Alpharetta-Roswell Herald - February 16, 2023

School Board takes next step to intensify drive for literacy gains

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County School Board voted to move forward with the third edition of a program designed to sharpen instructor’s skills in teaching reading.

The Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling program, which carries a price tag of approximately $1.48 million, was passed unanimously at a Feb. 7 work session and will join a block of other topics set for formal approval at the Feb. 23 School Board meeting.

The curriculum designed for teachers, also called LETRS, is based on “the science of reading.” It trains teachers on “five essential pillars of reading,” phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. It also instructs on writing, spelling and oral language.

Revealing more local Black history

North Fulton mayors kick about elections

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OPINION

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The school system has already implemented versions of the program. Fulton County Schools Chief Academic Officer Cliff Jones said the third edition of the program is like the newest edition of a textbook.

Fulton County Schools launched the program in 2018 at the prompting of Schools Superintendent Mike Looney. When COVID-19 hit, the need for early literacy education increased.

See LITERACY, Page 13

Charles Grogan, Black historian for the City of Roswell, speaks on his personal experiences growing up in a Black Roswell neighborhood Feb. 2. Grogan was joined by Sandra Taylor, who also recalled racial segregation in the city, as part of a Roswell Historical Society presentation on the city’s Black history at the Roswell Public Library. Read story, Page 14.

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

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North Point employee sought for alleged theft

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta police are searching for a 27-year-old female employee of the Buy Buy Baby store on North Point Parkway for allegedly stealing more than $12,000 through fraudulent transactions.

Reports said the employee, a Marietta woman, is suspected of making multiple false merchandise returns worth more than $12,000 at the store Jan. 13 and Jan. 17 and issuing refunds to her personal debit cards.

Corporate staff discovered the alleged thefts as discrepancies in the company’s expense reports on Jan. 18. Store leadership audited security camera video and found footage of the suspect using another employee’s information to issue herself returns.

When store managers confronted the suspect, she reportedly refused to talk, handed in her keys and left the store.

At the time of the report, there was no indication whether the suspect had been arrested.

Man sleeping in car found with stolen gun

ROSWELL, Ga. — A Roswell police officer responded to a report of a man sleeping in his car at a red light on Holcomb Bridge Road at 3 a.m. on Jan. 29. The man was later found to be a convicted felon in possession of a stolen firearm.

The officer found the vehicle after it pulled off the road on Terramont drive and stopped at an embankment. The man inside was unresponsive, so the

At that time, the officer said the man woke up and “became combative.” The officer also said the man had a handgun in the driver door of the car and smelled of marijuana and alcohol.

The handgun was run through an identification system and came back as stolen. The officer also ran a criminal history on the man and found he was a convicted felon, with active arrest warrants from DeKalb County and Hall County.

Police arrested the man for failure to maintain lane, theft by receiving, driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Alpharetta man’s car stolen after altercation

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta police reports said a man was found lying unconscious in the street on Willshire Glen in Alpharetta Jan. 14, after receiving reports of possible shots fired in the area.

Police located the man at about 4 a.m. near 2035 Willshire Glen, as he was regaining consciousness and found a minor injury on the left side of his face.

Police learned the man’s vehicle had been taken from the scene after he was attacked. The report also noted that a BMW matching the man’s description had been seen leaving the neighborhood when police arrived on scene.

The man said he didn’t know who could have taken his car and was transported to North Fulton Regional Hospital for treatment.

No suspect has been identified.

Thief takes possession of delivery package

ROSWELL, Ga. — A Roswell woman told police she lost over $5,000 in electronic devices after a FedEx employee gave her package to an unknown man posing as

her husband on Feb. 2.

The resident got a phone alert that her package had been delivered but she could not find the package, so she contacted FedEx. The employee told her when they delivered the package to her home on Winnmark Drive, a man approached and said he was the resident’s husband. The employee gave the man the package instead of leaving it at the door.

The package contained four iPhone 14s, each valued at about $1,200. The officers tried to get information on the FedEx employee, but the company would only supply the first name of the delivery driver. The police could not access security camera footage from the area.

Residents lose $7,500 to collection scams

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Scammers pretending to be with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia Power allegedly stole $7,500 from two victims in Alpharetta on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, incident reports said.

Police were told in the first incident that a local business owner was contacted by someone claiming to be from Georgia Power and told his account was delinquent $1,498. The victim was told he owed an additional $5,000 in late fees.

Despite checking his account and seeing no delinquencies, scammers were able to convince the victim to deposit $5,000 in their account via a Bitcoin ATM in Forsyth County.

The second scam occurred at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 1, when a woman received a call from someone pretending to be a Fulton County Sheriff’s deputy. Scammers told the woman she needed to pay $2,500 for failing to appear in court.

After the call, the woman paid the $2,500 via a transfer and was told she would need to do a Zoom call at a later date. It was at this point the victim realized she has been scammed.

No suspect was identified in either case.

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.

Roswell red shirts turn out for rezoning request

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, GA. — Residents turned out in droves to the Feb. 13 Roswell City Council meeting to oppose a rezoning request that would increase residential density on a 5.7-acre parcel at 8800 Eves Circle.

The developers asked the agenda item be deferred until the March 13 City Council meeting, and the council approved the deferral. But residents, donning red shirts, still took the floor to speak against the rezoning and the deferral.

The plot is mainly undeveloped with one home on the site. The applicant, Igor Dubinsky with developer AEC Inc., is seeking a rezoning to allow for 11 residential lots. The site is currently zoned RS-30 for single-family estate, which requires a minimum lot size of 30,000 square feet.

The request is for RS-12 zoning, single-family suburban living, which would allow lot sizes of 12,000 square feet.

The applicants said they need the additional lots to “make development feasible.” They also said the request is in line with development trends

in the area, and there would not be significant impacts to the environment.

The rezoning application moved through a neighborhood meeting, but the Planning Commission voted in

January to deny the request despite a staff recommendation for approval with conditions.

Meanwhile, residents launched a Change.org petition against the rezoning request. The petition has 337 signatures.

David Russell, an engineer retained by a neighboring homeowner’s association, told the City Council he took issue with the stream channels that receive water from new developments upstream.

“They just don’t have the capacity to take on additional water flow,” Russell said.

Russell said the homeowner’s association does not trust the developers to minimize environmental

impacts. He cited the developers’ proposed plan to discharge water through gravel.

“The water is going to collect on the road, find a way off the road and down the side of Eves Circle, and it will cause an erosion issue,” Russell said.

One 12-year-old Roswell resident named David took the floor to express environmental concerns “on behalf of all the children growing up” in Roswell.

“The city has not done enough to secure the banks that will are impacted by the excess stormwater,” he said.

Residents have also said the development will displace the deer population in the area, destroy the walking path many people use and drop the property value of nearby homes.

Many residents asked why they were not made aware of the deferral request.

City Councilman and Community Development liaison Mike Palermo apologized for the lack of notice about the deferral, but clarified the developers went through the legal process to push the agenda item.

“Ultimately, I’m very focused on making sure that all parties are treated fairly, whether it’s an applicant or a neighbor that has concerns,” Palermo said.

He assured the residents that there would have to be “extremely extenuating circumstances” to warrant another deferral and promised the council would be clear with the public about any reasons for deferral.

Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson asked every speaker to return for the March 13 City Council meeting.

DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA

Red-shirted Roswell residents turned out in droves at the Feb. 13 City Council meeting to argue against a rezoning request that would allow for greater residential density on a parcel on Eves Circle.

Roswell officials work to identify goals for future

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

OPELIKA, Al. — Roswell elected officials and staff spent last week poring over goals and finances for the coming year at a strategic planning retreat at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort and Spa.

The group of about 27 senior staffers and officials met from Feb. 8-12 to talk big-picture issues.

City officials focused on the foundations of Roswell, like the “vision statement,” economic goals and the history of resolutions passed by the council. The group reflected on 2022 and looked across the past decade to chart the future of the city.

Prior to the retreat, the city posted an agenda online that listed the councilmembers attending and the general dates and times of the retreat. Upon arrival in Opelika, everyone was presented with a two-page agenda with a breakdown of all the topics.

Many discussions veered from the set agenda, though and into broader ideas about Roswell, with Mayor Kurt Wilson leading the conversation and consultant Peter Sorckoff facilitating.

The challenge of Roswell Inc Roswell Inc, the city’s economic development organization, kicked off the retreat with a presentation on economic activity and strategy. The nonprofit organization has partnered with Roswell since 2012.

Executive director Steve Stroud listed Roswell’s economic strengths –like education and a historic downtown – and its weaknesses – like a lack of comprehensive economic development strategy.

Stroud named key redevelopment locations, like the Kohl’s at Centennial Village or Roswell Town Center. The presentation focused on creating a “roadmap for long-term vitality” that would create specific goals and objectives for the organization. Stroud also touched on environmental goals, as well as several other measures.

“I still don’t think there’s complete clarity on what type of projects, what type of business and what type of uses Roswell Inc is focusing on,” City Councilman Mike Palermo said after the presentation.

Palermo said the major issue with Roswell Inc is a lack of defined goals, which makes him concerned about the use of taxpayer dollars to fund the work.

The nonprofit is funded on a split model, with 60 percent of its money coming from the private sector and 40 percent from tax dollars. Palermo called for more transparency from the organization, adding that taxpayers may not have a clear picture of their

investment in Roswell Inc.

Mayor Wilson said the City Council is partially to blame.

“We’re very critical of Roswell Inc, but we’re not very clear about what we want them to do,” Wilson said. “That is setting up an organization for failure.”

City Councilman Peter Vanstrom addressed the task for Roswell Inc. as it moves into the next year.

“The challenge of Roswell Inc is that we identified a vision of being the number one family community in America, so how do you build redevelopment and business around that?” Vanstrom said.

Becoming number one

Roswell City Attorney David Davidson later held a presentation on “roadblocks” for the city, recapping all the resolutions the council has passed in the past decade. He also talked about existing plans and certifications across city departments.

As Davidson went through the various operational and strategic plans, the mayor interrupted to ask how many plans an organization should have. He emphasized there should be one unifying plan.

The conversation moved into organizational structures and whether the city’s departments should have one vision, or their own plans.

Instead, Wilson said everyone in the city should follow the “vision,” to be the number one family community in the country. The so-called “vision statement” has been a hallmark of Wilson’s term as mayor.

Polling the room, Wilson asked

See GOALS, Page 6

SEE MORE Opinion: Opelika is not Las Vegas

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DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA Mayor Kurt Wilson explains zero-based budgeting to the Roswell City Council and staff during the city’s annual retreat on Feb. 9 at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort and Spa in Opelika, Alabama.

Goals:

Continued from Page 5

whether participants “loved the vision.” With their eyes closed, 20 people raised their hands to affirm they did. Six indicated they “hated” it.

Councilwoman Sarah Beeson asked how they were supposed to define “number one family community in America,” which prompted several staffers to say they needed clarity on the meaning of the phrase.

Another poll showed that 18 people said they did not understand the statement. Eight said they did.

Meeting facilitator Sorckoff said clarity on the vision statement is vital if plans are to be implemented.

Beeson agreed, saying there needs to be a clearly identified goal based on benchmarks, so people can know whether they are following the vision statement.

City administrator Randy Knighton disagreed, though, saying the point of the vision statement is “aspirational” and subjective. Mayor Wilson agreed, then said the conversation is not about the vision statement itself, but how best the city can achieve it.

Wilson also said the people who didn’t understand the vision statement were “liars in a nice sense,” who actually

did understand the goal but simply disagreed.

A new budgeting system

The mayor also led a presentation on zero-based budgeting as a possible new practice to finance city operations. Zero-based budgeting is a method that allocates all of the money to expenses, debt payments and savings, leaving the final budget balance at zero. Proponents say the system encourages cost control. By not using the previous year’s budgets as a baseline, expenditure can be better monitored.

“It is me requesting for you to transform your organization,” Wilson told staff.

He said the budget should be a policy discussion, and that when departments propose their budgets, the city should be able to link them to established policy goals.

Roswell Fire Chief Joe Pennino agreed with a policy-forward budgeting process, but he asked for better communication on budgeting priorities because the department does not have “clear policy direction.”

“I’m expecting you to attack your organization and say, ‘How can I build this thing?’” Wilson said.

The mayor said he will take the professional expertise of each department and focus on the resources and assets employees need to succeed.

8 | Alpharetta-Roswell Herald | February 16, 2023

King George Tavern offers homey British charm

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — On a dreary, rainy day, what could be better than a nice pint of lager or stout in a cozy pub?

You needn’t get on a plane or travel thousands of miles to feel the charms of a British-style pub when the King George Tavern in Dunwoody offers meals, drinks and atmosphere to anyone who graces its doorstep.

Located just north of I-285 on Chamblee Dunwoody Road, adjacent to a nail salon, massage parlor and Subway, the King George Tavern is a hidden gem that might be overlooked by a careless passerby. But considering its charms and reputation, to pass it by out of hand would be a mistake.

Opened in 2015 by local restaurateur Huw Thomas, who in the 1990s pioneered the Dunwoody Tavern as one of the state’s first British-style pubs, the King George Tavern has earned a loyal following of both locals and travelers coming off I-285.

“We get a lot of travelers, and it’s something unique for them that they haven’t really seen before,” said Britney “BK” Keane, King George Tavern general manager. “We have a lot of chains around here. So, it’s nice to have something a little bit more aesthetic and homey.”

That aesthetic is what Thomas and Keane agree makes a good British pub and fosters a loyal customer base. But none of that would happen without the right people in place, they said.

“You can hire waitresses, you can hire cooks, but anybody that goes behind the bar has to come in front of me because they are the ones that drive the business,” Thomas said. “When you put a drab

person behind the bar, it just destroys the bar.”

“You can go anywhere for $9 Tito’s … they come to specific bars for the people behind the bar,” Keane said.

When Thomas opened the Dunwoody Tavern in 1996, after a previous restaurant in California and a foray into the real estate world, he said the concept

of a British pub was basically unheard of in the Atlanta area.

In the years since, with an onslaught of new pub experiences, people have become almost desensitized to the aesthetic. But Thomas said for a little while it felt like they were doing something truly unique, that everyone wanted to be involved with.

