlier this year.

She admitted it’s been a difficult few months since then, but said “I need to get out, and help the community.”

East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels

At the same table, former East Cobb residents Jay Levy and Debbie Cohen were returning as volunteers, for the fifth and third years, respectively. Both now live in Sandy Springs, after raising now-grown children who graduated from Pope High School.

“We come back and see people we recognize, but the most rewarding thing is when you deliver the meals,” Cohen said.

East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels

East Cobb LIons Club Meals on Wheels

As volunteers filled the fruit bags and loaded food onto the plates, others were getting ready to roll out with the meals. Drivers raised their hands, then got maps for their deliveries.

East Cobb LIons Club Meals on Wheels

East Cobb LIons Club Meals on Wheels
Driving volunteer Jay Levy gets his map from Ray Moore of the East Cobb Lions Club.

Each driving volunteer is typically assigned two or three homes in relative proximity. Levy and Cohen were assigned two residences in the South Cobb area. Among them were an elderly woman with two high school seniors in the Mableton area, and a man living alone in Smyrna.

Levy said the biggest challenge often is squaring up the address on the map with what’s on the road. The latter meal recipient, James Dyer, lives in an apartment building on Sandtown Road, which stretches for miles and is located amid commercial and industrial buildings.

East Cobb Lions Club Meals on Wheels
Jay Levy uses his GPS device to track the Sandtown Road address of a Meals on Wheels recipient.

Dyer opened the door and was eager for some company, as Levy and Cohen placed his food on a kitchen countertop and chatted with him for a few minutes.

East Cobb LIons Club Meals on Wheels

Moore said he’s gratified the holiday Meals on Wheels has grown from “a family thing” in his own household and Lions Club friends to many in the community who simply want to lend a helping hand on Christmas for those who can’t get out.

 

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Merry Christmas East Cobb! Today’s worship service schedule

St. Ann Catholic, East Cobb Christmas Day services

Only a few churches are holding Christmas Day worship today, if you still wish to attend a service:

 

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Christmas lights in East Cobb: An Indian Hills Parkway spectacular

Christmas Lights in East Cobb
Indian Hills Parkway heading north, at Summit Drive. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

Situated along Bishop Creek and a fairway at the Indian Hills Country Club is one of the more incredible Christmas light displays one could ever hope to see.

Shooting high into the evening darkness, and lighting up the sky along a portion of Indian Hills Parkway near Summit Drive, the residential display was stopping traffic in both directions when we went by earlier on Christmas Eve.

The intersection is closer to the Lower Roswell Road end of Indian Hills Parkway, and taking a first glimpse of the display in the clearing of the golf course was just stunning.

These photos can’t do it justice, but for all the impressive East Cobb Christmas displays, it’s hard to find any that rival this.

Christmas lights in East Cobb
The view heading south on Indian Hills Parkway.

A little bit further north on Indian Hills Parkway, on the same side of the road, was another display that also had motorists stopping. This is between High Green Drive and Sentry Crossing.

The photos below are from homes on Club Valley Drive, off Holt Road.

Christmas lights in East Cobb

Christmas lights in East Cobb

Want to share your Christmas and holiday photos? Send them to us at: editor@eastcobbnews.com and we’ll post them through the New Year.

 

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The Rib Ranch restaurant closes after nearly 35 years on Canton Road

The Rib Ranch restaurant closes

Christmas Eve was the last day in business for The Rib Ranch, a barbecue restaurant at 2063 Canton Road (near the split with the Canton Road connector).

WhatNowAtlanta reported that the owners announced that the restaurant was serving for the last time at 2 p.m. today.

There wasn’t an initial reason given for the closure when the announcement was first made on Dec. 18. The following day, Barbara Folwell, one of the longtime owners of The Rib Ranch, said on the restaurant’s Facebook page that she has purchased a cafe in Canton and plans to add The Rib Ranch there.

She didn’t respond to customers’ questions about the business reportedly losing its lease.

