The Lassiter Bands annual Christmas Tree sale fundraiser began on Friday, and it will continue every day through Dec. 10 at its usual location, the Highland Plaza Shopping Center (3605 Sandy Plains Road).
The hours are listed on the flyer below; in addition to trees wreaths also are on sale. All proceeds benefit the Lassiter High School bands program.
Prices start at $65 for 6-inch trees and go up to $265 for a 10-foot tree. They’re locally sourced Frazier firs, as are the bough wreaths. There’s also on-site cutting services and tree stands.
The sale takes place in the parking lot fronting Sandy Plains Road at the intersection of Gordy Parkway.
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The Cobb Police Department once again is implementing what it calls e-commerce safety zones for members of the public to conduct online holiday shopping in secure fashion.
The signs are located at all five Cobb Police precinct locations as well as headquarters (see addresses below) and are in well-lit areas monitored by video surveillance.
Precinct One: 2380 N. Cobb Parkway Kennesaw, GA 30152
Precinct Two: 4700 Austell Rd Austell, GA 30106
Precinct Three: 1901 Cumberland Parkway Atlanta, GA 30339
Precinct Four: 4400 Lower Roswell Rd Marietta, GA 30067
Precinct Five: 4640 Dallas Highway Powder Springs, GA 30127
Headquarters: 545 Fairground St SE Suite 101 Marietta, GA 30060
The holiday shopping season also comes with a rise in entering auto and package theft crimes.
Among the recent trends in the Cobb area are daytime vehicle break-ins at public parks, gyms and especially shopping center parking lots.
Police say that if you’ve had a financial transaction card that’s been stolen to report it immediately to your institution to have it frozen since thieves tend to go to local stores and spend as much money as they can.
Motorists are encouraged to remove all valuables, especially weapons, from view every time you park and leave your vehicle. Make sure that all doors are locked.
If you see someone breaking into a vehicle do not confront but call 911 from a safe place.
Here’s more from Cobb Police about how to minimize package theft during the holidays:
Package Thefts – What You Can Do
Ship it to work. Keep your package off the porch in the first place. If your company allows, consider shipping your packages to your workplace instead of your home.
Enlist a neighbor’s help. Do you have a neighbor or a friend that’s usually home? If so, see if they can wait for your package or keep an eye out for it.
Require a signature. Consider requesting a signature for your package to be dropped off. That way, your package won’t be left on your porch exposed to potential thieves.
Take advantage of alternative delivery options and alerts. FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service and UPS all have alternative pickup and delivery options available. Visit their websites to explore your options and update your delivery preferences. You can also sign up for delivery alerts to track your package and stay up to date on delivery times.
Get technical. Doorbell cameras and other security cameras can be a deterrent to would be thieves and the recorded footage provides suspect and possibly their vehicle descriptions that can be used in developing investigative leads for police if a theft occurs.
Keep your porch clear and visible. It may seem counter-intuitive, but if a thief has no place to hide, they’re less likely to take the risk of going up to your porch in the first place.
Ask for your box to be nondescript. Ordering from a high-end store? Consider marking the “gift” checkbox when you purchase so the package comes in a plain box. You can also request this of friends and family so your box doesn’t grab attention.
Find strength in numbers. Neighborhood groups on social media or community apps like Next door can provide your neighborhood a system for reporting suspicious activity to each other.
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Cobb Fire officials said they’re looking for two women they’ve identified as suspects in a September car fire on Canton Road that’s being investigated for arson.
In releases Wednesday afternoon, Cobb Fire Chief Investigator Brian Beaty said Jazzmin Nicole Davis, 25, and Khadijah Jakalay Courtney, 24, remain at-large.
Davis is wanted on felony charges of second-degree arson and fraudulent insurance claims and a misdemeanor charge of false reporting of a fire. Courtney has been charged with second-degree arson and a false report.
Cobb Fire said in the release that a passenger vehicle fire was reported on Sept. 6 at 4:26 a.m. at 3010 Canton Road, the address of a McDonald’s.
