Revue and News, January 1, 2015

Real Estate Report Sponsored section ►►PAGE 18

Cop killer’s local ties New York shooter had rap sheet ►►PAGE 4

Getting in the holiday spirit

&

Jakson Healthcare donates presents, throws party ►►PAGE 25

Alpharetta-Roswell

REVUE NEWS

January 1, 2015 | revueandnews.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 33, No. 1

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A look back on 2014 Each year, our editors comb through the year’s archives of stories to select the most talked about and impactful articles.

This year’s selections look at stories at the local level that are helping to shape North Fulton and the cities of Alpharetta and Roswell.

While there were more stories that didn’t make this year’s “look back,” a brief compilation and review will help to quickly remind our readers of stories we presented this year and some that we’ll continue to follow in the New Year.

A: T he mixed-use development Avalon opened for business Oct. 30.

B: 1 8-year-old, King’s Ridge Christian School senior Chase Elliot won his First NASCAR Nationwide Series race April 4. He went to become the

See “Year in Review,” Pages 10 – 11

youngest NASCAR champion.

C: A lpharetta opened their brand new city hall in December.

D: Two massive snowstorms wreaked havoc on the county, Jan. 28 – 29 and Feb. 11 – 13.

E. The Blessed Trinity Titans went 13-1 and finished third in the state in AAA, losing in the semifinals. Matthew Higgins (6) was the Titans’ leading receiver.

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Mall thief tackled by shoppers

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ALPHARETTA, Ga. – A Roswell man suspected of snatching a cell phone Dec. 17 and running away did not get far.

He was hauled down by another shopper. The victim told police he sat down in the North Point Mall food court

about 8 p.m. and set his phone on the table. As he was seated, a man sneaked up behind him, reached around and grabbed the phone from the table and ran.

The victim followed, shouting, “Stop.

Grab him.” As the suspect neared the

mall entrance, a nearby shopper heard the cries and tackled the suspect to the ground and held him until security showed up.

Cyril Laumer Teal, 19, of Old Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell was arrested for robbery by sudden snatching. lane. ►► Daniele Donicko Ross, 39, of Woodstock was arrested Dec. 14 on Wood Creek Court in Roswell for DUI.

was arrested Dec. 9 on Jones Bridge Road in Johns Creek for DUI and failure to maintain lane. ►► Patricia Ann Camden, 58, of Norcross was arrested Dec. 12 on Barnwell Road in Johns Creek for DUI and failure to maintain lane. ►► Choi Sung Chul, 47, of Joybrook Road, Johns Creek, was arrested Dec. 13 on Medlock Bridge Road in Johns Creek for DUI, following too closely and leaving the scene of an accident. ►► Michael Anthony Jones, 56, was

arrested Dec. 7 on Providence Road in Milton for DUI, speeding, failure to maintain lane and impeding traffic. ►► Sophie Katherine Smith, 28, was arrested Dec. 13 on Hopewell Road in Milton for DUI and failure to maintain lane. ►► William Terry Land, 51, was arrested Dec. 14 on Deerfield Parkway in Milton for DUI and failure to maintain lane. ►► Carol A. Scheerer, 68, was arrested Dec. 14 on Birmingham Road in Milton for DUI, open container, failure to maintain lane and expired tag. ►► Natasha Stinson-Badjan, 39, of Sterling Court, Roswell, was arrested Dec. 14 on Crabapple Road in Roswell for DUI and failure to maintain lane. ►► Brianna Chantel Anderson, 22, of Chesapeake, Virginia, was arrested Dec. 14 on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell for DUI and failure to maintain

POLICE BLOTTER

like a check.

was arrested for shoplifting.

All crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.

Shoplifter found with multiple warrants

Tip lands wanted man in jail

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Several stores in North Point Mall called police Dec. 15 about a man suspected of stealing dozens of items.

Police were unable to locate the suspect who apparently had left the mall.

However a man matching the description was spotted at a nearby MARTA bus stop.

Officers followed the bus and caught up to it at the Mansell Road Park and Ride. There, they approached Marlo Unicholas Gay, 34, of Atlanta.

A check of his background turned up numerous warrants, police say.

Gay denied having any warrants.

Police found a bag with Gay containing jackets, shirts and shoes, all of which are suspected stolen.

In total, the Gay is suspected of stealing items worth nearly $400. He

MILTON, Ga. – An anonymous tip Dec. 15 landed a man with numerous warrants in jail.

Police received the tip about 4:20 p.m. that two men were “smoking illegal drugs” on the back deck of a residence.

When police arrived, they found no one on the deck, but a man was getting out of a vehicle in the driveway.

He initially identified himself as “Lewis Spencer.”

A check of that name turned up a man with six traffic tickets.

The suspect denied ever having a ticket. Police called his work who said the man’s name was Samuel Smith, 34, of Milton.

A check of Smith’s record showed active warrants for his arrest out of Ar-

DUIS & DRUGS All crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.

DUI arrests

►► Mahamudul Haq, 51, of Loganville

Victim recognizes fake check MILTON, Ga. – A savvy Craigslist seller avoided heartburn Dec. 9 when he saw he was being scammed.

The victim told police he put a piece of art up for sale on Craigslist for $600.

He was contacted by a buyer who gave him the name Daniel Donald.

Donald sent the victim a check to pay for the art. When the seller received a check in the mail for $1,985, far more than the sale price, he became suspicious.

The man went to his bank and asked if the check was genuine. They confirmed it was bogus, printed on normal printer paper and cut to look

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Blotter: Continued from Page 2 kansas and Tennessee. Smith eventually admitted that was his real name and that he lied to the police.

Police searched Smith’s vehicle and found suspected marijuana.

He was arrested for possession of marijuana and giving a false name to police.

Victim tackles thief to ground CUMMING, Ga. — A woman saw a man walk out of her home carrying her personal items, so she jumped on him, according to a Forsyth County Sheriff’s incident report.

A woman in a home in the 5000 block of Hendrix Road told deputies she pulled into her driveway at about 1 p.m.

Dec. 16 and saw blue van parked along the roadside.

When the woman got out of her car, a man got out of the van.

She asked him what he was doing by her house, and the man said he wanted to know where the highway was.

She said the man got back into the van and drove to the neighboring driveway.

Then another man walked out of her house carrying a cedar box that her father had made her.

As the second man tried to walk by her with the box, the woman tackled him to the ground.

He got back up and ran to the man waiting in the van in the next driveway.

The two suspects sped off toward Matt Highway, but the woman said she was able to take a picture of the van.

The woman said nothing else seemed to be missing from her home.

‘Grinches’ swipe packages from doorways FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Online shoppers beware, because thieves are making off with presents and packages left unattended after delivery, according to Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

Eight victims so far have reported to deputies about $1,200 in packages stolen off their property after confirmation of delivery.

One woman in the 6000 block of Warminister Green told deputies she was working in her home office at about 2 p.m. Dec. 19 when she saw a red Chevrolet pickup truck pull into her driveway.

No one rang her doorbell, so she looked out the window again.

She then saw a woman running from the porch back to the truck with a package in hand.

The woman said she tried to follow the suspects in her car but was not able to keep up.

The woman said she saw several packages fall out of the truck, and they were addressed to a home off Olde Atlanta Parkway and The Twelfth Fairway.

Another woman in the 4000 block of Wilshire Crossing told deputies she watched a woman steal two packages from her neighbor’s front steps at about 5 p.m. Dec. 10.

The woman said she yelled at the suspect as she ran back to a silver Infiniti sedan.

A man was waiting in the driver’s seat, and the two suspects sped off.

Burglar hits strip mall CUMMING, Ga. — Someone broke into a shoe repair store,

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stole cash and then repeated the act at a neighboring business, according to Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

At about 8 a.m. Dec. 14, deputies were dispatched to Simply U Beauty Salon, 655 Atlanta Highway, after a business alarm went off.

When deputies arrived, they talked to the owner who said about $150 in cash was missing from the cash register.

Deputies reviewed video surveillance and saw a man in a dark hoodie pull up to the store in a white Ford pickup.

He was wearing white gloves with black fingertips and used a tool to push open the front door.

The video showed he went

revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 3 straight to the cash register, stole the money and left out the front door.

Deputies said the neighboring business, Cumming Shoe Repairs, was burglarized the same way a few minutes before the suspect went to the salon.

The owner of the store said he was unaware of the burglary until he saw $28 in cash missing from the drawer.

Deputies said there was no forced entry into the businesses, because the tool the suspect used pushes the lock in far enough for entry without damage.

Deputies said the front door relocked after the suspect left the shoe repair store, so it appeared nothing happened.

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4 | January 1, 2015 | Revue & News | revueandnews.com

New York cop killer had long rap sheet Gunman had Alpharetta, Marietta, Atlanta roots

By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.com NEW YORK – Suspected cop killer Ismaaiyal Brinsley, 28, had deep Georgia connections and many run-ins with the law, reports show.

Brinsley had an extensive criminal record in the Atlanta area, including in Alpharetta where he had a 2005 arrest for shoplifting and a 2006 arrest for shoplifting, carrying a knife during a crime and carrying a concealed weapon.

In Fulton County, most of his arrests stem from shoplifting and battery. They range from 2004 to 2010.

Throughout the state, he had at least 15 arrests over more than a decade. He pleaded guilty in 2011 to using a stolen gun to shoot at a woman’s car in Marietta.

Brinsley is suspected in the killing of two New York policemen as they sat in their patrol car Dec. 17.

According to New York police, he trav-

BRINSLEY

eled from Baltimore, where he had shot his ex-girlfriend after an argument.

Media reports from New York claimed Brinsley was angered over the recent police-involved shooting deaths of unarmed black men Eric Garner and Michael

Brown.

An Instagram attributed to Brinsley wrote in the hours before the shooting, “I’m putting wings on pigs today,” and “They take 1 of ours ... let’s take 2 of theirs.” The post ended with, “This may be my final post.”

After killing the police, Brinsley then turned the gun on himself.

The officers, Wenjian Liu, 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40, both died of their injuries.

Liu had married two months prior.

Ramos was married and had two young children.

“Today two of New York’s finest were shot and killed with no warning, no provocation,” said New York Police Com-

They were, quite simply, assassinated — targeted for their uniform and for the responsibility they embraced to keep the people of this city safe.”

WILLIAM BRATTON New York Police Commissioner

missioner William Bratton. “They were, quite simply, assassinated — targeted for their uniform and for the responsibility they embraced to keep the people of this city safe.”

Bank of North Georgia helps Feed the Hungry Campaign Collects $45K in Donations ATLANTA – Just in time for the holidays, Bank of North Georgia, a division of Synovus Bank, concluded its annual Feed the Hungry food box campaign raising more than $45,200 in donations. That’s enough to provide more than 270,000 meals to families in the Bank of North Georgia service area.

