Alpharetta-Roswell Herald - February 8, 2024

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New York Times levels distinction on Appen Media for election piece ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Appen Media Group was noted by The New York Times late in 2023 for its work on a story about the City of Milton and a committee studying the feasibility of the city running its own local elections.

The Times recognized Appen Media on its “Local Journalism Worth Reading From 2023” list, along with dozens of other newspaper and digital profit and nonprofit publications across the country. The list highlights local journalism that holds government accountable or shines light on issues affecting communities, such as environmental challenges, criminal justice matters or socioeconomic problems.

Appen Media’s story from late 2022, written by reporter Amber Perry, noted informal meetings held by the Milton Municipal Election Feasibility Committee that were not open to the public and questions raised by the public about the motivation of committee members.

The committee was tasked with studying the feasibility of the city running its own elections rather than paying Fulton County to manage them.

Readers can find the piece recognized by The Times at appenmedia.com/municipal_ elections.

Mayor’s yearly address keys on enhancements to Alpharetta’s growth

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin delivers the State of the City Address at The Hotel at Avalon Feb. 1. Gilvin highlighted the city’s success in infrastructure, parks and recreation, public safety and economic development.

Alpharetta settles suit over 2021 K9 incident ► PAGE 3

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — With new mixed-use developments and major transportation projects underway, Mayor Jim Gilvin painted a bright future for Alpharetta at the State of the City Address Feb. 1.

The annual keynote is an opportunity for the mayor to reflect on the city’s past and provide direction on its course for the coming year. Now in its 13th year, the address is hosted by the Alpharetta Business Association. The 2024 event was held at 8 a.m. at The Hotel at Avalon.

Gilvin’s speech centered around Alpharetta’s success in infrastructure, parks and recreation, public safety and economic development.

In the next five years, Gilvin said Alpharetta

residents will see the completion of the Ga. 9 widening, the Dryden Road extension and a new bridge on Waters Road.

Projects planned for construction through 2029 include the Webb Bridge Road/Ga. 400 overpass replacement and the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Ga. 400 express lanes.

Plans also include the ongoing the widening of McGinnis Ferry Road, a major east-west corridor that includes funding from Forsyth County, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and GDOT. Construction hit a snag in 2023 when bids for the project came in at $79.4 million, more than $10 million above the last estimated cost.

See ADDRESS, Page 26

Poets paint ‘afrofuture’ at Roswell celebration ► PAGE 4

PUBLIC SAFETY

2 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell

Roswell police arrest registered sex offender 770-442-3278 AppenMedia.com 319 N. Main Street Alpharetta, GA 30009 HANS APPEN Publisher RAY APPEN Publisher Emeritus CONTACT NEWS TIPS Contact reporters directly or send story ideas to newsroom@appenmedia.com.

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Detectives later executed a search warrant at Wade’s Atlanta home, where multiple electronic items were seized. Child sexual abuse material was reportedly found in a review of the items, and additional charges are pending, police said.

Feb. 6 is “Safer Internet Day,” an ICAC Task Force initiative committed to ensuring a better internet for all.

The Roswell Police Department reminds parents to be intentional -and present in maintaining the online safety of their children.

For information on internet safety resources, visit www.icactaskforce.org

POLICE BLOTTER

Police issue warnings to pair of urban campers

Both were given until Feb. 2 to clear their belongings and vacate the encampment.

ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell Police issued warnings Jan. 30 and instructed two homeless people to clear their encampment behind Silver Dollar Pawn on Alpharetta Highway.

Officers said they received anonymous complaints from nearby residents about urban camping in the area.

The officers discovered two homeless people, male and female, at the encampment, described as “a large campsite littered with trash.”

Officers who spoke with the male camper discovered he had an active warrant out of the state of Washington.

Law enforcement officials in Washington declined to extradite him, officers said.

With no prior history of urban camping, the man was released with a warning.

Officers said the female, 34, had been warned twice for urban camping at the location in April and June.

Officers said they decided to release her from custody and provide her with a copy of the city’s urban camping ordinance.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta police arrested a 42-year-old Cumming man Jan. 27 who allegedly tried to provoke a fight while intoxicated in front of Taffer’s Tavern on South Main Street.

Officers conducting foot patrol on the Town Green reported spotting the suspect shouting at a group of people in front of the tavern around 2 a.m.

The suspect reportedly continued shouting at the group as they crossed the street, and he followed them without using a crosswalk.

Officers reported stopping the suspect and asking him to stop following the people.

The suspect reportedly smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech, and he refused to cooperate when officers asked him to secure a ride home.

He was charged with disorderly conduct while under the influence, a city ordinance violation.

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.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — An Alpharetta man reported someone swiped a firearm from his vehicle while he was shopping at Kroger on Ga. 9 and Windward Parkway Jan. 20.

When he returned to his vehicle around 2 p.m., the victim reported noticing his window was rolled down some 3 inches, but he did not suspect anything because his phone was still inside.

The victim said he went to his vehicle to look for something Jan. 24, and he found his 9 mm Hi-Point was missing from the center console, the report states.

Officers reported the value of the stolen firearm at $145.

No suspects have been identified.

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the adult mother of a 9-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. During these conversations, Wade allegedly made arrangements to meet, and on Jan. 23, traveled from his home in Atlanta to the Roswell area with the intention of committing sexual acts on both children.

Wade was met by Roswell police officers and arrested. He was transported to the Fulton County Jail and charged with three counts of child molestation; electronically furnishing obscene material to minors; using a computer service to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child to commit illegal acts; two counts of aggravated sodomy; and obscene internet contact with a child.

Gun reported stolen from vehicle at Kroger

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ROSWELL, Ga. — The Roswell Police Department announced Feb. 6 that its Internet Crimes Against Children Unit has arrested 59-year-old Allen Wade of Atlanta on multiple charges, including child molestation.

Wade is a registered sex offender through Georgia, convicted in 2003 of using a facility or means of interstate commerce to entice a child to engage in sexual activity.

Detectives began an investigation into Wade Nov. 9 stemming from undercover contact with him in an online chatroom environment. Over the next several months, Wade allegedly engaged in illicit conversations with an individual whom he believed to be

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The North Fulton Rotary Club and six students receive a proclamation at an Alpharetta City Council meeting Feb. 5. The students and the Rotary Club were recognized for their Alpharetta Greenway Mural Trail, a beautification effort along the Big Creek Greenway.

Alpharetta settles civil suit filed over 2021 K9 incident

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta officials have agreed to pay Travis and Kami Moya $275,000 to settle a civil lawsuit stemming from a July 2021 use of force incident in which a K9 injured a man’s arm.

At a Feb. 5 formal meeting, the Alpharetta City Council voted 5-1 to approve the settlement agreement.

Councilman Brian Will cast the dissenting vote, and Councilman Donald Mitchell was absent.

In the agreement, the Moyas acquit Alpharetta, Public Safety Director John Robison and the involved officers “from all claims, suits, costs, debts, demands, actions and causes of action” related to the incident.

The city’s insurer, Tokio Marine HCC, is footing the $275,000 settlement.

City Administrator Chris Lagerbloom said Alpharetta was responsible for its $25,000 deductible.

Alpharetta police officers reportedly responded to a domestic disturbance call July 25, 2021. In the following minutes, former officer Michael Esposito released a K9 named Ares, who attacked the arm of Travis Moya, leaving “large amounts of blood and fatty tissue coming out of the wound.”

In an official 2021 review of the incident, the Alpharetta Police Department found there was no violation of federal, state or departmental policy.

The following year, Moya and Stewart

Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys of Atlanta filed a civil suit against Esposito and the city in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

In September 2023, the presiding judge granted a dispositive motion in favor of Alpharetta. The Moyas appealed the ruling, but the Feb. 5 settlement halts future court proceedings.

The settlement was originally included in the consent agenda, a roster of items approved or denied in a single vote without discussion.

But, Councilman Will moved the item to the new business agenda for public discussion.

“Our public safety officers did what they were trained to do,” Will said. “We’re doing this as a matter of expediency to get this off our plate, to get it settled and not cause any future problems. I did want to make a public statement that the officer didn’t do anything wrong according to the investigations we did, and I just needed the public to know that.”

In May 2023, Esposito was charged with violation of oath by a public officer and aggravated assault and battery in the Fulton County Superior Court.

Moya was initially charged with felony willful obstruction of law enforcement officers and misdemeanor obstruction of law enforcement, but the charges were dropped in 2022 after a Fulton County assistant district attorney found insufficient evidence to support a

See SUIT, Page 27

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Poets frame brilliant ‘afrofuture’ at Roswell Roots’ Lyrics and Lyre

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com ROSWELL, Ga. — Complimented by the sounds of cello, bass and violin, Atlanta-based poet Ashlee Haze opened L yrics and L yre Feb. 2 with a spoken word performance describing an “afrofuture” of liberation and Black love.

For Haze, an afrofuture is where Black girls get to be themselves, where “abundance is the norm” and the “playing field is fair.” It also carries artists like rapper Missy Elliot, whom Haze aspired to be growing up.