Beaty said in the release that when firefighters arrived on the scene, they “identified multiple points of origin. The fire cause was determined to be incendiary.”
Cobb Fire is asking anyone with information to call 770-499-3869.
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The following food scores for the week of Nov. 21 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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!
After a cold spell earlier this month, warmer temperatures returned just before the Thanksgiving holiday, drawing dog-walkers and recreational enthusiasts to East Cobb Park on Wednesday.
The projected high of 70 degrees is the warmest we’ll have for the next week or so, as highs push into the 60s sporadically.
Thanksgiving Day will be a bit cooler, with highs around 60, and overcast, with lows in the mid-40s for the next few nights.
Black Friday will be wet, with a 100 percent chance of rain, tapering off to 30 percent for Saturday and up to 60 percent on Sunday.
The first full week of the Christmas holiday season will be mostly sunny with highs in the 60s or above. Rain is in the forecast for next Wednesday.
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With early voting starting this weekend and continuing into next week for the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff, we took a deeper look at the general election results in that race as well as the governor’s race in East Cobb precincts.
While some parts of East Cobb have been trending Democratic in some areas over the last three election cycles, the area remains, along with north Cobb, a stronghold for Republican candidates.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams led a Democratic ticket of statewide candidates who prevailed in Cobb County.
Precincts for Walker in blue, and for Warnock in green. The beige precinct (Fullers Park) ended in a tie. Click here for more precinct details for the U.S. Senate general election results.
But only Warnock is left standing statewide after GOP candidates, including incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp, were victorious in the Nov. 8 general election.
Kemp, who defeated Abrams in a rematch of their bitter 2018 race, finished strong in East Cobb precincts, earning around 60 percent of the vote in a number of them.
But Warnock, who is completing the end of Johnny Isakson’s term in seeking a full-six year term against Republican Herschel Walker, was competitive in many of those same East Cobb precincts.
Walker’s highest percentage in any East Cobb precinct was 53 percent. Much has been made of supposed “split” voters—those voting for both Kemp and Warnock.
A total of 11 of the 48 precincts in our coverage area were won by Kemp and Warnock: Addison, Bells Ferry 2, Bells Ferry 3, Davis, Elizabeth 5, Nicholson, Powers Ferry, Sandy Plains, Sewell Mill 1, Sewell Mill 3, Simpson, Sope Creek 2 and Timber Ridge.
In the governor’s race, precincts for Kemp are in blue and for Abrams are in green. For more details click here.
In some typically strong GOP precincts, Warnock also finished well. He lost by 19 votes in Eastside 2, by 15 votes in Mt. Bethel 3, by 4 votes in Murdock, by 46 votes in Roswell 1, by 20 votes in Roswell 2 and by 47 votes in Sope Creek 1.
The Fullers Park precinct was dead even, with Walker and Warnock each getting 1,212 votes.
An asterisk denotes the precinct winner; the hashtag indicates the tie in Fullers Park.
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As the Georgia Bureau of Investigation begins a probe of the Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s office, Cobb government officials responded Tuesday to some of the claims made by that office’s accounting manager.
Jackie McMorris, Cobb County Manager
Cobb government issued a release Tuesday afternoon saying that some of the comments made by Maya Curry—who is alleging that Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor has collected more than $400,000 in passport application fees since taking office in January 2021—contain “misleading information.”
Curry, who was hired to work in the clerk’s office in March, is claiming that Taylor ordered her to destroy records about the passport application fees when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution filed an open records request seeking that information.
Under state law, court clerks are allowed to personally keep such funds. But Rebecca Keaton, Taylor’s predecessor, forwarded some of those monies to the county’s general fund.
And the amount of money Curry alleges Taylor had collected far surpasses her annual salary of around $170,000.
In a letter dated Thursday to Cobb commissioners and other county officials, Curry’s attorney, State Rep. Stacey Evans, wrote that Curry was contacted by Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris to say that she was being placed on leave pending an investigation and that “adverse action” may be coming her way.
Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said in the county release that McMorris was responding to a call by Curry about being the subject of a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint by another employee in the clerk’s office, and that her responses were about that complaint, and not her allegations about Taylor.
