Alpharetta-Roswell Herald - September 26, 2024

Mother fundraises for therapy that shows hope for autistic son

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — Aside from cooing noises, Jessica Rodriguez has not been able to hear the sound of her 5-year-old son’s voice.

A new, cutting-edge treatment called Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy might fix that.

Grayson, who is nonverbal, was diagnosed with level 3 autism, the most

severe form, when he was 18 months old.

Rodriguez began to notice the signs more than a year before, dialed in because of her experience as an emergency services nurse. She became a stay-at-home mom when Grayson and his twin sister Mia were born.

“He was definitely missing some milestones,” she said, noting he was

See THERAPY, Page 22

Tree beetles take a bite out of Alpharetta’s parks

By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta has removed at least 115 pines over the past two months in an effort to control an infestation of tree-eating beetles.

“That is a significant number of trees,” said Morgan Rodgers, director of Alpharetta Recreation, Parks & Culture Department.

The beetles, which eat pines from the inside out, target vulnerable droughtstressed and aging trees. The city has spent more than $30,000 for removal and control at city park lands to prevent their spread.

“We’ve spent considerably more money this year,” Parks Supervisor Nate Hand said.

While officials casually refer to the pests as “tree beetles,” three different

See BEETLES, Page 22

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CITY OF ALPHARETTA/PROVIDED

A brown pine tree is infested with pine beetles in one of Alpharetta’s parks. City officials planned to remove the tree.

JESSICA RODRIGUEZ/PROVIDED Jessica Rodriguez holds Grayson, her nonverbal son diagnosed with severe autism.

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POLICE BLOTTER

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Police arrest driver on gun, drug charges

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Police arrested a 20-year-old Alpharetta man on gun and drug charges Sept. 12.

Officers stopped the man, who was driving a Mitsubishi Eclipse, because he was following a vehicle too closely and speeding on Ga. 9 at Henderson Parkway, according to an Alpharetta police report.

The man told officers marijuana was in his car after they smelled the drug. He also said he had a pistol under his seat, according to police.

Officers searched the vehicle and found marijuana and THC cartridges gummies. They also found a semiautomatic 45-caliber pistol.

In his wallet, they reported finding a fraudulent driver’s license.

The man was arrested on misdemeanor possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime and following too closely and felony manufacture delivery, distribution or possession of a drug.

Officers arrest coworker for assault and battery

ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell Police arrested a 42-year-old Norcross man Sept. 22 after his coworker reported him for an alleged battery and felony aggravated assault Sept. 19.

The victim, a 39-year-old Peachtree Corners woman, said she and one of her coworkers had been talking for a few months but are not dating.

Officers said the victim had cuts and bruises on her face and neck with dirt marks on her pants and grass in her hair with red marks

when they arrived at the Georgia Department of Driver Services building off Maxwell Road.

The victim said she and the suspect are coworkers for a regional janitorial company. She said her coworker became upset with her after she did not respond to his messages.

When the suspect confronted the victim, she said she threw a jacket at him before he punched her, threw her to the ground and tried to strangle her.

The victim said she unsuccessfully tried to free herself until someone walked by, and the coworker fled.

An ambulance transported the victim to Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center for treatment.

Before going to the hospital, the victim told officers the suspect drove a dark blue Honda sedan.

Officers spoke with the suspect after he called dispatch to give his version of the story.

The suspect said he and his coworker were intermittently dating and their plans to meet each other the night before fell through.

The suspect said he hit the victim after she struck him first. When asked to meet with Roswell Police, the suspect declined.

Officers said they obtained security footage from the facility manager and spoke with a witness to the incident.

Because the two coworkers were not in a relationship, officers said the family violence charges were dropped.

A Roswell officer arrested the suspect Sept. 22 just outside of Marietta on felony aggravated assault and battery charges.

Police investigate theft of $1,100 in clothing

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Police investigated a report of shoplifting at a North Point mall shop on Sept. 14.

A loss prevention officer told police he discovered the theft while watching camera footage recorded on

Sept. 12, according to an Alpharetta police report.

A man entered the business and stole nine North Face jackets, according to the report.

The stolen merchandise was valued at a total of $1,170.

Cameras in the parking lot were not positioned to record the suspect’s vehicle, the loss prevention officer said.

The suspect was wearing a black hat, sweater and gray pants.

Officer catches motorist fleeing scene of crash

ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell Police arrested a 27-year-old Alpharetta man after an off-duty officer saw him attempting to flee the scene of a car wreck Sept. 21 along Old Alabama Road.

When backup arrived, they said the off-duty officer had detained the suspect after he crashed his Honda Pilot into a Volvo S60.

The driver of the other vehicle and his juvenile daughter were transported to Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center for treatment.

Officers did not provide information for the victims, besides the driver’s full name.

The off-duty officer, who was in full uniform, said the suspect kicked him in the hip as he was trying to prevent him from leaving the scene of the crash.

Other officers said the suspect repeated the phrase “today is a great day” and asked if they were scared. Eventually, the suspect told officers he consumed a large amount of psychedelic mushrooms before driving, according to the police report.

Officers charged the suspect with following too closely, leaving the scene of an accident, obstruction and simple battery of a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence of drugs. He was transported to Fulton County Jail.

THE PICTURE FRAMER

Roswell taps Mimosa Hall as first focus of historic ‘parks’ upgrade

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — Mimosa Hall & Gardens has been chosen as the first major focus of a larger $15 million investment in the area around Town Square in Roswell’s Historic District.

Roswell Deputy City Administrator Jeff Leatherman presented the item as part of the city’s working Historic Parks Improvement Plan at the Sept. 23 City Council meeting.

The term “parks,” rather than historic “homes,” comes after the city’s decision last year to lift the paywall to visit them.

That night, the council approved a $460,420 contract with Reeves Young

to continue work on Mimosa Hall with improvements to the pond, an event pavilion and event space, Mimosa Hall parking with a drop-off area, vendor parking and restoration of the flagstone driveway.

The contract also includes an additional 4.5 percent of the construction costs, which are estimated to amount up to $3 million. The work will be funded through the American Plan Rescue Act, money that must be expensed by the end of the year.

Around $2 million dollars has already been invested at Mimosa Hall for a new driveway and renovations to the building’s second floor for event space. They are expected to open in

Barrington Hall to the Roswell Mill project. The $2 million proposal is not included in the initial $15 million investment for the area around Town Square.

Millage rate hearing

In other action at the meeting, the city held the first of three public hearings on the fiscal year 2025 millage rate, a property tax rate where 1 mill equals $1 out of every $1,000 of assessed value.

the next couple of months.

Leatherman said the plan, sparked by the city’s $1.5 million acquisition of the historic Holly Hill property in 2022, is integral to the city’s economic development strategy.

“We have 24 acres of parkland with our historic assets, tucked right in the middle of our downtown Historic District,” Leatherman said. “You couldn’t win the lottery with anything better.”

Economic stimulus

Leatherman estimated the improved Mimosa Hall site would bring in around $1.1 million annually, reinforcing the city’s attempt to create revenue streams outside of property taxes.

The next focus of the parks plan would be Barrington Hall, Leatherman said, because of its location.

“That’s the first historic asset property that you see as you’re coming and traveling north on Ga. 9,”

Leatherman said, adding that Roswell Junction, a food hall on Atlanta Street opening soon, will enhance the area.

He described bridges that would connect pedestrians from the Town Square to Barrington Hall, then

The proposal is to keep the rate steady at 4.949 mills, but, by law, it translates to a tax increase because property values have risen. The rollback rate of 4.754 mills — the mill levy that would produce the same amount of property tax revenue as this year — was advertised in the Alpharetta-Roswell Herald, the city’s legal organ.

In June, the City Council adopted a $115 million six-month fiscal year 2024 budget after approving a new fiscal year calendar that begins Jan. 1 and ends Dec. 31. Previously, the fiscal year began July 1.

Jason Yowell, a former Roswell City Council candidate, advocated that the millage rate be reduced considering a significant increase in property taxes the past year.

“It looks like a neutral event, but it’s not because my property taxes, based on my assessment, … are up nearly 100 percent this year,” Yowell said. “It’s a huge tax increase.”

He added that there has been “a lot of irresponsible spending,” highlighting the city’s $6 million purchase of the SharpShooters USA facility on Alpharetta Highway for its 911 Center and Emergency Operations Center and the $3 million build-out.

See UPGRADE, Page 21

B. Benson, MD Johns Creek: Tues., Thurs. Milton: Mon., Fri.

Johns Creek Only

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Roswell Deputy City Administrator Jeff Leatherman presents the city’s Historic Parks Improvement Plan at the Sept. 23 City Council meeting, highlighting work to Mimosa Hall & Gardens.

Roswell celebrates completion of Greenway boardwalk repairs

ROSWELL, Ga. — The City of Roswell celebrated completion of improvements to the Big Creek Greenway in Big Creek Park Sept. 16.

The $1.4 million project, funded by the city’s bond program, involved replacing and reinforcing the original, damaged sections of the boardwalk.

The area is part of a 26-mile network of paths that meander along Big Creek, extending from Roswell, north to Alpharetta, and eventually extending into Forsyth County.

The Roswell segment of the Greenway, which covers approximately 2.3 miles, was opened in 2005.

During the ensuing years, the Big Creek floodplain has increased, and frequent flooding have resulted in the deterioration of the elevated boardwalk section of the Greenway, leading to trail closures and safety concerns. The section covers .37 miles.

Renovations, which began in January 2024, were completed in two phases.

The first phase, the multi-use portion of the boardwalk, was opened to the public in late March. The second phase, the pedestrian-only section of the boardwalk, was completed in September.

Old, wooden deck boards were removed and replaced with high-performance composite decking. Crews also installed special materials to reinforce the new boardwalk, enhancing durability for years to come.

CITY OF ROSWELL/PROVIDED

The Roswell City Council and staff celebrate the completion of renovations on the Big Creek Greenway Boardwalk Sept. 16.

Congrats to The Jim Kennedy Scholarship Fund 2024 Recipients!