At the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, more than 200 guests watched Haze and other featured poets, Ninel Nekay and Jon Goode, build around “Art of the Afrofuture,” this year’s theme for L yrics and L yre.

The returning Roswell Roots Festival event had accompaniments from cellist Okorie “OK Cello” Johnson, bassist Téja Veal and violinist Carey Durham.

“It is my theory, my belief that as poets, we are servants of people from our communities,” Haze said. “It’s my job to reflect their experiences and emotions as much as my own, but our shared experiences and emotions.”

Haze’s writing process varies, whether it be the result of something that had happened, like a breakup, or a stream of consciousness, or what she calls a “gumbo” poem, created from singular lines stored on her Google Drive.

Many times, Haze said she tries to channel a specific set of emotions or theme. At L yrics and L yre, she asked people to imagine a future, who and what will be there.

“I hope in our future, our collective future, we wish, and we dream and think beyond what we see in the present,” Haze said, as she introduced her poem that takes after a ghazal,

PHOTOS BY AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Poet Ashlee Haze opens Lyrics and Lyre Feb. 2 with spoken word performance, accompanied by cellist Okorie “OK Cello” Johnson, bassist Téja Veal and violinist Carey Durham. Held at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, Lyrics and Lyre was centered around the theme “Art of the Afrofuture.”

Roswell City Councilwoman Christine Hall welcomes more than 200 guests to Lyrics and Lyre Feb. 2. On left, Roswell Cultural Arts Supervisor Corinne Sutherlin helped coordinate the event. an Arabic sonnet. She said the work was “very simply about giving yourself permission to want what you want.”

Haze said she first writes for Black women, Black millennial femmes, placed in the American South, expanding her audience to

all African Americans, all people of color and other marginalized groups, including queer folks. Using bell hooks’ definition, she said “queer” is resistance to everything around her.

But, her work becomes universal.

“I do think that all of us, at some

point, have at least some shared experience,” Haze said.

As someone living in an intersection, Haze said it’s important for her to write with complexity.

“I don’t wake up only woman. I don’t wake up only African American, only plus size, only raised in the American South,” Haze said. “I wake up with all of those things happening at once, and so many people wake up with all these identities happening at once and what they mean, which each one carries and which ones protect you and which don’t.”

And, poets who are effective at reflecting her shared experience inspire Haze, like Maya Angelou, Sonia Sanchez and Nikki Giovani as well as Patricia Smith, from Haze’s hometown of Chicago, and Jericho Brown, a local Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.

Haze also carries around Maggie Nelson’s book of prose poetry titled “Bluets,” a meditation on the color blue, because of its technique — a combination of philosophy, color theory and a “masterful” use of language.

Haze is slated to lead a poetry performance and slam workshop Feb. 24, ahead of the public slam competition co-hosted by herself and poet Adán Bean. Roswell Cultural Arts Supervisor Corinne Sutherlin said the city has worked with Haze for three years now to bring performance spotlights to the festival, producing and selecting the artists to showcase through Haze Inc. “Listen more than you speak, read more than you write,” Haze suggests to developing poets. “I came to the art — I had so much to say, I was so young. When I started writing, I wanted to say everything. I wanted to write everything. But, really … part of my job description is to fill in the void or fill in the gaps.”

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Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson jumps with the Roswell Rotary Club at the Alpharetta Rotary Polar Bear Plunge Feb. 3 at the Wills Park Pool. Wilson’s team raised more than $2,900.

Banking on Purpose.

Rotary Polar Bear Plunge raises more than $159,000

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The Alpharetta Rotary Club’s sixth annual Polar Bear Plunge Feb. 3 beat its own record with more than $150,000 raised.

On the morning of the plunge, the Rotary Club’s $150,000 goal had been surpassed. The latest update shows the 2024 dousing raised just shy of $159,000.

It was around 50 degrees when more than 100 participants and spectators gathered around the Wills Park pool for the 10 a.m. plunge.

The yearly fundraiser invites nonprofits, schools, clubs, sports teams and community groups to dive into the icy water to raise money for a cause of their choice. Participants can also create a new team or sign up as individual jumpers.

The top two earning teams were the Lionheart Life Center and the Alpharetta Symphony. Lionheart, a nonprofit offering educational and therapeutic services to individuals with autism and developmental challenges, raised $14,629 as of Feb. 5.

The Alpharetta Symphony, which was the top team on the morning of the plunge, raked in $14,469.

Alpharetta City Councilman John Hipes, who served as the orchestra’s team captain, said the Polar Bear Plunge is an opportunity for people to support their passions in the community.

“We could all pick, and people in the community who aren't in Rotary could pick their passion, and go jump in cold water, and the net result is almost

$155,000,” Hipes said. “That is the most awesome Rotary project I could ever imagine in my life.”

Although the Polar Bear Plunge is a fundraiser, Hipes said the event is also about creating exposure.

Hipes jumped alongside Alpharetta Symphony Music Director Grant Gilman.

With the support of Hipes, Gilman said the orchestra is now playing to audiences at single concerts that it never drew in an entire season.

He said the success of the orchestra shows Alpharetta is poised for big things.

“It definitely has the infrastructure,” he said. “It has the funding, and it has all of the support for something like an orchestra and an opera and ballet and all of those things, but now it’s coming to fruition in a way that it hasn’t before apparently.”

Other top teams included Brewable, Champions Place, the North Fulton Rotary Club, Vision Warriors, the Alpharetta Rotary Foundation, Meals

by Grace, Camp Lighthouse and the Alpharetta High School football program.

Participants typically wear fun costumes at the fundraiser. North Fulton Rotarian Richard Matherly, the highest earning individual jumper, sported his signature pink flamingo hat and matching shirt.

Alpharetta Rotary president nominee Paul Slavik wore a banana suit when he took the plunge. Slavik is best known for his pink bunny costume, but he said he had to forgo it this year because it shrunk over time.

The 2023 Polar Bear Plunge raised more than $120,000, a previous record.

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NEWS

Pending NHL franchise, Forsyth County pitches $390 million bond

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County commissioners have tentatively agreed to contribute $390 million to The Gathering at South Forsyth if developers secure a franchise with the National Hockey League.

The county has agreed to foot $350 million for the construction of a 700,000-square-foot arena and $40 million for an arena parking deck.

But, the county’s commitment is entirely contingent on an NHL team cementing its presence at The Gathering.

At a called meeting Jan. 31, the Forsyth County Commission voted 4-1 to adopt an agreement with The Gathering developers. Commissioner Todd Levent cast the dissenting vote.

The agreement outlines each party’s commitment to the project, but County Attorney Ken Jarrard emphasized the terms are nonbinding.

The Gathering at South Forsyth is a planned $2 billion mixed-use development off Union Hill Road, Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Ga. 400.

At a Forsyth County Board of Commissioners work session in April, The Gathering staff first presented conceptual

SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

A crowd watches Ernst and Young’s presentation on the economic feasibility and impact of The Gathering at South Forsyth at a Forsyth County Commission meeting Jan. 31. Commissioners agreed to contribute $390 million to the project if developers secure an NHL franchise. plans for the project, which called for 1.6 million square feet of commercial and retail space, a 750,000-square-foot arena, a community center and 450 hotel rooms.

The Jan. 31 agreement marked the county’s first formal vote on the project.

County financing Forsyth County would issue a $390 million revenue-backed bond to finance the project. The county would pay some $23.4 million each year to service the

debt through income it receives from the development.

Revenue bonds are issued by local governments to fund specific projects.

The revenue generated from the project is then used to repay the debt. Taxpayers do not fund revenue bonds, unlike general obligation bonds.

In return, The Gathering would pay the county $2 million annually in rent.

The sum would increase by 2 percent or the current consumer price index six

years after the team starts playing.

Jarrard said the county would use the rent money to pay off debt but may use the funds for any government purpose after the debt is paid.

The county is also set to receive $1 per ticket sale for the first six years after the arena’s opening. At the sixth year, the per ticket revenue climbs to $1.50, $2 at 11 years and $2.50 at 16 years until the end of the lease.

Forsyth County would own the arena, but The Gathering would handle all maintenance, operations and programming.

The developers would also own the NHL franchise.

If built as planned, the arena would host some 178 events each year, and the venue would not be limited to hockey. The NHL would play 41 home games a year.

To ensure the county has the revenue needed to repay the bond, the NHL team would need to continue playing in the arena until the debt is paid. The Jan. 31 agreement does not outline that guarantee.

Jarrard said the county has not had serious negotiations about the requirement for the NHL team to stay, but it will be protected in future negotiations when

See NHL, Page 28

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Milton residents honor local American hero

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com MILTON, Ga. — After a years-long battle with cancer, retired Col. Ronnie Bjarne Rondem passed away in early January with his wife, Julie, by his side. He was 80.

When Providence Lake Homeowners Association President Don Hoffman heard that Rondem was ill, he sprung the community into action.

Through the support group, Helping Hands, the Providence Lake community built a schedule to deliver meals to Rondem and his wife.