Cavitt’s statement also said that McMorris was unaware of any issues involving passport fee records when she spoke to Curry and that she was returning a phone call from Curry.
“Since Ms. Curry works for an elected official, Dr. McMorris would not have the authority to place her on administrative leave, nor was there any discussion about ‘adverse action,’ ” according to the Cobb government statement.
The Cobb Superior Court Clerk is a state constitutional elected officer who maintains court records, including real estate transactions.
While the clerk’s office is funded by the county, the Cobb government statement said that the Cobb Board of Commissioners “does not oversee or control its operation or hiring practices.”
Commissioners were presented with an agenda item for their meeting last Thursday from Taylor to forward $84,000 in passport application fees to the county. But that item was withdrawn shortly before the meeting.
Curry’s allegations (you can read her attorney’s letter here) include a comment by Taylor that “we’re just going to Donald Trump this thing,” a reference to deleting any files or records that would be germane to an open records request.
Curry said Taylor has demanded that she leave the office and has had her access to office systems terminated.
A Cobb judge requested the GBI investigation, according to a GBI release.
In the county statement, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said that “I look forward to this matter being rectified and the county getting answers on whether the general fund is due any of those fees.”
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The East Cobb Government Service Center will be a polling station for all seven days of early voting for the U.S. Senate runoff.
Following Fulton and DeKalb counties, the Cobb Elections office will offer early voting for the U.S. Senate runoff this coming Saturday.
A court ruling last week allowed county elections offices to hold early voting on Saturday.
A runoff was called for Dec. 6 after neither Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock nor Republican Herschel Walker could get 50 percent plus one vote in the general election.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger initially had prohibited voting on Saturday, as it falls the day after the Thursday-Friday official state holidays for Thanksgiving.
But Warnock’s campaign filed a lawsuit and a Fulton County judge ordered that counties could decide for themselves whether to have voting on Saturday.
Cobb had previously approved Sunday early voting for this coming Sunday, as well as Monday-Friday next week.
This Saturday, voters wishing to cast their ballots in person can do so between 12-5 p.m. at the following locations:
Cobb Elections and Registration Main Office, 995 Roswell Street, Marietta
North Cobb Senior Center, 3900 S Main Street, Acworth
East Cobb Government Center, 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta
South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road, Mableton
Boots Ward Recreation Center, 4845 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs
The East Cobb Government Services Center also will have early voting on Sunday from 12-5, and next Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Absentee ballots can be dropped off at a designated drop box there as well, but only during early voting hours.
The Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road) will have early voting from Monday, Nov. 28 through Friday, Dec. 2 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There will be no early voting Dec. 3-5. On Dec. 6, voters who cast ballots in person must go to their regular precincts.
For those requesting absentee ballots, they’re urged to apply immediately. Absentee ballots must be received at the Cobb Elections office (995 Roswell Street) by 7 p.m. on Dec. 6.
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Kai’s & Ko Restaurant and Lounge, located at 2520 E. Piedmont Road, Suite 106, in the Sprayberry Collection shopping center, is relaunching its business under new management.
A ribbon-cutting will take place on Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. and will include officials from the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
Kai’s opened in 2021 in the former Cafe 33 space, and is expanding its operations to include live entertainment and new menu items.
Kai’s will also be available for private events.
“We want to become an integral part of the Cobb community by supporting the community and providing a top service location with delicious menu items and entertainment,” owner Steve Cleveland said in a statement.
The business is partnering with Deep Waters Community Church to collaborate on ways to support the local community.
The relaunch events include the following:
Happy Hour from 5-7 p.m. on Dec. with karaoke until 11 p.m.;
Happy Hour Dec. 9 from 4-8 pm. and a live performance by BET Hip Hop Award winner Young Dro;
Brunch from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 10 with the sounds of Kenny Bentley & Friends performing from 1-3 p.m.;
Day Party on Dec. 10 from 4-9 pm with R&B Artist “Nathaniel the Great” performing;
Soulful Sunday Dec. 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a soul food menu.
