Real Estate Report Special section ►►PAGE 16
JC teacher makes Ga. Hall of Fame Cindy Brogdon Olympic Silver medalist ►►PAGE 10
Golf tournament for Memorial Walk Vets organize fundraiser for Newtown memorial ►►PAGE 8
Storm marked by selfless acts
Stranded motorists often found willing hands to help ►►PAGE 4
February 6, 2014 | northfulton.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 6
City personnel get jump on storm Sand trucks hit streets early Tuesday morning By HATCHER HURD hatcher@northfulton.com
LOU HABLAS
Fulton County Schools let out just as the snow began, leaving some students stranded on buses and in classrooms due to heavy traffic. At least one student appears to be happy to bo going home early.
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – While Jack Frost took the metro area by surprise last week blasting the region with snow and ice and paralyzing Atlanta, Johns Creek personnel were out in force early Tuesday morning, hours before the storm hit, said Johns Creek Communications Manager Doug Nurse. The city’s Emergency Operations Center inside police headquarters was already up and running the morning of the storm, putting sand and salt out to pre-treat likely trouble spots and revisiting them as needed through the night and into Wednesday. Mayor Mike Bodker praised the city’s response efforts. “Certainly, these things are not completely within our
control, but just like our last winter storm, I’m very proud of the around-the-clock effort that our staff put in. I think the results speak for themselves,” Bodker said. “Staff worked very hard,” he said. “Some slept at City Hall, some slept in the Emergency Operations Center. But they wanted to make sure they were there to get the job done. “We were able for the most part to keep our roads moving throughout. I think we did a good job of communicating those roads we were struggling to deal with,” he said. “Most importantly, to my knowledge, all the school kids were able to get home.” Working 12-hour shifts, Johns Creek Public Works and Police staff kept up efforts to keep the streets clear, and updated the traffic situation regularly through Tuesday night and all day Wednesday. “They worked hard for hours without breaks,” Nurse
See STORM, Page 4
Snow jam forces Fulton Schools to review decision-making Avossa: ‘We own the mistakes’ By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@northfulton.com NORTH FULTON, Ga. – By 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29, the last of the students who had been in school since the previous morning were finally sent home. Administrators, teachers
and staff who pulled 36-plus hour shifts alongside the students also gave up their posts and went home. But while the warm AVOSSA temperatures returned and “snowmageddon” gave up its hold on the region, the crisis moved inevitably to the blame game. The ques-
The communication should have been better …” ROBERT AVOSSA Superintendent of Fulton County Schools tions came easily: How did this
happen? Who should be held accountable? The answers may be longer in coming as officials with the Fulton County School System reevaluate their decisionmaking prior to the Jan. 28 snowstorm. Superintendent Robert Avossa, along with key staff, remained in the system headquarters in South Atlanta until word came down that the last child had been safely transported home. The rumors
Avossa had returned to his North Fulton home ahead of the storm were not accurate. Avossa is still working on answers, but readily admits mistakes were made. “We own the mistakes,” said Avossa on Jan. 30. “The communication should have been better…we should have called school [off]. Moving forward, we may change the way my team makes decisions in the
See AVOSSA, Page 6