ALPHARETTA STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Charles Ruelle Kennesaw State University

Charles Ruelle and his mother Melanie Pulliam (Cox Enterprises)

City adds motorcycle parking for vets in downtown Roswell after pushback

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell city officials and state Sen. John Albers unveiled several veteran-only motorcycle parking spots off Canton Street Sept. 18.

The parking spots were reinstated after complaints had been made about their removal.

Several veterans were in attendance, including Roswell native and Georgia Military Hall of Fame honoree Roger Wise, according to a press release sent by Albers.

Neither the press release nor the city’s minute-long Facebook video showing the unveiling of the veteranonly motorcycle parking provided context to the effort.

“I rode for many years and have many fellow veterans who ride and some who are disabled from their service,” Wise said in the press release. “This recognition and support is so appreciated by the veteran community. Thank you, Mayor [Kurt] Wilson and Sen. Albers for your continued support.”

Wise told Appen Media he was the first to be recognized in the “Esteemed Veteran of Roswell” program, which was introduced by Wilson after he was elected in 2022.

Wilson served in the U.S. Army and earned the “Soldier of the Year” accolade. He described the intent of the project, located across from 1920 Tavern.

“Reserving special motorcycle parking for those who have served is just a small gesture, but it’s one way we can show our deep gratitude for all they’ve done to protect our freedom and our country,” Wilson said in the press release.

The city’s action follows a recent complaint from a local veteran, who described how at least a dozen motorcycle spots along Canton Street had disappeared, according to an Aug. 20 Facebook post by Roswell Truth, an

JOHN ALBERS/PROVIDED Roswell City Councilwoman Lee Hills, community leader Roger Wise, Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson and state Sen. John Albers stand together Sept. 18 during an unveiling of veteran-only motorcycle parking spots along Canton Street.

anonymous group of civically engaged residents.

The veteran had contacted Roswell Truth and said the motorcycle parking along Canton Street had been replaced with golf cart-only parking spaces, according to the post which also cited a March 2023 email from Albers.

In the email, Albers complained about the acceleration, exhaust and noise of the motorcycles, with an ask that they be repurposed. It was addressed to Wilson and his aide, Jamie Guzzetti.

An open records request for Albers’ email has not been filled as of press time, though Roswell Truth provided Appen Media a screenshot of the note. The group cited the email again in a second post Sept. 23.

Wise confirmed with Appen Media that parking had been taken away.

“Roswell has been becoming a golf cart-friendly city, and I do know that they have taken away some parking areas from the motorcycles, for golf carts,” Wise said. “So, this was the mayor’s way, the city’s way, the senator’s way of saying, ‘Veterans, we appreciate your service.’”

Milton residents turn out in droves to discuss Deerfield development

By BEECHER TUTTLE newsroom@appenmedia.com

MILTON, Ga. — More than 100 Milton residents, business owners and developers flocked to an open house at Stonecreek Church Sept. 16 to offer their thoughts on reinventing the city’s chief commercial district.

While residents generally expressed optimism over the decades-long development of Milton’s Deerfield district, several cautioned city officials against becoming too overzealous with their plans to reshape the area in fear of losing Milton’s character.

The Deerfield district, which broadly runs from Ga. 9 east along Windward Parkway, consists mainly of shopping centers and office buildings, many of them currently ailing or vacant. The plan, aided by the eventual widening and redesign of the 3 miles of Ga. 9 that run through Milton, is to rebuild Deerfield into a connected, pedestrianfriendly district that will feature new mixed-use spaces aimed at attracting higher-end businesses.

City officials also hope to beautify the area with greenways, local parks and more aesthetically pleasing architecture.

“What I hope to see is connectivity,” said Milton resident Ken Warlick.

“Milton is a rural, sprawling city, but the majority of our neighbors and friends and family currently gravitate toward places like Roswell and Alpharetta that have created more of a work-play atmosphere.”

Milton officials used the open house to get feedback from residents on what types of development they’d like to see and what they hope to avoid.

The city, along with consultants from Cooper Carry, created vision boards with concepts for outdoor spaces, retail, amenities, public spaces and architecture. Residents chatted with experts at each booth and planted stickers on inspirational photos to convey which types of designs they preferred.

Some of the more popular suggestions included connected trails, high-end retail centers, outdoor dining and green space that could play host to live music, all while keeping the rural character of Milton intact. Avoiding perceived mistakes from the past will be critical, several residents noted.

“Milton is already a great place to live…but as [past] developments have gone on with no real plan for things, you see pockets of the character diminishing,” said resident Tom DuFore. “It’s a lot easier to fall than it is to go up.

AAPPEN PRESSCLU

So how can we maintain what we have while also infusing [Milton’s] character into these new changes?”

Fellow Milton resident Sangay Tiwari said he worries that the development plans could lead to overcrowding or pushing local businesses out of the area prior to the redesign’s completion.

Warlick acknowledged that not every resident will love the changes, at least in the short-term.

“Unfortunately we’re going to have some sort of density that comes with the development, because if you look at the commercial market, it’s got to have retail,” he said. “And that may not necessarily be what people want right now.”

Being able to toe that fine line is the main purpose of the community meetings, according to consulting firm Cooper Carry, which is using the feedback to create a design manual for developers and landowners. The firm is also working to understand the public, private and non-profit investments needed to achieve the new vision for

Deerfield.

Still, Milton officials can only do so much until the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) recommences plans to widen and redesign Ga. 9, a critical component in making Deerfield more pedestrian-friendly. GDOT notified Milton in June that its construction schedule would be postponed indefinitely after it discovered that a now-former employee falsified documents that led the department to believe parcels for the project had already been acquired when they had not.

Construction had already begun on nearly 25 percent of the lots GDOT assumed they owned. The department said it would now take roughly three years to clean up the work they’ve already done and obtain the easements necessary to officially acquire the land and move forward with the project.

Beyond widening the road to four lanes, Milton has asked GDOT for traffic signal alterations, a speed limit reduction and larger green medians with high-end landscaping. City officials said last month that GDOT has shown to be “open to suggestions.”

Milton officials said they would continue to engage with the community as the design manual is crafted.

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Alpharetta wine shop pushes natural vinting

By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Adam Danielson, owner of Fermented, thinks the wine industry may have lost its way, but he wants to help customers get back to its roots.

At Fermented, Danielson has stocked his shelves with wines sourced from vineyards that embrace the natural growing process, rather than fighting against it.

“They follow the cycles of the moon for their pruning, for their planting,” Danielson said. “It's a holistic vineyard approach, where they don't bring in anything from the outside world.”

Danielson created Fermented with the idea that Alpharetta and north Metro Atlanta residents care how their wines are made. His philosophy is about purchasing a sustainably made product that simply tastes better.

Fermented prides itself in offering customers an opportunity to purchase superior wine without having to make a lengthy drive into central Atlanta.

“We’ve realized how incredible the community is,” he said.

On top of selling holistically made wines, the shop offers tastings and classes to teach their unique stories.

Danielson, 45, began his love affair with wine waiting tables as an 18-yearold and then managing a restaurant when he was 20. Eventually, he began working as a cellar manager and living in Santa Barbara, California, a region known as the “American Riviera.”

There, he realized all of his favorite wines had something in common. They were made naturally.

“What I began to discover was the wines that I was drawn to were less alcohol, less oak, and less manipulations,” he said.

After meeting with vintners, he learned some dirty little secrets about the trade, he said. Mass production vineyards were growing with an eye on profit margins and little regard for flavor. They were mixing in additives, artificially inflating flavor profiles and somehow getting overrated scores from critics, he said.

“A lot of these just tasted like

spiked grape juice,” he said. “It was so much fruit, so much alcohol. It wasn't what I initially learned wine was in my early career.”

All wines at Fermented are either biodynamic or organic. Farms that are biodynamic grow grapes in an environment that replicates the natural environment as closely as possible. They are sustainable and “heal the land” as they farm.

Grapes, like people, do best when they experience adversity, Danielson said.

“There's a lot of similarities that I've found between people and wine,” he said.

Vines planted in poor soil and struggle for water produce more complex flavors. The plants, which are capable of incredible things, can dig as deep as 80 feet in search of moisture.

When wine is made naturally, it also produces less of a hangover, said Danielson, who bragged he hasn’t had one in years.

Fermented also includes a room Danielson dubs the “Flight Club.” There, he and his staff teach patrons about the winemaking process and individual stories each bottle has to tell.

“You’re going to learn a lot,” Danielson said.

Every wine has a story to tell, he said.

The Avino Cava reserve brew was made by a family who has been making wine since 1597. The champagnelike drink is fermented from grapes indigenous to northern Italy. It combines delicate bubbles and a beautiful froth with notes of bright citrus and apple.

Danielson said he is especially proud to sell Foradori wines, which are made by a groundbreaking woman. After taking over her family’s estate, she converted their operation into a biodynamic farming model and became a leader in the industry.

“Her wines are uber limited, uber delicious,” he said.

Danielson said he is blessed to be based in Alpharetta for several

PHOTOS BY: JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA

Adam Danielson, owner of Fermented, explains the grape-growing process while holding a naturally made wine at his shop Sept. 19.

JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA

Fermented hosts tastings and classes in its “Flight Club” room. Customers can take part in a variety of events there to learn about the wine making process and their unique stories.

Wine:

Continued from Page 8

More Information: To learn more about Feremented’s philopshy, visit fermentedatl.com or call 470-361-2091. The shop is located in downtown Alpharetta at 50 Canton St., #106. reasons.

“They love to support good people and good products,” he said.

Fermented’s customers said they keep coming back to partake in Danielson’s selection and knowledge.

Matt Keeter, of Woodstock, stopped by to find a California red his wife could enjoy without getting a headache.

“His memory is unbelievable,”

Keeter said. “I guarantee he will remember what I like personally.”

Jay and Courtney Waggoner, of Roswell, said they also appreciate Danielson’s knowledge. But they keep coming back because the natural wines don’t give them much of a hangover.

“It’s good, clean wine,” Jay Waggoner said.

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Johns Creek proffers stricter contract on struggling Chamber of Commerce

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Under a proposed binding contract, the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce would have to work harder to maintain its partnership with the city — the equivalent of a $20,000 check each year.