This far exceeded the goal of $35,000, and nearly doubled last year’s $28,000 in customer and corporate partner donations.

Bank of North Georgia partnered with Action Ministries for a second year, in support of the nonprofit’s Feed the Hungry Food Box program.

Customers and friends visited any of the 40 Bank of North Georgia locations and donated $5 to sponsor a food box that will feed a family of four for up to five days.

“At Bank of North Georgia, we don’t just work in the markets we serve, we strive to be active community participants,” said Rob Garcia, president and chief executive officer of Bank of North Georgia. “We live here, we raise our children here and we work hard to make our communities better.

“We encourage our team members to be hands-on with the organizations that they support,” he said. “We chose Action Ministries because they are a 50-year-old, well-respected nonprofit with an excellent track record of success.

Bank of North Georgia presents its check for its Feed the Hungry Campaign to Action Ministries for its fight against poverty in Georgia. From left are BNG Tallapoosa Branch Manager Marcelle Robinson, Chief Community Banking Executive Allen Barker, BNG President and CEO Rob Garcia and John Moeller, president and CEO of Action Ministries.

“Last year alone, they served nearly 144,000 individuals in need across North Georgia, but the need is much greater,” he said. “Their service footprint mimics ours perfectly, so it’s a great fit.”

John R. Moeller Jr., president and CEO of Action Ministries, said the support of Bank of North Georgia and its cus-

tomers helps Georgia, which has the third highest poverty rate in the country and ranks second in the nation for homeless children and veterans.

“The need for our services continues to grow at a rapid pace,” said Moeller. “By meeting the basic needs of hunger relief, housing and education, Action Ministries removes bar-

riers that prevent thousands of Georgians from breaking the cycle of poverty and realizing their potential.”

Action Ministries Inc. is a nonprofit that provides an extensive network of community partners and volunteers with the tools and expertise to lead fellow Georgians out of poverty.

NEWS

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revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 5

Leaked documents show nonemployees receiving benefits Councilman investigated to get impeached

By KATHLEEN STURGEON Kathleen@appenmediagroup.com CUMMING, Ga. — In a 4-1 decision, the Cumming City Council voted Dec. 23 to consider impeachment of longstanding Councilmember Rupert Sexton for releasing personal information of city employees. Sexton contends he is instead accused of airing skeletons from the city’s closet.

Sexton is accused of releasing a document disclosing personal financial and health insurance information for the city of Cumming employees on social media, including longtime Mayor H. Ford Gravitt’s supposed girlfriend, Angela Mullinax.

The document caused many to question why Mullinax was listed as receiving health insurance paid for by the city of Cumming. Mullinax is not a city employee and the insurance is paid for by taxpayers.

“I was trying to save the taxpayers in the city of Cumming money,” said Sexton, defending himself. “I discovered things that they didn’t want me to know. Somehow these people got on the list and have been getting benefits the entire

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time.”

When questioned about the accusations, Mullinax declined to comment.

“She does a lot of work for the city of Cumming,” said Gravitt. “I put her on [the list].

I think the city pays $663 a month for her insurance — that’s it. I think we got a good bargain.”

Sexton says Mullinax’s health and dental policies have cost Cumming taxpayers roughly $75,000 over the years, which could amount to theft.

This all unfolded after the council voted on whether to proceed with the possible impeachment of Sexton.

Before Gravitt entered the council meeting room, Sexton shook hands and chatted with the other councilmen. Once Gravitt called the meeting to order, City Attorney Dana Miles discussed the facts the city knows today.

“A week ago, on Dec. 16, Councilman Sexton made a motion to go into executive session to discuss employee benefits,” said Miles. “After that executive session, Councilman Sexton requested a proposal for councilmembers’ wives as

What we know about Angela Mullinax: According to media reports, Mullinax began receiving health benefits in August 2005 when she was named the city’s sponsor procurement specialist. Phil Higgins, city human resources manager, said Mullinax recruits sponsorships for city events but does not receive a paycheck and is the only person who has ever held the position. The job description indicated holding the position does not constitute employment with the city. employees with no designated job duties, but for the purpose of getting paid city health benefits. That was not a proper purpose for an executive session and the executive session was immediately adjourned.”

Miles said Sexton did not seek to add this proposal to the regular meeting agenda.

“But instead Sexton remarked twice that he was now going to, ‘do what he had to

KATHLEEN STURGEON/STAFF

The City of Cumming City Council listens to Dana Miles as he speaks about the procedure for a possible impeachment.

do,’” said Miles. “In that same evening, an Excel spreadsheet containing the financial and health insurance information on the city’s 139 employees was posted on social media.

That Excel spreadsheet was created by our Human Resources Director, Phil Higgins, and was only given to Sexton upon his request.”

“I requested it be changed to a spousal benefit program, which is perfectly legal,” said Sexton. “It was nothing out of the ordinary. Our insurance benefits do not have a spousal benefit section for the council and I wanted to add one

group.”

Sexton said that apparently didn’t sit well.

“The attitude is that you can’t talk about the mayor’s girlfriend.”

Miles discussed the procedure for potentially impeaching Sexton, which is outlined in Cumming’s charter, the city code and state law.

“The council will be asked to appoint an investigatory panel,” said Miles. “The panel will conduct an investigation of these facts and other facts they can obtain, interview wit-

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Shen Yun: Reviving 5,000 years of civilization

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Traditional Chinese culture takes stage at Cobb Energy Centre COBB COUNTY, Ga — Have you heard that China was known as “the Celestial Empire?” Throughout history, myths and legends record that the Middle Kingdom was guided by celestial beings. But today this ancient tradition has been all but completely destroyed. Where can you go to discover authentic Chinese culture now?

You can find it at Cobb Energy Centre in Atlanta. On Jan. 2-4, 2015, the world’s premier Chinese music and dance company, Shen Yun Performing Arts, will be at Cobb Energy Centre for a celebration of traditional Chinese culture as it was meant to be.

For the past 5,000 years, China amassed a diverse legacy of heroes, myths and values that still resonate in the present. Today, Shen Yun Performing Arts is reviving the essence of traditional Chinese culture in full color on stages around the world.

Shen Yun blends traditional

If you go What: Shen Yun When: Jan. 2-4, 2015 Where: The Cobb Energy Centre Tickets: ShenYun.com/ Atlanta, 770-285-7786 Chinese dance and music, taking the audience on a journey through 5,000 years of history.

Digital backdrops extend the stage, transporting audience members to distant lands and eras. An orchestra, the only one in the world combining both Western and Chinese instruments, accompanies the dancers with stirring, original scores. At the core of Shen Yun performances is classical Chinese dance, an age-old art form complete with its own system of training and movements. Dynasty after dynasty, it was passed down among the people, in imperial palaces and ancient plays. Thousands of

years have refined it into a distinctive dance system embodying traditional aesthetics.

Alongside classical Chinese dance, Shen Yun features a variety of folk and ethnic dances, presenting China’s rich diversity. The show takes you riding with Mongolians across vast grasslands one moment, climbing up into the Himalayas or drumming on an ancient battlefield the next.

“It was an extraordinary experience for us and the chil-

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dren,” said Academy Awardwinning actress Cate Blanchett after watching Shen Yun. “The level of skill, but also the power of the archetypes and the narratives were startling.

And of course it was exquisitely beautiful.”

Beyond its beauty, Shen Yun’s uniqueness is in its ability to capture the spirit of traditional Chinese culture. Ancient stories come to life on stage to celebrate compassionate, courageous, and even quirky

characters. Audiences experience the thrilling triumph of the Song Dynasty General Yue Fei, cheer on the Monkey King as he tricks a stubborn foe, and witness inspiring scenes of courage from China today.

“I think the most unique aspect of a Shen Yun performance,” says fellow principal dancer Miranda Zhou-Galati, “is that it has a very strong message of hope, which is something that really touches the audience’s hearts.”

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OPINION

Be thankful for a New Year It was after the first few months of battle in World War I that on Dec. 25, 1914 – Christmas Day – both German and Allied forces paused in their trenches and bloodshed. They lay aside their weapons for one day and met in the no-man’s land between the two sides, exchanging gifts and wellwishes. They even reportedly played a game of soccer.

The next day they were back on the job, but for one day, something bigger than armies, nations or ideals ruled those men – thankfulness.

To a cynic, the world is often (read: always) filled with bloodshed and battle. Somewhere, someone is harming someone else. For fun, retribution, war, ideals, ethnicity, whathave-you. There are as many reasons for harm as there are people in the world to commit harm.

But sometimes, the people of the world take a moment to pause, take stock of what they have and be happy for it. Family, friends, work, health.

There are many reasons to be thankful.

During the holiday season, Christians focus on Christmas as their moment to reflect. It’s not just a time to be thankful of gifts received, but also of gifts given and of what you have.

For those men in the trenches of France one hundred years ago, they didn’t care about the gifts. They didn’t care they didn’t know those

JONATHAN COPSEY

Revue & News Editor jonathan@appenmedia group.com

men around them. They all knew they were a long way from home and thankful to have a lull in the horrendous fighting.

As I write this there is a lot of fighting in the world. Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Israel and so many more. Who knows what more 2015 will bring?

Don’t focus on that. The trick is to focus on what you have, not what you don’t have. Focus on where you are, not where you want to be. Focus on who you are with, not who you want to be with. Be thankful, because, hey; it could be worse. It could always be a lot worse.

After all, if at the height of the First World War, two opposed armies can come together and be thankful for what they have in peace, even for a short time, can’t anyone?

Here’s to a New Year, with new hopes and promises of a better future.

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‘Rudolph’ strikes familiar chord with Santa Most children learn all the words to “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and sing it out loudly and clearly – if not always on key. I think I know why they identify with Rudy, because it is the same reason I do.

It’s the part, “they never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games,” that strikes an identity chord. It certainly did in me and has stayed with me ever since.

My nose wasn’t a shiny red color but not being athletically inclined in sportsminded Roswell, I know I didn’t fit the mold. I had been exposed to what Roswell offered in those days. And other than sports and a rich history, that was not a lot.

Then, my Dad’s cousin — I guess that would make him my second cousin — Don Tolbert, a Roswell businessman, took me to Atlanta’s Theatre of the Stars to see a production of “Damn Yankees.”

Don said it was a musical about baseball. I was excited. It had baseball and it had that “bad word” in the title.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but that evening was a life-altering experience for me.

I loved all the singing and dancing and it was all about baseball and how some people would sell their souls to win. I just knew that I could apply that theatrical lesson to my own baseball experience.

I had followed all the little boys in Roswell and signed up for baseball. It was what every boy did.