Folwell said she is hopeful the new restaurant will be approved by the summer, since variances and renderings are required, but in the meantime, she is operating the Keithsburg Cafe for breakfast and lunch, with a country cooking menu, at its location on Ball Ground Highway.

In addition to serving a full barbecue menu, The Rib Ranch has been a meeting spot for many civic groups and other organizations over the years, including the East Cobb Lions Club.

The Rib Ranch opened in 1983 at the site of a former hot dog stand. Cindy Newman, the original owner, moved from Idaho and turned it into a family-run business, selling the restaurant and a related catering operation to her siblings David and Barbara in 1992.

The restaurant building burned down in 1995 after being struck by lightning in a storm, and The Rib Ranch didn’t reopen until 1997.

After that, however, the Rib Ranch won several awards at the Taste of Marietta.

 

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Christmas weather in East Cobb: The sun returns, but bundle up

Christmas weather in East Cobb

Two weeks ago, East Cobb and most of North Georgia was digging out of several inches of snow.

Two days before Christmas, the temperatures were nearly 70 degrees, and Christmas Eve day weather will be mild, with highs in the 50s.

But if you’re heading out to Christmas Eve services or other activities tonight, dress warm, and expect to stay bundled up most of the week, heading into the new year.

In addition to getting much colder, the weather also will be windy for the next few days.

After several days of rain and dreary skies to go with those warm temperatures, the skies will be clearing up. Sunday’s forecast will be mostly cloudy, with a high around 53, according to the National Weather Service.

By mid evening, temperatures will drip into the 40s, and may fall below freezing overnight, with some lows into the high 20s. Winds could get as high as 30 mph throughout the day on Sunday.

The Christmas Day forecast calls for sunny skies, but highs may not reach into the 40s all day, and winds as high as 20 mph.

On Tuesday, it will start to warm with sun, and highs in the high 40s, and the same goes for Wednesday, when rainy weather could return.

By Thursday, we may be in for a chance of freezing rain, with precipitation continuing and highs reaching into the high 30s.

Sunny skies will return by Saturday, but high temperatures aren’t likely to exceed the low 40s.

 

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Where to worship in East Cobb on Christmas Eve

Eastminster Presbyterian
Eastminster Presbyterian Church is having three services on Christmas Eve, including one for children.

We’ve previously rounded up the Christmas service schedule in East Cobb that has all the details, but wanted to note that several of them will be starting on Sunday morning, with a handful pushing into Christmas Day with late-night Candelight services.

Sunday is also the 4th Sunday in Advent, and a good number of East Cobb churches will be holding traditional Advent services in the morning, then offering special Christmas worship services later in the day. Click the link on the church name for that information.

On Monday, a few churches will be having Christmas Day services in addition to Christmas Eve, and we’ve pulled them out individually and listed them below:

To report incorrect or updated information or to add a service you don’t see here e-mail: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

 

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Cobb government holiday schedule released, including for libraries and transit

Released by Cobb County government:Cobb County goverment holiday logo

All Cobb County Government offices will be closed Monday-Tuesday, Dec. 25-26, for the Christmas holiday. In addition, Switzer Library — which is the only county library usually open on Sundays — will be closed Sunday, Dec. 24, for Christmas Eve. Cobb County offices will also be closed for New Year’s Day, Jan. 1.

There will also be modifications to CobbLinc’s commuter service for the holidays, with no bus service, Paratransit service or Paratransit reservation service on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. For more information about transit service, click here.

Contract for Cobb school bus traffic cameras extended by commissioners

ATS school bus camera
An external school bus traffic camera made and monitored by American Traffic Solutions.

After hearing some emphatic comments from school bus drivers, the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted to extend a contract with the Cobb County School District for the use of cameras that record traffic violations at bus stop points.

The measure, which passed by a unanimous 5-0 vote and extends the contract with American Traffic Solutions for a year, was necessary since it had expired due to legal reasons.

At issue is whether citations issued from the cameras are enforceable under state law.

“All of us on the board support the program and we are glad to renew it,” Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said. “We are already working with our legislative delegation to fix the issues that were raised.”

