Empty Nest
Sponsored section ►►PAGE 20
Going his own way
Candidates sound off
Grinch says be on look out
Mick Fleetwood displays photography at the Ann Jackson Gallery ►►PAGE 11
Identify their issues in the race ►►PAGE 4
Police videos plug holiday safety ►►PAGE 12
December 25, 2014 | johnscreekherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 51
BE THE EXCEPTION »
City adopts New brand
Remembering the Battle of the Bulge
Part of new push for commercial growth
By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com
This is the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. Marti Elliott-Best, a North Fulton school teacher, remembers her father’s exploits as an OSS lieutenant hidden behind the lines. She tells the story of who drew his portrait while evading the Nazis. See Story Page 15. HATCHER HURD/STAFF
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Along with the unveiling of the much ballyhooed central business district and city center plan, the city has been new marketing tagline and logo that will be a part of the unified efforts of the city and the business community. “Be the Exception” is the city’s new tagline, and it is meant to tell others about the kind of people who move here or have businesses here. The three-color shield of ribbons are symbolic in nature and can be used as city identifiers, said Ed Barlow, director of Planning for North Star Destination Strategies, the Nashville-based com-
pany that was awarded the $82,000 contract to develop the city’s marketing brand. “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not around,” said Barlow, “And your brand is what you do about it.” North Star’s qualitative and quantitative research of the city was to study what residents thought about their city. It was begun after winning the bid from the city in 2013. Barlow said they were off-the-chart as a place to live compared to other cities. The researcher’s job is to
See COUNCIL, Page 10
Options fade to keep Sunshine Academy open Governing board refuses parents’ calls to resign By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@appenmmediagroup.com NORTH FULTON, Ga. – Parents of a soon-to-shutter charter school are pinning their last hopes on becoming a Fulton County school next year, but Fulton officials note a critical deadline may have already passed, and tensions between parents at the school and its governing board are at an all-time high. Last month, the Fulton Board of
Education voted to deny charter renewals for Fulton Science Academy High School in Alpharetta and Fulton Sunshine Academy Elementary in Roswell, effectively closing the sister schools on June 15, 2015. The decision for denial centered primarily on problematic governing boards at the schools and lack of cooperation with the Fulton School System (FCSS), according to FCSS documents. However, in an unprecedented
move, Fulton Superintendent Robert Avossa floated the idea of allowing the Sunshine Academy to remain open and become a Fulton School of Choice next year. The FCSS is looking to expand options for students system-wide, and Avossa is open to the idea of including the Sunshine Academy – provided certain criteria are met. “We don’t want to create false hope that this school can be transformed successfully into a school choice option,” Avossa said at the board table after the Nov. 20 vote. “But investigating the idea further is the right thing to
do for [those] who have been its diligent supporters.” The option was not extended to the high school. The one caveat to pursuing the idea is the governing board at Sunshine Academy must resign and be replaced by a parent-elected body. In addition, a plan had to be in place by the start of winter break so it could be presented to the school board in January for February action. Laura Stowell, charter schools director for FCSS, confirmed that talks be-
See SUNSHINE, Page 6
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