In retrospect, I see that my first coach recognized my sports aptitude – or rather the lack thereof. So he “traded” me to another team. Now, remember we were in the 6- to 8-years old. I was the right fielder and out there alone and really perfectly happy. No one hits the ball to left field.

Now when you are the permanent left fielder, you know you are there because you can’t do any damage. And the other kids know that too.

So I would sing about baseball. I would recreate what I had seen onstage at “Damn Yankees.” I sang “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo” and “You Gotta Have Heart.”

And in between I prayed, “Please God, don’t let anyone hit the ball my way.”

That prayer was always answered.

But one day my luck ran out. I was sitting on the bench, vaguely, aware of what was happening in the game when I heard my name called. It was the coach.

“Tolbert, you’re going to pinch hit.”

At the plate, I begged for three strikes, but no! Two strikes and four balls.

“Run!” yelled the coach. “Run to first base!”

I had seen the baseball players onstage run, so I started imitating them as best I could. Run, run, run, leap with arm spread wide, just like the actors onstage.

Well, I made it to first base and sat down cross-legged on the bag. Next up was Chip Hilliard, the best athlete on the team. I can still hear the crack and the bat hit the ball. And I remember

THOMAS TOLBERT THE REAL SANTA CLAUS

seeing the high-flying ball arch over the field heading over the fence. I was amazed, but I was quickly brought back to reality by the coach yelling.

“Tolbert! Go home! Go home!”

So, I jumped up and ran straight for the dugout. The stands erupted in laughter. I am sure my dad withered in embarrassment, but he never let me know it.

He said, “Let’s go get an ice cream cone.”

Not long after that he bought tickets to Theatre of the Stars and I learned that baseball practice was not called rehearsal; uniforms were not costumes; and the seventh-inning stretch was not called intermission. I was introduced to a whole new world and I began to find my place.

When I reached the 11th grade — and had my driver’s license — my parents allowed me to apply to the Northside School of the Performing Arts.

At last I was surrounded by people who heard the same music and beat that I had been hearing for years.

I was in school with Jasmine Guy, RuPaul, Joseph Wise, Michael West, Ray Stevens, Libby Whittemore, Richard Woods. There were talented students everywhere – actors, singers, dancers, musicians.

All were assembled by the director Billy Densmore. It was Atlanta’s version of the movie “Fame.”

That training enabled me to go to New York City and on my first day there, I accompanied my friend Carmen Thomas to an open audition.

At her urging I auditioned too and got cast in an Off-Broadway production. My Dad was elated. I realized that I was doing what he had not been able to do as a boy and young man.

He told stories of putting on plays in the family’s backyard. He used to catch lightning bugs and put them in quart jars to use as stage lights and he made up scripts – now we call that improvising.

He obviously had heard a different beat, too. And, I think he knew how Rudolph felt. Maybe that was why he was so understanding of me.

He always encouraged me to be Santa Claus, and I think I have found my niche. I have always been heavy.

Mr. Densmore always told me to lose weight. This is the one role where my weight is more an asset than a problem.

And, I love making children’s faces light up and seeing their parents smile.

That foggy Christmas Eve, Rudolph’s shiny red nose was a saving asset and all the reindeer loved him.

I understand. And I thank my parents for the best Christmas gift anyone ever gave me.

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COMMUNITY

revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 9

Roswell brings out chippers Christmas tree mulching Jan. 3 ROSWELL, Ga. – Keep Roswell Beautiful invites residents to give nature a gift this holiday season by recycling their Christmas trees at the 24th annual “Bring One for the Chipper” event on Jan. 3.

Last year, Roswell recycled the most trees per capita in the state of Georgia through the “Bring One for the Chipper” program, bringing in more than 9,000 trees. To honor this accomplishment, Keep Georgia Beautiful recently recognized Keep Roswell Beautiful with the First Place Award for the 2014 “Bring One for the Chipper” event.

To continue in its effort to encourage residents to reuse and recycle Christmas trees, Keep Roswell Beauti-

ful has once again joined with sponsors The Home Depot, 11 Alive, The Davey Tree Expert Company and the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation to sponsor the “Bring One for the Chipper” program locally.

Residents are invited to bring their undecorated trees to one of the two Home Depot locations in Roswell on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: • Home Depot, Holcomb Bridge Road (Holcomb Woods Shopping Center) • Home Depot, 870 Woodstock Road (across from Publix) Trees will be chipped into mulch and will be available for delivery to the public by Davey Tree. In appreciation of their recycling efforts, participants will receive a special gift, while supplies last.

Residents are asked to please not

drop off trees prior Jan. 3.

For more information on Bring One for the Chipper and Keep Roswell Beau-

tiful, go online at http://keeproswellbeautiful.org/.

—Jonathan Copsey

North Fulton Rotary donates $20K to nonprofit CDA receives grant ROSWELL, Ga. – The Rotary Club of North Fulton gave a special Christmas present Dec. 12 when they presented a $20,000 grant to a local nonprofit.

The Rotary’s RCNF Crawford Fund has approved the grant for the Child Develop-

ment Association’s Parents as Teachers program. The grant will be matched by the North Point Community Church’s Be Rich Campaign.

The Child Development Association was founded in Roswell in 1968 and offers a NAEYC-accredited education program for preschool children of the working poor. To learn more, visit www.cdakids.org.

The CDA is an affiliate of the Parents as Teachers program, which offers personal visits to families and group connections focused on parent-child interaction, developmentcentered parenting and family well-being.

The PAT program supports parents throughout pregnancy until their children enter kindergarten. To learn more, visit

Thank you

www.parentsasteachers.org.

The RCNF Crawford Fund is named for past Rotary President Sandy Crawford after his passing in 2001. The funding for this grant was made possible by the generous bequest of former member Kathy Myers, who passed away in 2012.

The Rotary Club of North Fulton was established in 2000 and meets weekly on Tuesday

at 12:15 at the North Point Diner on Mansell Road. Guests are welcome to attend to learn more about Rotary and what the Rotary Club of North Fulton does to make the community and the world a better place. To learn more, visit www.northfultonrotary.org.

For more about the CDA, visit them at www.cdakids.org.

—Jonathan Copsey

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YEAR IN REVIEW

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City improvements, weather highlight 2014 Manslaughter, Union occupation also make headlines

By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.com

North Fulton gets new county commissioner NORTH FULTON – Milton, Roswell and Alpharetta will have a new Fulton County Commission representative in 2015.

District 2, part of House Bill 171 signed by Gov. Nathan Deal in May 2013, was created and lobbied for by North Fulton Republicans concerned about the underrepresentation of the north in county politics.

The addition of the district changed the county map, eliminating one of two at-large districts – including the chair.

It extended the Buckhead district and divided North Fulton into two separate districts, giving the north end of the county a better-sized piece of the pie.

District 2 now represents both Milton and Roswell along with a small section of Alpharetta.

The man who won the job was Bob Ellis, who pledged to “correct the underrepresentation of taxpayers in North Fulton and improve business practices to refine the functionality of Fulton County government.”

Snow, ice freeze cities GEORGIA – Twice in 2014 – Jan. 28 and a week later, Feb. 12 – the state was effectively shut down due to wintry weather.

The worst offender was Jan. 28, when snow and freezing conditions came to town midday. Schools, businesses and governments all shut down at the same time, turning workers out onto the streets all at once.

The result was chaotic gridlock.

Variously called “Snowmageddon,” “Snowpocalypse” or “SnOMG,” local governments were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of motorists on the road and the worsening conditions throughout the day. A commute that would normally take 20 minutes turned into a 10-, 14- or 20-hour drive. Many students were stranded at school.

City work crews were overwhelmed by the traffic, with road clearing crews unable to clear the streets, which resulted in even more trouble as ice set in.

As the day turned into night with no stop to the storm or traffic, people began opening their doors to the trapped motorists. Local Home Depot stores, schools and businesses provided shelter, as people began walking along the streets offering food or water.

Local government buildings, such as fire stations, also provided shelter from the storm.

The following week, the snows came at night and everyone stayed home, keeping the roads clear.

Crews were able to salt and sand the roads, keeping ice from becoming a major problem.

The snow and ice storm in early February kept residents inside. But most were prepared for it – once they made it back home.

Riopelle death re-opened after similar case SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – A former Northview High School student was implicated in two deaths – the September 2013 death of Milton resident Dean Riopelle, and the November 2013 death of a Google executive in California.

Alix Tichelman, 27, is charged with manslaughter, drug and prostitution charges. She faces 15 years in prison if convicted.

Tichelman was dating Riopelle – Milton’s “Monkey Man” – when he was found dead in his Hopewell Road home of an apparent heroin overdose. Tichelman was with him at the time and was the one who called 911. Police ruled his death an accidental overdose.

Only a few weeks later, Tichelman was implicated in the death of Google executive Forrest Hayes. Hayes had allegedly arranged to meet Tichelman through an online dating service. They were to go on his boat for sex. Video surveillance footage from the boat showed Hayes and Tichelman doing heroin. Hayes overdosed and Tichelman was seen allegedly gathering her clothing, finishing her wine and stepping over his body to leave the boat. She never called police.

She is charged with manslaughter.

Given the similarities in the deaths of both men with Tichelman’s involvement, Milton police reopened the investigation into Riopelle’s death.

Tichelman has pled not guilty and will appear in court in early 2015.

Riopelle came to the public eye when he tried to expand his exotic animal preserve on Hopewell Road. He had dozens of animals, especially monkeys

Dean Riopelle, nicknamed “Monkey Man,” was found dead in his Hopewell Road home of an apparent heroin overdose. on his land. Nearby residents opposed to move which was ultimately approved.

Riopelle died before he could make the improvements.

Tornado touches down in NF ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Residents had a rough night Oct. 14, when an F-1 tornado touched down in the area just south of Milton, along Rucker Road.

Trees and power lines were felled by hurtling winds and debris.

Emergency sirens did not go off in Alpharetta due to being offline, but also because the area was not under a tornado watch by the National Weather Service. It was only under a severe thunderstorm warning.

An F-1 tornado has top winds of 112 miles per hour and is considered a relatively weak tornado by NWS standards.

In Milton, the Code Red emergency messaging system worked as intended, with 11,000 phones ringing to receive an emergency message about the storms. A “reverse 911,” the system

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YEAR IN REVIEW

revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 11 Union troops were camped out on the grounds of Barrington Hall – just as they did during Roswell’s occupation 150 years ago. The re-enactors showed visitors a glimpse at the soldiering life in the 1860s, with everything from cooking to weaving and showing off the daily utensils of a soldier.

Avalon opens for business ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Oct. 30 saw the grand opening of the newest commercial retailer development in Atlanta – Avalon.

Offering “experiential” shopping, Avalon is a $600 million mixed-use project at the corner of Old Milton Parkway and Ga. 400.