The extension allows the Cobb County Police Department to review the recordings of suspected violations and approve issuing citations.

Before the vote, some drivers urged commissioners not to delay any further. Some said they are troubled how many drivers still ignore stop-arm signs and threaten the safety of children getting on and off buses.

“People don’t know what danger their children are in at the bus stop,” said a Meredith May Banks, a driver who mentioned that drivers are trained to tell students to “stay back” and “stay alive” and not stand near the street.

In 2011, the Georgia legislature passed a law permitting stop-arm cameras two years after the death of Karla Campos, a kindergartener at Mountain View Elementary School. She was killed when she was hit by a car after getting off a bus.

Two Northeast Cobb mothers, Sheri Lewis and Mandi Call, began Operation Stop Arm to campaign for the law.

In 2012 Cobb County government and the Cobb school district entered into a five-year contract to purchase cameras and issue citations.

The CCSD has estimated that fewer than 1,000 citations are issued, down from around 2,000 or so when the cameras were first installed.

 

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East Cobb Government Service Center business office closing Dec. 31

East Cobb Government Service Center business office

East Cobb Government Service Center business office

Earlier this fall the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted to close the East Cobb Government Service Center business office at the end of the year.

Everything else in the building at 4400 Lower Roswell Road—tag office, Cobb police and fire stations and the community meeting room—will remain open.

But if you have used the business office to renew a business license, pay county property taxes or water bills, apply for a property tax exemption or a handicapped parking permit, you’ll have to do those things differently.

Most of those services will now be available across the hall at the tag office. In addition to renewing your vehicle tag, you can apply for a handicapped parking permit, pay property taxes and apply for property tax exemptions there. The tag office is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You can also visit the Cobb Tax Commissioners Office website or call 770-528-8600.

Water bills can’t be paid at the tag office, but payments can be made online at the Cobb Water Department website or in person at 660 South Cobb Drive. Business hours are 8-5 Monday-Friday, and the drive-through hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday. The night deposit drop is 24/7 but customers are advised not to leave cash. The phone number is 770-419-6200.

If you need to renew a business license, that can be done at the Cobb Community Development website. Applicants must have in their renewal package an instruction sheet with a PIN number at the bottom of the page.

In-person applications or renewals can be made at the business license office at 1150 Powder Springs Road in Marietta. The hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and the phone number is 770-528-8410.

Closing the business office is a savings of more than $94,000, and commissioners transferred that amount to fund the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center that opened earlier this month.

Groups that want to reserve meeting room space at the East Cobb Government Service Center now must pay $25 per event, and make reservations online. Those changes also begin on Jan. 1, and here are more details on how to proceed.

For more information on other services no longer available at the East Cobb Government Service Center, please click here.

 

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SunTrust Bank robbed at Powers Ferry Road and Terrell Mill Road

SunTrust Bank, 1380 Powers Ferry Road

Cobb Police are searching for a man whom they say robbed a SunTrust Bank Wednesday at Terrell Mill Road and Powers Ferry Road.

The incident happened around 11:20 a.m. Wednesday at the SunTrust branch at 1380 Powers Ferry Road, located near the Terrell Mill Village Shopping Center.

Police say a black male entered the bank and handed a teller a note demanding cash, which he received, and that he left on foot.

There was no vehicle description, but Cobb Police further identified the suspect as being between 20-25 years old and weighing 175-180 pounds. Police said he last seen wearing a black baseball hat, a camouflaged hoodie a black jacket and blue jeans.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 770-499-3945.

 

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Chick-fil-A Woodlawn Square expansion plans approved by Cobb commissioners

Chick Fil A Woodlawn canopy rendering

The construction of a double drive-through at the Chick-fil-A Woodlawn Square store in East Cobb was approved at Tuesday’s Cobb Board of Commissioners zoning hearing.

The rezoning request was approved 4-0 by the commissioners on their consent agenda. Interplan LLC, which operates the Chick-Fil-A store at 1201 Johnson Ferry Road, wants to reconfigure the parking lot to accommodate the expansion, and needed to convert a parcel of .15 of an acre from community retail to neighborhood shopping (previous East Cobb News post here).