“Ronnie Rondem was a longtime and active member of the Providence Lake community here in Milton,” Hoffman said. “Unfortunately, after just a few days of delivering meals to them, Ronnie passed away.”

With the help of Bill Lusk, founder of Milton Veterans Memorial Markers, Hoffman organized a neighborhood effort to display American flags in honor and recognition of Rondem’s life and service.

Hofman, Lusk and other community volunteers lined the streets of Providence Lake with nearly 1,000 American flags Jan. 29.

BILL LUSK/PROVIDED

Residents of Providence Lake gather for a photo Jan. 29 after lining streets in the community with nearly 1,000 American flags to honor Col. Ronnie Rondem. From left, Kathy Hoffman, Dan Anderson, Cye Roodehchi, Charles Feyt, Jay Walsh, Jack Walsh, Janette Walsh, Georgina Farris and Don Hoffman worked with Milton Veteran Memorial Markers to make the tribute happen.

Visitation and funeral services were held at the Northside Chapel on Crabapple Road Jan. 30-31. A military honors service Jan. 31 at the Georgia National Ceremony near Canton followed.

Lusk said he first met Rondem more than 20 years ago through the Atlanta

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The two men remained close friends through their work growing the Milton Veterans Memorial Markers.

“I miss him, he was a true American patriot and a hero,” Lusk said. “The United States was his adopted home, and he loved the United States and the

U.S. Army.”

An American patriot Col. Ronnie Rondem was born in 1943 to a Norwegian family in Oslo.

When he was just 12 years old, he immigrated with his parents and older sister to Brooklyn, New York.

In a 2010 interview with the Atlanta History Center, Rondem said he only knew two phrases when he arrived in the United States, “good night” and “just one moment, please.”

As an elementary school student, Rondem said he was instructed to say the phrase when he answered the phone for his parents.

With the help of his older sister, Rondem quickly learned English by translating “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy.

Rondem and his family moved to New Jersey and then New Hampshire, where he graduated from high school.

Before reaching the most senior field-grade military officer rank, Rondem served as a medic and then completed the Army’s Officer Candidate School.

He served as a platoon leader with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade on his first tour in Vietnam.

See HERO, Page 27

NEWS

8 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell

Providence Park 'keeper' joins Adopt-a-Trail effort

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

A COMMUNITY OF CARE UNITY OF CARE IN CRABAPPLE IN CRABAPPLE ND 2023

2023

MILTON, Ga. — Charlie Lancelot, neighbor and longtime advocate of Providence Park, adopted one of three trails on the 42-acre space in Milton’s new Adopt-a-Trail program.

The half-mile, paved white trail, which stretches down to the park’s pier, now sports the name “Betindiego Pass.” Betindiego is a combination of the names of Lancelot’s three dogs — Bety, Indie and Diego.

Lancelot, 82, runs the trail just about every day, and brings his companions along, and he has been since he moved next to the park in the mid-’90s, back before the park was bought by Milton and when contamination plagued the grounds from commercial dumping.

He moved there for the park, but it closed in 2001 for chemical cleanup.

“I just decided arbitrarily, ‘No way. I moved next to these trails. I'm going to run these trails. If I have to remove the trees myself, I will,’” Lancelot said. “But, I'll do whatever I have to do to keep my trails I moved down here for.”

He and his gardener, alone, would trespass into the park wielding a chainsaw, to cut down dead trees infested with pine borers and keep the trails clear.

“That park and I became joined at the hip, so to speak,” Lancelot said.

The Adopt-a-Trail program launched in November. All three trails at Providence Park were adopted within 24 hours, out of a total of 15 adoptable trails in Milton. Trails also run through Birmingham Park and Bell Memorial Park, with trails open for adoption, Lakhapani Preserve, and Milton City Park and Preserve.

Milton Outdoor Recreation Supervisor Jen Young, who brought the Adopt-a-Trail program to the city, said adoptees must conduct quarterly checks for dead or dying trees and erosion. She said they can also opt for beautification, maybe a bench or a fairy house.

The week before, Lancelot notified the city of a tree that had come down which breached the chain link fence along the park’s quarry. He also updates the city on erosion by Providence Lake and cleans up the trail, another requirement.

At Providence Park, he said the main culprit are inconsiderate dog owners.

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Young said the program is an opportunity for people who are regularly using the trail to take ownership of their parks.

“So, anybody who’s out on those trails regularly like Charlie, it’s kind of a no effort process for them,” Young said.

She also said it allows young people to get engaged in service to their community.

“I love when families or Scout troops adopt trails, or sports teams, because that way, kids get to give back and they’re also breathing fresh air, which I'm all about,” Young said.

Few cities in Metro Atlanta have rustic trails on forestry land like Milton, Young said, and those trails need more eyes than a city park would. She said most Adopt-a-Trails are on Greenways or large paths.

“I made this one a little more like forestry land, where you're looking at erosion or trees, so citizens are learning a little bit more than I think those Greenway ones would teach you,” Young said.

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Charlie Lancelot, adoptee of the white trail at Providence Park, stands with his three dogs, Bety, Indie and Diego. Milton implemented the Adopt-a-Trail program in early November, which requires adoptees to conduct quarterly checks for dead or dying trees and erosion.

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We are here to serve the families and communities of Dunwoody. We do that in lots of ways.

JULIE NEWMAN, Dunwoody Prep administrative director 10 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | February 8, 2024

Dunwoody Prep grows with Perimeter city

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — Transitioning operations of a multigenerational business comes with challenges, especially maintaining the legacy of a community institution, like Dunwoody Prep.

When Jane Newman and her family moved to Dunwoody more than 35 years ago, the former schoolteacher had an innovative idea, a full-time preschool for working parents.

Newman, a Savannah native, holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Boston University and a master’s in teaching from Simmons College. She also helped develop the Gifted and Talented Program for central Pennsylvania.

Julie Newman, administrative director at Dunwoody Prep, said her mother saw what working parents and children needed before the jump to kindergarten.

When Jane Newman founded Dunwoody Prep in 1988, her husband Bruce Newman leased the space for the preschool at the Shops of Dunwoody.

“He and my mom recognized that there was a need in Dunwoody for full-time, high-quality and academic childcare,” Julie said. “We had a lot of ‘mothers’ morning out’ and part-time church programs, but we didn’t have an academic, full-day program.”

In the 1980s at Vanderlyn Elementary, Julie said she was one of the few students with a full-time working mother.

“Now, everyone comes from a two-parent working household,” she said. “They really saw where things were going, and that there was a need in our neighborhood.”

When Dunwoody Prep first opened in the Shops of Dunwoody, the preschool exclusively took in children ages 3-5.

As the program evolved, parents of students asked for childcare to include infants, toddlers and 2-yearolds.

The push for expanded childcare led to the acquisition of a property across the street at Dunwoody Village.

See PREP, Page 11

HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

From left, Curriculum Coordinator Savannah Shepherd, Administrative Director Julie Newman and Director Edye Summerfield Disner stand on new playground equipment Jan. 30 at Dunwoody Prep.

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Prep: Continued from Page 10 For a few years, Julie said Dunwoody Prep operated its programs at both locations, before acquiring more space in Dunwoody Village.

Today, Dunwoody Prep has 11 classrooms, 2 classroom buildings and an indoor gym in its complex at 5493 Chamblee Road.

Offering more than a daycare Dunwoody Prep offers full day, yearround programs for infants though 5-yearolds.

High-quality and academic childcare is a priority for Julie, who serves as administrative director.

There are five areas of development that are critical for a child’s readiness for kindergarten: physical well-being and motor development; social and emotional development; language; approaches to learning; and cognitive and general knowledge.

Dunwoody Prep’s “whole child” approach, happy and loving environment and specialty programs ensure graduates consistently excel in private and public K-12 education, Julie said.

Children are divided into age groups: infants, or children less than a year old; toddlers and 2s; preschool, ages 3-4; and pre-K, ages 4-5.

New students are accepted before the start of the summer program in June or the start of the academic school year in August.

One of Dunwoody Prep’s goals is to be reflective of the community and to evolve with it.

Julie said she could not provide an exact number of how many children have attended Dunwoody Prep. She estimates more than 5,000 families from Metro Atlanta have sent their children to the preschool, producing an estimated 10,000 alums.

Most students live in Dunwoody’s 30338 ZIP code, with others from Sandy Springs and Brookhaven, Julie said.

“We are here to serve the families and communities of Dunwoody,” Julie said. “We do that in lots of ways.”

Mayor Lynn Deutsch attended Dunwoody Prep’s food drive in November 2022.

When the city unveiled a public art installation in December 2023, Dunwoody officials and the Spruill Center for the Arts invited Dunwoody Prep’s Lions class to have fun and play.

Dunwoody Prep received a small business grant from the city’s allotment of Coronavirus Aid, relief, and Economic Security Act. The money was essential for keeping up operations during the height of the pandemic, Julie said.

Turning over operations Julie Newman said her parents, who came from family businesses, did not want

HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

A look at Dunwoody Prep’s Preschool Building at 5493 Chamblee Dunwoody Road. The sequestered location off a major city thoroughfare provides a convenient location for year-round child care. to force her or her brother into operations at Dunwoody Prep.