Phase 1 opened just in time for the holiday shopping season, with much of the retail open.

Some office space and apartments above the retail were also open. Single family housing will open next year.

The city of Alpharetta approved Phase 2 of Avalon – more retail, apartments and a conference center, complete with hotel.

Roswell seeks to make ‘town green’ The brand new Alpharetta City Hall opened Dec. 15.

Roswell looks to build a new town green.

A re-enactment of Union soliders occupying Roswell’s town green and Barrington Hall took place July 12 and 13.

targets only land lines.

Just in the last month, Milton’s own tornado siren system went online, with ten sirens placed throughout the city. They will alert residents to emergency weather situations.

erty. The scope expanded with the designs and eventually included a 5-acre park next door, gardens, a new public library (to be finished later in 2014) and the moving of Haynes Bridge Road.

Alpharetta unviels new city hall ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The new Alpharetta City Hall officially opened Dec. 15 with great fanfare. The new building will house all the city offices, which the former one – at the corner of Academy Street and Ga. 9 was simply not big enough to do.

The Alpharetta City Center

redevelopment of 22 acres in downtown Alpharetta includes a four-story City Hall, 445-space public parking garage, 1-acre town green and 5-acre park, future private development parcels and several as-yet-unnamed streets. The new address is 2 Park Plaza.

The project as paid for with bond monies and worth about $31 million.

While a new City Hall has been discussed since the early 1990s, the City Center idea has been a key project for Alpharetta since 2005 when officials first put forward a plan for spurring business and development activity in the community’s downtown district by leveraging city-owned prop-

Roswell occupied

by Union troops ROSWELL, Ga. – Union soldiers occupied Roswell’s town green and Barrington Hall July 12 and 13 as part of a re-enactment of the 1864 events of the Civil War. Exactly 150 years ago, Union troops marched into the South on their way to Atlanta.

Soldiers occupied Roswell,

at the time a small mill town manufacturing cloth for the Confederacy. The mills were burned, and the workers – mostly women – were rounded up in the town square, charged with treason and shipped to the north on rail cars. Many never returned home.

“By order of Gen. Sherman, you are hereby charged with treason,” shouted Union Maj. Michael Hitt as he read the order from Sherman to the mill workers.

Men dressed in Union blue (derogatively called “blueberries” by the Confederate women) fixed bayonets and forcibly rounded up women and hauled them off to meet their fate.

Along with the arrest,

ROSWELL, Ga. – City halls are a fashionable topic these days.

Alpharetta recently completed a new city hall with town green and parking deck, Milton and Johns Creek are exploring building their first permanent city hall structures and Roswell is looking at building their own town green next to Canton Street.

Right now, the city hall is divided from Ga. 9 and Canton Street by woods. The Downtown Development Authority proposed replacing some of those trees with a town green.

The plan includes a green stretching from City Hall to Ga. 9. It would have a water feature on one end. To the north of the green would be the Faces of War Memorial, moved from its present location between City Hall and Ga. 9. There would also be an outdoor amphitheater. To the south would be a building to house public meeting space.

The DDA suggested this could be built for about $12 million over several phases and would provoke significant private investment in the area.

Opponents decried what they saw as a closed process, with little public input. Veterans groups also opposed the moving of the Faces of War Memorial, which serves as the focus point of the annual Memorial Day ceremonies.

The City Council agreed to pursue the new green, with plans and designs expected next year.

12 | January 1, 2015 | Revue & News | revueandnews.com

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I write about someone in trouble and someone else rallies to help them.

Through reporting, things can change.”

– Celestine Sibley, April 1999 This quote from Celestine Sibley came from the last year of her life and opens the book, “The Reporter,” a collection of many of her best newspaper stories, edited by reporter Richard Eldridge. One of the first female editors, Sibley reported for the Atlanta Constitution from 1941 to 1999. She wrote more than 10,000 columns, covering state politics, courtroom drama and cultural affairs. Sibley was also the author of nearly 30 books of different genres published between 1958 and 1997, including her memoir, “Turned Funny” (1988) and “Children, My Children,” which won the first Townsend Prize for children’s fiction. Firm in her convictions about her labors, Sibley continued working until the final weeks before her death, with her last regular Constitution column appearing on July 25, 1999. She died of cancer at the age of 85 on Aug. 15, 1999.

Celestine Sibley’s many accomplishments have long been celebrated. In 1990, she received the Ralph McGill Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism. A few months before her death, Sibley was awarded the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2000, in appreciation for her years of political reporting, the Georgia House of Representatives named its Capitol press gallery in Sibley’s honor.

But she is perhaps best remembered for her writing about Southern culture, poignant essays that made her

Sibley at her Sweet Apple Cabin in 1997.

an icon of her beloved South. She held dear a belief in the value of home as a place of refuge from the ever-changing world, a sanctuary from the encroaching developments swallowing up the countryside outside her window. In 1961, Sibley created her own haven, purchasing and renovating a dilapidated log cabin in Roswell, Georgia, for just $1,000. She named her home Sweet Apple Cabin. From there, she enjoyed a simple life and proclaimed the benefits of such an existence in such a prolific and convincing way that for many of her readers, it became an idyllic imaginary home for them, as well.

Last month, four journalists with Atlanta connections were enshrined into the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame during a reception ceremony.

Celestine Sibley was included amongst the likes of Tom Brokaw, Claude Sitton and Brenda Wood. Bestselling Southern author Kathy Trocheck, better known by her pen name Mary Kay Andrews, inducted Sibley.

Sibley’s grandson, Jason Bazemore, accepted the award.

“The old show business saying, ‘Don’t follow kids or animals,’ could be changed to don’t follow Tom Brokaw or Monica Pearson,” he joked.

But Bazemore is humbled by the experience, well aware of his grandmother’s holy cause and her longreaching influence.

“She would have been thrilled and proud to be included with so many old friends and colleagues like her former boss and mentor Ralph McGill,” he said. “Standing up in front of all those people who make a living talking was a little scary, but it was an honor to stand in for Tine.”

Remembered and revered for her true, unflinching accounting of life, standing in for Celestine Sibley seems impossible to her readers, but it might be exactly what she intended.

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COMMUNITY

revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 13

Bunch of Guys celebrates 25 years of making Christmas bright Roswell Child Development Association annual recipient of unique toy drive

By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com ROSWELL, Ga. – The first Friday in December is a special day for the Roswell Child Development Association. That is the day two groups come together each year to support the CDA and make small faces have large smiles come Christmas Day. This was not just any year for the two guys responsible for this. Attorneys Steve Dorvee and Richard O’Donnell marked the 25th anniversary of their annual Christmas party that is dedicated to assembling toys – usually wheeled ones – for the CDA children.

Dorvee and O’Donnell were just two guys who decided a long time ago to get some Big Wheels and put them together for the CDA and North Fulton Community Charities.

“I was an associate in a law firm and got a request from some people at the Department of Family and Children’s Services to send some people to help put together toys they had collected,” Dorvee said.

So he got two more lawyers to help him, O’Donnell and Ed Tate. After a couple of years the job became a bit much for just three guys, so they decided to entice some buddies over to help with the offer of free beer and pizza.

About eight years ago, they decided rather than alternate between the two local charities they would take on CDA exclusively, so that the CDA could plan ahead each year.

Asked if he thought that 25 years after they started this annual event it would still be going strong, O’Donnell didn’t

Child Development Association needs extra support ROSWELL, Ga. – For 45 years, the Child Development Association has been providing early childhood learning and childcare for the preschool children of disadvantaged working families. The CDA is nationally accredited and provides these children with the tools to enter kindergarten fully prepared to begin their journey to learn.

But this year, Fulton County was not able to provide the annual $150,000 grant that helped support the great work the CDA does. That has been a big hole in their budget for them to fill. To help, go to cdakids. org to make a donation. hesitate to answer.

“Not a chance. We had no idea. It was just something we wanted to do. And it just keeps going,” O’Donnell said.

It has taken somewhat of a life of its own. Now the event is split to two houses. Dorvee and his patient wife Ida have “The Cigar Guys” congregate at their house.

Meanwhile O’Donnell keeps the original B.O.G.D.B.A.P.T.T. (that’s Bunch of Guys Drinking Beer and Putting Together Toys) at his house.

O’Donnell says the event has even spawned a sorority

See BRIGHT, Page 24

PHOTOS BY HATCHER HURD/STAFF

The annual meeting of the B.O.G.D.B.A.P.T.T. at Rich O’Donnell’s house in west Roswell has the lads being of good cheer as they end the evening with more toys for the CDA.

Standing vigil at the O’Donnell house is the oldest alumnus of the event. He has stood watch for 25 years guiding the toy-meisters to the O’Donnell workshop.

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After Ferguson, Garner cases, local business subsidizes police body cameras

By SHANNON WEAVER shannon@appenmediagroup.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Private investigator Michael Connell, of Alpharetta, travels all over the state to take photographs, interview witnesses, collect police reports and other evidence. With an online records application, all of the data can be stored in one place.

“Chasing down open records has always proved a little difficult,” Connell said. “We decided to create a streamlined location where insurance companies or attorneys can track down evidence from any law enforcement agency.”

RiskJockey compiles police reports and other evidence in one database for people to submit open records requests to law enforcement for a convenience fee. Connell also subsidizes body-worn cameras for departments who participate in the program.

Connell began the program three years ago. He had started subsidizing body worn cameras for police departments in Norcross, Alma and Tybee Island, but he said the high-profile Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner cases this year raised interest in the cameras and his application. “[Police] weren’t really sold on body worn cameras a couple years ago,” he said. “Once Ferguson hit, the barriers to

entry soon fell, because these departments realized they really needed this equipment.”

Now, Connell provides cameras to 12 departments in Georgia, including Snellville, Milledgeville and Bainbridge.

“Every day I get somebody else enquiring about it,” he said.

The cameras, supplied by Vievu, are three inches long, about the size of a pager, and worn on the front of an officer’s uniform. They record “pretty much what the officer can see,” said Roy Whitehead, Snellville Chief of Police.

Whitehead said Connell has provided 42 cameras to his department, one for each officer.

RiskJockey cameras are part of the department’s plan to gradually update equipment beginning five years ago, he said.

He said the cameras help them collect evidence as well as address complaints.

“So far, when we’ve had complaints, the officer’s been vindicated each time,” Whitehead said.

In the North Fulton area, many departments are considering body-worn cameras as an upgrade to the equipment officers already use.

The Alpharetta police department is considering such cameras, said spokesman George Gordon.

“We’re in the very initial steps,” Gordon said. “We intend to conduct a proper

evaluation to determine the feasibility of adopting body cameras. It’s important to us to evaluate this process in depth because we serve the public, we’re transparent and we have to be mindful of taxpayer money.”The cameras were under consideration prior to Ferguson, but the events in Missouri and New York “sharpened our focus and awareness,” Gordon said.

