Dunwoody Crier - January 5, 2023

Local animal hospital treats pets with care

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — In April, Riva Wolkow took ownership of the veterinarian clinic in Dunwoody Plaza off Dunwoody Village Parkway. The old sign from when the space was corporately owned still hangs on the brick front, and another hides beneath the new Village Animal Hospital name.

The slightly wrinkled banner with large, purple bubbly letters is characteristic of the culture — down to earth and friendly — the kind of culture where humans can expect their beloved companion to be treated with compassion.

There’s a vast difference between corporate and independently owned vet practices, said Wolkow, wearing scrubs with a slicked back ponytail ready for the day ahead. Her focus is clients, patients and patient care.

“We can treat each client, each patient as individuals,” she said. “To me, I want them to be more like family as opposed to numbers.”

Wolkow splits her time between Village and Belle Isle Animal Hospital in Sandy Springs, which she opened in 2011, to make herself present and to en-

Cold weather wreaks havoc on water lines, local roadways

By DELANEY TARR

and ALEX POPP delaney@appenmedia.com alex@appenmedia.com

METRO ATLANTA — Georgia’s singledigit lows on Christmas weekend left many residents scrambling to stay warm and protect their plumbing while fire departments and hardware stores were overwhelmed with high demand.

In Roswell, the Fire Department received hundreds of calls during the cold snap, nearly five times as many as usual. On Christmas day alone, the department responded to 142 calls.

Roswell Fire Public Information Officer Chad Miller said he was

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Riva Wolkow, veterinarian and owner of Village Animal Hospital in Dunwoody, stands in the hospital’s lobby Dec. 29. Wolkow opened Village Animal Hospital in April. She also owns Belle Isle Animal Hospital in Sandy Springs, which she opened in 2011.

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Johns Creek couple shot inside their residence

By AMBER PERRY alex@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Johns Creek Police were dispatched to Plantation Bridge Drive Dec. 19 and found Heather Quiggle and her boyfriend shot inside the home.

When police arrived at 3 a.m., they saw Quiggle on the front porch wearing a red shirt soaked in blood, the police report said. Police later found her boyfriend with a gunshot wound to the leg. Quiggle’s 20-year-old son heard the shots, escaped through a window and got help from a neighbor, according to local media.

After receiving lifesaving measures

POLICE BLOTTER

All crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.

Brookhaven man arrested in hit and run

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody police reports said a 19-year-old Brookhaven man was arrested Dec. 19 after a hit and run wreck on Ashford Dunwoody Road.

Officers arrived at 211 Perimeter Center Parkway at about 7 a.m., responding to reports that a driver had wrecked with another vehicle in the turn lane and fled the scene.

The driver who fled the scene was later apprehended. He told police the wreck occurred because the other driver drove straight through a turn lane, and he didn’t stop because he couldn’t find a place to pull over. However, FLOCK traffic cameras showed a different version of events, reports said.

— Quiggle with a chest seal and her boyfriend with a leg tourniquet — they were transported to North Fulton Hospital. Both are in stable condition.

Friends of Quiggle have since started a fundraising campaign with a $15,000 goal to offset her medical bills. So far, $11,885 has been raised. As of a Dec. 24 update on the fundraiser’s website, Quiggle was to be “released from the hospital shortly.”

“She still has wound vacs as well as extensive wound care needs,” the update said. “They are trying to get her out of the hospital as soon as possible to lower her risk of getting RSV or the flu, which as fragile as her

The victim reported that her vehicle was hit when the suspect crossed two lanes of traffic and collided with her. Footage corroborated the victim’s story, reports said.

The suspect was arrested for driving while unlicensed and hit and run and was transported to the DeKalb County Jail.

Unattended car burglarized at Dunwoody restaurant

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police reports said a vehicle parked at the Lazy Dog Restaurant in Dunwoody was burglarized and nearly stolen by unidentified thieves.

Police responded to the restaurant at 4532 Ashford Dunwoody Road Dec. 19 at about 1 a.m. after a victim reported the rear window of her car had been shattered. Officers learned thieves entered the car through the rear driver’s side window.

Nothing had been stolen from the vehicle, but reports said the steering column had been heavily damaged by attempts to steal the vehicle. The ve-

lungs are, she can’t afford to get.”

According to local media, the suspect and ex-boyfriend of Quiggle, 46-year-old Batin Azzaam Rashid, was later found dead in Sandy Springs from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot.

Rashid was wanted for one count of aggravated assault under the Family Violence Act, one count of aggravated assault, one count of burglary, one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and one count of a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, according to a release reported by local media from Police Chief Mark Mitchell.

hicle had been rendered undrivable by the damage, reports said.

Officers dusted the vehicle’s windows for fingerprints but found nothing, the report said.

No security cameras were located in the area, and no suspects were identified at the time of the report.

Four tractor trailers stolen from parking lot

ROSWELL, Ga.— Four tractor trailers parked at the parking lot of a Kohl’s department store on Holcomb Bridge Road were reported missing on Dec. 29.