When the preschool was in the process of receiving an accreditation in 2018, Jane Newman was asked about her succession plan.

Julie served as a public defender in Fulton County for nine years before transitioning to administrative director at Dunwoody Prep.

“My worst day here is better than just about all of my best days there,” Julie said.

As a full-time attorney, Julie Newman would visit classes at the preschool on Friday afternoons for a therapeutic experience. She started a full-time position in November 2018.

Julie Newman said she decided she wanted to get more involved with “her family,” which includes the team of curriculum directors, staff and teachers at Dunwoody Prep.

“It is a huge legacy,” Julie said. “This institution that my mother built, like I said we have been a part of thousands of families in the community.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the nation in spring 2020, the needs of working parents shifted.

“When 2020 hit, I had been here for a year full time,” Julie said. “What that has done is given me the opportunity to rebuild the business.”

Instead of dropping off preschoolers at 7 a.m. five days a week, Julie said parents working full time have more flexibility in their schedules.

“I laugh, you can tell the difference just based on what time the kids show up to school now,” Newman said.

When the pandemic shut down Dunwoody Prep in March 2022, 181 kids were enrolled.

Julie and her staff redesigned the outdoor playground areas to accommodate more students, used the courtyard and gym and kept the institution afloat.

The preschool and nursery balanced keeping students, teachers and families safe with continuing to provide a high level of childcare, Julie said.

New air filters throughout the building, expanded outdoor classroom capacity and other precautions kept Dunwoody Prep operating during the pandemic.

“Our parents appreciated that we were thinking these things through,” Julie said.

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12 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell HEALTH & WELLNESS • Sponsored Section

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14 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell HEALTH & WELLNESS • Sponsored Section

On Occam’s Razor, Hickam’s Dictum and Crabtree’s Bludgeon Brought to you by – Dr. Brent Taylor, Premier Dermatology and Mohs Surgery of Atlanta

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fit our previous beliefs and account for the new evidence. Never underestimate the ability of people who are wrong to invent reasons not to admit it and to figure out how Arriving at a correct diagnosis is not a the new evidence actually further proves simple matter. With the exception of the oc- that they are right. (Think Flat Earthers) casional conspiracy theorist (Is Elvis alive?), Sometimes, a doctor can cling to an most people gravitate to the least elaborate erroneous diagnosis far too long when what explanation to a question – the explanation the patient needs is a complete reassessthat makes the fewest assumptions to fit ment. This is one of the most compelling available data. arguments for patients receiving second Indeed, this approach is known as “Ocopinions. cam’s razor” and is the most famous rule of One of the most interesting cases diagnosis taught in medical school. Within that I have encountered in my medical medicine, this rule is sometimes abbrevicareer occurred when I spent a month ated to mean that a doctor should seek one studying at Stanford University. A patient single unifying diagnosis that explains all presented to Stanford’s dermatology clinic of a patient’s complaints instead of trying with a tumor near her optic nerve and with to explain five complaints with five discertain birthmarks of her skin. She was eases. For example, if a patient has a tick sent by the ophthalmology department to bite, rash, fever, headache and confusion, the dermatology department for an opinion perhaps a single tick-borne illness explains on whether the eye tumor was related to the all the symptoms and the patient can be birthmarks. treated accordingly rather than delaying The stakes were high. If the eye tumor treatment and introducing risk to perform was deemed connected to the skin findspinal taps, MRIs or other investigations to ings, then the ophthalmologists planned search for second, third or fourth diseases. on watchful waiting and observation of the Occam’s razor might sound like obvitumor. If not, then they planned surgery ous and sage advice. Unfortunately, it which could result in blindness in that eye. proves wrong often enough that a Dr. John I spent hours researching the embryology of Hickam, former departmental head of her findings and discovered reasons to bemedicine at Indiana University, felt the need lieve that the patient’s tumor was very likely to remind students that Occam’s Razor an atypical presentation of a disease called is sometimes wrong. He coined Hickam’s segmental neurofibromatosis. I concluded Dictum, which states “patients can have as that the tumor and the birthmarks were many diseases as they [darn] well please.” very likely part of a single syndrome.

(Dr. Hickam used the other D word, but we When I presented the case at Stanmay have children in the audience.) ford’s dermatology grand rounds, Occam, How often is Occam’s razor wrong?

Hickam, and Crabtree all showed up. Great In my physical diagnosis class in medical debate ensued. The first professor to speak school, a professor taught us that there was argued for the optic nerve tumor being una study of inpatients admitted at a universi- related to the birthmarks. Other professors ty hospital in which the researchers looked found my evidence for a syndrome convincat how often at least two diagnoses were ing. When the first professor found herself necessary to account for the patient’s chief outnumbered, she doubled down and complaint. The result? One third of the bludgeoned her way into arguing that the time at least two diseases were to blame. data was not only weak but actually backed Hickam’s dictum counterbalances Occam’s her argument. razor and reminds us of not becoming How did things turn out? The patient nearsighted or prematurely triumphant chose observation instead of surgery. My upon reaching a plausible single diagnosis. visit to Stanford ended, but I corresponded Sometimes two or more diseases are to with a professor there, and the last update blame. Sometimes, the patient in respirathat I received was that the patient was dotory distress has the flu and covid. ing well with no further growth of the tumor A third rule, Crabtree’s Bludgeon on subsequent MRIs. might be my favorite. Who doesn’t love a I hope that you enjoyed this peek into good bludgeon? (You can tell I am a father diagnosis within medicine. For readers with of boys). Crabtree’s bludgeon says that children or grandchildren, I suggest that the a motivated individual will figure out an lessons to be learned from Occam, Hickam intelligible method of explaining away a set and Crabtree are worth sharing and have of contradictions, no matter how contradic- relevance far beyond the field of medicine. tory they are and how wrong they might be.

If you or a loved one has a possible skin This rule hints at the extent to which we cancer or any medical or cosmetic skincare humans often doggedly stick to a certain need, please consider Premier Dermatolconviction or belief despite all the evidence ogy and Mohs Surgery of Atlanta. Dr. Brent to the contrary. New evidence says we might Taylor, Kathryn Filipek, PA-C and our wonbe wrong? No problem. We simply reason derful staff are honored to take care of you out elaborate new rules and exceptions that and your family.

HEALTH & WELLNESS • Sponsored Section AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | February 8, 2024 | 15

Oral Systemic Health - what does that mean?

Brought to you by – Dr. Bradley Hepler, Atlanta Center for Dental Health

Oral Systemic Health means that Dental Health is a part of Whole Body Health. It means that your mouth is connected to the rest of your body. Any problem in your mouth is going to affect the rest of your body. The rest of your body is going to affect your teeth and your mouth. You may have experienced your dentist recommending that you see your medical doctor for blood work or to have something checked. It’s the connection between your mouth and the rest of your body that makes your mouth a window into the health of your whole body.

In dental school, I noticed that the people that had no teeth and needed full mouth dentures also had Diabetes and Heart Disease. It was a pattern that was consistently true. Diabetes and Heart Disease are systemic conditions that affect your whole body through your bloodstream. Diabetes and Heart Disease throw your whole body off balance, stress your body’s ability to respond, and weaken your immune system.

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A weakened immune system and the chronic inflammation that results from a dental infection that goes untreated (even a low-grade infection in your gums that doesn’t hurt) stresses your body and leads to other chronic illnesses. Inflammation is one of the body’s frontline defense mechanisms. It is a lifesaving biochemical process that en¬ables the body to defend itself against bacteria,

viruses, para¬sites, and injury. Researchers keep reporting more and more studies that show the harmful effects inflammation has on the body. In fact, chronic inflammation may be the driver of many of today’s most common and most feared diseases. Inflammation increases your risk of Heart Attack, Stroke, Diabetes, Cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Pregnancy complications, like preterm and low birth weight babies.

One of the major sources of inflammation in the human body is the chronic inflammation that results from undiagnosed and untreated gum disease and periodontal disease. In the United States, eighty percent of adults have some form of gum disease. Treating and preventing gum disease can reduce your chances of ever having Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer, or Alzheimer’s Disease. Preventing the inflammatory processes associated with Gum Disease makes these diseases easier to manage, meaning less medicine, fewer doctor’s appointments, and a more comfortable, enjoyable life.

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16 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell HEALTH & WELLNESS • Sponsored Section

Wellstar treats AFib with comprehensive, tailored care Brought to you by – Dr. Mohammad Kooshkabadi, Wellstar Atrial fibrillation, also called AFib, occurs when the upper chambers of the heart—known as atria—beat irregularly and fail to pump blood efficiently to the rest of the body. It’s the most common heart arrythmia, and at Wellstar, you’ll find comprehensive care and multiple treatment options for this condition.