The nonprofit, acting as a hub for small businesses, needs the money now more than ever because of revenue declines since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Johns Creek Economic Development Director Kim Allonce introduced the new contract at the Sept. 9 City Council work session. It includes more stringent conditions than what had been in place the past three years.

The new contract would require the nonprofit to explain how it met about a dozen performance standards each quarter, standards that were characterized as a “high level.”

One new standard would require its Small Business Resource Center to provide technical assistance, host training and workshops, and disseminate information to a minimum of 10 businesses each quarter.

Another requires data collection on the center, such as the number of business walk-ins, businesses assisted and business programs offered.

While the previous agreement, which expired in June, required quarterly reports and annual performance metric goals, they were more loosely defined.

Noting the organization’s loss of revenue and membership, City Councilman Bob Erramilli raised concerns about the Chamber’s three-member staff having the bandwidth to generate the necessary reports on top of meeting the standards themselves.

Even so, the matter advanced for a vote

Johns Creek Economic Development Director Kim Allonce introduces a new “binding” contract with the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce at the Sept. 9 City Council work session. If approved, it would require the nonprofit to meet about a dozen performance standards, or face termination and lose out on its $20,000 annual check from the city.

to a future City Council meeting.

Mayor John Bradberry said chambers across the nations are facing pressure.

“We want to hopefully help make this a better environment for our business community, for the Chamber, for all concerned,” Bradberry said.

City Manager Kimberly Greer told Appen Media the documentation required in the contract is “not intended to be onerous.” She said as Allonce learned more about the Chamber and how it works with the city to support Johns Creek businesses, they agreed the contract would be an opportunity to “set the next chapter of the relationship.”

“We believe it is important to measure the efforts so we can all be clear about the progress that is being made,” Greer said.

Unique relationship

The contract underscores an exception

among city and chamber relationships in north Metro Atlanta, which offer financial support without the same level of accountability.

The City of Alpharetta, for example, maintains memberships with the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce and the Alpharetta Business Association.

Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard said Alpharetta opts for direct financial support, like a $10,000 check to the Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce for its Alpharetta Business Summit.

What the city receives in return is negotiated, Drinkard said, but the benefits typically include a certain number of seats, a vendor table and advertising.

The sister North Fulton city also partners with the Alpharetta Business Association for its Downtown Farmers Market, providing trash collection and traffic control.

Drinkard said terms for sponsorships and partnerships are decided on an annual basis.

While the Johns Creek Chamber website lists the city as a platinum member

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in its Chairman’s Circle, the new contract doesn’t stipulate the city’s membership. An earlier draft of the new contract did, though, according to open records obtained by Appen Media.

The agreement in place the last three years outlined the city’s membership as well, with $10,000 serving as annual membership fees and the other $10,000 going toward the Small Business Resource Center.

The City of Johns Creek’s membership status might look good for the Chamber, but President and CEO Robin Buckley said it benefits both.

“It’s hard for people to support their business community if the city is not technically a member per the new agreement as presented at the work session,” she said.

Tickets without membership

Yet, the nonprofit will be required to provide Johns Creek with at least two complimentary tickets each quarter, and they aren’t cheap. Buckley said out-of-pocket costs for event tickets, like for its annual Golf Classic, can be up to $150.

Not long after the City Council’s discussion of the proposed contract, council members took issue with a separate, but related, item under review — the city’s expenditure policy.

One concern that had been raised was the city manager’s ability to reimburse professional memberships. Bradberry, with a puzzled look, was the first to address the expense, asking Greer whether the city is paying for any of the council members to join the Chamber.

The city is not, she said, however it has paid for entry into Rotary Clubs.

City Councilman Chris Coughlin also wanted to amend the loophole that would allow council members reimbursements for non-travel meals with constituents. The policy had no monetary cap and stipulated that meals could be reimbursed so long as it was on city business.

“You get paid $15k, pay for your own damn lunch,” he said, advocating that all expenses be taken off the table, with an exception for office supplies.

“I kind of view this philosophically, that you are in a volunteer role to a degree, and we should not necessarily be collecting fringe benefits,” Coughlin added.

While the contract doesn’t ensure the city’s membership to the Chamber, the Greater North Fulton Chamber continues to receive membership fees from all six North Fulton cities, including Johns Creek.

But, President and CEO Kali Boatwright said it doesn’t receive “funding” through a contract.

Some of the cities, like Milton, sponsor programs or events if they are in line with their marketing strategy, she said.

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Contract:

Milton Economic Development Manager

Anita Jupin said that strategy includes collaborative publications, events, and other regional efforts. Milton is also the only city with a Business Council housed under the Great North Fulton Chamber. Milton has no traditional chamber of commerce.

Like Alpharetta and Milton, the City of Dunwoody also doesn’t have any contracts in place with its area chamber. Instead, Communications Director Jennifer Boettcher said it pays $2,500 a year to be a member of the Perimeter Chamber’s Chairman’s Circle.

Skeleton crew

Buckley echoed the concerns Erramilli raised at the Sept. 9 work session.

“With the specific items that they’re asking for, that’s going to take a lot of documentation,” Buckley said. “Being very specific of what activities we will hold during a year is another issue.” She called attention to the impact of an unforeseen pandemic.

“The documentation and all of that is very concerning, not that we’re not doing it — not that,” Buckley said. “It’s the time it will take. We only have three staff. We had to let one person go because we couldn’t afford them.”

The Johns Creek Chamber’s marketing person, who served a necessary role, was let go in late June.

Buckley, who has been with the Chamber for 12 years, said a four-member staff is a comfortable place, and at its height, the Chamber had five employees.

She added that it has lost about 100 memberships since the pandemic hit. Now, it has close to 350.

The Chamber’s signature events also aren’t raking in as much money as before because there are more individual donations than there are company sponsorships. For example, the Golf Classic in April brought in $5,900. At its peak, Buckley said the fundraiser netted about $22,000.

“It’s really hard right now to get sponsorships, and that’s industry wide,” Buckley said. “People just aren’t putting out that extra money.”

She mentioned Emory Johns Creek recently reevaluated their policy, shifting gears to focus within the healthcare field.

Government funding can make or break an organization like the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce. If the city pulled the plug on funding, Buckley said it would be “pretty painful.”

But, a new threat of termination looms.

The former agreement didn’t include a termination clause. Neither did a previous iteration of the new contract, according to open records obtained by Appen Media. The contract presented at the Sept. 9 work session does.

While the original draft includes a section on cutting ties, the newest iteration

includes more heavy-handed language allowing the city to terminate the agreement “immediately” upon the city determining that the nonprofit is not actively working toward achieving the standards.

A previous draft only stated “any party” could terminate the contract if its terms weren’t upheld.

Creating leverage

The Johns Creek contract calls into question how much power a city can have over an independent nonprofit, like a chamber of commerce.

But, Forsyth County Chamber President and CEO James McCoy said in his 20 years with the organization, the Board of Commissioners has never leveraged its funding.

Because Forsyth County doesn’t have an economic development department, the Forsyth Chamber of Commerce fills that role.

Forsyth County Communications Director Russell Brown said an internal economic development team existed before a restructuring earlier this year, when former Economic Development Director Vivian Vakili resigned.

In their fiscal year 2025 budget, commissioners allocated $480,000 to the Forsyth Chamber of Commerce, which has 11 members with two open sales seats.

“The Chamber has been the entity in the community that has been the champion of getting SPLOST passed and reviewed because of all the economic benefits, as well as just quality of life benefits,” McCoy said.

He said the County Commission has never pulled funding because of that advocacy, despite any lack of enthusiasm from commissioners about special purpose local option sales tax, or more broadly, growth.

Most recently, McCoy argued against higher impact fees for commercial development to fund transportation improvements that the county has proposed. McCoy said the Chamber prefers a lower fee schedule.

Impact fees are assessed on new construction to compensate local governments for the wear and tear on its services, like more traffic and larger public safety coverage.

“Those impact fees would have a very serious negative impact on our ability to get more commercial growth,” McCoy said.

He told Appen Media that county commissioners thanked him for speaking up and for sharing data. McCoy emphasized that a lot of the Chamber’s work is sharing facts and data with commissioners.

He said there’s a positive benefit to a formalized relationship between a chamber, specifically outcome-driven ones like his, and a public entity.

“By some, the perception was that [metrics were] sort of like a strong arm,” he said. “But, what we found was, as we shared it, it helps tell the story of some really incredible things that were going on that, to be candid, weren’t being paid much attention to previously.”

Former Cold War spy shares autobiography

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Author Martha “Marti” Peterson said she had to push for a “real” assignment in the CIA, one on par with her male counterparts.

Speaking to a crowd of more than two dozen at Johns Creek Books Sept. 17, Peterson recalled it was the early ’70s, and she had just lost her husband John while they were on a tour in Laos. She wanted to do what he intended to do before his death — assess and recruit foreign spies who would give the U.S. government secrets from their country.

“I was a piss poor secretary,” Peterson said.

The 79-year-old Wilmington, North Carolina, resident was at the store promoting her autobiography “Widow Spy,” published in 2012. Peterson assured visitors that she ran the book script by the CIA, but that the story had already been out “in a vague way.”

The CIA’s training had been intense. Peterson said it was nine months of learning all the necessary skills, including “sneaky photography” and how to detect whether you were being followed.

After pushing back on a couple of offers, Peterson was given a job in Moscow,

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Martha “Marti” Peterson begins detailing her autobiography “Widow Spy” to more than two dozen visitors at Johns Creek Books Sept. 17.

becoming one of the first women operations officers assigned there. She went through 44 weeks of Russian.

In November 1975, she landed, and reality hit her, when she noticed the plowed snow by the runway.

“I went from Fort Lauderdale to Moscow, and I tied my belt around my camel hair with a pile lining coat, and thought, ‘Oh, Martha, this is the beginning. What have you done?’” Peterson recalled. “In a moment there, I realized this was a big thing to take on.”

In Moscow, she became the handler to Trigon, a Soviet recruit out of Bogotá,

that it’s like sending someone to war without bullets.”

She was responsible for keeping in contact with Trigon via dead drops. She showed the small crowd the sorts of packages she would leave for him — a limb, a slab of concrete. These would be hollowed out.