The truck driver said his lead truck was loaded with three other tractor trailers, all set to be delivered to New York. He said he often parks trucks in the lot without any issues.

Officers found signs advertising a towing service, but the phone number was disconnected. The company that owns the trucks was notified and will ping the locations of the trucks, so the Roswell police listed the trucks as stolen and left the scene.

HANS

City clashes with community over proposed paths

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga.— Dunwoody residents are butting heads with the city over construction of a path that connects Heritage at Dunwoody and Village Mill to the proposed park at Vermack Road.

In 2021 the Dunwoody City Council purchased 9 acres on Vermack Road, with a plan to develop the property into a park. The project will cost an estimated $4 million.

Drawing from community input, the city has developed a master plan for the park, but the addition of a previously undiscussed connecting trail upset residents who live next to the park.

The path was a surprise to many, especially after some residents met with city officials and felt their concerns were heard.

The residents said the path appeared in the plan without any input from the public. The proposed path would fit in a 50-footwide strip of land butted up against the back of homes in Heritage and Village Mill.

One Heritage neighborhood resident, Keith Biumi, said that while he’s not pushing back against the public park, he’s frustrated that the space behind his home could be so public.

“We paid a premium for our lots against the forest,” Biumi said. “They said the only thing they would add is a cellular tower.”

The narrow space and location raised concerns from residents about privacy and safety.

“If I’m a thief, I’d park my car at the park and cut through the backlot,” Biumi said. “Then I could burglarize the subdivision.”

At the Oct. 10 City Council meeting, a decision on the final master plan was tabled for two weeks due to the conflict over the changes.

Mayor Lynn Deutsch said she spoke

with residents about the path and understood their frustration.

“They met with us, they’ve advocated, they’ve seen it and now we’re showing them something they haven’t seen,” Deutsch said at the meeting.

Two weeks later, at the Oct. 24 City Council meeting, homeowners from the two neighborhoods presented a petition with around 160 signatures asking for the removal of the proposed path from any final plans.

To allow for more community input, Dunwoody held an open house Dec. 10 where people could walk around the envisioned park and path.

“Having a path, you’re just calling for

trouble,” Biumi said.

Biumi said the lack of communication makes him and other residents feel like the City Council “says one thing, then does something else.” It’s his biggest frustration with the situation.

Currently, the 2023 parks budget does not include any funding for the Park at Vermack. The City Council considered funding the park with a $30 million parks bond but decided against it.

As for future park plans, Dunwoody’s website says “future decisions will be led by community input.”

There were also tensions over the planned construction of a path on Tilly Mill Road for pedestrians and cyclists.

The original plan for the parks called for a path on the west side of the road. Earlier this year, the city moved the trail to the east side at the behest of some residents.

Community members cited issues with people crossing one of Dunwoody’s busy intersections, as well as a lack of desire for even having a new wide trail built in the area.

Some residents asked the city to consider a resident-proposed plan for keeping the Tilly Mill trail on the west side if there needs to be one at all.

The city said they are open to input and created an online public comment link to allow residents an opportunity to weigh in.

R.J. TURNER/PROVIDED

The City of Dunwoody has been fielding public comment on whether to locate a new multi-use trail on the east or west side of Tilly Mill Road. The start of the shared-use path is planned to begin here, at Womack Road.

Nonprofit director marvels at heightened charity during holidays

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

FULTON COUNTY, Ga.—In November, North Fulton Community Charities welcomed Sandra Holiday as the nonprofit’s new executive director, where she dove into the nonprofit’s several seasonal events.

Holiday came from Atlanta Children’s Shelter, where she worked as executive director for 13 years. She’s spent over 25 years in the field of advocacy.

Holiday said she enjoyed the work she did at the urban core of Atlanta but wanted to help people before they struggled with homelessness.

“I wanted to get into prevention, poverty prevention, hunger prevention,” Holiday said.

NFCC serves more than 8,500 individuals each year with emergency financial assistance, food assistance, life skills & workforce readiness classes and holiday programs.

Holiday joined NFCC at the onset of multiple seasonal programs, including Giving Tuesday, a worldwide event that encourages people to donate time and money to charities the day after Thanksgiving.

She also joined weeks before the start of NFCC’s Toyland Shop, where people donate new, unwrapped toys for families to

“shop” for gifts.

Holiday said she was shocked by the turnout for this year’s Toyland, especially given high price tags that are impacting most Americans.

“Whether you’re a single person, a parent, a five-person family, a recent college graduate, everybody is feeling that current climate,” Holiday said. “Food prices go up for everybody. The cost of goods goes up for everybody.

In September, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that food costs had spiked 11.4 percent in the past year, and people nationwide face rising inflation.

“I can tell you I was quite surprised by the level of giving from the community,” Holiday said.

In her few weeks on the job, Holiday said she’s learned that despite rising costs, people are still able to step up for families in need.

NFCC has multiple programs that are “high barrier,” in which people must show proof of financial hardship to participate, like financial assistance classes or longterm programs.

They serve the most people, though, through the food pantry and thrift store across the street from their office. The food pantry is what Holiday calls “low barrier,” where all someone must do is prove they live in the area.