“If it is something that will help us deliver better service to our citizens, by all means we should evaluate it,” he said.

Roswell police are in the process of testing for body cameras compatible with their in-car camera system, which automatically uploads video to a server, said Lisa Holland, a Roswell police spokeswoman.

“This way they can’t be tampered with,” Holland said.

Holland said the videos can help settle disputes and protect police officers.

“Often times, people complain on officers and after reviewing the video, there’s a whole different account of what really happened,” Holland said. “You can’t dispute what is said and heard on a video. And when the public knows they’re being videotaped they’re less likely to commit a crime in front of the camera.”

Milton has ordered cameras and is developing city policy for them, addressing issues such as privacy concerns.

Chad Henderson, Chief of Buchanan Police, wears a Vievu camera.

“It’s just another tool,” said Capt. Shawn McCarty, Milton Police public information officer. “It’s not going to solve all of the problems that we encounter, but it’s something we feel provides a great benefit.”

Connell said that more police departments will adopt this technology.

“Every police officer in the United States is going to have these at some point,” he said.

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revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 15

Local leaders graduate from economic development academy NORTH FULTON, Ga. – Eight local business and government leaders took part recently in the 2014 Region 3 Multi-Day Training Program sponsored by the Board of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. Class participants represented a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields, including elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators and social service providers from 10 counties in metro Atlanta.

The academy provided an understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional and state levels.

Fulton County graduates at the Dec. 4 ceremony include: Hans Appen, Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce; Jason Binder, Acolyte Advisors; Beckie Hawkins, Roswell Inc.; Deana Holiday Ingraham, East Point City Council; Charles Knudsen, Georgia Power Company; Donald Mitchell; Alpharetta City Council; Al Nash, Progress Partners of North Fulton

Atlanta and Doreen Scascitelli, Roswell Inc. Since its organization in 1993, the academy has provided training for thousands of professional and nonprofessional economic developers around the state, and since 1998, it has been offered annually. Georgia EMC and Georgia Power provide facilitators for the program, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs provides staff support.

The academy’s multi-day program, taught one day a month over four months, includes training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development, planning and other essentials for community success. Local elected officials may receive certification training credits through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association for completion of this program.

Fulton County business and government leaders attended a graduation ceremony earlier this month for completing the 2014 Region 3 Multi-Day Training Program sponsored by the Board of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development.

Getting off to a fast start in the new year Happy New Year! Hopefully, you’ve spent the past couple of weeks celebrating your success from the previous year and spending some quality time with your family and friends.

Now that the new year is here, it’s time to get things in motion.

Small businesses that get off to a fast start in the new year are more likely to achieve their annual goals and objectives.

To get off to a fast start in the new year, you have to have a plan of action.

Documenting your strategic and tactical plans will help ensure you are doing the right

DICK JONES

Founder & President Jones Simply Sales

things early in the new year.

Whether it’s hiring new employees, rolling out new products and services or identifying the best prospects you want to meet with, a plan of action will help you get more done.

When the new year arrives each year, almost everyone has

“resolutions” they make. What are yours?

Based on your performance last year, what changes are you going to make to improve your results?

Analyzing what was successful and not as successful last year will help you to identify ways to improve.

Too many small business owners waste time in the beginning of the year by not having a plan to get off to a fast start. Don’t let that happen to you.

Getting off to a fast start in the new year will significantly improve the odds you’ll have a great year!

16 | January 1, 2015 | Revue & News | revueandnews.com

REAL ESTATE »

Chambers Street Properties sells Deerfield Commons ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Deerfield Commons I and II in Alpharetta was one of four multi-tenant office complexes sold recently by Chambers Street Properties.

The Princeton, New Jersey-based real estate investment trust sold the four-story building along with a 10-acre lot for $19.4 million.

The properties involved in the sale represented 534,849 square feet of office space.

NEW PRODUCT »

Roswell company announces new hearing product ROSWELL, Ga. — Zounds Hearing, with locations in Roswell, has added the Enza in-the-ear hearing aid to its product line.

“The Enza is a comfortable and affordable solution for those who want a more discreet hearing aid,” said Sam Thomasson, founder of Zounds Hearing. “It’s unique on the market today, as it employs 20 programmable channels and adjusts the level of hearing in real time to distinguish changes in the environment.”

Free hearing evaluations are available at both metro Atlanta locations: 580 E. Crossville Road, Suite 340 in Roswell and 440 Ernest Barrett Parkway, Suite 43 in Kennesaw.

For more information, visit www.zoundshearingatl.com.

PEOPLE »

Rozier joins Ledlie Group ROSWELL, Ga. — Rand Rozier, of Roswell, was recently named by the Ledlie Group to serve as an associate in strategic messaging, crisis response, media monitoring and re-

ROZIER

BUSINESS COMPUTER PROBLEMS? “Carmichael manages our IT. I have never worked with a more client-centric business before – ever. They return calls fast.

They listen exceedingly well. They know what they are doing. They are honest, professional, and local. They are partners with Appen Newspapers / Appen Media Group in the truest sense of the word.”

– Ray Appen, Publisher Appen Media Group Appen Newspapers

BusinessBriefs search. Rozier graduated from Georgia College and State University with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in political science.

MCGUKIN

WILEY

WHITNEY

NOLES

KeyWorth Bank adds new associates JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Neil Stevens, president and chief operating officer of KeyWorth Bank, 11655 Medlock Bridge Road in Johns Creek, announced the addition of new associates.

Jessica McGukin has been named credit support specialist at the Johns Creek location. Jessica Wiley has been named a financial services representative at Johns Creek.

Lisa Whitney has been named a financial services representative at Haynes Bridge.

Weston Noles was named a financial services representative at Dunwoody.

MDnetSolutions founder retires ALPHARETTA, Ga. — MDnetSolutions, a fully integrated patient engagement company, announced the retirement of its founder Rich Rosenzweig.

Rosenzweig will remain a consultant with the company during the next 12 months and work closely with MDnetSolutions CEO Alan Creighton.

“Our employees and customers are very important to me, and I want you to know that I am a better person today, having met you along the way,” Rosenzweig said. “At the end of your work day, all of your efforts were directed toward helping people get healthy and to live a better life…What you do is noble and selfless amid a world that is not quite anywhere near that level of caring for people.”

Agilysys promotes Jaddi to senior vice president ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Agilysys, a provider of information technology and hospitality software and services, announced the promotion of Rehan Jaddi to senior vice president of customer support and service solutions.

Jaddi previously served as vice president of product development engineering at Agilysys. In his new role, his primary responsibilities will be to oversee product support, customer relations and professional services.

“Rehan’s technological and managerial experience makes him an ideal fit for his new role as senior vice president of customer support and service solutions,” said Jim Dennedy, Agilysys president and chief executive officer. “His strong focus on how technology can improve customers’ business performance as well as the guest experience will drive significant growth for our company and our people.”

For more information, visit www.agilysys.com.

Submit your business news & photos to businessnews@appenmediagroup.com

TECH »

Intelliverse experiences record growth in 2014 ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Intelliverse, a sales accelerated solutions company, announced that it had record revenue and employee growth in 2014. During 2014, sales acceleration software and lead generation managed services experienced a five-time increase in revenue and were responsible for a 200 percent increase in Intelliverse’s workforce.

“I am genuinely thrilled with our achievements and customer growth this year and I am even more excited as we move into 2015,” said CEO Sean Gordon. “Intelliverse Labs is already at work on several major product enhancements generated by customer feedback.”

For more information, visit www.intelliverse. com.

Bluefin, Priority announce partnership ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Bluefin Payment Systems has announced a partnership with Priority Payment Systems to provide Bluefin’s PCI-validated Point-toPoint Encryption (P2PE) Solution to Priority Payment clients. Bluefin’s PCI-validated P2PE solution secures card transactions by encrypting all data within a PCI-approved point of entry swipe or keypad device, preventing clear-text cardholder data from being available in the device or the merchant’s system where it could be exposed to malware.

“With constantly evolving payment solutions, the one thing that the payment industry cannot lose sight of is security,” said John V. Priore, Priority president and CEO. “Priority is dedicated to ensuring that our clients have the best options for securing cardholder information, which is why we are excited to offer Bluefin’s P2PE solution to our existing and new customers.”

Under the agreement, Priority will provide Bluefin’s PayConex P2PE through Priority’s current sales channels. Bluefin will fulfill, manage and support all P2PE orders, including device shipping, chain of custody and device monitoring.

“Bluefin’s PCI-validated solution applies to all verticals and companies of every size – because fraudsters do not discriminate,” said John Perry, Bluefin CEO. “PayConex P2PE protects the merchant and the consumer, while preserving reputation and brand. We are very much looking forward to working with Priority and their clients on enhancing the security of their cardholder data.”

NEW BUSINESS »

Sprouts Farmers Market opens Cumming store Jan. 14 CUMMING, Ga. —Sprouts Farmers Market will open its first store in Cumming on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7 a.m. The location, 530 Lakeland Plaza, is the fifth Sprouts in Georgia and comprises 31,448 square feet. Sprouts will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony with special events and giveaways for shoppers, including muffin and coffee samples, coupons and shopping bags. Special coupon offers will continue Jan. 17 and 18.

For more information, visit www.sprouts.com.

Dentist expands patient base to Johns Creek Call today for your free IT assesment.

– Tyler Jones, Principal

678-224-8000 • www.CarmichaelConsulting.net

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Dr. Randolph Moore is now accepting new patients from Johns Creek without a referral for dental implants with the help of 3D cone beam imaging.

The cone beam dental imaging system provides Moore with a more accurate facial x-ray, assisting in the placement of implants.

For more, visit www.smilemooredentistry.com.

CALENDAR

EDITOR’S PICKS

Submit your event online at revueandnews.com

revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 17

Send

me your event...

ERICA O’NEAL

Calendar Editor erica@ appenmediagroup.com Submit your event to revueandnews.com or email with photo to calendar@appenmediagroup.com.

For a more complete list of local events including support groups, volunteer opportunities and business meetings visit the calendar on revueandnews.com.

EVENTS:

BRING ONE FOR THE CHIPPER STARLAB WINTER STARS

Find out myths behind constellations inside the Chattahoochee Nature Center’s (CNC) inflatable planetarium., 9135 Willeo Rd., Roswell.

Monday, Jan. 5. 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Cost included with general admission and free to CNC members. Visit chattnaturecenter. org for more info.

Where: Saint Brigid Catholic Church, 3400 Old Alabama Rd., Johns Creek When: Friday, Jan. 9 Hours: 6-8 p.m.