For more information, go to www.kaisnko.com or call (404) 451-5265.
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!
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!
Your editor’s happy place: Enjoying the fall colors at East Cobb Park.
Over the summer I asked readers to complete a survey to help guide the coverage and direction of East Cobb News, and I was gratified that nearly 100 of you responded.
I’ve been meaning to share some of the results with you, but as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I thought I’d use the occasion to express my gratitude for your readership and your thoughts on this community news service.
First, a little bit of the data:
56 percent of you access East Cobb News via our Sunday newsletter, which has been vital to our growth.
We now have more than 7,300 subscribers, and it’s been the single-biggest tool for expanding an audience that averages around 130,000 page views a month and nearly 70,000 monthly unique visitors.
That latter figure is telling because that’s roughly one-third of our coverage area.
Another 33 percent read East Cobb News directly from a web search, and 35 percent read on a mobile device.
When I asked what kinds of news readers like about what we provide, here were the top topics:
84 percent government news
76 percent restaurant/retail/business news
72 percent features and community events
72 percent crime/public safety
68 percent politics
54 percent school news
54 percent religious news
53 percent calendar listings.
Now, for some details on all this, including more of what you would like to see:
“Snapshot of this month’s festivals or major events around Georgia. Restaurant reviews or yelp summary, something curated to highlight top places to try.”
“Positive honoring inspiring stories.”
“I would like to see content reported with less bias. Also I would like to see content that reflects some actual reporting, rather than regurgitation of what some other publication has written/spoken.”
(Wish the last reader above would have specified examples of both of these points. As for the latter, East Cobb News broke or led coverage of East Cobb cityhood, the Tokyo Valentino adult store, the Mt. Bethel Church controversy and other topics that other outlets regularly followed.)
“Letters to editor, screened to provide balance and eliminate vitriol and ranting.”
“Development plans. Activities, classes, activities for seniors, groups to join, charities to contribute to by volunteering or donations. Local small business owners profiles. Environmental groups and developments. Highlight local recreational areas: nature center, parks, bikeways and associated activities.”
“I love what you are doing. I don’t need nor want anything else.”
“Less politics, unless it’s around an election.”
“Less news about Lisa Cupid.”
“If I had one piece of constructive feedback, it appears East Cobb News treads lightly when it comes to the Cobb County School District.”
“Concentrate on being the most authoritative and neutral source of truthful news. Stick to the facts and let the readers draw their opinions from the true facts. Don’t be a cheerleader for the Cobb County Commissioners.”
“Request readers submit stories, news, events they have first hand knowledge and involvement with! One or two interesting overviews! Ex. The day I met Neil Armstrong, my trip and who I met at the Masters!”
“Acknowledge varying points of view. Explain laws and ordinances, teach civics.”
“Perhaps consider a podcast?”
“More original content and photographs, not just repeating stories found in MDJ.”
“I’m glad you exist, MDJ doesn’t cover us and I can’t read their articles anyway.”
“You’ve become more balanced but still comes across as one sided politically.”
“I enjoy and appreciate East Cobb News. Please oh please, just don’t become partisan.”
“Continue to spotlight youth who are active in positive activities, especially helping others.”
“Tired of the biased community news outlets here in East Cobb. Seems the right leaning bullies rule everything here.”
“Appreciate your deep and objective coverage. Thank you.”
There are plenty more responses like this, and I value them all, even when they’re critical. There’s plenty of room for improvement and expanding the editorial product, and I will be taking all of this feedback into account.
The suggestions have been very helpful—a podcast is something I’ve had in mind and am seriously considering—and we’ll soon be publishing reader contributions and bringing on some freelance writers to help cover more news.
One thing that a number of readers in the survey said was that they wanted more stories about local small businesses, and we’ve done some of that recently and will be doing more in the coming weeks and months.
As I tell local business owners and advertisers, and those I’m trying to become advertisers, East Cobb News champions local news AND local businesses. They truly are the backbone of the community, especially because many of them give back to the community in amazing ways.