“People are going through hardship, you don’t have to give them more barriers,” Holiday said.

People in need simply visit the food pantry, where they type their grocery lists on a kiosk. The list is sent to the stock room, where volunteers fill a shopping cart with their requests.

On average, the pantry serves 200 people a day.

The stock room is packed with donations from major grocery stores like Publix and Whole Foods and is staffed by many long-term volunteers. Holiday said the

volunteers trained her in how to work the pantry.

The thrift store is connected to the food pantry, and it’s open to the public.

Marten Jallad, NFCC thrift store director, said the charitability from the programs and pantry carry over to the store. The store receives more than 100 donations a day, enough to keep the shelves filled.

“A donation could be a bag of items, or it could be a U-Haul,” Jallad said.

Some donations come from stores. There are bins of new Walmart blankets next to stacks of unworn Target clothing mixed in with personal donations.

“It’s amazing throughout the year how much stuff we get,” Jallad said. “We’re able to present quality items at such an affordable price for people.”

Jallad said Holiday arrived just in time to see the seasonal operation in full swing, and he thinks she appreciates the drive and energy.

“She’s come in with an attitude of let me learn and let me see, while she has plenty of ideas, she’ll be able to share and implement,” Jallad said.

Holiday said her time at NFCC so far has been a whirlwind, but a good one. She’s watched the holiday events and sat in on English as a Second Language classes, and even attended a class graduation ceremony.

While she’s still learning and observing, Holiday has started working out her goals for the future of the charity. Economic stability and events are key, but Holiday wants to spotlight mental health and dismantling stigmas in the coming year.

“I think, for as many people that have the courage to come to our food pantry and our thrift shop and come here and ask for emergency assistance with rent or mortgage, there’s probably three more people that don’t,” Holiday said. “And that’s really critical.”

Holiday hopes to destigmatize the need for help in North Fulton, especially as rent and food costs continue to rise.

“You don’t know when you’ll be in need,” Holiday said. “It’s important that as a community we remain aware and openminded.”

Holiday said North Fulton has an “out of sight, out of mind” perception that creates a stigma. It’s the responsibility of her organization to educate the community that people in need are their neighbors, not strangers.

As executive director, Holiday said she sees herself as a link between the community and North Fulton Community Charities.

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Directions: 3 miles East of Atlanta Airport, I-285 at Exit 55 (3650 & 3850 Jonesboro Rd SE)

“I really see myself as this conduit of maybe a better understanding of a more open mindset, just a conduit, where all these great things can flow in between,” Holiday said.

DELANEY TARR/APPEN MEDIA

Sandra Holiday stands outside of the North Fulton Community Charities offices on Dec. 19 in the middle of the big season drive to deliver hope to the needy. Holiday joined the organization as executive director in November.

Cadillac Jack: My Second Act

Sept. 29 - Even the bathrooms are bigger in Texas.

Bring in the dancing hooves, it’s the 300th episode of Cadillac Jack: My Second Act.

Do you need another reason to believe how much smarter and more refined women are than men? We’ll give you one —urinal troughs. Caddy and Donna kick us off with a little potty talk and what it means when someone walks in on you. With or without the trough.

We’ve seen the future, and it’s Harry Styles. Harry is pioneering a new way of touring and we think it’ll change the game. Find out why, and why that means that us in the major metros will be the ones hitting the road.

Music is now our PRIMARY category in Apple Podcasts, so we basically spend the entire second half of the show talking tunes. Winona, setlists and, yes, more Harry Styles.

Then a bit of housekeeping. We find out what Door 14 is, where Crossfit Chris is and how to handle a lesson in Disney kindness. All that and more on Show 300.

June 9 - How to tie a knot at the end of a rope

Stretch your imagination for this fiery episode of the My Second Act podcast. Unfortunately for Cadillac Jack, it did NOT earn a triple E rating.

First we talk about

The Top 10 Ways to Catch Your Spouse Cheating (and the best way to get away clean). Then on an entirely unrelated note, lets just say that Donna has a thing for badges. So much so that she’s hunting for an investigation at the Alpharetta police station- or is it City Hall? Then we move on to SNL, Kim Kardashian and the real definition of BDE.

And to fulfill our designation as a semimusic podcast we take a step back in time to November 2020, to hear about the wink and why Donna was the only one who caught it. Turns out Joanna Cotten gave the show a little more of a hint than anyone realized. Tune in and hear just exactly how she slipped in the names, and clues, for an Eric Church triple album.

The Georgia Politics Podcast

Dec. 19 – 2022 Year-in-Review

And that’s a wrap, folks! On The Georgia Poli-

tics Podcast today, the panel gets together one last time in 2022 to recount the year’s biggest story lines.

From Dobbs to midterms and Gov. Kemp and Sec. Raffesnperger, relive some of the biggest moments from 2022 and the lessons learned along the way. Is money out of control in politics? If people don’t think it is, we’re not sure when they’ll ever change their minds. The red wave didn’t happen, but was it really just a matter of bad expectations setting?