Cost: $10 for adults and $5 for children Online: saintbrigid.org

Christmas tree recycling offered by the City of Milton. Three different drop off locations: Scottsdale Farms Garden Center, 15639 Birmingham Hwy., Alpharetta, Milton High School, 13025 Birmingham Hwy., Alpharetta, Home Depot, all area Home Depots are dropoff points. Saturday, Jan. 3, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Visit cityofmiltonga. us for more info.

When: Wednesday, Dec. 31 Hours: Celebration begins at 8 p.m.

Cost: Free Contact: 678-512-3430 Info: Everyone is invited to bring an appetizer to share. Make reservations by contacting Park Place.

2ND ANNUAL ‘TASTE OF SAINT BRIGID’

What: Ministries at the Saint Brigid Catholic Church will be offering favorite recipes and tastings for an evening.

A performance by the band Drivin’ N Cryin at 37 Main Johns Creek, 6000 Medlock Bridge Pkwy., Johns Creek. Saturday, Jan. 3, doors open at 7 p.m., show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Visit 37main-store.com for more info.

WINTER FAMILY CARNIVAL

Forsyth County Public Library invites the community to learn about what the library has to offer with special events scheduled. Lanier Tech Forsyth Conference Center, 3410 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Cumming. Saturday, Jan. 10, 1-5 p.m. Free. Visit forsythconferencecenter. laniertech.edu for more info.

PEOPLE ON CANTON ART GALLERY

What: An art exhibit from local artist Jane Haessler titled “People on Canton Street.”

Where: Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell When: Daily Wednesday, Dec. 31 through Thursday, Jan. 29 Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Cost: Free Contact: 770-594-6232

DRIVIN’ N CRYIN

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE OPEN HOUSE

What: Alliance Francaise at the Roswell location welcomes the public to enjoy French wine and cheese, learn about French classes, take a tour of the Alliance Francaise of Atlanta.

Where: Alliance Francaise Roswell, 435 Jones Dr., Roswell When: Tuesday, Jan. 6 Hours: 6-8 p.m.

Cost: Free Online: afatl.com Info: Register online at afatl.com/livefrench/events/winter-session-openhouse-roswell/

ROOMS OF CHRISTMAS PAST AND MORE

What: The Roswell Garden Club gives tours of nine rooms at the Smith Plantation decorated with unique Christmas trees and past themes as well as new future themes.

Where: Smith Plantation, 935 Alpharetta St., Roswell When: Daily Wednesday, Dec. 31 through Sunday, Jan. 4 Hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. MondaySaturday and 1-3 p.m. Sunday Cost: $8 for adult tickets, $7 for seniors and $6 for children Online: roswellgov.com

Lawrenceville When: Wednesday, Dec. 31 Hours: Registraion begins at 4 p.m. and the 5K race begins at 6 p.m.

Cost: $35 per person Online: fumclv.org

THEATER:

MUSIC: AUDIOWOLF AT THE VELVET NOTE What: A local high school band performs at The Velvet Note Where: The Velvet Note, 4075 Old Milton Pkwy., Alpharetta When: Friday, Jan. 2 Hours: Performances at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $22 Online: thevelvetnote.com

SUBMIT YOUR EVENT AT

RACES & BENEFITS: NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY

What: A New Year’s Eve party at Park Place with games starting at 8 p.m.

Where: Park Place at Newtown School, 3125 Old Alabama Rd., Johns Creek

ANNUAL FLASHLIGHT 5K

What: A 5K run on New Year’s Eve benefitting Family Promise of Gwinnett County.

Where: 1st United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville, 395 West Crogan St.,

ONE SLIGHT HITCH

What: A theatre play about a wedding plan gone wrong by the Georgia Ensemble Theatre.

Where: Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest Rd., Roswell When: Thursday, Jan. 8 through Sunday, Jan. 25 Hours: Showtimes vary Cost: Ticket costs range from $22 to $35 Online: get.org

North Atlanta’s

Sponsored Section • Revue & News | January 1, 2015

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Revue & News | revueandnews.com

REAL ESTATE REPORT • Sponsored Section

January 1, 2015 19

Resolutions for Success: 5 Tips for Selling Your Home in 2015 If you are considering selling your home in 2015, you should know that a lot has probably changed in the real estate market since you last sold. Knowing what works today — and resolving to put the tips and advice of the past to rest — will position your home for a quick and profitable sale.

Appeal to mobile buyers.

Nearly all home searches now begin on a smartphone or tablet — not on the web, and

not using the newspaper.

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Separate your home from your investment. Selling a

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Only list your home once you are serious about selling. Do you have a place to go if you sell? Have you fully

cleaned and de-cluttered your home?

Have you taken your agent’s advice on staging and pricing? These are necessary steps that guarantee that you present your home in its best possible light.

Hire the best agent for the job. The agent you used to purchase the home 15 years ago may seem like the logical choice for listing your home this time around. But are

they really the best option?

Research different agents and shop around. If you have any doubt about an agents abilities, hold off on establishing a relationship.

Make the best impression online. Today, buyer first impressions are on the Internet. Listing your home without complete information — including photos, description and accurate data — can be detrimental to your sale.

Take steps to prevent the state from taking custody of your property.

Understanding escheatment and how to keep your property safe

By Cynthia Nisley (NAPSI)—If you have a bank account, are holding uncashed checks, own stock, are heir to an insurance policy or have property in a safe-deposit box, there are steps you can take to help protect your property from escheatment.

“Escheatment” is the term that describes how “abandoned,” “unclaimed” or “lost” property is turned over to the state. If the property owner cannot be found or hasn’t demonstrated an interest in the asset, the U.S. state where the holder lives can take custody of those belongings.

If the owner or heir comes forward, he or she can claim it back from the state but early withdrawal penalties or market losses may significantly affect the asset’s value and the funds may not be immediately available.

You may say, “But I haven’t abandoned my property. I don’t have anything to worry about.” That’s not necessarily so.

Consider the case of an employee of a fast-growing technology company who held stock certificates with a face

value of nearly $500,000. He kept the certificates in a safe and intended to use the funds for his kids’ college education.

Unknown to him, his stock had been escheated due to returned mail and lack of contact. His nest egg was ruined and he was able to claim just under $20,000, the amount the state sold his stock for at the time of escheatment.

Here are a few similar scenarios that can happen to anyone: • If you don’t cash dividend checks, those checks and associated stock may be escheated unless you have made contact with the transfer agent. Since most states sell shares immediately, you will lose out on any market gains, dividends or stock splits that occur after the shares are sold.

• If you move and do not update your address with your financial institution (such as a bank), it will mark your account as “lost” once it receives two pieces of undeliverable mail from the post office. After three to five years, depending on the state, your assets will be escheated unless you make

See PROPERTY, Page 20

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20 January 1, 2015

Sponsored Section • REAL ESTATE REPORT

revueandnews.com | Revue & News

How to purchase your first home in 2015

Homeownership is still attainable to qualified buyers.

Hardcoat Stucco in Gated Community with Master on Main!

(NAPSI)—The American dream of homeownership may not be as hard to attain as many people seem to fear. A few intriguing facts and hints can help.

The Facts While existing home sales have risen recently, the National Association of Realtors’ annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that the share of first-time buyers recently fell to its lowest level (33 percent) in nearly three decades.

Many first-time buyers experience obstacles on the path to homeownership, including difficulty saving for a down payment and tight credit conditions.

The Hints Consider these tips: • Find and work with an expert Realtor who knows the neighborhood. Nothing can replace the local knowledge and real insight that professional Realtors can provide to firsttime buyers as they navigate the complex home buying process.

According to the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, while most home buyers in the past year began their home search online, 90 percent ended up purchasing their home through an agent.

Realtors are not only the source of online real estate data, they also use their unparalleled local market knowledge and resources to help

Property: Continued from Page 19 contact with the institution.

• If you have a safe-deposit box and never access it or make contact with your bank, the contents of the box may be turned over to the state and sold at auction. You could claim back the cash value—but not the valuables themselves.

So how can you protect your assets? Staying in contact with your financial institutions is the key to protecting your property. To actively show interest in all your assets: 1. Keep a list of all the financial institutions you deal with, such as a bank or transfer agent, and contact them at least once per year. This can be as simple as accessing your account online, calling in to the customer service center, cashing a check, updating your address, changing a beneficiary or voting a proxy.

2. Keep your address updated with all your financial

close the deal for buyers and sellers.

• Meet with a lender to determine how much you can afford. Last year, the median price a first-time buyer spent on a home was $169,000.

Chances are, you don’t have that amount of cash lying around. That’s why 95 percent of first-time buyers who bought a home in the past year financed their purchase.

Find out what you can afford with a preapproval from a lender. A lender will check your credit history, current debt obligations and other expenses to determine the amount of money you’re qualified to borrow at a specific interest rate.

Don’t forget to consider the other costs of homeownership, such as taxes, insurance and utilities.

• Identify your housing wish list. Although 46 percent of first-time buyers got a single-family home in the suburbs, you may prefer a condo in an urban environment near public transportation.

Regardless of your preferences, identifying and sharing your wish list can help your Realtor focus on the right home for you, scan listings and connect with those who represent sellers to zero in on homes for sale that meet your budget and criteria.

Keep this advice in mind and you may soon find yourself waking up in the home of your dreams.

institutions if you move.

3. Consolidate accounts, to make it easier to maintain contact and keep track of your assets.

4. If you receive a notice alerting you to the fact that your account is considered “inactive” or “abandoned,” respond immediately. Note that service providers such as Georgeson may contact you, offering to provide assistance in helping prevent escheatment of an inactive or abandoned account. You have the option to use the service or handle it yourself directly with your financial institution—the service provider should disclose all options.

5. Make sure that your heirs know which stocks you own and where you have financial accounts. To find out if any of your property has been escheated, visit www. missingmoney.com and search participating states’ records by the property owner’s name, or for contact information for nonparticipating states.

Ms. Nisley is Senior Vice President, Georgeson Inc.

Submit your news & photos to news@appenmediagroup.com

SCHOOLS

Mill Springs Academy wins boys’ GISA AA state title McCormick – 20th.

The varsity girls’ cross country team took home fifth place at the GISA AA cross country state championship and had two runners place in the top 20 as well: Sophie Davis came in third overall and Alana Green came in 12th.

Visit www.millsprings.org for more information.

Amana Academy Charter bests other middle schools ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The Georgia Student Growth Model results for 2014 showed that Amana Academy’s middle grades garnered seven top-10 places among 488 middle schools across the state, more than any other Fulton County middle school.

In sixth grade, Amana students ranked 8th in English-Language Arts Amana Academy eighth grade student and 9th in Math. In Mary Holloway explains her “Stand Up” seventh grade, Amana learning expedition to her mother, Pam, ranked 3rd in Read- about disenfranchised people in history ing, 8th in Math, and standing for their rights.