“It was great because no one was trying to duplicate me, now everybody does fish and chips and we used to be the only ones doing it,” he said. “Years ago, it was like, ‘what’s fish and chips?’ Now you go into swanky restaurants and get it.”

At the King George Tavern, you can

See TAVERN, Page 9

My favorite thing is when people come in, like family members or friends and are like, ‘So happy for you, I’m just not a big beer person...’

SEAN O’KEEFE, Co-Founder and CEO of Pontoon Brewing

ALEX POPP/APPEN MEDIA

General Manager Britney “BK” Keane holds a freshly tapped pint of Guinness behind the bar at the King George Tavern with Dunwoody Restaurant Group founder Huw Thomas

Tavern:

Continued from Page 8

still get authentic fish and chips, along with other pub food staples like bangers and mash, cottage pie and a selection of British beers.

But they’ve also adopted their menu for the American palate, discarding classic British pub items that didn’t sell well, like pub curries or scotch eggs (deepfried hardboiled eggs wrapped in ground sausage and breading).

“If you did a real English pub in America, it would go out of business,” Thomas said. “We do what Disneyland does; we give you what you perceive is a [British] pub, but it’s not.”

But whenever they can, Keane said they still try to offer as many authentic touches as they can to their menu and aesthetic, because there is a surprisingly large British population in the Dunwoody community.

“They want to come in and this is like their home,” she said. “Everyone who walks in here, I know what they drink as soon as they sit down. They don’t even have to talk to me if they don’t want to.”

Visit the King George Tavern at 4511 Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody. Learn more about the Dunwoody Restaurant Group’s other locations at www.dunwoodyrestaurantgroup.com.

KING GEORGE TAVERN/PROVIDED

The owner and manager of the King George Tavern in Dunwoody say that customers can expect a cozy, authentic experience with them, whether they’re loyal regulars or first-time visitors.

An estate plan provides protection against predators

When we pass away, everything we’ve worked our entire lives for is at risk of being stolen by the government and other entities. How does this happen? Well, there are a number of reasons, but it all boils down to not making a proper estate plan. A proper estate plan protects your money while you are alive and after you pass away. A good estate plan makes sure that your legacy is passed down to your beneficiaries and not stolen by the government and other predators.

So, let’s look at some of the most important things you need to have in an estate plan. The first is the Financial Power of Attorney. This is a document that allows you to designate who gets to access your bank accounts on your behalf if you are incapacitated in life. This is also the number one document used to abuse the elderly, as there have been multiple occasions of the elderly being manipulated into signing away their money. However, if you don’t have a Financial Power of Attorney, your loved ones will have to fight for the right to help you pay your taxes and bills. Thus, when your attorney is drafting your Financial Power of Attorney, make sure you specify that whoever you designate as your financial agent can only use your assets for your benefit and draft it specifically to protect you and your assets.

The second item in an estate plan is the Last Will and Testament. We’ve heard about this in movies, but what does it really entail? Contrary to popular belief, a Will does not prevent your loved ones from having to go to court and it does not fully protect your assets. A Will, by law, must be

processed by the probate court and the probate process is a completely public process in which anyone - creditors, debtors, Medicaid - can step out to claim your assets, even if you have named beneficiaries.

One way to protect your assets from the probate process is to make sure you have beneficiaries on your bank accounts and life insurance policies. However, if your beneficiaries are minor children, your surviving spouse cannot access the money, even for the child’s benefit. On top of that, if you have a house, then there is no real way to protect it without the risks of probate court even as a married couple in Georgia. Some people recommend putting your house in your children’s name, but that results in him or her having to pay a sizeable capital gains tax - and he or she could potentially lose the house in a divorce, to their creditors or lawsuits.

So how do we avoid the probate court entirely? The answer is by creating a trust. If you put everything in a trust, then the Trustee will ensure that everything you own is distributed the way you want to your beneficiaries. The entire process is private and there is no need to worry about the probate court or capital gains tax. Advanced trusts will even protect your assets from your children’s divorces, creditors, and lawsuits. However, a trust only works if you set it up correctly, fund the trust, and maintain the trust during your lifetime but it is worth the time and cost to avoid probate and to protect your assets.

It may be difficult to think about what happens to our assets after death, but an estate plan is an essential part of any financial management. By making sure that your assets are protected in life and in death, you can have peace of mind about your legacy.

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Mayors discuss municipal elections at monthly meeting

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — City elections dominated discussions at the Feb. 9 meeting of the North Fulton Municipal Association held at the Avalon 1000 Building in Alpharetta.

The organization, composed of elected and senior staff from North Fulton cities, meets monthly to discuss matters affecting their municipalities.

Over the past month, North Fulton city councils have explored efforts to run their own municipal election this fall in the face of rising charges from Fulton County, which has traditionally managed the polling.

In December, the Milton City Council voted to approve self-run municipal elections this year following the recommendation from a locally appointed election study committee.

While the Alpharetta City Council approved a new city elections superintendent position, other cities are still deciding on whether to remain with Fulton County, run their own election or formally sign with other cities to seat an elections superintendent to oversee municipal elections in Milton, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Roswell and Mountain Park. The agreement, still in draft form, leaves each city to figure its way through election operations.

Sandy Springs has no municipal elections scheduled for this year.

The remaining cities have until the end of March to decide whether to contract with Fulton County or embark on their own to operate polling.

The municipal organization

The North Fulton Municipal Association includes the cities of Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell and Mountain Park.

A partner to the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, the municipal organization has no webpage, so agendas or meeting schedules are not posted. The group’s chairman, Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, said the association has been “going on” since he was elected, about a decade ago.

“It’s mostly an opportunity for us to get together and share information, kind of talk through common problems and develop solutions, and proposals, for how we work as a region in the North Fulton area,” Paul said.

Meetings generally include the mayor and possibly some city

councilmembers from each city as well as city managers and other senior staff.

At least four members of the Johns Creek City Council – a quorum that qualifies as an official Johns Creek City Council meeting – were present at the gathering. The city’s official website carries no listing for the council meeting.

The association also regularly invites representatives from other entities, like Fulton County Government, the Georgia Department of Transportation, MARTA and the Atlanta Regional Commission.

A printed handout shows the meetings are held monthly on Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. on the following dates: March 23, April 27, May 25, June 22, July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 16 and Dec. 13.

Municipal elections

The setup in the conference room Feb. 9, positioned officials in a round-table discussion without microphones, so discussions were sometimes inaudible from the gallery. Conversation about municipal elections was short, running around 10 minutes. The newly drafted multicity agreement was not discussed.

However, Fulton County commissioners Bob Ellis and Bridget Thorne provided information on the county’s municipal election budget.

In a split vote, the County Commission passed a resolution Feb. 1 to budget the same amount of money for municipal elections as it did in 2021 — $5.2 million, plus an extra 10 percent for contingencies.

The county would then assess its charge for running a local election based on the number of registered voters in the city.

Some estimates for the cost per registered voter were then tossed around.

Milton City Manager Steve Krokoff said he figured the cost per registered voter will be more than $7 for cities that allow Fulton County to conduct their municipal elections this fall.

But, because Milton has already set up an apparatus to run its own election, its cost per registered voter will be less than $3, Mayor Peyton Jamison said.