As you might imagine, there are some differing opinions on how important some of these story lines really were, or why they were important, but everyone agrees that we had plenty to talk about on The Georgia Politics Podcast and that will no doubt remain the same in 2023. Thanks everyone for another great year, and we look forward to returning to your podcast feeds in 2023 for Season 4 and our legislative preview.

Nov. 14 – Politics for Dummies – 7th Grade Civics

On The Georgia Politics Podcast today, we kick off a special series called “Politics for Dummies,” where we dive into common misconceptions or questions about how politics works in Georgia and across the country.

Craig welcomes in cohost Daelen Lowry to help kick off the series and is joined by friends of Daelen, Kenlee and Elizabeth. Together, they present questions to Craig and Daelen about politics that they think will be useful to listeners to have answered. The goal is keep the series non-partisan, informational and useful to listeners.

Topics include the structure of Georgia’s state government, the difference between primary and general elections, how to find out if you are registered to vote and what candidates will appear on your ballot, and more generally how to become a more informed and involved citizen in our electoral process.

Like what you’re listening to? Leave us a review in the Apple Podcast store or wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us spread the word about the show and makes it easier for other people to find it.

Cadillac Jack: My Second Act and The Georgia Politics Podcast are part of the Appen Podcast Network. Listen for free at appenmedia.com/podcasts or wherever you get your shows.

Frank Paras Home Depot Installation Services Local Team Leader

Tara Tucker

Podcasting was alive and well this year at Appen Media. Here are some featured episodes from 2022

CALENDAR

JUST FOR FUN:

SANDY SPRINGS

PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

What: Are you interested in knowing more about photography? You can learn the basic principles of correctly exposing a photograph by balancing shutter speed, aperture size and sensor sensitivity, and how each of these affect your photography by participating in the beginner session. You will also discover the modes and functions of a DSLR camera and how to use them. The instructor will attach a camera to a large display to demonstrate how a camera’s settings impact your photographs.

When: Tuesday, Jan. 10, 6-6:45 p.m. Club meeting will follow.

Where: Lost Corner Preserve, 7300 Brandon Mill Rd NW, Sandy Springs More info: sandyspringsga.gov

TRIVIA NIGHT

What: Whether you’re the whiz of the group or the dunce, a trivia outing is about so much more than the questions themselves. Bring your friends and test your knowledge while you drink a pint at the King George Tavern.

When: Thursday, Jan. 5, 8 p.m.

Where: King George Tavern, 4511 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody More info: kinggeorgetavern.com

TRIVIA NIGHT

What: Whether you’re the whiz of the group or the dunce, a trivia outing is about so much more than the questions themselves. Bring your friends and test your knowledge while you drink a pint at the King George Tavern.

When: Thursday, Jan. 5, 8 p.m. Where: King George Tavern, 4511 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody More info: kinggeorgetavern.com

PARENTS NIGHT OUT

What: Enjoy a night out while your kids spend the evening doing fun science activities and experiments. Kids, ages 5-11, will journey through space and explore our planets and their moons, create an ice comet, make rockets and have a launching contest. Popcorn and drinks are included. Kids can bring dinner if they want.

When: Saturday, Jan. 7, 6-9 p.m. Where: Discover Science Center, 2500 Old Alabama Road, Suite 5, Roswell Cost: $30 More info: discoversciencecenter.com

BIRD WALK

What: Morgan Falls Overlook Park boasts several habitats, and thus a large variety of birds over the course of the year: mudflats (shorebirds, including Avocets in 2017), lake (winter ducks, nesting Bald Eagles), river, woodland, and field (sparrows). The walk will involve possibly wet grass, stairs, gently sloped pavement and unpaved trails. A scope and loaner binoculars will be available. The walk will begin at the overlook, past the playground. Register online. When: Sunday, Jan. 15, 8 a.m. Where: Morgan Fall Overlook Park & Dam, 200 Morgan Falls Road, Sandy Springs

More info: sandyspringsga.gov

ENCHANTED WOODLAND TRAIL

What: The fairies and gnomes have been busy building whimsical houses along Chattahoochee Nature Center’s forested trails. Slow down as you search for houses made from tiny natural objects. Take notice of the beautiful and enchanting features of the winter woods.

When: Up to Feb. 28, open daily except for December 24-26 and January 1-3

Where: Chattahoochee Nature Center, 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell Cost: $15 for adults

More info: chattnaturecenter.org

LEARN AND LEAD:

BRING ONE FOR THE CHIPPER

What: Drop off your Christmas tree at the City of Milton’s main annual Christmas tree recycling event. During that time, you can drop off your tree on the Milton High School campus in the baseball field parking lot, which is closest to Freemanville Road. Casey Tree Experts is partnering with the city on this event and will chip all of the trees.

When: Saturday, Jan. 7, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Where: Milton High School, 13025 Birmingham Hwy, Milton More info: miltonga.gov

Video movie rental, history from the more recent past

PALS

PERIMETER ADULT LEARNING & SERVICES

PALS is pleased to announced its Winer 2023 Program lineup. Classes will run on Mondays from January 9 –March 6 at the Dunwoody United Methodist Church, 1548 Mt Vernon Rd. Dunwoody, GA 30338. Registration is online at www.palsinline.info.