These were among my objectives when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, and over these last two-plus years I’ve seen how much so many of you value what you read at East Cobb News.
That’s one of the silver linings that’s emerged from a very challenging time for all of us, and I’m thankful to all of you for sticking with us, getting in touch, pointing out corrections, providing news tips and suggesting ways to get better.
As I’ve mentioned before, the model I’m following is what another local independent online news publisher I admire calls “community-collaborative journalism.”
After decades in corporate media, I answer these days only to my community—to readers, businesses, organizations, entities and other individuals invested in this place we call home.
It’s been an interesting time in what’s not just a suburban bedroom community any more.
And it’s been an honor to have been able to do this for five and half years, and I’m thankful to all of you for reading and contributing your ideas.
As always, feel free to get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.
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 group provided a donation of $800 as the lead gift for All Girls Forward, whose goals include raising and distributing $2.5 million over the next five years.
The Numbers Too Big to Ignore luncheon event at the Georgia World Congress Center, drew more than 1,000 business, civic and political leaders, most of them women.
The East Cobb Middle School girls also got to meet actress Rita Moreno, who was the keynote speaker.
According to Kari Love, an East Cobb native who is the Atlanta Women’s Foundation’s CEO, the East Cobb students raised the $800 by hosting a leggings day fundraiser at the school.
The luncheon event raised more than $150,000 for the All Girls Forward Program.
The foundation, which was formed in 1998, has invested more than $20 million in more than 350 Atlanta-area non-profits to assist and empower girls and women and help break the cycle of poverty.
It also provides leadership and philanthropic training for professional women and their communities.
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The Cobb Board of Elections and Registration recertified general election results on Friday to include data from a memory card that was not uploaded earlier in the week.
In a 2-1 vote (with two members absent), the board included accepting 789 additional votes from the memory card.
The board voted Tuesday to certify elections results from Nov. 8. But the latest error involving Cobb Elections during the general election cycle changed the outcome of a Kennesaw City Council election.
Madelyn Orochena, who had been initially been certified as the winner of that race, instead finished 31 votes behind Lynette Burnett in a special election.
At the start of Friday’s special-called meeting, Orochena said that “due to gross incompetence, lack of transparency and communication, I am left with no choice but to doubt this election.”
Later, she said, “apologies, however sincere, are not good enough.”
A special recount has been called for Sunday in that race since the final vote margin is within the 0.5 percent threshold allowed under Georgia law.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office is expected to certify all county election results on Monday.
No other races were affected by the additional votes from the previously uncounted memory card, Cobb Elections director Janine Eveler said.
Elections board chairwoman Tori Silas said the board was told on Wednesday about the issue with the uncounted memory card. The error was detected when elections officials were preparing an audit.
Cobb Elections failed to mail out around 1,000 requested absentee ballots days before the Nov. 8 general election, and a Cobb Superior Court judge issued a consent decree to extend the deadline for returning them to this past Monday.
Eveler called that a “human error,” and it’s unclear how many of those voters weren’t able to get their ballots returned in time.
During early voting, some voters in East Cobb were mistakenly assigned to Post 4 in a Cobb Board of Education election when they in fact live in Post 5.
A total of 112 incorrect votes were cast, but Post 4 incumbent David Chastain comfortably won re-election.
Eveler has cited high turnover on her senior staff for some of the errors, as well as expanded early voting dates and locations.
Six days of early voting in the U.S. Senate runoff begin on Sunday, Nov. 27, at 12 locations in the county.
Cobb Elections could add Saturday voting after a judge’s ruling on Friday.
The runoff will be decided on Tuesday, Dec. 6 with voters going to their normal precincts to choose between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.
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!
Clergy from various faith communities in the East Cobb area delivered reflections of “Finding Common Ground” during Temple Kol Emeth’s 18th Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service Thursday.
In the first in-person service since 2019, an audience that nearly filled the vast synagogue was told that hearing such messages and uplifting music (they all sang “This Land Is Your Land”) and sharing fellowship aren’t enough.
“This isn’t a show,” Kol Emeth Rabbi Larry Sernovitz said near the end of the two-hour service. “This is a call to action.”