The drivethrough plans include a canopy, as shown in the above rendering, the design of which, as well as other architectural renderings, must be approved by District 2 commissioner Bob Ott.

Other conditions include limiting construction vehicles to the Chick-fil-A site, and not allowing them to be parked along Johnson Ferry Road and Woodlawn Parkway while the renovations are in progress.

Commission chairman Mike Boyce recused himself from the vote, saying he frequently attends a men’s group meeting at the Chick-fil-A.

Zoning cases that do not generate opposition are commonly placed on the consent agenda and are voted on collectively.

The commissioners also voted 5-0 to approve a rezoning request by Walton Riverbend (previous East Cobb News post here). The rezoning was necessary for the developer to relocate its headquarters to the 46-acre Walton on the Chattahoochee residential site on Akers Mill Road.

The application is for a master plan for the Walton Riverbend office, as well as stipulations to guide a future mixed-use development that would keep an existing 26-unit residential building, and allow for new office buildings totaling 16,800 square feet.

“The only thing that will be approved today is the moving of the office,” Ott told his colleagues before the vote.

 

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Handel, Isakson and Perdue hail passage of tax reform bill

U.S. Rep. Karen Handel

U.S. Rep. Karen Handel (R-Roswell), who represents East Cobb in the 6th Congressional District of Georgia, was among those lawmakers voting for major tax legislation on Tuesday.

Georgia’s two Republican senators, Johnny Isakson of East Cobb and David Perdue of Macon, voted with the majority in a 51-48 passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act  early Wednesday morning.

The $1.5 trillion measure was sent back to the House this morning for a revote because of minor provisions ruled to have violated Senate rules, but passage is expected a second time. The House vote on Tuesday was 227-203, and as in the Senate, went mainly along party lines.

Democrats decried the bill as tax cuts for the wealthy and for major corporate interests that would significantly add to the national debt. Republicans hailed the first major overhaul of the tax code in nearly 30 years as beneficial for job creation and the middle class.

The bill calls for a wide variety of tax cuts for individuals and businesses and eliminates tax deductions in a number of categories. Individual taxpayers will see the doubling of their standard deductions and the doubling of the child tax credit, while general corporate tax rates will be reduced across the board.

On the Senate floor, Isakson said that:

“When you take a risk, at the end of that rainbow is a reward. And in the case of risking lower taxes, the greater reward is more jobs, more opportunity, and a better America for our children and our grandchildren.”

Here’s his full statement.

Perdue said:

“This is an historic achievement. These changes to the tax code mean greater job opportunities, more capital at work in our economy, and more money back in the pockets of middle-class American families.”

Handel, who was elected in June to succeed Tom Price, issued the following statement after one of her first major votes as a member of Congress:

“This is a historic moment. The provisions of this tax cut bill will be transformative for hardworking American families and American companies, especially our small businesses.

“More than half of Americans currently live paycheck to paycheck. In the end, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is about letting hardworking Americans keep more of their money. The typical American family of four earning the median family income of $73,000 will see a tax cut of $2,059.”

This bill, which is the result of compromise negotiations between the House and Senate, lowers federal income tax rates for all low and middle-income Americans. It also nearly doubles the standard deduction, increases the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child, retains deductibility of up to $10,000 in state and local property taxes, and preserves $750,000 in mortgage interest deduction benefits.

Additionally, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowers the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% – helping put U.S. companies on par with the global averages and their international competitors. America’s current corporate rate is far and away the highest in the industrialized world, as these other nations place – on average – a roughly 22% rate on their corporations.

Most of America’s small businesses will have their rates slashed from the current 40% down to 25%. And each of these entities will be able to fully and immediately deduct investments in equipment and other resources.

“This bill also benefits America’s main street businesses – those small businesses that are the backbone of our economy and job creation. By lowering the small business tax rates, these companies can do what they do best – innovate and grow.”