The class line up is as follows:

MONDAYS:

From 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Spies, Saboteurs and Rescuers During World War II Dan O’Lone will present a fascinating look at double and even triple agents who played key roles in saving thousands of Allied lives during World War II. He will also continue with his unique take on those who rescued Jews during the War, including sewer cleaners, zookeepers, circus performers and German soldiers, as well as the man who stopped the trains to Auschwitz, a diplomat from a country that he had never been to.

From 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars

Tom McElhinny will continue his series on Native Americans, this time dealing with Andrew Jackson’s presidency and his Indian wars from his first battles with the Cherokee and Creek nations until the establishment of the Indian Territory in Oklahoma. The most infamous outcome of Jackson’s relentless exploits at Indian removal culminated with one of the greatest forced migrations in history-the Trail of Tears. It is a sobering reminder of a violent and dark episode in our nation’s history.

From 10:00 am - 1:45 pm

Mah Jongg

what he thought of a movie and if he thought they would enjoy it, he would happily give his opinion.

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF

This image of Versatile Video brings back memories for me. I often stopped there with my children for a movie and often a video game in the 1990s and 2000s. We also rented videos and games from Blockbuster at the corner of Dunwoody Club Drive and Mount Vernon Road.

Chuck Tintle opened Versatile Video in 1981 on Chamblee Dunwoody Road. He started the business after his friend bought a VCR for $1,000 in 1980. The question at the time was where to get videos to watch on your VCR. Tintle put together a collection of 270 videos he thought people would want to rent. At first, there was a lot of empty space in the store, so he began selling General Electric VCRs and televisions in the location. Later, he would also carry video games for rent.

Chuck and Mary ran a video store where they were friendly and often knew their customers. If someone asked Chuck

“Things have changed,” said Tintle as closing was on the horizon in 2008. “There are now faster ways to get movies into homes, and that’s what doing me in, the technology.” He did not believe the Blockbuster that had been around the corner for 15 years from his store was a factor.

He and Mary were planning to retire after the store closed. Both had already retired from their previous careers, Mary taught school in Fulton County for over 40 years and Chuck had retired from the Ford Motor Company. (Atlanta Constitution, Dec.27, 2008, “Technology advances hasten end of Dunwoody video store”)

Besides Blockbuster, other big names in the business were Hollywood Video and The Movie Store. Record stores also began carrying videos and games for rent. Turtle’s, Camelot, and Coconuts Records. Turtles opened a few locations that were strictly video and game rental. There were other independent stores in Atlanta and the surrounding communities.

In 1985, Castleberry’s Appliance Sales & Service in Chamblee and a new location in Lithonia advertised the addition of movie and VCR rental. Four movies for $4.

American Tape & Video had a location in Pinetree Plaza on Buford Highway and in Hammond Festival shopping center on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.

Blockbuster at 1575 Mount Vernon Road closed in 2011 and is now the location of Piedmont Urgent Care. The other Mount Vernon location at 2526 is a Chase Bank today. Versatile Video is now the location of a State Farm Insurance office, still next door to Mellow Mushroom. That was another plus for Versatile Video, being next door to Mellow Mushroom.

If you are feeling nostalgic for Blockbuster Video, Netflix has a series where the story line revolves around the last Blockbuster Video store in the U.S.

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

Bring your own Mah Jongg card and come play. There is no instructor for the session- just fun and self-evaluation.

From 10:00 am - 1:45 pm

Open

Bridge for Experienced Players

There is no instructor for this weekly session – just fun and self-evaluation.

From 11:15 am - 12:15 pm

A History of the Space Race

John Baumbusch will take us through the history of how we got to the Moon more than 50 years ago. He will discuss moon lore, the Cold War, Russians and the Right Stuff! Through this series, we will re-live the heady days of the Space Race from the 1950s to the 1970s.

From 11:15 am - 12:15 pm

The Economic Implications of Immigration

Shai Robkin will discuss how immigration is a misunderstood topic in America’s social discourse, with much of what we believe is based largely on myth. He will compare the experiences of immigrants from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to those of immigrants today, and how immigrants and their children compare educationally, professionally and economically with US born citizens and discuss the policy implications of what we find.

DUNWOODY CRIER ARCHIVE PHOTO

Versatile Video on Chamblee Dunwoody Road was open for 27 years, from 1981 until 2008.

shocked to learn many residents didn’t know to turn off their main water line when dealing with possible frozen pipes. He also said some of people’s solutions to the freezing temperatures were even more dangerous.

Miller said a structure fire started after a resident tried to heat a frozen pipe outside over a direct flame, accidentally catching their house on fire. He cautioned people against heating frozen pipes with direct flame, and said the safer method is letting warm air circulate and slowly defrost ice.

He said he hopes that people will take fire safety measures in the future to reduce a need for emergency fire responses, since the department is overwhelmed with seasonal calls.