Following the meeting, Johns Creek City Councilwoman Erin Elwood found herself in a tense conversation with Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin, in which she expressed concerns about the logistics of North Fulton cities running their own election on short notice as well as cost being the determining factor. Elwood has consistently contested the idea of Johns Creek running its own election or signing an agreement with other cities to coordinate municipal elections.

But Gilvin maintained he has faith in the cities to do a better job than Fulton County this year.

In other action at the meeting, Johns Creek Mayor John Bradberry, who was not in attendance, was elected as the new Municipal Association chair.

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis speaks to North Fulton mayors Jim Gilvin and Rusty Paul at the North Fulton Municipal Association’s Feb. 9 meeting.

Fiber artists join forces for charity work

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

MILTON, Ga. — In a back room of the Milton Branch Library, around a dozen women, and the brother of one, Scott Eldredge, sat crocheting, knitting and quilting.

Some were working on individual projects, but most were adding to a colorful donation pile at the end of the table. The group gathers every Thursday at 11 a.m. to contribute handmade items for charities in the Atlanta area.

Peggy Meyer-Salzmann, a member since 2016, takes charge by compiling project lists and responsibilities.

“Crafters will save the world,” founding member Dena Kennedy said.

The camaraderie of the group, fastened by a common love of crafting, mirrors the soul of the movie “How to Make an American Quilt,” in which a woman discovers her grandmother’s quilting group.

At the library, group members were talking and laughing and sharing their stories around the table, all the while rhythmically moving their hands over different sizes, shapes and colors of soft fabric.

A few weren’t looking down. Their hands knew what to do after spending most of their lives weaving fabric in and out, using a needle, or two. Each found fiber art in different ways, some from their mothers and grandmothers, some through a neighbor.

Others needed something to do on frequent long road trips, like Debbie Morris, Elredge’s sister, who said crocheting on her husband’s long work trips saved her marriage.

Jenny Hawes, more a knitter, said she too needed something to do on frequent road trips to Canada. She used to live there.

For some, crafting was initially sought for a practical purpose, like Monica Phillips who was a first-time mother in her 40s, wanting to dress her newborn.

Leigha Jonestock works as a director of a microschool and sees the group as an educational opportunity that she can bring back with her to implement.

And, Sangeeta Mehra picked up crafting as a hobby and saw the group as an opportunity to meet people, having just moved to the area when she joined five years ago.

Sharing a gift

Meetings have been going on for about 15 years. They began when Phillips and a woman named Miss Nancy took a crochet class with Kennedy, who managed the now-closed Only Ewes Yarn shop. Phillips wanted to continue classes, but in a more informal way where people could bring

their talents and share them with others for free.

Phillips recruited many of the women. Others have found the group through word of mouth. Mary Natelli told her co-worker Maureen Wales at Alpharetta Elementary School about the crafting group. Others found the group through fliers, or observed its work when casting their ballots. The library is one of Milton’s voting locations.

The group used to meet every other week, but members found they wanted more time together working on projects for the community and its “own little world,” Meyer-Salzmann said. The group has also grown and switched rooms at the library to accommodate the size.

Overwhelmed with emotion, tears in her eyes, founding member Dena Kennedy couldn’t express in words what it meant to see the group grow and transform into what it is today. She later sent a message describing it as a “blessing.”

“It truly has been a blessing for me to find so many like-minded people over the years — these lovely souls who treasure this ability that we’ve been given to make things with our hands … and who have such generous hearts that want to share these gifts with the world,” Kennedy wrote.

Projects

Some members oversee donations for individual organizations. Meyer-Salzmann oversees collection for Good Mews, a nokill cat rescue facility. The group does the most work for North Fulton Community Charities and donated nearly 400 handmade goods as well as toys and food last year.

Margie Smith manages collections for

the charity’s senior Christmas baskets. She also helps fill them on-site, but decided against participating in delivery to homes. Patti Shauff interjected and said Smith is a “softy” and didn’t want to hear the seniors’ sad stories.

“You’re right, you’re right,” Smith said. Northside Hospital sees a lot of handmade accessories as well, receiving nearly 170 items last year from the crafting group. Members have donated to nearly 20 organizations since forming 15 years ago, including a few that are out of state. Founding member Monica Phillips sent 75 crocheted heart brooches to her father in Kentucky.

“He’s having the best time just rolling around the nursing home handing out hearts,” Phillips said.

A memorable time for the group was the COVID-19 pandemic. While the library was closed, members met up at Wills Park, and the cold didn’t stop them.

“There were some days the fingers didn’t work, due to the cold, but we got together to talk and laugh,” MeyerSalzmann said.

Over the pandemic, the group made a couple of thousand masks in addition to ear loops and ear saves, which ties to the back of the head to relieve pressure from long-term mask wearing.

The next big project is decorating the library for March, which is National Crochet Month. Members were already working on an installation for the library’s summer reading program, deciding what colors to make life-sized stick figures.

The stick figures were a design pulled from a book, which listed directions written in what appeared to be a foreign language — a soup of abbreviations

expressing crocheting direction.

Art form

There are two camps of fiber artists, for the most part — the crocheters and the knitters. The group started as a crocheting group, and that was the chosen craft of many that Thursday. But it has branched out and invites anyone with a love for crafting and for giving back.

There was a consensus among the crocheters that knitting is less forgiving. Phillips said you can easily spot mistakes in crochet work and rip it out.

“You ‘frog’ it is what they call it — take out the stitches and then just redo it,” Phillips said. “Rip it, frog it, get it?”

Even while tightly crocheting a baby hat, Hawes said she prefers knitting because she can’t read crochet stitches very well. Smith, a kindred spirit, was knitting a lightweight, airy scarf in two hues of blue, separated in halves but done unintentionally. For design, Smith swears by allowing the yarn to do the work for her.

She demonstrated the process, repetitively looping the yarn around the needle and pulling out.

While many projects take a simpler form, Meyer-Salzmann showed off a more intricate work named “Healing Circles” hanging on the wall outside of the meeting room.

The wall art looked like a mandala, consisting of smaller, crocheted circles attached to the rim of a larger one at the center, made by Daniel Trussel, a former member who recently died.

Below the mandala, an inscription contained a quote from Linda Joy Meyers, “We are all joined in a circle of stories.”

PHOTOS BY AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

A donation pile of handmade items, separated by charity organization, sits at the end of a table at the Milton Branch Library Feb. 9. A group of around a dozen fiber artists come together every Thursday at 11 a.m. to work on projects eventually donated to organizations, like the North Fulton Community Charities.

Peggy Meyer-Salzmann, leader of the crafting group, points to a crocheted mandala hanging on the Milton Branch Library wall. The mandala commemorates a former member, Daniel Trussel, who recently died.

A book vending machine holds titles Jan. 13 at Abbot Hill Elementary School. Last year, Fulton County Schools found that 74 percent of their third graders were reading at or above grade level. The school district says it hopes to improve that figure to 95 percent in the next three to five years.

Literacy:

Continued from Page 1

“COVID-19 created a learning gap,” Jones said. “We knew we needed to have more resources.”

With the help of the $168.8 million Fulton County Schools received from the 2021 federal American Rescue Plan, the board pushed for more literacy program funding. In 2021, the board approved a $3.26 million contract to implement the professional development program for teachers.