2nd in Social studies. And in eighth grade, students ranked 5th in Reading and 5th in English Language-Arts. These scores reflect a 95% CRCT pass rate across all grades and subjects with 60% of students exceeding the standard on last spring’s State test, which is being replaced by the Georgia Milestones in April.

“Our teachers are committed to student growth and pushing students beyond what they think possible,” said Cherisse Campbell, Amana’s middle grades principal. “The new data is very encouraging.”

For more information, visit www.amanaacademy.org.

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ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Mill Springs Academy’s varsity boys’ cross country team has garnered a first place state win in the GISA AA division.

The team had six runners in the top 20 as follows: Devin Hazzard – first (individual champion), Sam Lynch – second (runner up), Cole Landy – fifth (all-state), Johnny Ray – sixth (all-state), Austin Palmore – 18th and Brandon

revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 21

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22 | January 1, 2015 | Revue & News | revueandnews.com

SPORTS

Submit your news & photos to news@appenmediagroup.com

Former Eagles continuing careers in basketball at collegiate level

By MIKE BLUM news@appenmediagroup.com MILTON – All nine players who started for the Milton basketball teams during the Eagles’ four consecutive state championship appearances from 2009-12 are currently playing college basketball, with the majority no longer at the schools where they started their college careers.

The Eagles won two state titles during their four-year run, which began in 2008 with the transfer of three high profile sophomores into the program, and ended when David Boyd was removed as head coach after the 2012 season in the aftermath of alleged recruiting violations.

All nine starters from those four teams received college scholarships, eight to Division 1 schools. The ninth signed a Division 1 scholarship after playing two years in junior college, with two of the players from Milton’s first state championship team now playing at the Division II level.

Milton had the same starting five for its first three teams to make the state championship game, with all five receiving Division 1 scholarships.

Of that group, only two are at the same school they initially signed with.

Shannon Scott, one of the three players who transferred to Milton prior his sophomore year, has played at Ohio State since he was a freshman, and is a full-time starter for the first time as a senior.

After playing as a reserve for two years, Scott made 21 starts as a junior and averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2 steals per game, and was selected to the all-Big 10 defensive team for the second straight year. This season, Scott is averaging 8 points, 8 assists and 3 steals for the Buckeyes, who won 10 of their first 12 games.

Julian Royal, one of two non-transfers on the first three Milton state finalists, signed with Georgia Tech out of high school. He played as a top reserve as a freshman, but saw limited action as a sophomore and transferred to George Mason with coach Paul Hewitt, who took the job there after being replaced as Georgia Tech’s head coach.

After sitting out last season, the 6’8” Royal played in the first five games for George Mason this season, but after making his first start in the fifth game, has not played since. He is averaging 3.5 points and 3 rebounds per game.

Evan Nolte, the other nontransfer starter on the first three Milton teams to reach the state finals, started as a fresh-

man in 2008-09 and graduated with four state championship appearances and two state titles. He signed with Virginia and is in his junior season with the Cavaliers, who started the season 11-0.

The 6’8” Nolte made eight starts as a freshman, but has played in a strictly reserve role the past two seasons. He made some big plays for Virginia in last year’s NCAA tournament, but is averaging just 15 minutes a game this season, averaging 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds, down from his numbers as a freshman.

The other two of Milton’s original “Fab Five” both transferred to the school from Marietta and are teammates again at Division II Indianapolis.

Dai-Jon Parker played three seasons at Vanderbilt and made 45 starts during his sophomore and junior seasons, but was not invited back for his senior season and transferred to Indianapolis, where former Milton teammate Jordan Loyd had transferred to the year before. Parker averaged 8.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a junior at Vanderbilt, but had some off-court problems during his career there.

The 6’3” senior from Baton Rouge, La., is averaging 11 points as a starter at Indianapolis, which opened the season with a 9-0 record and was ranked 9th nationally going into a holiday break. Parker scored 26 and 19 points in recent back-to-back wins for the Greyhounds.

Loyd began his college career at Furman and made 13 starts as a freshman, averaging 6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He played only one game as a sophomore and received a medical redshirt, and transferred to Indianapolis the next season.

After joining the team at mid-season, Loyd moved into the starting lineup in the NCAA Division II tournament, ands has remained a starter. Loyd, a 6’4” guard, is averaging 14 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game, and shooting 58 percent from the field, and was recently named the Player of the Week in his conference.

Shaquille Johnson, who became an internet sensation with his high-flying dunks during his two seasons at Milton, is playing for his third college in three years after initially signing with Auburn. Johnson played as the Eagles’ sixth man as a junior after transferring from Salem in Rockdale County, and was a senior starter on the 2012 state championship team.

Johnson made 21 starts as a freshman at Auburn but was dismissed from the team fol-

Milton Eagle Charles Mann [5] is now a junior at Georgia. lowing a marijuana arrest. He spent his sophomore season at Northwest Florida Junior College with one of his 201112 Milton teammates, and signed with Division 1 Longwood (Va.) after the 2013-14 season. Johnson, a 6’5” junior, is averaging 13.3 points and 4 rebounds for the Lancers, and leads the team in assists with 3.5 per game.

Tevin Glass was the lone Milton starter who did not sign with a Division I school after high school, playing his first two seasons at Northwest Florida JC. Glass is playing this season at Wichita State, where he was reunited with a Wichita assistant who was the head coach at Northwest Florida when Glass was a freshman.

The 6’8” Glass transferred to Milton from Meadowcreek in Gwinnett County prior to his senior season and was the starting center on the Eagles’ 2012 championship team. He made the all-tournament team at the junior college nationals as a freshman, twice pulling down 15 rebounds in a game, and was an all-conference selection as a sophomore, averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds. Glass has played sparingly as a junior at Wichita State, which was ranked No. 11 in the country after a 9-1 start. He had 10 points and six rebounds in three games.

Charles Mann also transferred to Milton for his senior

ROBYN GUY/STAFF

Evan Nolte from Milton. season from Union Grove in McDonough, and is a junior at Georgia. Mann has been a full-time starter the past two seasons after making the SEC all-freshman team.

Mann, a 6-5 guard, led the Bulldogs in scoring (14) and assists (3) per game last season, and is averaging 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4 assists this season, with the Bulldogs off to a 6-3 start and a possible NCAA berth.

Of the six players to transfer to Milton, Mann and Scott are the only two listing Milton or Alpharetta as their residence.

Like Royal and Nolte, Ja-

lyn Patterson began his high school career at Milton, and was a sophomore starter at guard on the 2012 championship team.

But after Boyd was dismissed as head coach and the Eagles were barred from postseason play in 2013, Patterson transferred to Montverde Academy, a basketball power in Florida that was voted the country’s top team during both seasons Patterson spent there.

Patterson is playing as a freshman at LSU, and is the team’s sixth man, averaging 3.3 points and 2 assists for the Tigers, who started the season 9-2.

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SPORTS Milton High Boys Lacrosse host “Run for Cover” 5K

revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 23

Proceeds go to charity

UGA men’s lacrosse sponsor clinic ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The University of Georgia men’s lacrosse club will be holding two clinics Saturday, Jan. 10, for boys’ lacrosse players at the Alpharetta High School stadium.

Session 1: Youth and middle school players, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Session 2: High school, 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The clinics will be staffed with UGA players and coaches. Many of the players went to local North Fulton high schools. This will be a great opportunity for players of all ages and schools to refine their skills prior to the spring

lacrosse season.

The schedule is as follows: First hour: Specific stations for positions and skills – attack, middie, long pole, face off and goalie.

Middle hours: Practice like a UGA player – this will simulate the structure and tempo of a UGA practice.

Final hour: Game/scrimmage.

UGA players will create and coach teams. There will be plenty of water breaks.

The cost of the clinic is $120 per player. For information or to register, visit www. alpharettalaxclub.org/ugaclinic.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS CITY OF ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA FOR WESTSIDE PARKWAY STREET LIGHTING – OLD MILTON PARKWAY TO WEBB BRIDGE ROAD BID #15-009 The City of Alpharetta is accepting bids for WESTSIDE PARKWAY STREET LIGHTING – OLD MILTON PARKWAY TO WEBB BRIDGE ROAD including, but not limited to: the design, purchase, delivery, and installation of LED street lighting; the maintenance of traffic; clean-up and restoration; and related work. The location of the work is along Westside Parkway between Old Milton Parkway and Webb Bridge Road --- within the City of Alpharetta, Georgia.

The Plans and Project Manual will be available online Thursday, December 18, 2014, under the tab “Bids Online” on our website, www.alpharetta.ga.us.

The bid opening will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2015 at 4:00 PM. The City of Alpharetta location will be provided by addendum to be issued at later date.

For information, please contact Debora Westbrook at the City of Alpharetta Finance Department at 678-297-6052 or via email at purchasing@alpharetta.ga.us.

MILTON, Ga. -- Milton High School Boys Lacrosse presents the 7th annual “Run for Cover” 5k run. This year’s race will start at Milton High School Parking lot, 13205 Birmingham Highway, Milton , Georgia 30004, at noon on Jan. 31, 2015. The 1 mile Fun Run starts at 11:30 a.m.

The Run for Cover 5k benefits North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC), a non-profit human service agency dedicated to preventing homelessness of individuals residing north of the Chattahoochee River in Fulton County (Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park and Roswell). NFCC assists families with basic needs such as food, rent and utilities, clothing and adult education classes during short term emergencies.

All race participants are asked to bring an article of winter clothing and/or non-perishable food items for donation to North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC).

In last year’s Run for Cover, 200 runners participated and donated over 80 winter clothing items and several bags of food items for NFCC. Plans for this year’s race look to exceed those numbers.

The race course has been certified by U.S. Track and Field so runner times can be used to qualify for other events including the Peachtree

Proceeds from the Run for Cover will go toward North Fulton Community Charities.

Road Race.

Register before Jan. 21, 2015 to take advantage of the $5 registration discount. Walk-up registration will open at 10:30 a.m. on race day.

For more race information and registration, visit www.miltonlax.com/5k.

—Jonathan Copsey

CITY OF ALPHARETTA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING The following items will be heard at a public hearing held by the Planning Commission on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Alpharetta City Hall Council Chambers, 2 Park Plaza (new City Hall), Alpharetta, Georgia.