Alpharetta, Roswell and other city officials took to social media Dec. 26, urging residents not to call the city’s emergency 911 center about burst pipes.

“Due to frigid and fluctuating temperatures over the weekend, water pipes have been bursting all around the city overwhelming the 911 system with calls for service,” Alpharetta officials said. “As we always strive to provide the highest

level of service to our community, we encourage everyone who experiences a burst or leaking water pipe to first shut off the main water to their property and call a plumber, your landlord or property manager first and NOT to call 911.”

Local plumbers were also overwhelmed— one Sandy Springs plumber announced that “due to extreme weather conditions, we’re experiencing an unusually high volume of calls.”

The calls were largely responding to water line breaks and leaks caused by frozen pipes. If the water inside of the running pipe freezes, the pressure can cause cracks and leaks in pipes, which can eventually lead to severe water damage.

It wasn’t just residential water lines affected by the cold.

Shoppers were evacuated from the Peachtree Dunwoody Road Home Depot store in Sandy Springs Dec. 26 after several pipes at the store’s entrance burst, spraying a deluge of water into the store and parking lot.

After customers were allowed back into the store about an hour later, an employee said the store had sold its entire stock of space heaters by Saturday, Dec. 24.

The Dunwoody Village Parkway Ace Hardware also saw an influx of customers. One employee said they “100

percent sold out of space heaters” and many customers bought ice melts for their frozen sidewalks.

Two Fulton County libraries are shut down until further notice due to water damage. The Milton Library and Ocee Library in Johns Creek experienced water damage to carpets, floors, and some shelves and books due to frozen pipes. There are emergency teams working on the libraries, but the Fulton County Library System does not have a reopening date.

Multiple water line breakages caused road closures in Johns Creek and Dunwoody.

On Dec. 25, part of Haynes Bridge Road in Johns Creek was closed due to a large water main break between Haynesbrook Layne and Alvin Road. The road reopened on Dec. 27 after repairs were completed.

Late into the night of Dec. 28, Dunwoody officials announced the DeKalb County Watershed Department sent out crews to fix an 8-inch water main break at 1224 Hammond Drive. After a night with little to no water pressure, repairs wrapped up early Dec. 29.

On open roads, drivers faced possible black ice, a thin coating of ice on the roads difficult to see. On Dec. 27 the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency

Management Agency reported black ice patches on less traveled roads.

Much of north Forsyth County was under a water boil advisory starting on Christmas Day, due to a frozen valve at a service pump station which caused a loss in water pressure for many homes north of Ga. 369.

Officials said the frozen valve was quickly found and fixed, and no break in the Forsyth County system was detected, but the boil advisory was kept in effect until Dec. 28.

Fulton County was not under a water boil advisory, despite social media posts suggesting otherwise. The county put out multiple statements clarifying there was no advisory for the area.

At the same time, while parts of DeKalb County were under a boil water advisory, Dunwoody officials clarified the city was not.

Sawnee EMC reported Dec. 25 that its electrical system was “stressed to its fullest extent” due to power consumption and the freezing temperatures.

In Sandy Springs, the city announced some residents on Dec. 23 were likely waking up to power outages but did not say how many people were impacted. Statewide reports showed thousands of people were left without power.

APPEN MEDIA’S FIRST EVER

Shopping Spree Giveaway

Start the year off right with a chance to win a $1,000 Shopping Spree courtesy of Appen Media and the Crier Newspapers.

Each week, our newsroom will hide this shopping cart image in the newspaper. Once you find it, visit appenmedia.com/shoppingspree and enter 1) Your name 2) Your email 3) The page number you found the image That’s it!

The contest will run for 13 consecutive weeks, so submit an entry each week to maximize your chances of winning.

The winner will be randomly drawn, notified on Monday, April 3rd and announced in the April 13th Crier publications. HAPPY SHOPPING …and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Glass recycling opens at Ocee Park

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Residents have flocked to the glass recycling bin at Ocee Park, contributing to more than 20,000 pounds of collected glass since the site’s opening in early October.

This is no surprise to Johns Creek Assistant to the City Manager Olivia Ammons, who said many residents were frustrated because local waste haulers no longer accept glass curbside. Glass becomes a contaminant when it breaks inside of other materials, she said, which doesn’t make fiscal sense to haulers.

Off Buice Road, Johns Creek residents can get rid of their glass soda, beer, wine and liquor bottles, juice containers and drinking glasses. Glass can be any color, and labels can be attached. But residents should be sure to remove lids and rinse the glass before drop-off.

Items not accepted include CRT (TV) glass, light bulbs, porcelain, crystal, ceramics, candle glass, vases, Pyrex or other heat-resistant glass, windows doors or windshields, paper cardboard boxes and furniture glass.

Before October, Johns Creek resident Carole Madan, aka Momma Nature, had been taking her recyclables to other areas like Forsyth County. Ocee Park is the city’s first glass recycling site. Saving the natural world for 60 years, Madan takes three to four bags every week to Waste Management in addition to the glass she drops off once a month at Ocee.