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East Cobb teachers awarded IMPACT grants from Cobb Schools Foundation

East Side Elementary School, Cobb Schools Foundation IMPACT grants
East Side Elementary School teacher Leslie Lyiak (center) is receiving a grant for her “Why Math Works” program. (Photos courtesy of Cobb County School District)

Eight East Cobb teachers have been named recipients of the Cobb Schools Foundation IMPACT grants, which are used to enhance classroom learning and other academic purposes.

According to information released Tuesday by the Cobb County School District, the foundation (which is independent from the school system) raised a record $40,000 for the grants, which are based on teacher “wish lists” for programs to help student success.

The money is raised from a variety of sources, including an upcoming fundraiser in January at SunTrust Park, as well as from several foundation partners, including the Cobb EMC Community Foundation, the Atlanta Braves Foundation, Gas South and the Credit Union of Georgia.

Sprayberry IMPACT grant
Sprayberry High School English Language Learner teacher Stacey Arnett (center) is using her grant to purchase Word-to-Word dictionaries to assist ELL students with test scores and graduation rates.
J.J. Daniell IMPACT grant
Leigh Anna Engkaninan, who has already introduced chickens to her students at Daniell Middle School, will receive a $1,810 IMPACT grant to expand her teaching about the animals, including the use of a chicken coop.
East Cobb Middle School IMPACT grant
Charmagne Quenan, East Cobb Middle School, is receiving a $1,695 grant for PocketLab Voyager Probes to increase science engagement.
Sedalia Park Elementary School IMPACT grant
Moniquea Willingham of Sedalia Park Elementary School is receiving a grant for her “Park Math Squad” program in the amount of $1,183.39.
Keheley Elementary School IMPACT grant
Kelley Davis of Keheley Elementary School has been awarded a grant of $1,834.94 for “Keheley Needs the Cube!”

Other East Cobb teachers receiving IMPACT grants include Susanne Smith, East Side Elementary School, who is receiving $2,500 for “Picture-Perfect STEM Books” and Debbi Snyder of Kincaid Elementary School, a $900 grant for “Extraordinary Gentlemen.”

A total of 23 teachers in the Cobb school system received IMPACT grants for the coming year.

In addition to the IMPACT grants, the Cobb Schools Foundation, a non-profit, helps raise money for SAT test prep, college scholarships and other academic and school-related programs.

 

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Cobb Chamber of Commerce names Sharon Mason new president and CEO

Sharon Mason, Cobb Chamber of Commerce

Sharon Mason, Cobb Chamber of Commerce

Sharon Mason of East Cobb has been named president and chief executive officer of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, where she has worked for the past decade, most recently as chief operating officer.

Mason was the unanimous choice of the chamber’s board of directors to succeed another East Cobb resident, David Connell, who is retiring at the end of the year after seven years in the job.

Mason will assume her new duties on Jan. 1, 2018. The Cobb Chamber of Commerce has more than 2,500 members and organizations.

“Sharon Mason is the right person for the job,” Gary Bottoms, chair of the Cobb Chamber Board of Directors, said in a statement. “She inherits a strong chamber and engaged business community. Over the years, she has worked closely with David Connell to create a national reputation for Cobb County and deliver creative solutions to recruit and retain businesses. We are grateful for David’s leadership and his contribution to the growth of our county, and we are excited to embrace Sharon Mason’s vision for the future.”

Among her duties has been helping raise more than $3 million for Cobb’s Competitive Edge, a chamber initiative for job creation that began in 2012. According to the chamber, more than 22,000 new jobs and $2.5 billion in private investment are attributable to the program.

“I am excited and honored to accept the role of President and CEO of the Cobb Chamber,” Mason said in a statement. “I know as a business community we can achieve great things by working together to advance a vibrant economy. It is important that we continue to offer programs and services that are beneficial to our members, while also addressing the education, workforce and business climate needs of our community.”

In addition to her professional endeavors, Mason has been heavily involved in community activities. She is a past president of the Friends for the East Cobb Park and has been on the board of MUST Ministries, as well as a former director of the Marietta Rotary Foundation.