During one of the timed exchanges, Peterson was caught by the KGB and taken to Lubyanka, “Stalin’s very favorite prison in the center of Moscow.”

“People say, ‘Were you afraid?’ No, I was angry,” she said. “Something had happened to Trigon, and I knew it.”

Colombia, whose real name is Aleksandr Ogorodnik. Peterson said he had been aggressive at bringing documents out of the Soviet embassy for the CIA, adding that he would take pictures of them, tuck them in his pants and place them back where they were found.

Trigon’s aptitude for the work landed him in Moscow, what Peterson said was referred to as the “Lion’s Den.” His condition, that he be given the means to commit suicide, had been met.

“I was a young officer. I was 30 years old. I didn’t have a lot of experience, and this horrified me,” Peterson said. “I also realized

Trigon had already been compromised, using his poison pen to kill himself while being forced to write a confession, though Peterson didn’t find that out until years later.

Russian officers grabbed her by the arms and restrained her.

“I don’t know how you would react, but I got angry, and I started kicking people,” Peterson said. “One guy showed me the bruise on his shin, and there is word — it’s a legend that I kicked a man, and he was hospitalized and had no sex for a few days.”

Because of diplomatic immunity, Peterson was released.

She retired from the CIA in 2003. When a visitor asked about the rest of her career, she said, “No, that remains.”

India Festival draws crowds to celebrate culture

ROSWELL, Ga. — Crowds gathered at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church in Roswell Sept. 21 for the sixth annual Atlanta India Festival.

The festival celebrates Indian culture and local Atlanta communities, according to event spokesman Cherian Chacko.

Organizers called this year’s festival a rousing success, with vendors, traditional and fusion Indian cuisine, music and merchandise.

Last year’s festival drew almost 1,500 visitors.

— Photos by Dean Hesse

annual

Shalini Gupta from Gayatri Collections boutique in Cumming shows some women’s wear available at their booth during the annual Atlanta India Festival.

BEHIND THE PHOTOS: Dean Hesse is an award-winning photojournalist. Following Appen Media’s acquisition of Decaturish, Hesse is now part of the Crier’s newsroom. See more of his photos from the Atlanta India Festival at appenmedia.com. Support the work of protecting and strengthening local news in Sandy Springs by becoming a member of the Appen Press Club at appenmedia.com/join.

Kasi from Kakatiya Indian Kitchen in Alpharetta makes Indian crepes during the

Atlanta India Festival presented by St. Mary’s Orthodox Church in Roswell on Sept. 21.

Jaya Balan with her mural and Tanjore paintings during the annual Atlanta India Festival presented by St. Mary’s Orthodox Church in Roswell on Sept. 21.

Angela Sanju Alex performs during the annual Atlanta India Festival presented by St. Mary’s Orthodox Church in Roswell on Saturday, Sept. 21

Mehfil dancers perform during the annual Atlanta India Festival presented by St. Mary’s Orthodox Church in Roswell on Sept. 21.

Cumming Arts Festival showcases city’s heart

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

CUMMING, Ga. — The Cumming Arts Festival brought thousands to enjoy the “Main Street Americana” feel at City Center Sept. 21-22 for the last weekend of 90-degree temperatures in north Georgia.

Organizers did not bother counting the crowd, estimating anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people made their way through the city center.

The third annual Arts Festival in the new heart of the county seat attracted sunnier skies than last year. Hundreds of dogs, strollers and couples meandered through Cumming City Center, popping inside local businesses, checking out artisan tents or spending some time in the natural greenspace abutting the development.

Despite Georgia’s mild August and September weather, the last day of summer and first day of fall kept patrons’ hands busy carrying water cups.

Patrons spent the two-day arts festival perusing more than 90 displays from creative arts, local craftsman, talented musicians and forming community connections.

One vendor, The Hat Bar of Georgia, had a steady stream of patrons asking about its leather patches and easy-tomake caps.

Leatherworker Phil Heath said his company started out as a pandemic-era passion project.

After making hats for friends and coworkers, Heath and his wife Brandy decided to take their labor of love on the road, traveling from their home in Canton across Metro Atlanta to local festivals.

“We do customized leather patch hats on-site,” Heath said. “After folks pick out a patch and hat, we can make it in about two minutes.”

Some crowd-favorite patches include “Have No Fear, Grandpa is Here,” professional sports team logos, pop culture references and some barbeque puns.

Each week, the couple adds more patches, which sell for around $10, and hats, which go for $30.

Other artists at Cumming’s third annual arts festival included local blues guitarists, jazz players, several painters using different mediums and a host of local artisans selling everything from fish bowls to hand-crafted plates and jewelry.

Splash Festivals produces eight art showcases across Metro Atlanta, including the Cumming Arts Festival and ones in Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Johns Creek.

Two Forsyth County residents check out some colored pencil drawings at a booth along Vision Drive Sept. 21 at Cumming City Center. The two-day Cumming Arts Festival brought thousands to peruse the offerings of local musicians, painters, leatherworkers and artistic entrepreneurs.

The Splash Festivals team of Cindy Flynn and Frances Schube have been putting on the showcases for the past 15 years.

Schube said she started out organizing an arts festival in Norcross by herself. After teaming up with Flynn, she said the festival business exploded.

Schube, a Dunwoody resident, said the first year of the Cumming Arts Festival in fall 2022 was a lot different before completion of the City Center.

Vision Drive, which weaves through the mid-rise buildings full of coffee shops, clothing stores and event venues, had not been paved in advance of the inaugural arts festival.

What’s more, the colorful and vibrant storefront along the main street were still being built out, Schube said.

Today, the roadway gives Cumming City Center its “Main Street Americana” feel and there’s more growth on the way at the city’s largest project in its history.

Cumming City Center, just east of Forsyth Central High School off Canton Road (Ga. 20), includes an amphitheater in the middle of a sprawling greenspace with streams, walking trails and recreational activities.

City officials and developers have billed the mixed-use development as combining modern amenities with a uniquely small-town feel.

The mid-rise storefronts abutting Vision Drive, the City Center’s main street, bolster local businesses

Patrons at the Cumming Arts Festival stop at The Hat Bar’s booth Sept. 21 and ask how long it will take the Canton-based business to manufacture their customized leather patch caps. The owners behind the pandemic-era passion project attend functions like the Cumming Arts Festival across Metro Atlanta.

and the city’s tax base while giving residents the option of a shorter drive for weekend entertainment, goods or services.

Shady spots along Vision Drive were popular for a respite from the heat.

At the end of last year, Mayor Troy Brumbalow announced that the project had truly blossomed in 2023 with the completion of storefronts and tenants moving in.

So far this year, occupants at City Center have opened more doors to the public, bringing pubs, restaurants,

barber shops, chiropractors and even a direct mortgage company to the new heart of the city.

And, there are even more plans for a new Cumming Police Headquarters and Municipal Court on-site.

“We hope to break ground on the facility sometime during the first quarter of 2024 and complete construction by the end of 2024,” Brumbalow wrote. “This new modern, two-story building is much needed as the current building is almost 50 years old.”

PHOTOS BY: HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

COMMUNITY

Crabapple Crossing elementary students offer up ‘Acts of Kindness’

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

MILTON, Ga. — More than 100 students from all grades at Crabapple Crossing Elementary lined up in the cafeteria Sept. 18 to pack bags full of donations.

The bags were to be delivered to two local nonprofits — Fostering Together, a local foster care ministry, and the STAR House Foundation, a Roswell-based organization that provides afterschool tutoring and mentoring to at-risk youth.

The PTO-led initiative is part of “Raise Craze,” an online fundraising platform that enables participants to complete “Acts of Kindness,” rather than by selling items.

During the fundraiser, customers of the nearby Starbucks are due to receive acts of kindness as well. The shop donated 700 coffee sleeves for students to decorate with kindness messages and artwork.

Christina Lea, PTO vice president of operations and lead of the Acts of Kindness Committee, said she felt honored to be a part of a PTO team full of talented and kind individuals. She also shared remarks about the school’s staff and students.

“Crabapple Crossing is very lucky to have such amazing staff and such fantastic students,” she said, with her own family nearby participating.

Since the fundraiser started four years ago, Lea said students have been rewarded by the silly antics of the school’s principal Tresa Cheatham and assistant principal Emory Johnson.

“Mr. Johnson kissed a pig one year, and Dr. Cheatham has eaten worms on camera,” Lea said, laughing. “...It’s really an amazing fundraiser.”

That day, students and their parents stuffed “fall fun bags” for 130 local foster families in Fostering Together’s program in addition to meal bags for 216 students with STAR House.

One table also held donations that would stock STAR House pantries across its three Title I school locations, at Esther Jackson, Mimosa and Vickery Hill elementary schools.

Stephanie Christiansen Butler, executive director of the STAR House, said the nonprofit is celebrating its 31st year. It was

Students and parents pack

Christina Lea, vice president of operations for Crabapple Crossing Elementary’s PTO and lead of the group’s Acts of Kindness Committee, introduces STAR House Foundation Executive Director Stephanie Christiansen Butler and Operations and Finance Manager Stephanie Mitra.

founded by Junior League chapters and the Roswell Police Department after realizing the number of unattended kids at a local apartment complex, whose parents were working two to three jobs.

“They sat down to figure out how they could tackle the issue of keeping these kids safe and out of trouble,” Butler said. “They rented an apartment in the complex, and

Tresa Cheatham, principal of Crabapple Crossing Elementary, helps a student Sept. 18 stuff a “fall fun bag” for one of 130 families supported by Fostering Together, a local foster care ministry.

they put stars in the window, and it was just going to be a safe place.”

From there, she said it expanded to include academic support.

Butler commented on the impact of that day’s event, how it brings awareness to kids living only five miles away but who are in great need. She said kids who live in a silo don’t see the need like they would if they were in a different

school.

Operations and Finance Manager

Stephanie Mitra said the awareness goes two ways.

“We want these kids to see our kids, but we want our kids to feel seen, because a lot of times they don’t,” Mitra said. “Because we’ve heard people say, ‘Well, you know, we don’t have low-income people in Roswell.’”