“[Glass recycling in Johns Creek] raises the expectations that we will have access to good recycling,” Madan said. “Right now, there’s a lot of doubt with different waste management companies.”

While bin use is exclusive to Johns Creek residents, Ammons said the city may look the other way to deter others from tossing recyclable glass into the trash.

“We are always pro-saving the environment,” she said at the Nov. 28 Johns Creek City Council meeting.

Ammons wanted to make sure the city harnessed glass, a “low hanging fruit.” Glass can be recycled in perpetuity, without loss in quality or chemical structure, which makes it highly sustainable.

The Johns Creek City Council identified glass recycling as a secondary priority at its January 2021 retreat, allocating money toward the initiative in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Ammons brought the project to life, nailing down site logistics, with the help of Johns Creek Public Works Director Chris Haggard.

The effort is part of the city’s larger

More than 20,000 pounds of glass has been collected since the recycling bin opened in early October. Pick-ups are monthly and average 10,000 pounds.

project to become a certified Green Community. Johns Creek recently received a New Leaf level certification from the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Green Communities program, which takes a minimum of 25 points and is given to previously uncertified communities.

Going from zero to 175 points at the Bronze level is like “jumping over a canyon when you just learned how to walk,” Ammons said. The ARC created the Leaf level to get cities started with some momentum.

To apply for and achieve Bronze by May 2024, she said staff is primarily working on documenting existing city initiatives, like the city’s community garden, the farmer’s market and some city ordinances and policies.

The main hurdle Ammons faced implementing recycling is figuring out a way to make it easy and accessible for people.

“When you’re able to integrate it into your everyday routine into your practices, it’s a shift in mindset,” she said.

Many people are skeptical about recycling and where the materials go, Ammons said. The glass at Ocee Park is collected by Strategic Materials, the country’s largest glass recycler, and taken to its facility in College Park to be sorted and processed for reuse.

Ammons said she understands the apprehension because a lot of materials don’t get recycled because they aren’t recycled property or because the infrastructure in the United States is “subpar at best” compared to Europe.

“Doing the best we can with what we have is paramount, right?” she asked. “Not only do we want people to recycle more, we want them to recycle properly because that will ensure that what you recycle is actually getting recycled and made into new material.”

CITY OF JOHNS CREEK/PROVIDED

CAROLE MADAN/PROVIDED

Johns Creek resident Carole Madan, aka Momma Nature, drops off glass recyclables. Ocee Park is the city’s first glass recycling site. Before October, Madan has been dropping glass off in other areas like Forsyth County.

A Confederate soldier depended on his Bowie knife

According to the Digital Library of Georgia, approximately 120,000 Georgians served in the Civil War. Casualties were very high. Between 11,000 and 25,000 Georgia soldiers died on the battlefield or in hospitals from disease and wounds.

One of the soldiers who survived and went on to become a successful farmer and landowner was John Franklin Shirley (1841-1906). Here is his story based in part on a profile written by Fred Shirley (1935-2017), who was raised on a farm that encompassed today’s Windward neighborhood, located near John Shirley’s land. Many portraits of Confederate soldiers exist on the internet. Relatively few identify the subject. Thus, John is of some historical interest since he is identified in his portrait

The photo of John shows him holding a rather ferocious Bowie knife. Numerous similar poses appear on the internet, often daguerreotype or tintype images in small foldable cases. The cases used during the Civil War were made of gutta-percha, one of the first plastic materials. It was made from a mixture of resins from Malaysian trees. It was molded and often used for daguerreotype cases.

The Bowie knife was a popular fighting weapon prior to the Civil War. It was created by blacksmith James Black for James Bowie in 1830. Bowie was a celebrated knife fighter. The knives became so popular that cutlery factories in Sheffield, England, mass-produced them for export to the U.S. in the 1830s and later. Bowie was killed in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.

John is holding a very long D-guard Bowie knife, notable for its hand guard shaped like a D. These knives chopped branches, split logs, sliced saplings, and even had their way with an occasional Yankee.

It was said the knife “must be long enough to use as a sword, sharp enough to use as a razor, wide enough to use as a paddle, and heavy enough to use as a hatchet.”

Long knives were popular with Confederate soldiers in the early days of the Civil War but were cumbersome and fell out of favor. In fact, few casualties were the result of hand-tohand combat. These massive weapons were often made by local blacksmiths or by the soldiers themselves from old

It was the custom for Confederate soldiers to have

keep. Here is a photo mounted in a Civil War era

left side of the frame is velvet material.

John Franklin Shirley was a Civil War soldier, and after the war was a successful local farmer. In this portrait, he is holding a long Bowie knife which was commonly used early in the war by Confederate soldiers. Because they were so unwieldly, they lost popularity later in the war. Circa 1862

files or saw or scythe blades. In 1862, the State of Georgia purchased nearly 5,000 Bowie knives from fourteen different makers for distribution to Confederate soldiers.