Fulton County District 4 School Board member Franchesca Warren said a first grader’s parent told her they saw “a huge difference” between sight-reading and a focus on phonics.

Jones said the program is a “very comprehensive view” of literacy education.

“It shows how the brain works while students are working,” Jones said.

Last year, Fulton County Schools found that 74 percent of their third graders were reading at or above grade level. The school district says it hopes to improve that figure to 95 percent in the next three to five years.

“I can’t wait for another two to three years as these kids get into fourth and fifth grade and how they will handle language,” Warren said.

Throughout the eight-unit program teachers complete two assessments, one after the fourth and one after the eighth unit. If they score 80 percent or higher

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on each assessment, they receive a certificate of mastery and a stipend.

Chief Academic Officer Jones said more than 95 percent of teacher participants achieve the required score.

The programs are led by facilitators already trained in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling. District literacy staff and school-based literacy coaches can become facilitators if they achieve an 88 percent or higher score on each assessment.

So far, 87 staff members are trained facilitators for the first volume of the program, and 22 staff members are trained facilitators for volume two.

The district hopes to continue inhouse training to make the program extend “beyond the life of the grant.”

District staff members completed the third edition Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading course in June 2022. The contract will fund more than 2,000 additional teachers. The first cohort will include more than 600 school leaders.

Additionally, a group of 1,900 kindergarten through fifth grade teachers will complete the course January 2024. The second cohort that includes about 100 pre-K to 12th grade teachers will complete work in May 2024.

There will also be a 6th-12th grade teacher cohort with approximately 490 participants completing work in May 2024; and a kindergarten through 5th grade teacher cohort of around 450 in December 2024.

The county will create more cohorts as it hires new educators.

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Residents add to Roswell’s Black history

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — Sandra Taylor remembers taking the bus with her mom in the 1950s from Roswell to Atlanta to shop. She would go down the aisle, notice empty seats on the bus and ask her mother if they could sit there.

“She would say, ‘Hush’ and just squeeze my hand and drag me to the back of the bus,” Taylor said.

Taylor and Charles Grogan, Roswell’s Black historian, added details to Roswell’s Black history that original documents couldn’t offer during a Feb. 2 presentation led by Roswell Historical Society Archivist Elaine DeNiro.

While no longer residents, Taylor and Grogan gave the packed audience in a Roswell Public Library conference room intertwining first-hand accounts of what it was like to grow up Black in a racially segregated city.

In “Black History: Honoring Our Past,” DeNiro described ledgers, news articles and photographs – some that included Taylor, Grogan, their family members and even some audience members, who would then bolster the

history with their own experiences, or the experience of those that came before them, gathered from oral tradition.

Around the room, some uttered, “... Not much different than today.”

Pleasant Hill Baptist Church

DeNiro began the account with the Cherokee Nation, which owned slaves based on an 1833 census. She followed up with the history of Roswell’s founding families, who reintroduced slaves to the area from the coast.

The enslaved were given land in 1855, DeNiro said, to establish a place of worship — Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. Grogan remembered visiting with his uncle, whose parents were buried there. According to the cemetery’s description, the congregation dates to 1847.

In 1922, land was purchased where the current church building sits. The Rev. Joshua Grogan headed the church at the time, but years later, he baptized Taylor when she was 9. The reverend was her cousin.

“I remember him telling me to close my eyes, to hold my breath, that ‘I’ll take care of you,’” Taylor said.

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Grogan and Taylor recalled segregated movie theaters. The Roswell theater was off limits, so Taylor went to the one in Marietta, but upstairs. The bottom floor was reserved for Whites only.

“I don’t think they ever cleaned upstairs,” Taylor said. “You would step on popcorn boxes and sticky soda on the floor.”

Grogan went to the theater in Alpharetta, also confined to the upstairs space. He worked as a cleaner at the Roswell theater, but he couldn’t attend a show.

“It never dawned on me,” Grogan said. “That’s just the way life was.”

Taylor and Grogan also spoke about their time attending Bailey Johnson, a school once named the Alpharetta Colored School.

Grogan attended for three months and said that his 1965 graduating class was the largest ever at 14 students.

Black fellowship

DeNiro spoke about Grove Way Community Center, which Taylor said was a haven for Black people to have a good time and fellowship in a safe place. Grogan had his 16th birthday party there.

But Grogan’s “most important thing” was the Josh Gibson Baseball League, later named the Roswell Flames, then the Southern Flames. The Black baseball league was organized by Grogan’s uncle, Charles Grogan, and two other men, Alonzo Allen and Estee Strickland. Games were held on Woodstock Road.

Grogan joined the team at age 15.

“That was the thing I loved the most — that Negro league,” Grogan

said.

Taylor also remembered going to the games. Her dad was a baseball fanatic.

“It was such a joy to see him and his brothers and other Black people get together and have fun,” Taylor said. “The kids could watch and run around and eat the good food from the concessions … It was just the love for the game and for the people.”

Throughout the ’70s, Roswell remained a small, Southern town with little diversity, DeNiro said.

Young Black adults moved out of town to find housing and employment.

In 1971, Taylor and her new husband had a hard time finding housing, despite a fair housing law that should have gone into effect years before. While White people were told there were vacancies, Black people were told a different story, she said.

“A lot of the Black people that grew up in Roswell and wanted to stay in Roswell moved to Atlanta, College Park, DeKalb County, Cobb County because we could not get housing in Roswell,” Taylor said.

The dynamic changed in the ’80s and ’90s, DeNiro said, when there was an influx of northern Black families.

By 2000, the city’s historically Black neighborhoods had been threatened by development, DeNiro said, showing side-by-side photos of Webb Street. The picture from 2022 was drastically different.

Grogan and Taylor grew up on Webb Street, only feet away from one another.

“Growing up on Webb Street was fun because you knew everybody on the street,” Taylor said. “Everybody looked out for each other.”

Dr. Richard Kaufman

Dr. Shamir Bhikha

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA Roswell Historical Society Archivist Elaine DeNiro presents original documents related to Roswell’s Black history at the Roswell Public Library Feb. 2.

Former Alpharetta police officer may face charges in K-9 incident

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Former Alpharetta Police Officer Michael Esposito may face criminal charges this March stemming from a July 2021 use of force incident.

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

Despite the verdict of the police review, Esposito may now face charges from a Fulton County grand jury.

Alpharetta City Councilmembers passed a resolution Jan. 23 that provides legal representation to former and current employees of the city acting within the course and scope of their duties. The vote came after Esposito had reached out to request legal aid.

Speaking at the January meeting, City Administrator Chris Lagerbloom said the city had been notified by the Fulton County District Attorney that she intends to present the charges before a grand jury in March. Lagerbloom said the city will provide

up to $10,000 per year in legal aid to Esposito until the point that a formal indictment is made by the grand jury.

Alpharetta police were dispatched to Travis Moya’s home for a domestic disturbance call July 25, 2021.

In the following minutes, Esposito released the K9 Ares, who attacked Moya’s upper arm, leaving “large amounts of blood and fatty tissue coming out of the wound,” according to the initial incident report.

Moya’s family said he was not

resisting.