PHOTOS BY: AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

“fall fun bags” Sept. 18 in Crabapple Crossing Elementary’s cafeteria, intended for 130 local foster families served by Fostering Together, a local foster care ministry.

Groups call on officials to help save Spalding Drive Elementary

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Spurred by a Sept. 10 Fulton County Schools announcement, a Sandy Springs citizens group is mounting a campaign to save Spalding Drive Elementary School.

More than 100 parents and supporters of the elementary school attended a community meeting hosted by Fulton County School Board member Michelle Morancie Sept. 18 at Woodland Elementary in Sandy Springs.

Fulton County Schools Chief Operating Officer Noel Maloof told the citizen-led Save Spalding Drive Elementary School Committee that no decision has been made about the closure.

“We have made a primary recommendation to the board,” Maloof said. “That goes through a process that

is driven by your input as a community, then we make a final recommendation.”

Students’ parents and alumni also turned out Sept. 17 to lobby the Sandy Springs City Council for help in fighting a school district staff proposal to shutter the building, which opened in 1966.

Fulton County Schools staff has recommended its closure due to an aging building and declining enrollment. Since the proposal was announced to the Board of Education earlier this month, the Save Spalding Drive Elementary School Committee has hired a professional public relations firm, created a website and reached out to local officials.

Speaking at the Sept. 17 City Council meeting, resident Paul Evangelista stressed how important high performing schools are to communities.

“I have had three kids go through it,

See SAVE, Page 17

NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

Members of the Save Spalding Drive Elementary Committee don orange and blue at the Sept. 17 Sandy Springs City Council meeting to garner city support for their campaign to keep the school open.

The Mayor and Council of the City of Roswell have tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 5.06 percent.

All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held at the City of Roswell Council Chambers, City Hall, 38 Hill Street, Roswell, Georgia, 30075, on the following dates and times: September 23, 2024 – 7:00 p.m.

October 7, 2024 – 6:30 p.m.

October 15, 2024 – 7:00 p.m.

This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 4.949 mills, an increase of 0.195 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 4.754 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $575,000 is approximately $44.85 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $500,000 is approximately $39.

Randy D Knighton

Kurt M. Wilson City Administrator Mayor

CITY OF ROSWELL

NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE EXPLANATION

The City of Roswell is tentatively proposing a property tax rate—also known as a millage rate—for Tax Year 2024 of 4.949 mills, which is the same as the prior year’s millage rate of 4.949. If the proposed millage rate is formally approved by Mayor and Council, Roswell’s property tax rate will continue to be the lowest maintenance and operations millage rate in 16 years.

Roswell’s proposed 2024 millage rate of 4.949 mills represents no change in either component of the millage rate.

With the City of Roswell’s 4.949 millage rate, a Roswell homeowner whose property has a fair market value of $575,000 (assessed value of $230,000), will pay about $1,138.27 in property tax to the City. Those with exemptions would pay even less. Approximately $207 of that goes towards debt service for the Voter Approved Bond Program.

For more information about Roswell’s millage rate, visit www.RoswellGov.com.

Save:

Continued from Page 16

so I’m a step away from being actively involved and engaged and as emotionally invested as others that are here,” Evangelista told the council. “Goods schools are really critical to a thriving community and city.”

He also noted that, coincidentally, four members of Boy Scout Troop 463 attending the council meeting in pursuit of a merit badge are Spalding Drive alumni.

Nicole Motahari, a Spalding Drive graduate who now teaches at North Springs High School, said her experiences at the elementary school created a lifelong passion for education.

Another four parents of current Spalding Drive students advocated for the city to do everything in its power to stop the school from closing.

Steven Guy, who wrote the Fulton County Board of Education on behalf of the Save Spalding Drive Elementary School Committee, said he wants to know how parents and advocates can best work with the city to accomplish their goals.

Mayor Rusty Paul said it’s important the committee get all the facts it can in support of keeping the elementary school open.

“This is a very passionate community [and] we’re all concerned,” Paul said. “One policy decision not to improve the building leads to another policy result that they now use to justify closing the school.”

Earlier that same day, the mayor alluded to the school closure in his State of the City address saying Sandy Springs residents should not be punished for the school district’s lack of investment in the Spalding Drive school building.

Paul said he feels the city is being picked on after the news broke about the potential closure just weeks after Fulton County Schools broke ground on the new North Springs High School.

“When you lose those kinds of assets in your community, it’s devastating to the kids, parents and our community at large,” Paul said. “We need to organize, just like North Springs did, we need to step up and fight to maintain that school.”

State Rep. Deborah Silcox penned a letter to the School Board Sept. 15, citing her experiences reading to children at Spalding Drive during Georgia Pre-K Week.

“I have heard from a number of my constituents that they moved to this neighborhood specifically to attend this school,” she wrote. “As I am sure you are aware, it is very disruptive to children and parents to switch schools.”

Silcox cited the school’s pre-K lottery applications with 34 Fulton County elementary schoolers and more than 100

SCHOOLS

families on the out-of-district waitlist.

This year, Spalding Drive Elementary School has 349 students and is predicted to have seven fewer next year. The district says the school building needs extensive repairs based on a condition assessment.

Because its enrollment is projected to continually decline past the 450-student threshold the school district identifies as “operationally inefficient,” it is considering consolidating Sandy Springs elementary students.

“I know and respect that these decisions are hard to make in your position,” Wilcox wrote in her email. “I certainly hope that you will give all the families and alums of Spalding Drive Elementary thoughtful attention to preserve the culture and success of a wonderful neighborhood school.”

The school district says neighboring elementary schools, like Ison Springs, Woodland and Lake Forest, have capacity to accommodate Spalding Drive’s students, according to the staff

presentation.

Between now and any official board vote, Fulton County Schools will host three community meetings in October, November and December.

Fulton County Schools’ enrollment has dropped roughly 10 percent over the past seven years.

The district estimates enrollment of 87,272 this year, down 600 students from 2023-24.

The Sandy Springs region, including all feeders to Riverwood and North Springs high schools, forecasts 207 fewer students this year. That’s on top of a decline of roughly 2.2 percent —mostly among elementary school students — last year.

There are older elementary schools in North Fulton County, like Alpharetta, Roswell North and High Point. Several have lower facility assessment scores than the Spalding Drive building.

For updates on this developing story, visit www.appenmedia.com/.

NOTICE

The City of Roswell Mayor and Council does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at meetings to be held at

Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill Street, Roswell, Georgia 30075 on September 23, 2024 at 7:00 PM, October 7, 2024 at 6:30 PM, and October 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-32 does hereby publish the following presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years.

CURRENT 2024 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY

*Preliminary Digest & Tentatively Proposed Millage Rate for Tax Year 2024

Randy D. Knighton

Wilson City Administrator Mayor

Kurt M.

Miss being outside? Atlanta allergies persist and fall brings Ragweed

Brought to you by – Comprehensive Internal Medicine

What are allergies?

Allergies are your body’s reaction to a foreign particle, usually a protein. These proteins can come from pet dander, molds, pollens, or from trees and grasses. If you develop an allergy to a particular protein, your body’s defense system (immune system) reacts to it and the allergic reaction creates allergy symptoms.

What is an allergic reaction?

An allergic reaction is the way your body responds to an allergen, usually a protein. You may feel itchy, watery eyes, a runny nose, sinus or ear fullness, a hoarse voice, a scratchy throat, or trouble breathing. You may even develop a skin rash.

These symptoms can be treated with over the counter or prescription allergy medication or immunotherapy (allergy shots) can be tailored specifically for you.

What is

allergy testing?

To perform allergy testing, small pinpricks or scratches are made in the skin and a very small amount of allergen is placed to test your body’s response. If you react to the allergen, we have identified a trigger that is causing your allergy symptoms.

What is immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is a treatment used to desensitize your body to the allergy trigger.

In this treatment, the results of your allergy testing are used to create a very personalized formula of medicine that is used to slowly treat your immune system in a way that stops reacting to your allergy trigger. Immunotherapy medicine is given by injection (allergy shots) and is administered twice weekly. The first injection is given in the doctor’s office.

Comprehensive Internal Medicine uses an advanced formulation and instruction that allows you to then give the injections at home. This saves the twice-weekly visits to the doctor’s office. You return to Comprehensive Internal Medicine every 6 weeks

to progress the therapy and at the end of one year, allergy testing is repeated. Often, a second year of treatment is advised, following which, most allergies are cured.

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The medical practice offers a very comfortable environment and serves a medical home where patients are seen for their wellness examinations (checkups) and for the management of multiple medical problems. Same-day appointments are always available.

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Dr. Obiora has a special interest in managing medical issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He also specializes in diabetes prevention and weight loss.

In addition, he brings expertise in allergy treatment and managing allergic rhinitis, sinusitis and asthma, and can schedule allergy testing to determine the best way to treat allergy symptoms.

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Alexis obtained her nursing degree from Georgia College & State University and worked as a registered nurse at Emory University Hospital for over 4 years, where she specialized in Internal Medicine. She then earned her Master of Science from Kennesaw State University in their Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program. Alexis is a board certified FNP through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). She prides herself in forming lasting relationships with her patients, while also providing compassionate and individualized care. She has a special interest in the treatment of allergies, sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, and asthma.

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Pearson, M.D., M.S.

Knotted DNA

DNA is more knotted than you’d think. DNA can literally develop knots like a rope develops knots. DNA can also form knots like a string forms knots when you over-twist it. But those are not the type of knot we are focusing on in this article. Instead, a newly mapped type of “knot” called an i-motif turns out to be extremely common in the human genome. And i-motifs might prove to be the key to the development of new anti-cancer drugs.

When most of us picture DNA, we envision a beautiful spiraling structure consisting of two endlessly twisting strands. This structure is called a “double helix” and was first famously described as the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953. However, ten years later, Dr. Karst Hoogsteen described a DNA structure that did not exhibit the classic DNA shape.

Dr. Hoogsteen observed that DNA base pairs could bind together in a manner that would not cause DNA to assume its more linear, double helical shape. Instead, Hoogsteen base pairing causes DNA strands to assume strange shapes including three and four stranded structures called triplexes and quadruplexes that can fold back upon themselves. These structures were predicted in the 1960s but their biological relevance is only now being identified and explored.