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Other surgical treatments for AFib include: • Maze procedure. This is performed during open heart surgery by making lines using either incision, heat or cold therapy to form scar tissue. This maze of scar tissue blocks the abnormal electrical impulses that cause AFib. • Convergent procedure. This is a minimally invasive hybrid procedure performed by a cardiac surgeon and electrophysiologist. The cardiac sur-

geon will make a small incision in the abdomen and deliver extreme heat radiofrequency currents through a scope to destroy abnormal tissue on the outside of the heart. The electrophysiologist will insert a catheter through your groin and use radiofrequency ablation of extreme heat or cold to target the heart tissue and eliminate abnormal electrical impulses.

• AtriClip. This is a permanent clip-like implant used to close off the left atrial appendage, where blood tends to collect in people with AFib. Closing this off can decrease the risk of blood clot formation and lower your risk of stroke.

Some AFib patients also benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy using a defibrillator. Our cardiac electrophysiologists place the pacemaker under the skin in a minor surgical procedure.

To partner with a Wellstar cardiologist in North Fulton to treat AFib or another heart condition, schedule an appointment by calling (770) 410-4520.

HEALTH & WELLNESS • Sponsored Section AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | February 8, 2024 | 17

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STEGALL has been steadily rising, to the Enjoy alcohol in moderation. point that roughly 40% of the Get plenty of sleep. Seek to minpopulation will be diagnosed with canimize stress. Embrace a strong support cer at some point in their lives. Why are system of family and friends. we seeing so much cancer today?

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HEALTH & WELLNESS • Sponsored Section AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | February 8, 2024 | 19

Your youthful smile

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The fewest words

Brought to you by - Ashley Nash, LAPC, Summit Counseling Center As a therapist, but also a human being who was not blessed with the most loving of families growing up, I find myself often giving to others more than I give back to myself. Like so many others, I feel the inevitable guilt that comes with allowing indulgence in anything when you know, deep down, that other priorities require your focus. After all, who else is going to do it?

Recently, however, I have found a way to indulge myself in a small task that, on the surface, seems like I am giving to others, but in reality – I am being selfish and relishing their reactions. I make it a point if not each day, then every other day, to compliment a stranger on something small, perhaps their nail color, clothing, or even the way they phrased a sentence.

Personally, I know that I adore receiving small, innocent praises in passing because it feels so much more genuine than someone who is making it clear that they are aiming for flattery. I had no idea that my doing this would cause such a ripple effect on those around me. When it first began, I would be chatting while out walking with my husband and stop him randomly to reach out to a passerby about a small item I adored, offering a tiny nod to their style wrapped with a pleasant smile.

My husband, a crane operator who is very much immersed in the stereotypical construction environment of macho, boot-strapped, no-nonsense communication, took notice of the reaction that I would elicit from others and how that small task would immediately brighten my affect. It feels good to make other people smile!

Flash forward just six months, and my husband quietly implemented a policy to send minimal, random texts to his employees and friends just to check

in on their wellbeing. Since then, the response he has received has been overwhelmingly positive, because men rarely ever reach out to other men in a genuine, caring manner to just “check-in,” let alone complement one another. Most notably, he invited an older fellow, known for his guarded exterior and who doesn’t normally interact much in group settings, to a golf tournament, not expecting him to accept. My husband knew that just the invitation alone could create a connection. The gentleman not only accepted but pulled my husband aside after the tournament and said quietly, “Today was the 1st anniversary of my wife’s passing, and I don’t know what today would have been like if you hadn’t invited me here.” That story will always stick with me because it truly only takes a few words, a simple connection, or a passing acknowledgment to bring joy to people when they are struggling to find slivers of light in dark days. The fewest words can convey the most epic stories.

Together, we can build a stronger, healthier community. To learn more or schedule an appointment, contact us at summitcounseling.org or 678-8935300.

Live Your Best Life Healthy Relationships Positive Coping Skills Balanced Emotions We can help!

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20 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell HEALTH & WELLNESS • Sponsored Section

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AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | February 8, 2024 | 21

Across

Georgia Politics Podcast Season 5 – Episode 145 & 147

Julian Bond – Father, Leader and Renaissance Man, Parts 1 & 2 This week on The Georgia Politics Podcast, Atlanta City Councilman Michael Julian Bond joins Craig to talk about the legacy of his late father, civil rights leader Julian Bond.

Julian Bond was a prominent American civil rights activist, scholar, and politician. Bond became a key figure in the struggle for civil rights during the 1960s. He co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and played a crucial role in organizing protests against segregation and discrimination.

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1 Dalai ___ 5 A pint, maybe 17 18 16 8 Competent 19 20 21 22 12 Cognizant 23 24 25 26 27 14 Blueprint 15 Gloomy 28 29 30 31 32 33 16 Danger 36 37 34 35 17 Sound off 18 Building 39 40 38 additions 42 43 41 19 Weaponry 21 Quit 45 46 47 44 23 ___ de deux 48 49 50 25 Gardner of Mogambo 51 52 53 54 55 56 27 Time zone 58 59 60 61 62 63 28 Fourposter, e.g. 57 29 Manipulated 65 66 64 31 Decline 68 69 67 34 Gunned the motor Copyright ©2024 PuzzleJunction.com 36 Fleur-de-___ 9 Western tie 57 Swerve 37 Schuss, e.g.

37 Gilbert of 10 Corker 58 Basilica part 39 Henpeck Roseanne 11 While lead-in 60 Banded stone 40 Eggs 38 Homeric epic 13 Shade tree 64 Persia, now 42 Slowpoke 39 Give a silent 14 Put to the test 65 Casting need 43 Sicilian volcano okay 20 Hotel or motel 45 Mal de ___ 66 Eating place 40 Gumbo employee 67 Monocle part 46 Belly button vegetables 22 Eccentric 68 Genetic stuff 48 Mountain lakes 41 Top-quality 23 Pared 50 Auspices 42 Order’s partner 69 Warbled 24 Recommend 51 Diabolical 43 Express 26 Permitted 52 Insignificant Down 44 Dutch city 28 Grease one’s 53 Lima, for one 45 Purplish red palm 54 Receptive 1 Race unit 47 Moray, e.g.

29 Tie the knot 56 Young fellow 2 Astonish 48 Lamb 3 Damage 30 Accomplished 59 Yellow or Red 49 Newsman 31 Deserved follower 4 Met highlights Rather 32 Orthodontic 5 Carte start 61 Literary 50 Infomercials, tools collection 6 Touch down e.g.

7 Main courses 33 Swiss city 62 Half a score 51 Trade stoppage 8 Highly skilled 35 Tank 63 Unit of energy 55 Valley

See solution Page 31

Bond’s commitment to justice extended beyond activism; he served in the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate for over two decades, making history as the first African American to be nominated for Vice President of the United States by a major party in 1968.

AMERICAN LEGION POST 201 EVENTS

As a professor, Bond taught at various institutions, including the University of Virginia and Harvard University. Throughout his life, Julian Bond remained a tireless advocate for equality, leaving an indelible mark on the civil rights movement and American history. His legacy continues to inspire future generations in the ongoing pursuit of social justice.

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22 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell

AIKENOMICS

OPINION

Waiting on rates to decline could cost you

D.C. AIKEN Guest Columnist dcaiken.com

Last week, Fannie Mae came out with their projections that 30-year fixed rates would fall below the magical 6% mark later in 2024. Their projections pretty much validated my projections of rates breaching below 6% this year and heading into the mid5% mark or lower by

year’s end.

While I believe we will continue to see a gradual slide to lower mortgage rates throughout the year, waiting for rates to fall .50%-1% lower may cost you in the long run. I have run these figures

before and will use the home price increase figure I projected for 2024 in last week’s Weekend Update/Aikenomics of roughly 5% for the Metro ATL. Using a 5% housing increase, which could be even more if we get to below 6%, we could see the price of a $600,000 home rise to $630,000 by year-end.

Let's look at two comparisons. Below is a breakdown of sample scenarios using the national average of 6.75% for scenario 1 and predicting a 5.875% national average in August 2024 for scenario 2. Rates and payments are not advertisements of available offerings.

Payments do not include taxes and insurance.

Sample Scenario 1: Purchase January 2024 • $570,000 30-year fixed rate

mortgage, 5% down payment at 6.75% = $3,700 principal and interest payment Sample Scenario 2: Wait until August 2024, when rates are expected to fall • $598,500 30-year fixed rate mortgage, 5% down payment at 5.875% = $,3540 principal and interest payment On the surface, you save about $160 per month (whoo-hoo!). But do you? Your home price rose by $30,000, or a breakeven of roughly 150 months without compounding interest. If you buy now, you don’t run the risk of prices moving 5% higher or more this year. If I am correct in my forecast, you will most likely refinance to a rate below 6% by the end of the year, which will get you the best of both worlds! The only way you should wait is if you believe house prices and mortgage rates will fall this

year.

Remember, the best rate is a locked rate… with a float-down option! Ensure you're ready to make an offer by getting pre-approved.

Thank you for reading my column.

D.C. Aiken is vice president, producing production manager for BankSouth Mortgage, NMLS # 658790.

For more insights, you can subscribe to his newsletter at dcaiken.com.

The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of BankSouth Mortgage or its affiliates.