Moya was charged with felony willful obstruction of law enforcement officers and misdemeanor obstruction of law enforcement. The charges were dropped June 2, 2022, after Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Melissa Roth filed a nolle prosequi order due to insufficient evidence to support a finding of guilt.

Moya and Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys of Atlanta filed a civil suit against Esposito and Officers J.J. Frudden and Chrisopher Benfield; the City of Alpharetta; Police Chief John Robison; and Lt. R.A. Splawn in 2022.

Moya’s attorneys say the incident resulted in Moya suffering “excruciating physical injuries and pain and suffering, permanent disfiguration to his arm, loss of wages, humiliation, significant emotional trauma and distress, and other damages as a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ violations of law.”

The civil case is still pending. Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard said Alpharetta cannot comment on pending legal matters per city policy.

MOYA FAMILY/PROVIDED

Cellphone footage shows Alpharetta police officers surrounding Travis Moya during a July 25, 2021, domestic incident at the Moya home.

MEET THE NEWSROOM

Amber Perry

On a normal weekend you could find me...

Going to a music show, roller skating or taking my spritely, old dog for a walk

On a long weekend you could find me…

Somewhere far enough into Appalachia to feel like I’m not in a society

Something I want to do but am just not very good at: Playing an instrument

Delaney Tarr

On a normal weekend you could find me...

Thrift shopping, walking the Atlanta BeltLine or eating oysters.

On a long weekend you could find me…

Visiting my family in Florida or driving out to Athens.

Something I want to do but am just not very good at:

Running

Dionna Williams

On a normal weekend you could find me...

Relaxing at home either drawing, writing stories or watching YouTube videos.

On a long weekend you could find me…

amber@appenmedia.com

Early bird or night owl? Night owl

When folks come to town, I know I’ll take them to eat at...

Restaurant Cafeteria Tia Roseta or Lucky’s

A movie I could quote start to finish…

None, I think I have diagnosable memory loss

Alex Popp

On a normal weekend you could find me...

Working on my house or on the couch with a good book.

On a long weekend you could find me…

Up in the North Carolina mountains hiking or relaxing in my hammock.

Something I want to do but am just not very good at: Flyfishing.

delaney@appenmedia.com

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl

When folks come to town, I know I'll take them to eat at...

Jerusalem Bakery & Grill or Roswell Provisions.

A movie I could quote start to finish…

“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”

Shelby Israel

On a normal weekend you could find me...

Unwinding and watching movies with my boyfriend Jimmy.

On a long weekend you could find me…

Trying out new restaurants with friends.

Something I want to do but am just not very good at:

Going to the gym and maintaining a self-care routine.

Jacob Tomberlin

dionna@appenmedia.com

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl

On a normal weekend you could find me...

alex@appenmedia.com

Early bird or night owl? Night owl.

When folks come to town, I know I’ll take them to eat at...

Shri Krishna Villa in Cumming or LA Sushi in Johns Creek

(The best sushi in the metro Atlanta area.)

A movie I could quote start to finish…

“The Usual Suspects” or “Return of the Jedi.”

shelby@appenmedia.com

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl

When folks come to town I know I’ll take them to eat at... Butcher & Brew

A movie I could quote start to finish…

“Pride & Prejudice” (2005)

A dish I’m known for making is...

Creamy pumpkin chorizo pasta.

jacob@appenmedia.com

Early bird or night owl?

Early bird

Riding around the North Atlanta area or walking at the Roswell Riverwalk.

When folks come to town, I know I’ll take them to eat at... Flatlands. My family is Creole, so we love that there is a great place to get Cajun food in the area.

Designer Designer

Something I want to do but am just not very good at: Painting

A movie I could quote start to finish…

“Spider-Man 2.” It’s my favorite childhood movie that I used to watch all the time with my dad.

Visiting any record shop or indie bookstore in Metro ATL.

On a long weekend you could find me…

Getting out in the sun, visiting friends and family or blasting records.

Something I want to do but am just not very good at: DJ-ing

When folks come to town I know I’ll take them to eat at...

Circle Sushi, Bawarchi Biryanis and of course Waffle House.

A movie I could quote start to finish…

“The Princess Bride”

A dish I’m known for making is...

Sweet and spicy chili

Reporter Reporter

Reporter Reporter

NEWSROOM

Pat Fox

On a normal weekend you could find me...

Outside, working in my garden.

On a long weekend you could find me…

Hiking up Amicalola Falls

Something I want to do but am just not very good at:

Play piano

Early bird or night owl?

Early bird

Carl Appen

On a normal weekend you could find me...

Taking my Frenchie to the park or strolling through Lenox Mall.

On a long weekend you could find me…

Camping, visiting friends or in Athens

of Content & Development

Something I want to do but am just not very good at:

Skateboarding

Hans Appen

On a normal weekend you could find me...

Playing taxi driver for my 3 children and their various activities.

On a long weekend you could find me…

At Saint Simons Island

Something I want to do but am just not very good at:

Fishing

Early bird or night owl?

Aspiring early bird

When folks come to town, I know I'll take them to eat at...

Café Efendi

A movie I could quote start to finish…

“Miller’s Crossing”

A dish I'm known for making is...

Goulash with red, yellow, orange and green peppers

One thing that can instantly make my day…

A Steven Wright joke

pat@appenmedia.com carl@appenmedia.com

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl

When folks come to town, I know I’ll take them to eat at...

The Rusty Nail, Hibachi Express or Café Intermezzo

A movie I could quote start to finish…

“Troy”

Six Flags or White Water?

Six Flags

hans@appenmedia.com

When folks come to town I know I’ll take them to eat at...

Anywhere in downtown Alpharetta

A movie I could quote start to finish…

“The Departed”

A dish I’m known for making is...

Cereal with milk

One thing that can instantly make my day…

Coffee

These days the Appen Media newsroom is looking a little different.

First and foremost, it’s growing. This winter we added two new positions. Our Perimeter reporter will lead coverage of two new city councils. A second news designer will help our reporters’ stories get the presentation they deserve. Together the additions will help our newest publicationthe Sandy Springs Crier - get off the ground. Hopefully, there are more to come.

Pat Fox continues to helm our editorial staff, but most faces are new. So, we all wanted to take a moment and introduce - or reintroduce - ourselves.

If you’re out and about and see someone with a red Appen Media press pass around their neck, say hello. You can also come by July Moon Bakery in Alpharetta on Feb. 22 at 9 a.m. for the first Appen Press Club event of 2023. It’s free to attend and open for everyone.

Hope to see you around town.

— Carl Appen

Managing Editor

Director

Publisher

Collecting old radios brings history back to life

WSB’s 100th anniversary celebration last year reminds us how much the extraordinary invention of the radio has contributed to society. The South’s first radio station, WSB, began operations in 1922 with 100 watts of power, about the same as an average light bulb, versus 50,000 watts today.

In today’s column I will discuss radio’s history and how some local people, members of the Southeastern Antique Radio Society, help keep alive one aspect of the amazing history of this medium.

In 1893, Nikola Tesla, a Serbian immigrant, demonstrated a wireless radio to audiences in St Louis. He later developed and marketed the first successful long distance wireless telegraph. In 1894, Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian engineer, received the first wireless telegraph patent in England where he spent most of his working life. In 1901, Marconi broadcast the first transatlantic radio signal. More than 700 people survived the Titanic disaster in 1912 thanks to his wireless telegraphy device.