Items forwarded by the Planning Commission will be considered by the City Council on Monday January 26, 2015 commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Alpharetta City Hall Council Chambers, 2 Park Plaza (new City Hall), Alpharetta, Georgia. a. UDC Changes – Climate Controlled Storage Consideration of a change to the Unified Development Code in order to add the definition for climate controlled storage and add permitted zoning designations for the use. b. CLUP-14-08/Z-14-12/V-14-27 Twelve on Canton Consideration of a request to rezone 5.5 acres on the west side of Canton Street from R-15 to R-10 for the purpose of developing a twelve lot subdivision with minimum lot sizes of 10,000 sf. A change to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan from “Low Density Residential” to “Medium Density Residential” is also requested as well as a variance to reduce the minimum lot width and building setbacks. A variance to allow the maximum building coverage from 25% to 50% and allowable impervious area from 50% to 75% is also requested. The property is located at 310 and 324 Canton Street and legally described as being located in Land Lot 1197 2nd District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia. c. Z-14-10/V-14-25 Mull Estate Consideration of rezoning 1.3 acres from R-12(For-Sale Residential) to O-P (Professional Office). A variance to the 50’ undisturbed buffer adjacent residential is also requested. The property is located at 2385 Old Milton Parkway and legally described as being located in Land Lot 748, 1st District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia. d. PH-14-03 North Point Parkway LCI Design Standards (City Council Only) Consideration of design standards for North Point Parkway from Rock Mill Road to the East and Mansell Road to the West.

Note: Georgia law requires that all parties who have made campaign contributions to the Mayor or to a Council Member in excess of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) within the past two (2) years must complete a campaign contribution report with the Community Development Department. The complete text of the Georgia law and a disclosure form are available in the office of the City Clerk, 2 South Main Street.

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The Cigar Guys gather at Steve Dorvee’s house in south Roswell to assemble toys for the Child Development Association and hoist a glass or two of Christmas cheer. It is early in the evening and the toy count has not yet begun to rise.

Bright:

Continued from Page 13 CITY OF ALPHARETTA PUBLIC NOTICE PH-15-AB-01 PLACE City Hall Two Park Plaza Council Chambers January 8, 2015 3:00P.M. PURPOSE Consumption on Premises Beer & Wine Sunday Sales APPLICANT Abhiruchi Indian Cuisine 5530 Windward Parkway Suite 440 Alpharetta, Ga. 30004 Owner & Registered Agent Mr. Sreenivasa R. Lokasani

down the street where Carmen Beggs and Beth Miller have a ladies’ night out to support the Drake House – a bootstrap program in Roswell that gives homeless mothers with children a place to get back on their feet and working while keeping their children in their original schools.

A tip of the hat goes to

Montana’s Bar and Grill for pitching in some wings, the Cigar Merchant at Mansell Road and Alpharetta Highway that contributed cigars and Alessio’s Pizza, which provided pizza.

The official vegetable of the evening was noted in the form of Bloomin’ Onions from Outback Steakhouse.

CITY OF ALPHARETTA PUBLIC NOTICE AMENDMENT TO CITY CHARTER Please be advised that the City of Alpharetta intends to adopt an amendment to the City’s Charter. The amendment involves revising the current term limits provision applicable to the Mayor and Council and closing the term limit loophole.

The amendment limits the term of the Mayor and Council to four consecutive four year terms. The amendment also prohibits a termed out official from seeking reelection for eight consecutive years. The City Council proposes to accomplish the amendment through the adoption of an ordinance which will be read at two City Council meetings scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at City Hall on January 5, 2015 and January 26,2015. A copy of the proposed amendment is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and the Clerk of the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia CITY OF ALPHARETTA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Steve McGraw assembles his toy while receiving expert advice from Steve Dorvee, left, and Jere Wood, a well-known politician in Roswell with a penchant for wheeled toys as well.

Scandal: Continued from Page 5

nesses, look at documents, do whatever they feel like is in their scope to investigate this matter.”

The panel, which was selected by Miles, will be comprised of Miles, former Forsyth County Commissioner Patrick Bell and Steve Page, a local businessman.

“They are members of our community,” said Miles. “I think they’re people of very high integrity. Our goal is to make this process as transparent as possible.”

The next step is coming up with a report, Miles said, that will then be returned to the city council at a subsequent meeting.

“If based on that report,” said Miles, “the city council votes to impeach Councilman Sexton, then a trial will be set for the city council on specific charges and Sexton will have all the due process rights to respond to those charges with whatever evidence he’d like to use in that trial. If the city council votes not to impeach Sexton, then the process is at an end.”

If Sexton is impeached and convicted of the charges, then he is automatically removed from his office as a councilmember.

Sexton then stood up to give a rebuttal.

“I’ve served the citizens of Cumming the last 44 years with utmost integrity,” said Sexton. “I’ve done nothing illegal, immoral or unethical.

I have not released to any media source any list or records.

I respectfully ask the mayor and my fellow councilmen to provide me with proof of the contrary.”

Sexton said that he believes this information can be obtained by any citizen through the Open Records Act, and that he emailed the document to Gravitt, Councilman Lewis Ledbetter and Councilman Ralph Perry.

“If you want to impeach me because of some list that went out on social news media,” said Sexton, “then my question is why aren’t Mayor Gravitt, Councilman Ledbetter and Councilman Perry not getting impeached? They got the same list I got and it is public record. I’m going to ask the Georgia Whistleblowers Act be invoked immediately.”

The following items will be heard at a public hearing held by the Planning Commission on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Alpharetta City Hall Council Chambers, 2 Park Plaza (new City Hall), Alpharetta, Georgia.

ONLINE AUCTION BY CITY OF ALPHARETTA

This item will also be considered by the City Council on Monday January 26, 2015 commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Alpharetta City Hall Council Chambers, 2 Park Plaza (new City Hall), Alpharetta, Georgia.

The City of Alpharetta, in conjunction with GovDeals, will conduct a CONTINUOUS online auction to sell surplus material, equipment, and vehicles. To view the surplus items or to place a bid, please visit www.govdeals.com.

a. PH-14-13 Downtown Master Plan Presentation and discussion of the Downtown Master Plan. The area boundaries generally include Mayfield Road and Canton Street to the North; South Main Street and Allyson Circle to the South; Wills Road to the West; Westside Parkway to the East.

Note: Georgia law requires that all parties who have made campaign contributions to the Mayor or to a Council Member in excess of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) within the past two (2) years must complete a campaign contribution report with the Community Development Department. The complete text of the Georgia law and a disclosure form are available in the office of the City Clerk, 2 South Main Street.

All sales will be final to the highest bidder and sold as is, where is, with no warranty expressed or implied. The City of Alpharetta and GovDeals reserves the right to reject any and all bids, and the right to waive formalities. Once the items are sold, the coordination of and actual removal of the items must be completed by the selected party.

For further information, visit www.govdeals.com or contact Jonathan Bulau with the City of Alpharetta, Department of Finance at (678) 297-6095 or jbulau@alpharetta.ga.us.

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COMMUNITY

revueandnews.com | Revue & News | January 1, 2015 | 25

Jackson Healthcare makes foster kids holiday merry Associates donate all year to help foster parents with children’s gifts

By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Every Christmas for the last 15 years, the associates at Jackson Healthcare throw a big party with lots to eat and presents for everybody. Not for themselves of course. They donate $30 a month (matched by their CEO Rick Jackson) for a Christmas bash for foster children.

At the Dec. 22 Christmas party for more than 350 children and their foster parents or adoptive parents, they came to see Santa, have some fun activities and let “Santa” fill the trunks of their cars with presents to open Christmas morning.

Working with FaithBridge CEO Bill Hancock, these employees are making a difference in the lives of the 7,000 foster children in Georgia.

FaithBridge Foster Care partners with local churches to

create independent foster care ministries that address the foster care problem in that church’s surrounding community.

Its main purpose is to help foster families with the burden of caring for these deserving children and teenagers who just need a decent start in life.

Jackson is a former foster child himself, growing up in a failed family situation, he took the opportunity that foster parents gave him to go on to college and found the thirdlargest healthcare staffing company in the country.

Jackson said as an employer, he wanted to do something for foster children, so 15 years ago, he started “dress down” day where employees paid $1 a day to dress down which goes to the party, the toys and everything else they can do for these foster children.

“Over the years, we have developed a foster care program with the Department of Family and Children’s Services

and FaithBridge to show local churches how they can get involved and get kids in Christian homes,” Jackson said.

This year’s Christmas party is helping some 350 children.

Tim and Allyssa (they wanted to use just their first names) are a young couple that took in two active boys as foster children. In the course of time they adopted the boys.

Why did they start?

“This is about faith. It was something Tim and I discussed even before we were married,” Allyssa said. “This was something we needed to do we discovered.”

Once they became foster parents, she said it seemed like they were “meant to do it.”

Adopting the boys was something they didn’t expect to happen. But 18 months later, they are a happy family.

“The experience gave us more awareness of the foster crisis. There are [7,000] foster kids in Georgia and they need help,” Tim said.

“This has definitely been a great experience for us. Allyssa and I – we’ve been blessed,” he said.

PHOTOS BY HATCHER HURD/STAFF

Foster parents go home with bags of toys chosen especially for the children.

NORTHSIDE CHAPEL

FUNERAL DIRECTORS and CREMATORY

Rex T. Grizzle, Owner Locally Owned and Operated 12050 Crabapple Rd. Roswell, GA 30075

info@northsidechapel.com 770-645-1414 • www.northsidechapel.com

North Fulton’s Only On-Site Crematory DEATH NOTICES

Tim and Allyssa began as foster parents, but when they had the opportunity to adopt their two foster boys, they jumped at the chance.

Edward Charles Barnes, 50, of Forsyth County, passed away December 17, 2014.

Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

Richard Eugene Phillips, 59, of Blue Ridge, passed away December 20, 2014.

Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

Katharine Rhodes Brown, 94, of Atlanta, passed away December 15, 2014.

Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

Era Bell Buice Rickles, 96, of Gainesville, passed away December 21, 2014.

Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

Yingliang Chen, 82, of Johns Creek, passed away December 21, 2014. Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

Thomas Anthony Rogers, 64, of Cumming, passed away December 18, 2014.

Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

Josh Charles Gordon, 20, of Cumming, passed away December 19, 2014.

Arrangements by McDonald and Son Funeral Home.

Ruby Ethel Martin, 97, of Cumming, passed away December 16, 2014.

Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

Kathleen A. Meetze, 68, of Cleveland, passed away December 14, 2014.

Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.

Everyone had the opportunity to decorate their own personal gingerbread man.

The best part of decorating your own cookie is in the tasting.

Walter E. Okenica, 68, of Cumming, passed away December 23, 2014.

Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

Marsha Ann Salter, 57, of Cumming, passed away December 17, 2014.

Arrangements by McDonald and Son. Marilyn Ann Schroer, 79, passed away December 20, 2014. Arrangements by McDonalds and Son Funeral Home.

Jackie Williams, 74, of Cumming, passed away December 21, 2014.

Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.

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