One of the structures that exhibits Hoogsteen base pairing is called an “i-motif. I-motifs look like knots, and they can behave like knots too. Like a knot in a shoelace, i-motifs can trip up our cell’s machinery and keep genes from being turned “on.” I-motifs are concentrated in parts of our genes that control growth. As you might predict, genes that control growth are also extremely important in the development of cancer.

I-Motifs’ importance in cancer may be tremendous. They turn out to be concentrated in certain cancercausing genes that have so far been very difficult to treat. One example is the cancer gene c-myc . Melanomas that metastasize are more likely to have extra copies of the c-myc gene. Approximately 70% of uveal melanomas (melanoma of the pigmented inner layer of the eyeball) have extra copies of this gene.

To target a bad gene, we usually target the protein that the gene makes because the protein is like the physical object one makes from an instruction manual whereas the DNA is the manual itself. It’s easier to spot an apple pie than it is a page of text containing the recipe for an apple pie.

Unfortunately, the c-myc protein is so hard to target with drugs that an article in The Lancet Discovery Science even called the gene “undruggable.” In contrast, an “easy” drug target is a cancercausing protein that is relatively ordered, stable and has a predictably consistent shape such that a medication or antibody can be relied upon to nearly always bind to the cancer-causing protein and inactivate it.

An example of an “easy” target is the kinase class of proteins which often have a predictable pocket called the “active site” responsible for the protein’s activity. Medicines that fit this pocket like a key to a lock have helped us treat many cancers in which kinases are culprits. In contrast, c-myc is believed to be “disordered” or “transiently ordered” with regions that only briefly take on the shape needed for the protein to perform its activity. C-myc’s unstable shape and disorder make it difficult to design a drug that can always recognize and bind it.

The c-myc protein may be hard to target, but the i-motifs at the beginning of c-myc’s DNA sequence could be a sitting duck. Small molecules that target i-motifs have already been developed. If these molecules are found to be specific enough to target cancer cells, then i-motifs may be a way of zeroing in on c-myc DNA at a time when we cannot target the c-myc protein itself. In essence, discovering knots in DNA is like discovering that cookbooks have thick stickers before critical passages of text. We can quicky spot a sticker. We can also easily eliminate books that are so thick with stickers that they can’t even be closed. It might be a way to close the book on cancer.

I still like to imagine DNA as a beautiful spiral staircase of two endlessly winding coils of DNA, but biology is always messier than we imagine. And so often, it’s in the mess that we find new opportunities. DNA is knotty, and from those knots we may unravel a cure.

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What’s important to you this Medicare Annual Enrollment Period?

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The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period will begin Tuesday, October 15th, 2024, and end on Saturday, December 7th, 2024, as it traditionally has.

What’s different about this year’s Medicare AEP?

This AEP will be different with some of the larger Medicare Advantage plans exiting many of the counties in the Atlanta area. If you are on one of the more popular Medicare Advantage plans, you might get a notification of your plan’s termination in the mail. And likely this week!

You will not be left high and dry. The big Medicare Advantage companies will have a plan comparable to this year’s plan, but the change will not happen automatically. If you receive a notification from your insurance company about your plan

ending, then a new enrollment will need to be completed to continue with a Medicare Advantage plan.

This might be a good year to compare other companies!

“I don’t like change” is a common line I’m used to hearing when I mention changing Medicare Advantage companies to a client. In most cases you will not HAVE TO change carriers, because there will be a comparable plan with each of the carriers, but you may want to after reviewing other plan options.

You should at least know what’s out there. Will the plan you choose have great coverage?

For help making changes to your Medicare insurance for next year, give us a call today at (770) 913-6464 to schedule an appointment during the Annual Enrollment Period between October 15th, 2024 - December 7th, 2024.

Award-winning writer Ron Rash to headline Roswell Reads events

By KATHY DES JARDINS CIOFFI newsroom@appenmedia.com

October is the month for treats, and Roswell Reads is doubling up on delights. Ron Rash, the acclaimed 2024 Roswell Reads Author Selection, will headline two events Oct. 18 and 19.

Called “one of the best living American writers” by Janet Maslin of The New York Times, Rash has penned 20 books of poetry and fiction, including his most recent novel, “The Caretaker.”

On Oct. 18, the two-time PEN/Faulkner finalist, three-time O. Henry Short Story Prize winner, and Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award winner will lead a Writer to Writer talk with Atlanta Writers Club Executive Director George Weinstein.

Then, on Oct. 19, Rash will discuss “The Caretaker” in conversation with award-winning author Robert Gwaltney.

Details about the Roswell Reads events and other October book happenings are below.

Thursday, Oct. 3, Boozy Book Fair at Pontoon Brewing. Shop a selection of books curated by Read It Again Bookstore while enjoying a locally brewed beverage. Free. 6 p.m. Pontoon Brewing, 8601 Dunwoody Place, Sandy Springs. 770-674-1075 pontoonbrewing.com/

Saturday, Oct. 5, Kelly Elizabeth Huston signing her romance, "See Sadie Jane Run.” Free. Noon. Read It Again Bookstore, 3630 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 314, Suwanee. 770-232-9331. read-it-again.com

Monday, Oct. 7, Tracey Enerson Wood launching “Katherine, the Wright Sister,” alongside author Karen Spears Zacharias and hosted by Poe & Company Bookstore. 5 p.m. Free. Alpharetta Library, 10 Park Plaza. Poeandcompanybookstore.com

Tuesday, Oct. 15, Pamela Terry, Pat Terry, Matt Jolley and McPatti Langston. A Novel Idea and Bookmiser present Langston’s book launch and a mashup of the husband-wife, author-musician Terrys, in conversation with Georgia Radio’s Jolley. 7 p.m. Free. Brimstone Restaurant & Tavern, 10595 Old Alabama Road Connector. 770-509-5611. https:// www.bookmiser.net/events.html

Wednesday, Oct. 16, Kimberly Brock examines “The Fabled Earth” with author Emily Carpenter. Presented by Poe & Company Bookstore, with drinks and appetizers. 5 p.m. Brookfield Country Club, 100 Willow Run Road, Roswell. 770-797-5566. Poeandcompanybookstore.com

Friday, Oct. 18, Ron Rash Writer to

Ron Rash

Writer event presented by Roswell Reads, in partnership with the city of Roswell and Bookmiser. Refreshments will be served. $15. 6.p.m. Roswell Adult Recreation Center, 830 Grimes Bridge Road. RoswellReads. com

Friday, Oct. 18, Poetry Open Mic Night. To sign up, call 770-232-9331. Free. 7 p.m. Read It Again Bookstore, 3630 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 314, Suwanee. read-it-again.com

Saturday, Oct. 19, Ron Rash, 2024 Roswell Reads Author Selection. A special book club offer and VIP seating are available. Presented by Roswell Reads, in partnership with the city of Roswell and Bookmiser, with refreshments. Ticket prices vary. 10:30 a.m. Roswell Adult Recreation Center, 830 Grimes Bridge Road. RoswellReads.com

Saturday, Oct. 26, Deann Benedict, signing her new children’s book, “Escape from the Mutt Motel.” A local animal rescue will be on-site with adoptable pets, collecting donations of pet food and supplies. 11 a.m. Free. Johns Creek Books, 6000 Medlock Bridge Road. 770-696-9999. johnscreekbooks.com

Wednesday, Oct. 30, Mary McMyne signing “A Rose by Any Other Name.” Free. 5 p.m. Poe & Company Bookstore, 1890 Heritage Walk, Suite P101, Milton. 770-797-5566. Poeandcompanybookstore.com

To submit an author event for the upcoming month, email Kathy Des Jardins Cioffi at kathydesjardins3@ gmail.com by the 15th.

Upgrade:

Continued from Page 4

The city’s Public Safety Headquarters will be housed separately off Holcomb Bridge Road, an 8.7-acre lot with office buildings previously owned by Roswell Summit.

Both are expected to open next year.

City Councilman David Johnson made a point to highlight the construction costs of the new Sandy Springs Police Department Headquarters and Municipal Court, a some-$50 million project. The build-out of the city’s new Public Safety Training Facility, to include a shooting range, has been estimated to cost another $45 million.

“We’re spending a lot less than 50,” Johnson said.

The second public hearing of the fiscal year 2025 millage rate is scheduled for Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The third will be held during the regular council meeting Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.

Old Mill Park bans

Monday night, the City Council also passed a ban on coolers and water access at Old Mill Park, a debated topic. Another point was added under the ordinance section that makes it unlawful for visitors to exit designated marked trails at Old Mill Park. All violations would result in a $250 fine.

The city suspended water access Aug. 16, though visitors may still enter from the National Parks side of Vickery Creek, the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

City Councilwoman Sarah Beeson maintained her opposition, reiterating concerns voiced at previous meetings, with a response from City Councilwoman Lee Hills.

“Unfortunately, because we let ourselves go at this park, the people destroying the park have ruined it for all the well-behaved people,” Hills said. “There are fewer and fewer and fewer well-behaved people at this park.”

During the public comment portion of the item, Roswell resident Krista O’Neal agreed with Hills.

“It’s not the same park that I grew up with,” O’Neal said.

MARYAN HARRINGTON/PROVIDED

Beetles:

Continued from Page 1

species are attacking the pines.

Most of the affected trees are infested by the southern pine beetle. Officials also have discovered the black turpentine beetle and ips beetle.

Despite the species’ varying lengths, which range from about 3 mm to 8 mm, “they all are pretty much doing the same thing,” Hand said.

The bugs penetrate the bark where they feast on sap and lay eggs, leaving behind holes and popcorn-like white blobs known as pitch tubes.

“They will continue to eat until basically the life is sucked out of the tree,” Hand said.

In natural forests, their spread is controlled by below-zero temperatures and wildfires, which are not an option for the city.

Parks officials instead must be proactive and monitor trees, removing them when infested. The removed trees range in size with trunks from about 4 to 24 inches in diameter.

Therapy:

Continued from Page 1

smiley and made eye contact, but that those interactions fell off at around 4 months old.