While men such as Tesla and Marconi were responsible for the practical application of radio waves, their highly recognized achievements were based on theoretical work by many uncrowned pioneers, such as the physicist Heinrich Hertz whose experiments in 1877-1888 in Frankfurt, Germany, paved the way forward.

Broadcasting voice signals to general audiences by combining sound and radio waves, as opposed to point-topoint wireless transmissions using dots and dashes, had its start in the early 1900s. The next 50 years were marked by amazing and rapid achievements. By 1915, telephone conversations were broadcast across the Atlantic. In 1920, America’s first commercial radio station, KDKA in Pittsburgh, broadcast live election returns and the news that Warren G. Harding had won that year’s presidential election. Subsequently, the station also broadcast sporting events, baseball scores, time signals and market reports. Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting in 1925 and is the longest running radio broadcast in the world. By that year, there were 1,400 commercial radio stations in the U.S. Today there are more than 15,000.

The first radio receivers were sold with headsets because loudspeakers

Radio News, published from 1919 to 1971, began as a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts but gradually became focused on the technical aspects of radios and electronics. Looking at the ads and articles in old technical magazines is a good way to track developments in the fast-changing radio and related industries.

had not been invented yet. Radio sets were battery operated. In the early 1920’s modifications and improvements came in rapid order. Constant improvements in tube design in the 1920s improved reception, volume and sound quality.

This peacetime research and development by communications equipment manufacturers contributed mightily to the success of our fighting

forces in World War II. Portable communications systems and switchboards, field telephones and ship-based communications systems helped change the nature of the battlefield. The precursor to today’s cell phones occurred in 1946 when Bell Laboratories launched the country’s first mobile radio telephone system.

Collecting antique radios is a popular hobby with dozens of clubs in

35 states. The Southeastern Antique Radio Society is a Georgia example. The organization publishes a quarterly newsletter and holds monthly dinner meetings. Their annual winter swap meet and radio show will be held on Saturday, March 4, at the American Legion Post, 201 Wills Road in Alpharetta, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is their website for further information: https://www.sarsradio.com. Free to the public. Everyone is welcome.

Collectors tend to specialize in specific aspects of the radio industry: attractive radios of old, technological breakthrough models, colorful transistor radios from the 1950s and 1960s, advertising, even tubes and the artistic boxes they came in.

Jim Del Principe, past president and current vice president of the Southeastern Antique Radio Society, said he thinks the club is “a way to reach back to a simpler time. Musical styles were limited, and families would gather to listen to music. There were daytime programs for housewives such as the ‘Lux Radio Theater’ and ‘Queen for a Day,’ evening programs for the kids like ‘The Shadow’ and ‘Tarzan’ and adventure programs at night.” Most radio operators were amateurs who made it possible for Artic and Antarctic explorers to maintain contact with people back home before commercial services were available.

Another former president of the Georgia club is Milton resident Gordon Hunter who is the proud owner of 450 antique (at least 100 years old) and vintage (at least 50 years old) radios dating from the 1920s to the 1970s. He notes that early radios often had beautiful wood cabinets, creative designs and in the 1930s colorful Bakelite and Catalin plastic cases. Bakelite “the material of a thousand uses” and Catalin plastics were used in a wide variety of consumer products. Because of the way Catalin plastic was produced, over time radios developed cracks due to the heat they generated, making surviving radios rare, highly collectible and very expensive. According to Hunter, “collecting old radios, especially small ones, is addictive. There is usually something at a swap meet that fits perfectly in one’s collection.”

By the way, WSB, has a meaning, Welcome South Brother. The station is owned by Cox Media Group.

Bob is director emeritus of the Milton Historical Society and a Member of the City of Alpharetta Historic Preservation Commission. You can email him at bobmey@bellsouth.net.

BOB MEYERS

Columnist

BOB MEYERS/APPEN MEDIA

Black families on Barfield Road forged DeWald’s Alley community

A small community of Black families lived along Barfield Road in Sandy Springs from the 1920s until commercial development in the 1960s. The area was known as DeWald’s Alley, likely named for property owner George DeWald and his family. DeWald was a stockbroker with a home on Peachtree Dunwoody Road.

Christine Burdett Melton and her brother Lee H. Burdett, known as Jimmy, recalled DeWald’s Alley in a 1993 oral history. They described the road as an unpaved street off Barfield Road. Most of the residents worked at nearby homes and businesses.

(Sandy Springs Historic Community Foundation, 1993 oral history of Lee H. Burdett and Christine Burdett Melton)

Willie and Pearl Jones and several other families are listed on Barfield Road in the census of 1940. Willie Jones did landscape work to support his family. Lucius and Dorothy Mae

Spivey, Melvin and Willa Mae Peters, and DeLee Morehead and Katherine Morehead lived along DeWald’s Alley. DeLee Morehead was a laborer in the building industry, and Katherine Morehead worked as a servant in a private home.

Other families listed include the Brown, Blonson and Harris families. Henry Harris worked as a cook at a tearoom, and Moses Harris worked as a yardman at various homes.

One of the categories on the 1940 census listed whether the individual was in school and how many years of school were completed. Some of the children are listed as having attended school in 1940. Schools were segregated, so unfortunately the children would either have traveled to a Fulton County school for Black children some distance away, or the community may have operated their own school.

Several families appear in the 1950 census, living on Barfield Road between Mt. Vernon Highway and Hammond Drive. Tommy and Maggie Bains and Douglas and Flora Bacon are

22

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF

Columnist

HERITAGE SANDY SPRINGS 2017/SANDY SPRINGS GAZETTE

From left, Dorothy Garrison, Gwin Loyd and Hazel Lloyd play along DeWald’s Alley in the 1960s. See ALLEY, Page

Retired nurse/wife saved a life, by George

When the University of Georgia won the college football national championship, lots of fans, with good reason, figured it was time to bust out some dance moves.

Certainly, there were some who danced and thought their talents would stir up memories of Paula Abdul in her Laker Girl heyday.

But what if it came time to celebrate and there was no getting out of neutral?

What if you went to bed and took up more than your share of the Serta and refused to relinquish the covers to the woman you’ve been married to for 35 years, no matter how much she pleaded?

Being stubborn or contrary was never part of the equation.

On that January night, George Meisner simply couldn’t move.

Realizing there was no joviality coming from George, when he said he couldn’t move, Cynthia, a retired nurse, went back to work.

She unretired in those critical moments and it probably saved George’s life.

George was being typically manly in his insistence on Cynthia not calling 911. He wanted her to drive him to Northside Forsyth.

“There was no way. I couldn’t lift him,” Cynthia recalled.

George was dead weight, and if Cynthia hadn’t recognized what was happening with George, he might have been just plain dead.

George was having a whopper of a stroke, and 20 minutes after everything began, he was being treated in the Northside ER.

The Forsyth doctors were wise enough to know that George needed a little something extra.

George was transported via helicopter across north Georgia to Kennestone Hospital, where he was

Alley:

Continued from Page 20

listed. Tommy did landscape work and Douglas worked in a local drug store.