In recalling the tale of Abraham smashing idols, he said that “we live in a world that still worships idols . . . and doesn’t value people like we need to.
“Our faith has to stand for something. If our faith doesn’t stand for humanity, it’s not faith, it’s politics.”
He urged the attendees to follow Abraham’s example, because “that’s how our faith has meaning. If we don’t use it, what good is it?”
Youth from the Sikh Educational Welfare Association do the Bhangra Dance before the service.
Started by now-retired Kol Emeth Rabbi Steven Lebow following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the service included many familiar components, including the Muslim call to prayer, a Bhangra dance by Sikh youth, original music and the “Give A Gobble” offering, this year to benefit Special Needs GA and other local charities for Thanksgiving meals.
Members of the participating faith communities—22 in all—also formed a choir to perform, including “Common Ground” (see video below, and you can watch a full replay of the service by clicking here).
Father Ray Cadran of the Catholic Church of St. Ann said his understanding of finding common ground is “a work of the heart.”
Temple Kol Emeth Rabbi Larry Sernovitz
Those duties include “being called to together to acting justly,” engaging in unifying dialogue and “loving tenderly all God’s people.”
Rev. Trey Phillips of St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church said “we all come from a common ground” and asked the audience to “let us cling to one another and seek God on this common ground we call Marietta.”
But Rev. Bronson Elliott Woods of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta—where Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor—injected some political references into his remarks, mentioning Black Lives Matter and women’s reproductive choice, and said that finding common ground includes “working against laws that oppress people,” especially those in what he called the “LGBTQIA” community.
“The common ground we share,” Woods said, “is through the breath of God.”
East Cobb resident Brenda Rhodes, the founder of Simple Needs GA and a long-time volunteer in the community, urged those in attendance to find ways to contribute to those less fortunate.
Rev. Bronson Elliott Woods of Ebenezer Baptist Church
“It doesn’t matter how you help,” she said. “Just think about helping. . . . Go where God leads you to help others in your community.”
Among the organizations benefitting from Give-A-Gobble include the Center for Family Resources, Families First, Family Promise, Food2Kids, Genesis Shelter, Helping Hand Foundation, Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN), Jewish Family & Career Services, Jubilee Partners, New American Pathways, Must Ministries, North Fulton Charities, Pianos for Peace, and United Military Care, Inc.
The faith communities represented at the service include the Catholic Church of St. Ann, Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, East Cobb Islamic Center, Emerson Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Congregation Etz Chaim, St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Unity North Atlanta Church.
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A man wanted for the July murder of another man at a Smyrna apartment complex was arrested Wednesday in the Delk-Powers Ferry Road area.
Cobb Police said in a statement that they were acting on a tip from the Cobb Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force when Tavis Crankfield, 20, of Decatur, was located around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Crankfield is a suspect in the July 17 shooting death of Jason Escoffrey at a swimming pool at the Village West Apartments in Smyrna.
The statement said that Crankfield was apprehended after a brief foot chase.
He was charged with two counts of felony murder, one count of malice murder, one count of aggravated assault and other felony charges and is being held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking reports.
Smyrna police have been asking for the public’s help in finding the suspect in Escoffrey’s killing. Escoffrey, 21, who had been living in Opelika, Ala., was found shot multiple times, police said.
According to police, Crankfield left the scene at the Smyrna apartment complex after law enforcement arrived, and Escoffrey died after being taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
Police said that witness statements and Crime Stopper tips identified Crankfield as the suspect.
Jail booking reports indicate that in addition to the murder warrant, three other warrants were taken out against Crankfield on Wednesday, including obstructing a law enforcement officer, a probation violation and failure to appear.
Crankfield also is wanted in Forsyth County for an April 2020 police chase in which he was one of four teens arrested for speeding on Georgia 400 to elude a traffic stop.
In October of last year, Crankfield was sentenced to five years probation after being found guilty of violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act for a June 2019 incident.