BankSouth Mortgage Company, LLC, NMLS #690971, is not a bank or other depository institution and is not FDICinsured. Equal Housing Lender.

THE INK PENN

Two British mysteries at their best If you follow my columns, you had to know it wouldn’t be long before I returned to British mysteries. I don’t consciously say to myself, “It’s time to return to England,” somehow that’s KATHY MANOS PENN but what happens.

Columnist Once again, I can’t recall where I heard about these two, but I’m delighted I discovered them.

One was written during the Golden Age between the two world wars, the other is set in that era. Both were immensely enjoyable.

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“Mystery in White” by J. Jefferson Farjeon Originally published in 1937, this novel was republished as a British Library Crime Classic in 2014.

Farjeon was as well known in the Golden Age as authors like Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. Sayers described him as “quite unsurpassed for creepy skill in mysterious adventures.”

The setup is eerily reminiscent to that of Christie’s “Death on the Orient Express” which was published three years prior, but a train encountering a blizzard is the only similarity. The action quickly moves beyond the train when a group of passengers venture out and trudge through the snow to a deserted house. There, they find the

fires laid and food in the pantry — as though the occupants stepped out for a brief moment.

Red herrings are masterfully strewn among the clues, and witty dialogue abounds. Only a very careful reader is likely to solve the entire mystery before the end. I say “entire” because there are several components to the “Mystery in White.” If you like classic Golden Age mysteries, this is the book for you.

“Death in Focus” by Anne Perry Set between the World Wars, this is the first in what is now the five-book Elena Standish series. Anne Perry is well known for three series: William Monk, Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, and Daniel Pitt—all set in Victorian England.

Her newest series features a 28-year-old British heroine who is visiting the Amalfi Coast as a photographer. In the blink of an eye, she discovers a dead body and is off to Berlin with a man she’s just met. This spontaneity is not only out of character for Elena, but also dangerous. Berlin in 1933 is not the place to be.

Add in her grandfather as a former head of MI6, and the result is a thriller / mystery combo. Elena is witness to the book burning in Berlin, where the “works of Jewish authors like Albert Einstein and Sigmund

See BRITISH, Page 24

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Join the Appen Press Club

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informed and in many ways [being] involved in making our community a better place — to live, work, play and raise a family.

— Roger Wise, Jr. Roswell Resident Appen Press Club Charter Member since 2022 Support your local press.

Every article we write about local elections, school board budgets, public safety and more is made possible by our dues paying members.

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24 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell

PAST TENSE

OPINION

Memories of past snowstorms from those who survived them 1940 in Atlanta began with an ice storm in the first few days of the year.

The snow and ice caused power lines to break and trees to fall. The result was trolleys and VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF automobiles unable to travel and school Columnist closings.

On Jan. 24, 1940, The Atlanta Constitution headline read “Deepest snow in history cripples city, freeze threatens more trouble today.” A record 10.3 inches of snow had fallen in Atlanta, and the snow reached far into South Georgia.

Many Atlantans were iced in on Jan. 1, 1964, following a New Years Eve storm. Snow arrived on the morning of Jan. 13, 1964, causing schools to close early. Phil Stovall remembers a snowfall in the early 1960s, when he was a student at D.F. McClatchey Elementary School. The school on Loridans Drive was later demolished to make way for Georgia 400.

Stovall and friends had fun sliding on trash can tops and cardboard boxes, which worked best on icy surfaces. Some families had storebought sleds, but he helped his dad construct a sled from boards and metal runners. His family didn’t lose power often, but they kept a fire going and dried wet clothes in front of the fire.

The ice storm of January 1973 wreaked havoc by coating trees and power lines. My family was without power and stayed close by the fireplace. Cooking was done on the fire or with Sterno, a staple for the 1970s home with a fondue pot.

Jeff Glaze was in the eighth grade at Peachtree High School in 1973. His family was without power for about 10 days. Jeff’s uncle owned Glaze’s Hardware at Winters Chapel Road and Peeler Road. Uncle Glaze kept ringing up groceries with his older model electric cash register which also had

British: Continued from Page 22 Freud went up in flames alongside blacklisted American authors such as Ernest Hemingway and Helen Keller, while students gave the Nazi salute.”

‘IMAGES OF AMERICA, SANDY SPRINGS’/ KIMBERLY M. BRIGANCE AND MORRIS V. MOORE

An unidentified woman walks in the snow of 1940 along Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. Burdette Store with a Coca-Cola sign is in the background. a hand crank, while the more modern Winn Dixie across the road could not operate without electricity.

Bonnie Smith Nichols and her family were living at 4831 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, known today as Donaldson-Bannister Farm, in 1973.

The electricity was off for three days.

“It wasn’t as bad for us because we had so many fireplaces. There was a full-size cast iron cookstove on the small, enclosed porch next to the kitchen and it was a lifesaver. Once it got going, we had hot meals and even oven baked biscuits. We stayed out there during the day and slept in the bedrooms with the fireplaces.”

Nichols’ father Frank Smith owned a nursery business and had greenhouses at the farm.

“Daddy and my brother went out every two hours to keep the generators going.”

Suzanne Huff of Dunwoody recalls hearing pine trees crack and fall during the night because the ice was so heavy on them.

“One tree leaned so far that it was hanging over my bedroom and my parents made me move to another room for fear it would come through the roof. When we didn't get power after a day or so, we ended up going to stay with some family friends.”

When Snow Jam ’82 hit Atlanta in January of that year, Huff was away at college. The storm came on suddenly with 4 inches of snow in the middle of the afternoon. Huff’s dad was working near the I-75/I-285 interchange. It

For me, the bonus in a novel like this is the opportunity to see historical events described so well that I feel like I am witnessing them firsthand. I can see the books going up in flames. Read “Death in Focus” for the intrigue, the strong heroine, and the added benefit of a history lesson. I’ll be adding “A Question of

Betrayal” to my TBR list so I can get to know Elena Standish better.

The good news for me is that my husband gave me a Barnes & Noble gift certificate for Christmas. The bad news is I will have the devil of a time deciding which books to buy. Odds are they’ll be set in England.

took him over four hours to return to Dunwoody.

Phil Stovall was working in downtown Atlanta in 1982.

“I was working in a building overlooking I-85 at Peachtree and heard the weather report, and when I saw the first precipitation coming down figured it was time to beat the traffic and headed home.”

He made it home, where he and others helped cars get through a major intersection.

The following day, despite road conditions, he went out with snow chains to show real estate to a customer.

“Cars were abandoned in the middle of the street everywhere; you had to zigzag and weave your way around them…”

Chris Curth of Sandy Springs was working downtown in 1982.

“Our company was in Peachtree Center; we were trapped! I don't remember which restaurant (maybe Benihana) was in the mall downstairs but, it stayed open all night and we had a blast.”

He remembers a huge crowd, with everyone singing at the bar. They were able to get home the next day.

The snowstorm of 1993 became known as the Blizzard of ’93, where from 4 inches to 1 and a-half feet of snow was reported in North Georgia.

Huff remembers lightning and thunder in the night and snow blowing so hard you could barely see out the window.

There was plenty of snow for sledding, snowball fights and building a snowman. However, there were also power outages with the Blizzard of ’93.

It has now been 10 years since the storm nicknamed Snowpocalypse.

Georgians lack of skill driving under these conditions means sometimes we get a snow day at the mere mention of the word.

Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media and the Dunwoody Crier.

She lives in Atlanta. You can email Valerie at pasttensega@gmail.com or visit her website at pasttensega.com.

Award-winning author Kathy Manos Penn is a Sandy Springs resident. Find her cozy mysteries on Amazon or locally at The Enchanted Forest, Bookmiser, Tall Tales, and Johns Creek Books. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com, and follow her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ KathyManosPennAuthor/.

GARDEN BUZZ

OPINION

AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | February 8, 2024 | 25

Discover a beautiful native garden in heart of Roswell Tucked away in the lush woodlands of historic Roswell, lies an elegant home with a rich history, built by the Smiths, one of Roswell's founding families. In 1838, the Smith family, along with 30 of their enslaved individuals, left behind two struggling plantations on the Georgia coast to start anew with 300 acres of cotton farmland north of the Roswell Square.

JANE WALSH Guest Columnist Their home, crafted by the hands of enslaved labor in 1845, has been preserved through three generations of the Smith family and now stands as a museum open to the public.

Over the span of 160 years, the Archibald Smith Plantation weathered the passage of time, remaining steadfast as the once-small mill village of Roswell transformed into a thriving metropolitan suburb. The Smiths' two-story farmhouse, meticulously preserved, stands alongside various outbuildings, including servants' quarters, a cookhouse, a smokehouse, a corn crib, a barn, a carriage house, a well and a spring house.

Since August 14, 2001, the Archibald Smith Plantation Home has been an official demonstration project of the North Fulton Master Gardeners and UGA Extension Fulton County. Located in the heart of Roswell at 935 Alpharetta Street, this 8-acre former terraced cotton plantation, with the Smith Home and its surrounding grounds, stands as an exceptional example of architectural, cultural and historical interpretation in the region. The primary focus of the Master Gardener project has been the restoration and maintenance of approximately two acres of native woodland adjacent to the main house. This area encompasses a spring, the original stone Spring House, and two streams.