For years, she’s been describing Grayson’s condition as a “broken pathway.” An internet search, while sitting beside her husband on the couch, resulted in a new treatment option that could bridge the gap.

Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy uses a combination of technologies found in other forms of therapy, according to the website for the Brain Treatment Center. The center’s Smyrna location is where Rodriguez intends to go, once she meets her $12,000 fundraising goal.

The treatment relies on transcranial magnetic stimulation which uses pulsed magnetic fields to change neural activity in addition to an EEG, recording the electrical activity of the brain to act as a map.

Rodriguez said it would address eye contact, stimming, verbal skills and socialization.

“As a parent, it breaks your heart to know that he might not make friends,” she said. “...If those kinds of things could come of this, I am willing to sell a kidney to get to that point.”

Right now, Grayson uses an augmentative communication device. He’s in an adult program.

“He’s extremely smart,” Rodriguez said. “He reads on a third grade level … There’s a lot of light in his eyes, but sometimes it seems like his brain doesn’t communicate

Contractors remove the dead, brown trees before mulching them. Heat generated during mulching kills off the insects, which also become confused when a tree is no longer standing vertically, Hand said.

Removing some trees deep in park land far from roadways requires considerably more resources.

Most of the city’s major park land has been affected, including Wills Park, the Big Creek Greenway and Webb Bridge Park.

If the city does not intervene, the beetles would jump from tree to tree, spreading uncontrollably, Hand said.

Rodgers said removing the trees is unfortunate but necessary. Alpharetta’s trees are an important asset to residents because of what they provide, so it’s important to protect them, Rodgers said.

Trees improve the city’s atmosphere by converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. They also beautify the area and provide shade.

“It pains us to cut down these trees, but we had to cut down these 115 to save others,” Rodgers said. “They are forces of nature that we have to deal with.”

For more information or to donate to Grayson’s autism therapy fund, visit https://angelink.com/fundraiserpublic/cf8ea424-7ff1-4fd9-be9363891659253e.

with [the] motor part of his body.”

Rodriguez said Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy has been used on other disorders, like post-traumatic stress disorder, with a “fantastic” prognosis for patients and was introduced to those with autism just a few years ago.

The treatment will run six weeks, she said, requiring that Grayson go every day for an hour.

“It’s going to be a struggle, obviously,” Rodriguez said. “He’s in school, so I have to figure all of that out.”

But, a story about a 6-year-old nonverbal child named Frankie gives Rodriguez hope.

“After three weeks of this treatment, he spoke a seven-word sentence just out of nowhere,” she said.

Like Grayson, Frankie was diagnosed with autism at 18 months old, according to a recent story published in the Autism Parenting Magazine. He underwent therapy at the Brain Treatment Center in Newport Beach, California.

Rodriguez said it’s hard for her to envision what the future would look like if Grayson were to see the same level of success. Meanwhile, the idea of Mia going off to college is less of a challenge.

“In my head for so long, it’s been, ‘When we get older, he’s going to be with us,’” Rodriguez said. “...I would hope it would look like a typical other kid.”

WIKI COMMONS/PROVIDED

The southern pine beetle is eating and killing pine trees on Alpharetta’s parks. City officials have removed more than 100 infested trees over the past two months to prevent the bugs from spreading.

to raise $12,000 to fund Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy for

diagnosed with level 3 autism, or severe autism. The new treatment could help him speak for the first time.

JESSICA RODRIGUEZ/PROVIDED

Jessica Rodriguez hugs her children, twins Grayson and Mia. Rodriguez is looking

5-year-old Grayson,

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Provide a little context to paint clear picture

I read the recent DC Aiken opinion pieces about the economy. If I followed the tone and implications of the article, I would be fearful of our nation’s economic future and think recession is imminent. But then I remembered I have heard this same song for a few years. Each time the collapse was forecast, the outcome was an encouraging “well, maybe not.” While there are continuing impacts from the most devastating pandemic in a century, the U.S. economy emerged as the strongest in the world. It remains so, yet no mention or credit for this is in the articles.

PRESERVING THE PAST

One article mentions the GDP dropping for several quarters. I’m sure many folks see that as a shrinking economy. The GDP, however, is still growing, just not at the bold rate it had been previously.

McDonald’s traffic did have a recent 1% drop. The pandemic and resulting inflation led many lower income families to eat more at home to save money. Isn’t that a good thing? Inflation is dropping and investors believe enough in McDonald’s latest initiatives, stock prices are up.

Is unemployment the highest in almost three years? Yep. But in January

of 2023, it was the lowest in 54 years. So, if it rises a bit, that should probably be expected and not indicative of a pending crisis. Job openings are the lowest since 2021. People are working. Another indicator raised was lower house sales. Well, interest rates are still up and inventory is lower than preCovid times. With the rate decrease, that should change.

My easily researched information shows the importance of context for data. Many times, if you look for a pre-determined outcome, then you find a way to support it. If you want to see a moose bad enough, eventually a

cow becomes a moose. That’s not how it should work. Since the doomsday predictors of economic ruin have been wrong the last few years, I tend to believe that our country will be okay. Fear works for some people, but not most. As we have seen in recent politics, if you tell people enough that the sky is falling, eventually they look up instead of ahead. Being a former teacher, I tend to hope for, and believe in, a brighter future, and not one that is ill-fated.

Near-centenarian’s life of service in WW ll and beyond

It is interesting how profoundly military experience can shape a person’s entire life. Such is the case of 99-year-old Alpharetta resident Gerald Sadler. Fortunately, Gerald is healthy, alert and has a keen sense of humor. He takes a three mile walk every other day to help stay that way. He is a delight to interview. Here is his story.

Gerald was raised on his grandfather’s farm in Hartwell, Georgia. John Cornelius Sadler (1860-1937) like so many early Georgia pioneers immigrated from Europe to South Carolina and then migrated to Georgia attracted by stories of cheap, fertile land. He and his second wife Cora Etta Suit Sadler (1871-1938) raised cotton and corn. The best corn was ground for corn bread, the basic food for the family. The farm grew to eventually encompass 119 acres.

They had ten children, one of whom was Gerald’s father Rufus Gleeson “Rook” Sadler (1899-1990) who in 1922 married Clyde Chastain Sadler (1904-1930). When Gerald was five years old, his mother was struck by lightning and killed on the Sadler farm. Cora raised the five orphaned children – three daughters, including a pair of twins, and Gerald – in addition to her 10 offspring. All were brought up on the Hartwell farm.

Gerald had a knack for machinery because he had to maintain his grandfather’s Allis Chalmers tractor, one of the first models manufactured. His grandfather was one of the first farmers

The Bon Homme Richard, one of 24 Essex-class Aircraft Carriers completed in World War ll is underway at sea on Oct. 20, 1945 about to arrive in San Francisco. Nine days later she headed to Pearl Harbor to undergo conversion for troop transport duty. From November to January, 1946 she made multiple trans-Pacific voyages carrying troops and cargo.

in the county to own one. Rufus bought a second tractor a few years later and used it to power a saw to cut timber, an important source of income for the family.

During and after high school, Gerald worked on the farm and had temporary jobs after harvest time. When World War ll started, Gerald was too young to serve. On his 18th birthday he joined the Navy in early 1943.

He was sent to the Bainbridge Naval Training Center in Port Deposit, Maryland, for bootcamp. The center was active from 1942 to 1976. Then because of his experience with tractors on his grandfather’s farm he was sent to technical school at Ford Motor Company in Michigan. Then he traveled to San Francisco where he boarded the Bon Homme Richard CV-31, an aircraft carrier being used as a cargo ship where he

worked as a Machinist Mate First Class. He worked mainly on engine bearings and drive shafts. He says, “there was a lot of chipping of paint to keep the sailors busy and out of trouble.”

He then served at the major advance naval base on the island of Espiritu Santo (since 1980 called The Republic of Vanuatu) about 1000 miles from Australia. The Navy Seabees built more than 400 advance bases during the war including a huge base on Espiritu Santo to repair ships damaged in battle and to allow planes and fighting men to rotate in and out of battle. Several floating docks, one capable of handling battleships and aircraft carriers, a giant fuel tank farm and ammunition storage facilities were built in addition to standard infrastructure including roads, hospitals and barracks.

Gerald recalls waking up one morning

in 1945 and seeing 11 aircraft carriers in the harbor. Gerald ran a ship-to-shore supply boat between the base and the ships while they underwent repairs and refurbishing. One of the ships was badly tilted and had to spend a long time in dry dock.

The war officially ended in the Pacific Theater when Japan formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Shortly after that momentous event Gerald was sent to the Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida which had been commissioned in 1942 where he was processed for discharge. He couldn’t find a job, so he enrolled at the University of Georgia where he obtained a degree in Agricultural Sciences and Engineering in 1947.

Gerald found a job working with the Federal Soil Conservation Service helping farmers in Alpharetta recover their fields and forests which had been depleted by intensive farming and cutting during the war. He worked in an office in the old Alpharetta courthouse under Joe Brown, grandson of former Georgia governor Joe Brown. After five years working in Alpharetta, Gerald studied civil engineering at Georgia Tech which led to a career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a civil engineer.

He says that he did not know it at the time, but his wartime experience changed him in many ways, and it prepared him for his profession as an agricultural engineer.

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 welcomes suggestions for future columns about local history.

Michael Buchanan Alpharetta

BOB MEYERS

Columnist

‘Here Comes the Sun’ on the lending front

D.C. AIKEN Guest Columnist dcaiken.com

This week’s “pop” hit is the 1969 song “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles. The lyrics start out “Little darlin’, it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter. Little darlin’, it feels like years since it’s been here.”