Police said he was one of several members of the Mucho Gang, based in the South Cobb area, who attacked two people attending a birthday party in Smyrna. Crankfield also was charged with misdemeanor battery but that was dropped, according to court records.
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 food scores for the week of Nov. 14 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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!
There will be six days of early voting in Cobb County for the U.S. Senate runoff election.
A runoff was declared for Dec. 6 after neither Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock nor Republican Herschel Walker could get 50 percent plus one vote in the general election.
There are 12 early voting locations for the runoff, including the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) and the Tim D. Lee Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road).
At the East Cobb center, there will be early voting on Sunday, Nov. 27 from 12-5 p.m. and from Monday, Nov. 28 through Friday, Dec. 2 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There also is an absentee ballot drop box inside the polling station that will be open during early voting hours.
Early voting at the Tim D. Lee center will be Monday, Nov. 28 through Friday, Dec. 2 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There will be no early voting Dec. 3-5. On Dec. 6, voters who cast ballots in-person must go to their regular precincts.
For those requesting absentee ballots, they’re urged to apply immediately. Absentee ballots must be received at the Cobb Elections office (995 Roswell Street) by 7 p.m. on Dec. 6.
There will be a special-called meeting of the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration on Friday to re-certify the general election results.
The five-member board certified the election on Monday, but on Wednesday said re-certification is necessary becuase it was discovered that a memory card had not been uploaded.
The meeting takes place at 2 p.m. at the Cobb Elections office.
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East Side ES students scored 100 percent in content mastery in the 2022 CCRPI, one of 9 schools in East Cobb with a perfect score in that category.
On Wednesday, the Georgia Department of Education released partial results of the 2022 College and Career Ready Performance Index, its primary academic performance measurement tool.
The CCRPI is a comprehensive indicator that includes content mastery, progress, closing performance gaps and readiness. It takes in an array of standardized test scores and other metrics.
For 2022, only content mastery and readiness were scored, as well as graduation rates for high schools.
Individual schools also did not receive an overall score. That’s because state received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education from scoring schools on a 0-100 scale, saying that data was limited due to closures and disruptions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several East Cobb schools at all grade levels scored among the best in Cobb in the two categories that were scored.
Students at nine schools scored a perfect 100 in content mastery, which “includes student scores on state assessments in English Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies,” according to the state education department.
Those schools are East Side, Mt. Bethel, Mountain View, Murdock, Sope Creek, Timber Ridge and Tritt elementary schools, Dodgen Middle School and Walton High School.
The content mastery calculation is unchanged from 2019, the last year the Georgia Department of Education is recommending that comparisons be made.
The state education department release said that results of the Georgia Milestones test, which forms the basis for the content mastery score, are up from 2021.
Those East Cobb. schools also scored 90 percent or higher in readiness, as did Dickerson, Hightower Trail and Mabry middle schools and Lassiter High School.
At the elementary- and middle-school level, readiness “includes literacy scores and data on the percentage of students passing ‘Beyond the Core’ instruction,” according to Georgia DOE, comprised of fine arts, world language, and computer science. The middle school level includes those ares plus physical education/health and career exploratory.
High-school readiness areas includes literacy scores, pathway completion data, and accelerated enrollment data.
In the Cobb County School District, elementary school students scored 73 percent in content mastery and 78.3 percent in readiness.
Middle-school level scores were 79.6 and 79 percent, and at the high school level they were 71.1 and 80.6 percent.
In a release, the Cobb school district said its all-level content mastery score was 14.9 percent higher than the state average and the readiness score was 5.8 percent higher than the state average.
Content mastery scores statewide are down to 64.7 percent, compared to 70 percent in 2019.
Cobb’s graduation rate of 88.2 percent is 3.5 percentage points ahead of the state average, according to the release. The College and Career Readiness metric was not included in the 2022 report due to incomplete data, according to the state education department.
The Georgia Department of Education said 2022 scores will form the baseline for evaluating academic progress.