NFMG volunteers have been dedicated to replanting and preserving this woodland.

Over time, non-native trees, shrubs, bulbs and flowering plants had either invaded or been intentionally introduced to the woodland. Consequently, the project's ultimate goal is to have the woodland certified by the Georgia Native Plant Society, earning the Gold Native Plant Habitat Award. To date, the site has achieved the Silver Native Plant Habitat Award from GNPS. (https://gnps.org/conservation/native-plant-habitat-certification-2/) After more than 20 years of devoted work, the area now features well-maintained stone-lined pathways, a labyrinth and an array of native plants, shrubs and ferns. Several stone benches provide peaceful spots for reflection. Volunteer activities span a wide spectrum, from planting new native species to weeding, watering and tending to existing plantings. The project also involves cleaning and upgrading the stream banks, the rejuvenation/restoration of stream bridges, and the monitoring of the historical stone wall on the far side of the spring, which was initially restored by a Master Gardener.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the changing landscape at the Smith Plantation Home. Season by season, you can expect to encounter a delightful array of native plants and flowers that grace the woodland with their natural beauty.

Our goal is to reduce the number of exotic plants at Smith Plantation Home. Exotic plants are plants native to other regions and countries and not native to the Southeast.

Their introduction can be inconsequential/pretty at best and devastating at worst. Privet and kudzu are just two of many examples of how exotics can crowd out beneficial native plants. Exotic plants can be food for our native fauna but are a poor substitute for the wildlife’s normal nutritional needs.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF JANE WALSH

About the author • Bottom middle - The This week’s guest “Garden Buzz” columnist is Roswell resident working at the Smith Plantation. Archibald Smith Plantation Jane Walsh, a Master Gardener since 2012. She is a licensed RN • Top middle - Path down to the Home, a historic house in and certified massage therapist practicing craniosacral therapy, Roswell, Georgia, was built stream with stone benches.

Neural Reset therapy, and massage therapy. Her hobbies are • Top right – Eastern Tiger Swal- in 1845 by one of Roswell's staying healthy with Pilates, bicycling, hiking in North Georgia and lowtail butterfly with Asclepias founders, Archibald Smith, and encouraging the planting of native plants in Roswell's parks, governhoused three generations of his tuberosa. ment green spaces and private homes.

• Middle - Red cardinal flowers family.

• Bottom right - A common and ferns.

Northern maidenhair fern, royal fern, cinnamon fern, • Botton left - A goldfinch with button bush with an Eastern Southern chain fern and marginal wood fern. Complementswallowtail butterfly on it. echinacea and rudbeckia. ing these, our forb selection encompasses blue-eyed grass, The primary goal for the work at Archibald Smith Monarda, Chelone, Iris virginica, Iris cristata, mountain Plantation is to reintroduce and restore native flora to the mint, Rudbeckia hirta, Echinacea purpurea, Lobelia cardisite. Bringing in native Southeastern plants to this lovely, nalis, Asclepias tuberosa and Asclepias incarnata. relaxing spot in downtown Roswell helps educate visitors We are delighted to report numerous successes in of the importance of native plants and their crucial role in our efforts to cultivate a thriving and diverse plant comsustaining native flora and fauna. This endeavor supports munity that reflects the beauty and resilience of native migrating birds and pollinators on their journey through flora. Visitors are welcome to explore the grounds and our area. Many birds and butterflies need high calorie gardens at their leisure during daylight hours. The Arplants and berries native to our area to make the long chibald Smith Plantation Home and its outbuildings are journey. open on the following schedule: Wednesday - Saturday: At Smith Plantation, our commitment to preserving the 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday: 1-4 p.m. The site is closed natural ecosystem is evident in our extensive collection Mondays and Tuesdays. For additional details, please visit of native trees and perennial plants. Among our carefully https://www.roswellgov.com/discover-us/historic-housechosen selections are various trees, shrubs, ferns and a di- museums#visit. verse array of forbs. Notably, forbs, defined as herbaceous Happy native plant gardening! flowering plants excluding grasses, sedges and rushes, play a crucial role in enhancing the biodiversity of our landNorth Fulton Master Gardeners, Inc. is a Georgia nonscape. profit 501(c)(3) organization whose purpose is to educate Our tree varieties include big leaf magnolias, red its members and the public in the areas of horticulture and buckeyes, bottlebrush buckeyes, and painted buckeyes. ecology in order to promote and foster community enrichAdditionally, we have incorporated a range of viburnums, ment. Master Gardener Volunteers are trained and certibeautyberries, buttonbushes, native azaleas, Itea virginica fied by The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. and sweet shrubs into our plantation woodland garden.

Learn more at nfmg.net. Previous Garden Buzz columns are Fostering a rich fern population, we have introduced featured at https://appenmedia.com/opinion/columnists/ native species such as Christmas fern, pink lady fern, garden_buzz/.

• Top left - Master gardeners

26 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell

NEWS

PHOTOS BY SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

Business leaders and local elected officials hear opening remarks from Alpharetta Business Association President Tracy Morton at the State of the City Address Feb. 1. The business association hosted the 13th annual mayor’s address and breakfast at The Hotel at Avalon.

CITY OF ALPHARETTA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING The following items will be considered by the Design Review Board on Friday, March 15, 2024 with a workshop commencing at 8:30 a.m. and regular meeting commencing at 9:00 a.m. in the Alpharetta City Hall Council Chambers, 2 Park Plaza, Alpharetta, Georgia.

1. DRB240010 Daltex Alpharetta (Coro) Consideration of a new landscape plan. The property is located at 11770 Haynes Bridge Rd and is legally described as being in Land Lot 0695 and 0696, 1st District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

2. DRB240003 Chick-fil-a Consideration of new construction on an existing site. The property is located at 4285 State Bridge Rd and is legally described as being in Land Lot 0120, 1st District, 1st Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

3. DRB240005 Eddie V’s Prime Seafood Consideration of new construction. The property is located at 11405 Haynes Bridge Rd and is legally described as being in Land Lot 0752, 1st District 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

4. DRB240011 Topgolf Consideration of exterior changes. The property is located at 10900 Westside Pkwy and is legally described as being in Land Lots 0639 & 0654, 1st District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

5. DRB240012 The Nest Café Consideration of new construction. The property is located at 58 Canton St., Suite 101 and is legally described as being in Land Lot 1269, 2nd District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

6. DRB240013 The Providence Group Old Milton Parkway Townhomes Consideration of new construction of a townhome development. The property is located at 2325 Old Milton Parkway and is legally described as being in Land Lot 0748, 1st District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

7. DRB240014 Hen Mother Cookhouse Consideration of exterior changes. The property is located at 50 South Main Street and is legally described as being in Land Lots 1268 & 1269, 2nd District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

8. DRB240015 The Golf Sanctuary Consideration of exterior changes. The property is located at 380North Point Circle and is legally described as being in Land Lots 0741 & 742, 1st District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

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 Park Plaza, Alpharetta, Georgia.

Officer Brad Jahnke introduces the K9 Maverick to guests at the Alpharetta Business Association’s State of the City Address Feb. 1. The business association donated $17,000 to the Alpharetta Public Safety Foundation to acquire and train Maverick in 2022.

Address: Continued from Page 1 In December, the Forsyth County Commission, which is overseeing the project, approved a redesign to split the widening into two phases: one from Douglas Road to Sargent Road in Johns Creek, and another from Douglas back to the Union Hill Road and Ronald Reagan Boulevard intersection in Forsyth County.

“We’ve been working on that for years,” Gilvin said. “We think we’re pretty close to having all the right-of-way. The bids came in a little higher than all of us anticipated, and so we’re working on that funding.

Hopefully Gov. Kemp and the $1.5 billion they’re committing will help get that resolved.”

Other transportation plans include the widening of Old Milton Parkway, streetscape improvements on North Point Parkway and an extension of Tradewinds Parkway. Tradewinds will be extended from North Point Parkway to Westside Parkway to serve as an east-west connector. GDOT will also construct an interchange for its toll lanes project.

Gilvin said stormwater is and has been a problem for Alpharetta as it has grown, but he and the City Council have committed $4 million annually for capital projects to ensure the city maintains important infrastructure.

“If you don’t build the infrastructure, the roads and the stormwater facilities to move cars and water through your city, you’ve got a problem,” he said. “It’s hard to sustain what you already have, and it’s even harder to continue to grow.”

Gilvin said the balance between infrastructure and green space sets Alpharetta apart, and it is critical the city

maintains that balance.

He said there will be 34 parks in Alpharetta by 2029, and 77 percent of residents will have a park within a 10-minute walk from their homes.

Gilvin credited city staff and all business professionals in the room for supporting economic development in Alpharetta. He said there are more than 4,800 businesses and more than 1.2 million square feet of office leases and renewals.

Gilvin said the city encourages mixeduse development because it understands adding restaurants, retail and residential components near office space makes everything more symbiotic.