It has been over four years since the FED had made a rate cut, but they stepped up to the plate today and cut rates by .50 percent. The bigger news is that they could make an additional .50 percent cut by the end of the year (I predicted a total of .75 percent total this year…so…could be close). The “plot” graph shows that FED funds could be at 3.375 percent from its current level of 5 percent by the end of

2025. This could push mortgage rates into the high 4 percent range by the end of 2025.

I applaud the FED for making the right move… .50 percent (for those of you who follow Aikenomics, I am not a fan of our current FED but had to give them credit here for making the hard choice). This move was long overdue as the “signs” of recession were right in front of us. Housing prices were up again last month and continued a string of consecutive monthly rises for over 10 years (so much for those of you who are waiting for prices to fall). Unemployment continues to rise, and while inflation has come down notably, it’s still hard to buy something when you don’t have a job or are worried that your job might be eliminated. This cut in rates should help overall prices slide down further as commercial loan rates, based on

Prime, should move down and those lower cost should filter down as lower prices for consumer goods. As I have noted before and reflected in the stats this week that refinances accounted for 24 percent of all mortgage applications, and this is not because they were trying to get a better mortgage rate. For the most part, this was done to lower their overall payments by paying off over extended consumer debt even if it meant a higher mortgage payment.

I am not convinced yet that we are not heading into a prolonged recession, but the FED action was a step in the right direction, and hopefully they will continue to be vigilant in their upcoming moves to avoid a prolonged recession.

The “Long Cold Lonely Winters” for real estate sales for the past several years may be over as rates

begin to move below the 6 percent mark over the next several weeks and have their eyes on probably a mid to low 5 percent mark by the end of the year (my prediction earlier this year was low 5 percent by year-end). The “Sun” may be truly coming out for those purchasing new homes and refinancing.

Wednesday was a good day for the U.S. economy regardless of what side of the aisle you sit on. Here Comes The Sun…

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 may not reflect the opinions or views of BankSouth Mortgage or its affiliates.

Tracing the rise of Oak Terrace Dairy Farm of Sandy Springs

The story of Dr. Luther C. and Lucy Hurt Fischer and their home and gardens along Chamblee Dunwoody Road has been shared previously in this column. Dr. Fischer bought 138 acres in Chamblee and began construction of what became known as Flowerland in 1932.

The Fischer’s mansion was designed by Philip Trammel Shutze. It was surrounded by beautiful gardens which Atlantans lined up to visit. Flowers from Flowerland were sold in a retail shop of the same name, located on Peachtree Road near the hospital Dr. Fischer and Dr. Edward Campbell Davis built on Linden Avenue in 1911. Flowers

were also cut from Flowerland and placed around the hospital. The hospital later became Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospital and today is Emory University Hospital Midtown.

(“Caring for Atlanta, A History of Emory Crawford Long Hospital,” by Ren Davis)

In 1924, long before Dr. Fischer built his home and gardens in what was then considered Chamblee, he bought 60 acres in Sandy Springs for a dairy farm. He called the farm Oak Terrace. The dairy was located on Roswell Road, along Long Island Creek.

By owning a dairy, Dr. Fischer was able to provide the best quality milk to his hospital patients. He kept a herd of Guernsey cows that were considered the finest in the South. University of Georgia students would visit his farm each week to conduct tests and learn more about milk production.

Fischer’s award-winning cows also provided milk to the new Biltmore Hotel and the Atlanta Athletic Club, which is today’s East Lake Golf Club.

Fischer sold Oak Terrace Dairy Farm to Adgate Ellis Gay in 1932. When she became a widow in 1929, she took over the family dairy known as Gaymont from her husband Ewell Gay. Gaymont Dairy was originally begun by her fatherin-law, Captain Edward S. Gay, in 1893. (Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 15, 1932, Mrs. Ewell Gay Purchases Properties of Dr. Fischer”)

Adgate Gay was considered a socialite of Atlanta, surprising everyone when she grew Gaymont Dairy and merged it with Oak Terrace Dairy. Gaymont Dairy moved from its 33-acre home on Briarcliff Road to 85 acres along Roswell Road and Long Island Creek.

At the 1934 Southeastern Fair, Adgate Gay won several livestock awards. Under her leadership, Gaymont Dairy was proclaimed by Atlanta newpapers as “a large profitable business over which the society belle of a few years ago reigns with all the dignity and ability of one who had known years of business training.”

The children of Adgate and Ellis Gay were Ewell Gay Jr., Bill Ellis Gay and Frank Lipscomb Gay. In 1940, according to U.S. census records, Ewell Gay had taken over the dairy business, located on Old Power’s Ferry Road.

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.

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist

Hope for the Braves, but none for the Irish

All I need is someone named Lucy to goad me into attempting to kick a football. Give me a goofy sweater, let me moan “Good Grief”: a few times and I’ll be as close to Charlie Brown as I can possibly be.

I’ve been a Notre Dame football fan for as long as I can remember. John Huarte to Jack Snow for a constant staccato of touchdowns was a thing of magic on a Saturday afternoon. Listening to Lindsay Nelson describe the beauty of South Bend, The Golden Dome and The Grotto left an indelible mark on me and cemented my ordeal as a fan for many subsequent years. Being at the LA Coliseum on a night in 1974 when Notre Dame was waxing USC 24-0 in the first half, only to lose 55-24 was a message that being an Irish fan would mean a lifetime of needing Maalox. I should

have taken heed way back then.

Like a prudent gambler who cashes in his casino chips before trying to chase that one more big hit only to have his winnings disappear, it looks like Notre Dame has played Lucy to my Charlie Brown.

After being touted as a potential College Football Playoff team thanks to the softest schedule imaginable, the Irish did it to me again. They whiffed, the football was pulled away and I, along with so many other suckers, was left muttering and stuttering.

A 16-14 loss would be respectable if it was to a school with a solid football pedigree. But Northern Illinois? Suffice to say it ruined my Saturday and furthered my appreciation of Southeastern Conference football.

Never have I seen a more illprepared lot than this current Irish team. The blame for the confusion falls squarely at the feet of current coach Marcus Freeman. Perhaps Morgan, not Marcus, should be the Freeman at the team’s helm. At least then there would

be some wise words imparted. I’m not sure how the season will turn out, but right now, my beloved Irish are in fine fettle (that’s sarcasm): A quarterback ND rented from the vaunted football powerhouse Duke; receivers who can’t catch; and an offensive line whose play has been “offensive.”

After a Week 1 win over Texas A&M that is now but a faint memory, I was ready to proudly fly my car flags. Thankfully, oldest son Chris was in town, and he absconded with my car for much of his visit. The flags will remain tucked away. At least I can resist the urge to burn them.

The rest of the season could be like watching a horror movie where I hide my eyes and can’t bear to watch.

Watching the Braves these days is akin to going to a Broadway play only to find the show being presented is made up of primarily understudies. I have found myself asking “Who are these guys?”

But as I write this, there are 17

games left in the regular season and the scrapping team has a shot at making the post season.

It must be an adventure when manager Brian Snitker fills out a lineup card every night. “Anyone who can play tonight, take one step forward.”

Forget about the area around Truist Park being The Battery. With all the injuries that have befallen the Braves, the area would be better labeled “The Infirmary.”

Maybe it’s the belief that anything can happen, something keeps telling me with a cast of no-names, maybe, just maybe, these Braves could get hot and make a memorable October run.

I’m banking on that taking my mind off what will likely happen in South Bend.

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.

MIKE TASOS Columnist

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In Memoriam

Diane Lynn Frontman

August 21, 1960 – September 16, 2024

Diane Lynn Frontman, 64, of Alpharetta Georgia passed away on September 16, 2024. Diane was born in Williamsport PA. She attended Junior High and High School in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She graduated Trinity University in San Antonio with a BA in Journalism. She worked in Automobile Finance for over 30 years. Her life was dedicated to her son’s, Danny and Willie Frontman, and her husband, Ken. They shared immeasurable joy together. She was very close to her sister, Sandra,

throughout her life and her family. Diane was Catholic. When blessed with children she wanted her children to be raised Jewish, Ken’s religion, and they were very active members of Congregation Dor Tamid in John’s Creek, GA. She is predeceased by her Father, William Alton Rosevear, Mother, Carmella Rosevear. She is survived by Kenneth Frontman, spouse, Daniel Frontman, Son, William Frontman, Son, Sandra Stief, Sister. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

In Memoriam

Nes Mtendaji Kuweza

March 30, 1951 – September 12, 2024

After a long battle with his health, He peacefully passed away in the presence of his love ones last September 12, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 73.

Daji loves to learn new and many things in life, he graduated in high school from Arts and Design in Manhattan NY. Received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism from NYU and a Master’s Degree in International Finance from Baruch College in Manhattan NY. He works in several fortune 500 companies. He retired from IBM. After retirement, he spent 2 years in China to teach English as a second language to college level students which he immensely enjoyed the people and the places he visited. He also traveled to Asia, Africa and Europe. He loves to learn languages

like Japanese, Swahili, Chinese and Tagalog. He is known for having a talent in singing and writing. He love sports specially baseball and basketball which he had participated when he was in school.

Preceded in death by his parents and two brothers; Thomas and Robert Pringle. He is survived by his loving wife; Mercy Kuweza, beloved sister; Rose Pringle Cook / Muima EnKamit and several nieces and nephews. His kindness, love of life and generosity will be missed by all, specially by his close relatives and friends. His memory will forever be cherished. We love you and may you Rest in Peace There will be a Celebration of Life with his family and friends.

During these turbulent times, we

DEATH NOTICES

Joann Cassella, 93, of Roswell, passed away on September 10, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Clifford Johnson, 90, of Milton, passed away on September 5, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

John Kohler, 93, of Alpharetta, passed away on September 7, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Nes Kuweza, 73, of Roswell, passed away on September 12, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Joseph Lazzari, 82, of Roswell, passed away on September 12, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Justin Mourning, 46, of Alpharetta, passed away on September 11, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Donald Nelson, 83, of Roswell, passed away on September 15, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Elizabeth Varner, 99, of Alpharetta, passed away on September 12, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Roy Waggoner, Jr., 92, of Milton, passed away on September 7, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

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INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

While covering Milton election operations, Appen Media analyzed historical voter data and identified possible disenfranchisement.

This reporting caused a statewide watchdog to get involved and, eventually, the city moved to add a polling place to the area. Later in the year, Appen discovered that the feasibility report the City Council used when voting to run their own elections was not the original document. Two residents on a working committee had altered it after city staff had completed it and before its presentation to council. Appen Media reporters identified all of the differences between the two documents and then created an interactive digital document. Readers and officials were able to scroll through the materials and read notes from the newsroom explaining the differences. You can find this document at appenmedia.com/electionsreport.