Elementary Schools
Content Mastery
Readiness
Addison
80.4
79.9
Bells Ferry
68.9
77.1
Blackwell
63.4
76.5
Brumby
36.0
66.2
Davis
86.4
84.6
East Side
100
90.5
Eastvalley
78.2
79.8
Garrison Mill
99.0
89.6
Keheley
72.0
86.0
Kincaid
87.5
86.7
Mt. Bethel
100
93.9
Mountain View
100
92.4
Murdock
100
91.9
Nicholson
78.2
83.1
Powers Ferry
51.5
68.3
Rocky Mount
97.1
89.2
Sedalia Park
59.4
72.0
Shallowford Falls
97.8
88.9
Sope Creek
100
93.5
Timber Ridge
100
93.9
Tritt
100
92.4
Middle Schools
Content Mastery
Readiness
Daniell
71.8
81.8
Dickerson
99.7
92.8
Dodgen
100
92.9
East Cobb
56.7
76.2
Hightower Trail
94.3
91.9
Mabry
98.0
90.2
McCleskey
70.1
79.7
Simpson
93.0
88.9
High Schools
Content Mastery
Readiness
Grad Rate
Kell
79.7
82.8
91.3
Lassiter
97.8
91.9
97.0
Pope
96.9
88.8
97.1
Sprayberry
78.8
77.7
89.1
Walton
100
92.5
97.2
Wheeler
85.9
80.1
87.9
You can look through more school-, district- and state-level data by clicking here.
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A proposed annexation by the City of Marietta for nearly 160 acres (in red stripes) off Bells Ferry Road is being opposed by Cobb commissioners. City land is in blue.
Cobb commissioners are expected to formally file a letter of objection Thursday to an annexation request by the City of Marietta for nearly 170 acres of land off Bells Ferry Road for a major subdivision.
Beazer Homes, the developer of what had been originally proposed as a nearly 700-home development, is requesting rezoning in Marietta after dropping a rezoning request before the county earlier this year.
The Marietta City Council was scheduled next month to hear Beazer’s plans for a 596-home development on several tracts of undeveloped land at Bells Ferry Road and Laura Lake Drive, near I-575.
But under a HB 489, a state home rule law, county governments can file objections for municipal annexations for density and other reasons.
In a certified letter to Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin and included with the agenda item for Thursday’s meeting, Cobb commissioners said they were objecting because the proposed density of the development is 3.4 units an acre, over the maximum density of 3 units per acre under the low-density residential (LDR) category of the property that’s designated in the county’s future land-use map.
The various parcels of the assembled land are owned by the Montgomery family and represent one of the largest relatively undeveloped tracts in Cobb. Several homes are currently scattered across the properties, according to a county analysis of the annexation request.
A total of 6.6 acres of the 168 acres, all of which are zoned R-20, is already inside Marietta city limits. The county was deeded 24 acres that includes Laura Lake and a dam.
Nearby civic groups have objected due to traffic concerns.
Traton Homes wanted to convert vacant lots into a high-density residential development with a single access point at the entrance of the Sewell Manor neighborhood in unincorporated Cobb.
Residents there also objected, but the county staff made a mistake in not requesting a formal vote from commissioners. Marietta could have annexed the land because of that error and the case was set to go to mediation.
Commissioners did send a letter of objection that Tumlin said he would honor and Traton ultimately withdrew its rezoning and annexation request.
Commissioners are meeting Thursday instead of their regularly scheduled fourth Tuesday meeting due to the Thanksgiving holiday next week.
The full agenda for Tuesday’s meeting can be found by clicking here. It will take place starting at 7 p.m. in the second floor board room of the Cobb Government Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.
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 holiday season is quickly approaching and now is the perfect time to get take home your forever best friend! Each Monday from 11 am to 3 pm, Cobb County Animal Services has a free adoption event in their parking lot at 1060 Al Bishop Drive, Marietta 30008. All the pets featured in the adoption trailer are free! You don’t have to be a Cobb County resident to adopt. All we need is a license & a willingness to open your heart and home to a homeless pet. We have cats & kittens, dogs & puppies on the trailer ready for their forever home! Visit us at CobbCounty.org/pets, call 770-499-4136 or follow us on Facebook & Instagram for more information.”
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!