There are three major mixed-use developments underway: Continuum off Windward Parkway, Lakeview Park off Ga. 400 and The Gathering off Haynes Bridge Road.

Alpharetta’s The Gathering – not to be confused with The Gathering at South Forsyth, a planned $2 billion development just north of the city in Forsyth County.

“Despite all the money we’ve spent on public safety and infrastructure and parks and transportation, all of those things have been funded by the growth and the people we have attracted to invest in businesses in this community,” Gilvin said.

The mayor also touched on the city’s efforts to bolster public safety through recruitment efforts, technology and facilities.

The State of the City Address drew dozens of business and civic leaders and elected officials, including Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson, Johns Creek Mayor John Bradberry and Forsyth County Commission Chairman Alfred John, as well as local city councilmembers and county commissioners.

Suit: Continued from Page 3 finding of guilt.

In other action at the Feb. 5 meeting, councilmembers unanimously approved $13.7 million to improve Webb Bridge Road between the Big Creek Greenway and Maid Marion Close. Improvements along the 1.6-mile stretch will include two travel lanes, 4-foot-wide bike lanes, 10-foot-wide sidewalks, landscape medians and 6-foot-wide planters.

The City Council was also scheduled to approve a $1 million lease agreement with Georgia Power to install pedestrian lighting along the stretch, but councilmembers postponed the matter to allow staff to pursue dark sky options. Dark sky lighting does not point toward the sky, reducing light

NEWS pollution.

Also at the meeting, the City Council presented a proclamation to six students and the North Fulton Rotary Club for their work on the Alpharetta Greenway Mural Trail.

Proposed by Rotarian Richard Matherly, the Alpharetta Greenway Mural Trail advocates “Clean Water for All” and celebrates wildlife and plant life along the Big Creek Greenway.

Nine Alpharetta and Milton high school students and Rotary Club professional mural adviser AnnaLysa Kimball set out in November to paint raised manhole covers between the Kimball Bridge and Haynes Bridge roads trailheads.

Councilman John Hipes also appointed Michael Buchanan to the Natural Resources Commission.

Buchanan is a local artist, writer and filmmaker.

Hero:

Connection to Memorial Markers When Milton incorporated in 2006, Bill Lusk won a seat on the first City Council. His idea for creating an identity for the new city was to honor veterans.

Lusk began the tradition in 2007 of placing memorial markers along roadways to promote patriotism, instill pride in the city and recognize deceased veterans. Lusk handcrafted the markers with materials he purchased, completing 50 in the first year.

SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

From left, Mayor Jim Gilvin swears in Michael Buchanan to the Natural Resources Commission at an Alpharetta City Council meeting Feb. 5. Councilman John Hipes appointed Buchanan, a local artist, writer and filmmaker. after it formed a board of directors in 2013.

Lusk said Rondem served on the Board of Directors until he became too ill 18 months ago.

Lusk said the organization will place 850 memorial markers on Ga. 9 and in the Crabapple area for Memorial Day and Veterans Day this year. Each marker comes with a flag.

The organization is expanding its reach this year to include the Provi-

Continued from Page 7 Between his two tours in Vietnam, Col. Rondem commanded a unit at Fort Carson, Colorado, that was deployed twice to Chicago in 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and during protests at the Democratic National Convention.

When Col. Rondem returned to Vietnam for his second tour, he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division.

His numerous decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit with an oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal. He also was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Parachutist Badge.

Col. Rondem left active duty in 1972, completed his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1973 and worked in human resource positions in the oil and gas industry.

He was inducted into the Infantry Officer Candidate Hall of Honor in 1992.

Col. Rondem served in the Texas National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves before he retired in 1996.

In 2000, Rondem retired from Colonial Pipeline Company in Atlanta.

AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | February 8, 2024 | 27

dence Lake community.

A post on the organization’s Facebook page Jan. 28 sent condolences to Col. Rondem’s wife and three children, Monika, Jeanette and Christopher.

“Ronnie was a ‘Giant,’ and while he will be missed, his legacy will always be weaved within the fabric of our Milton community,” the post read. “Ronnie certainly made his mark here and beyond — Godspeed to our brother and dear friend.”

MILTON VETERANS MEMORIAL MARKERS/PROVIDED

From left, Bill Lusk and the late Ronnie Rondem discuss the history of Milton Veterans Memorial Markers at Old Blind Dog Irish Pub in 2021. Both veterans co-founded the nonprofit in 2015.

By the fourth year, Lusk said Rondem and others joined to assist him with the markers.

While all markers are designed and built by Lusk, he said Rondem’s effort to begin accepting donations from the community grew the capabilities of the veterans’ group.

Spurred by Rondem’s idea to see the organization funded through donations, Milton Veterans Memorial Markers officially became a nonprofit shortly

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DEATH NOTICES Olicce Carr, 98, of Alpharetta, passed away on January 22, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Bernadette English, 89, of Alpharetta, passed away on January 22, 2024. Arrangements

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William Credle of Roswell, passed away on January 21, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Thomas Neese, 85, of Roswell, passed away on January 22, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Gabriele Slutzky, 78, of Roswell, passed away on January 23, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

NEWS

28 | February 8, 2024 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | AppenMedia.com/Alpharetta_Roswell

Support Local News appenmedia.com/join SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

Randy Knighton City Administrator

City of Roswell Notice of Public Hearing

Kurt Wilson Mayor

The following item will be considered by Mayor and City Council at a public hearing on Monday, February 26, 2024 at 7:00 PM in the Roswell City Hall Council Chambers, 38 Hill Street, Roswell, Georgia. a. UDC Text Amendment An ordinance to amend the Unified Development Code by modifying Article 12, Environmental Protection and Article 13, Administration - Second reading.

Note: Georgia law requires that all parties who have made campaign contributions to the Mayor and City Council members in excess of two hundred fifty dollars ($250), within two (2) years, file a campaign contribution report with the Community Development Department. The complete text of the Georgia law is available in the office of the City Attorney.

The complete file is available for public view at the Roswell Planning and Zoning Office, 38 Hill Street, Suite G-30, Roswell, Georgia (770) 817-6720, or planningandzoning@roswellgov.com. Refer to www.roswellgov.com.

CITY OF ALPHARETTA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING The following items will be considered by the City Council on Monday, February 26, 2024 commencing at 6:30 p.m. in the Alpharetta City Hall Council Chambers, 2 Park Plaza, Alpharetta, Georgia. a. PH-24-02 The Garren/154 Kimball Bridge Road Change of Conditions Consideration of a request to change conditions of zoning to allow for the demolition of an existing gymnasium in disrepair and construction of a new structure of similar size and design. Previous conditions of zoning required that the gymnasium be designated as historic, saved and re-used. The property is located at 154 Kimball Bridge Road and is legally described as being located in Land Lots 800, 801 & 804, 1st District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia. b. PH-24-03 Wills Overlook Change of Conditions Consideration of a request to change conditions of zoning to increase the height of townhomes from 3 to 4 stories for a rooftop amenity and to change architecture.

The property is located at 531 South Main Street and is legally described as being located in Land Lot 645, 1 st District, 2 nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.

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 Park Plaza, Alpharetta, Georgia.

County Attorney Ken Jarrard presents an agreement between Forsyth County and The Gathering at South Forsyth at a Board of Commissioners meeting Jan. 31. The agreement outlines each party’s commitment to the project, but Jarrard stressed the terms are nonbinding.

NHL: Continued from Page 6 terms are finalized.

At a Forsyth County Development Authority meeting Jan. 18, County Manager David McKee said the NHL will open a franchise application in March or April, and the process could take a year.

Economic feasibility Although The Gathering is building steam, the county and project staff face

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several hurdles to bring the development to fruition.

Forsyth County commissioners approved a resolution Jan. 23 seeking redevelopment powers and a hotel-motel excise tax increase from the General Assembly.

Redevelopment powers would enable the county to create tax allocation districts, a clearly defined area established to capture future tax dollars above a certain threshold and use those revenues for improvements within its boundaries. The improvements presumably would then spark more interest in economic development of the area.

Forsyth County would still receive tax dollars from the district based on its current property valuation, but that value is frozen for local taxing purposes through the term of the TAD. If the value of property rises within the district, any additional tax revenue the local government would have received is set aside for improvements within the district boundaries.

At the Jan. 31 meeting, Jarrard said the transaction is “essentially unfeasible” without a tax allocation district.

If the state Legislature adopted a local law authorizing the powers, Forsyth County voters would then need to approve the law in a county-wide referendum.

Developers would also build 1,800 apartments and 150 single-family homes at The Gathering. County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Vice President Alex Warner said the developers would use the profits from the apartments to pay for the NHL franchise.

To handle inevitable impacts on public safety, the county would also construct a 15,000-square-foot fire station, estimated to cost $6.5 million with trucks and equipment.

Ernst and Young’s QUEST division, which provided the economic feasibility and impact study on the project, reported 30 new firefighters would need to be hired to handle the growth. A new Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office precinct would also be built.

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