The family of Jessie and Grace Pruitt are recorded on the census, with Jessie working at a steel plant and Grace working as a house cleaner. The Austin family included William and Marilyn. William worked as a cook at a college, most likely Oglethorpe

treated by a team better equipped to get George out of this crisis.

And that was what happened!

There’s still a laundry list chock-full of items that need to tended to. Maybe a ramp or two to be built by his sons.

George figures he can supervise any project. Doing things for others fits squarely in his wheelhouse.

In years past, my son Greg and Will were classmates and teammates on the Forsyth Central baseball team.

As Bulldog Booster Club president, there was a gargantuan checklist of “to-do” items that stretched for miles. One glaring necessity was more seating capacity, figuring a “Field of Dreams” scenario: “If you build it, they will come.”

The existing rickety bleachers just wouldn’t do. So naturally, we went large and bought a pair of sizable grandstands. They were going to be beautiful.

Except for the fact that the grandstands arrived in dozens of boxes that contained thousands of widgets, screws, gromets and enough assorted materials to fill a Home Depot.

As someone who breaks out in a cold sweat if ever forced to buy anything other than a flashlight at Home Depot, I needed some help.

As you probably surmised, George, have tool belt will travel, put together a crew that assembled the bleachers and fashioned a place where Central baseball fans could show off the new digs.

But that’s not all. All those fans needed to be fed.

Cynthia being a mom with ravenous teenagers, took over the concession stand. No, she didn’t sell bags of peanuts. Instead, she used her wiles as a shopper to stock quality food.

Burgers, bratwurst and hot dogs sold like hot cakes. Any clue as to who was in charge of the grill and did way more than his fair share of cooking? George manned the grill like he owned the place.

I’m not sure what George and

University. The Moon, Jones, Heard, and Lloyd families were also living in DeWald’s Alley in 1950.

Melvin Pender recalls that his parents moved from Dalton, Georgia, to his grandparents’ Sandy Springs home temporarily in 1937 in anticipation of his birth. He was born Oct. 31 at a segregated Grady Hospital. Pender went on to become a captain in the 82nd Airborne, serving two tours during the Vietnam War. He also represented the U.S. in the 1964 and 1968 Olympics, winning a Gold Medal in 1968 for the

Cynthia need right now. Prayers sure couldn’t hurt. Getting Cynthia to ask for help is like getting one of King Arthur’s friends to ask a friend to pull a sword out of a rock.

The Meisners are neighbors, and George’s adventures wouldn’t have been known if Cindy hadn’t shared the story on social media.

Thank you, Facebook.

George is at home now, with lots of therapy ahead of him. At one time, he was able to put together a crackerjack crew to build grandstands. Now there is

4 x100 relay. (“Expression of Hope: the Mel Pender Story,” by Melvin and Deborah Pender)

Captain Pender moved into the home of his grandparents in 1949. They had moved to Lynwood Park in Brookhaven. According to “Stories of Lynwood Park” by Veronica Menenez Holmes, some residents of DeWald’s Alley, including Pender’s grandparents, relocated to Lynwood Park. Pender’s mother helped bring a church from the Sandy Springs community to Lynwood Park. That church was Mt. Mary

another project on the horizon. Here’s hoping those friends will come through again.

If that happens, no way I’ll be building anything. It would be a disaster.

But count on me to go buy the coffee and donuts.

Mike Tasos has lived in Forsyth County for more than 30 years. He’s an American by birth and considers himself a Southerner by the grace of God. He can be reached at miketasos55@gmail.com.

Baptist Church.

Riding along Barfield Road today, one would never know that the community of DeWald’s Alley existed. The people who lived there and their efforts in difficult times to provide for their families should be remembered.

Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media. She lives in Sandy Springs. You can email Valerie at pasttensega@gmail.com or visit her website at pasttensega.com.

MIKE TASOS

Columnist

George and Cynthia Meisner embrace in a hospital bed.

What happens in Opelika comes home to Roswell

ALPHARETTA-ROSWELL HERALD | FORSYTH HERALD | JOHNS CREEK HERALD MILTON HERALD | DUNWOODY CRIER | SANDY SPRINGS CRIER

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CARL APPEN Director of Content & Development

Here’s a bit of news trivia for you: The locations at the start of articles (you know, the ones that look like this: SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — ) are called datelines. They’re used to show readers where the story is taking place. Some newsrooms use them to indicate a reporter had boots on the ground.

The last few weeks Appen Media has had some special datelines. We’ve published stories that start with GREENVILLE, S.C.; CHATTAHOOCHEE HILLS, Ga.; ATLANTA, and now OPELIKA, Al.

Using them means Appen Media had boots on the ground in all those places.

Most of our city governments go on “strategic retreats” every year. The whole city council and administrative staff will pack up and head out of town for a few days. They offer a range of reasons – to visit a downtown they want to model, team building or really buckling down to focus on the issues.

The meetings aren’t recorded or streamed online, and most city “notes” are scant. Last year Roswell went to Greenville for five days and came home with a plan to revise the city’s charter.

The meeting minutes – the official record of what took place that week –was 34 words long. If you’ve ever been to a Roswell City Council meeting, you know they speak more than one word every four hours.

Of course, by law these meetings are open to the public. Any time a quorum – or voting majority –of elected officials gather for city business, discussion, research or action, you’re allowed to be there.

But if the meeting is in Greenville, who is going to drive three hours just to go along and be in the room?

Well, us, I suppose.

When the Johns Creek City Council traveled to Greenville, S.C. for the weekend, Amber Perry went along too. Shelby Israel woke up at dawn on a Sunday to be in Chattahoochee Hills for the Alpharetta retreat. Then she did it again the following day.

Alex Popp had it easy. Sandy Springs held their retreat in Sandy Springs.

Delaney Tarr is spending the weekend in Opelika, Alabama, to cover

the Roswell City Council retreat.

She really got the short end of the stick. The City Council is staying at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort & Spa at Grand National. I tried to get her a room there too, but the entire place was booked. So, each day Delaney is making a quick drive over from Opelika’s Hampton Inn. Imagine that.

On behalf of city officials and staff, taxpayers are footing the bill for these excursions.

For the reporters in the room – and I assure you, we’re the only ones – that bill falls squarely on our shoulders. Your local newsroom. (So maybe after all, it’s a good thing every room was taken at the Grand National.)

We’re glad to do it.

In fact, Managing Editor Pat Fox and I think it’s pretty special that you can open up the local newspaper and see a dateline from South Carolina because there’s a newsroom willing to follow local officials there.

We have problems getting metropolitan dailies to show up at city council meetings to cover the city council.

Local news is not always local. Just because Roswell is strategizing in Opelika doesn’t mean what they do there happens in a vacuum.

Chattahoochee Hills is not Las Vegas. What happens there comes home.

Shelby was in the room when Alpharetta approved requests for funding increases.

Amber got to walk along the Reedy River with the Johns Creek City Council as they took notes on Greenville’s public art, civic partnerships and cohesive branding. Now those are all lessons the city will hope to implement as the Johns Creek Town Center moves forward.

I can tell you this much, Delaney’s report from Opelika is going to be a lot more comprehensive than the one that comes from the city.

So, we think it’s important to go. Even if we have to pay our own way.

Appen Press Club

Support local news that follows the story. Join the Appen Press Club today at appenmedia.com/join.

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