A graduate of Samford University, Mason previously worked for the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and the American Cancer Society. She and her husband and daughter attend North Point Community Church in Alpharetta.

 

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Walton on the Chattahoochee rezoning case on Cobb commissioners’ agenda

walton on the chattahoochee

A proposal to rezone the Walton on the Chattahoochee residential complex on Akers Mill Road is on the agenda for the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the 2nd floor commissioners meeting room at 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

It’s one of just a few East Cobb cases on the agenda that will be heard after the Cobb Planning Commission voted earlier this month to table or continue two other major applications in the same Powers Ferry corridor.

The planning board voted on Dec. 5 to table the proposed Terrell Mill Towne Center, at the corner of Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry roads, after residents at the adjacent Salem Ridge condominium complex protested (previous East Cobb News story here).

Another residential proposal, to build townhomes at Windy Hill Road and Wildwood Parkway, is being continued after objections from nearby residents.

The Walton on the Chattahoochee rezoning case also drew opposition from residents in nearby condominium communities in the Akers Mill Road corridor, but the Planning Commission voted to recommend approval. Walton Riverbend, the property owner which has its headquarters on the property, wants to convert the 46-acre tract into three office buildings totaling 16,800 square feet and to keep a 26-unit residential building.

The complex was once known as the Riverbend Apartments, and was a trend-setting development for young renters in the 1970s. Now the area is being eyed for more upscale commercial and residential development with the addition of SunTrust Park in the Powers Ferry corridor.

Kevin Moore, Walton Riverbend’s attorney, said at the planning board hearing that there are no other intentions to develop the property. “We want to set this up for the future,” he said.

That open-ended intent bothered residents of nearby communities. Brian Cipriani of the Chattahoochee Trail complex said Walton Riverbend has engaged in “constant misrepresentation about how it’s going to be developed and what’s going to take place.”

Cipriani said that “it’s inconsistent to add office space along the river,” and that he’s not the only homeowner who’s spent money trying to prevent runoff issues.

Planning Commission chairman Mike Terry, who represents the area, said the proposal “truly is a plan for the future” and added that any “trust issues” residents had with the developer are “with what’s gone on in the past.”

Still, the planning board was split 3-2, with Galt Porter and Thea Powell opposed.

The rest of the commission zoning hearing agenda can be found here.

Cases that are continued or held will be taken up in February, since Cobb does not conduct zoning hearings in January.

 

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East Cobb Biz Notes: Engel & Völkers opens office at The Avenue; new owners for Brewster’s Neighborhood Grille

Engel & Volkers East Cobb

Engel & Völkers, a real estate brokerage firm with five offices in metro Atlanta, has recently opened at The Avenue East Cobb.

The North Atlanta office is being led by CEO and managing broker Cynthia Lippert, real estate advisor Jaime Turner and qualifying broker Scott Askew. The office also has 14 other real estate advisors who service the East Cobb, Roswell and Sandy Springs areas.

The Engel & Völkers office is located in Suite 200, next to Bed Bath and Beyond, and the phone number is 770-744-3205.

Changes at Brewster’s Neighborhood Grille

Brewster’s Neighborhood Grille, which opened on Canton Road in 1996, is under new ownership. Tommy and MacKenzie Gilbert, doing business as Goodwin Gilbert Inc., are now the proprietors. They received their business license last week and held a party over the weekend for staff and customers to mark the occasion.

The restaurant, located at 3595 Canton Road in the New Chastain Shopping Center, features live music, karaoke, trivia and darts in addition to a sports bar-style menu.

Cobb teacher for a day program 

The Cobb Chamber of Commerce is asking for business and community leaders to participate in its Teacher for a Day program during the week of Feb. 5-9, 2018, that include the Cobb and Marietta public schools and post-secondary institutions

The aim is to give participating individuals a first-hand perspective on public education, as they work with a school’s teacher of the year to learn about what schools and teachers face on a daily basis.

Applications are due Jan. 17. For information or to apply online, visit www.cobbchamber.org or contact Katie Guice at 770-859-2334 or kguice@cobbchamber.org.

 

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