I am intrigued by his uniform. Some regiments in Virginia had grey stripes, some in Mississippi were red, but there were no striped uniforms

in Georgia that I am aware of. There was little uniformity among uniforms, especially in the South early in the war. Confederate soldiers sometimes wore their own clothes to battle, or took uniforms from captured or killed Union soldiers, leading to confusion on the battlefield. We will probably never know why his jacket has stripes.

John enlisted as a private in Co. 1, 3rd Regiment GA State Troops in October 1861, some six months after the war began. Mustered out in April 1962, he then re-enlisted as a private in Co. G, 56th Regiment GA Infantry in May 1862 when it was first organized. Company G consisted of soldiers from Milton County.

John was born in South Carolina. He was married in 1865, at the end of the war, at age 24 to his second cousin Mary Catherine Shirley (1846-1915). They are buried in Union Hill Cemetery just over the Forsyth County line.

Fred Shirley’s profile identifies some of the battles in which John fought, including the siege of Vicksburg and the Battle of Atlanta.

During the siege of Vicksburg, John somehow became separated from his unit. Unable to go through enemy lines to return to his unit, he walked back to Georgia evading the enemy by staying off the beaten track until he reached friendly territory. When he arrived back home, he feared he would be considered a deserter and convinced his family to hide him in the Big Creek swamp. When word arrived that Vicksburg had surrendered on July 4, 1863, John no longer felt he was a deserter because the Confederate soldiers were released if they signed certification that they would not bear arms against Union soldiers in the future.

Fred Shirley described John as “extremely ambitious as well as industrious. He had acquired over 500 acres within the first 10 years following the Civil War. Eventually, John amassed more than 1,000 acres. He built two sawmills, several homes including three tenant houses and a cotton gin. One of his houses became the headquarters of the Alpharetta

Women’s Club at 112 Cumming Street.

BOB MEYERS Columnist bobmey@bellsouth.net

JIM FARRIS/PROVIDED

their portrait taken and mounted in small frames for their families to

frame by Milton Historical Society Board of Directors member Jim Farris. The

FRED SHIRLEY FAMILY/ PROVIDED

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Atlanta’s real estate trends for 2023

Atlanta has been one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. for the last several years. With its strong job market and reputation for being one of the country’s most livable cities, there’s a high demand for housing around the Atlanta metro area. This has led to a very hot real estate market and a steady rise in house prices. With migration to Atlanta expected to increase, it will continue to be a sellers’ market as there are more buyers than there are homes available.

Looking forward into 2023, The National Association of Realtors expects Atlanta to be the hottest real estate market in the new year, with house prices expected to keep going up. This means that if you’re think-

ing about selling, now could be the perfect time to put your house on the market. As interest rates continue to rise, there may be fewer qualified buyers as the year goes on. For this reason, it may be a good idea to list your house early in the year for the best chance of selling at the highest price possible.

Although house prices have risen steadily, Atlanta is still considered one of the more affordable housing markets compared to other U.S. cities. If you’re looking to buy a home or investment property in 2023, you may want to do so before interest rates increase over the coming year. Atlanta home prices have doubled since 2012 and will continue to rise, so Atlanta real estate is sure to be a solid financial investment for many years to come.

Brought to you by – Dan Griffin, Compass Realty

GRIFFIN

Hospital:

sure that the culture of each practice is consistent with her values. A Dunwoody resident, Wolkow’s dream was opening a clinic in her city.

Owning a vet clinic means Wolkow can do what she thinks is best. She isn’t told how to practice medicine and what meds to use. Corporations have a bad habit of pushing products onto owners, she said.

“I’m only going to offer you what I would do for my own pet,” Wolkow said.

At its 8 a.m. opening, reception was already busy. Like a mother to her baby, a vet tech used high-pitched speech to coddle a frightened pup on its way to the scale. The office manager, Linda Israel, sought feedback from Wolkow on patients before she stepped into her personal office space, which had a blue, padded dog mat on the floor, hair still clinging to it.

On Thursday, Dec. 29 Wolkow’s dogs weren’t around but they usually are, along with those of fellow veterinarian Ashlyn Roberts. Melanie Lucero, who was absent that day, is Village’s third vet and Wolkow’s former classmate at the University of Georgia’s vet school. There’s also five vet techs on staff.

“The staff here is awesome,” Wolkow said. “Every one of us has stayed late to do an emergency surgery.”

The lobby of Village Animal Hospital is spacious with deep purple walls. The contemporary color palette is incorporated through its three, small exam rooms, which are decorated with animal portraits. Wolkow described a renovation on the horizon — to take away from the oversized lobby and create three new exam rooms, while combining two of the existing rooms for extra space.

“I like to sit on the floor,” Wolkow said. “I like to be able to talk to the owners and have the space.”

Sometimes stuck up on the table, sitting on the floor is less scary for her patients. Wolkow also has treats — anything to make animals more comfortable.

No day looks the same at the Village Animal Hospital. That morning, Wolkow was surprised with a drop-off before her first scheduled appointment — a dog who had been vomiting the night before and had bloody diarrhea. Later in the day, she was to perform a biopsy of a mass in one dog’s mouth, “healthy” appointments in between.

“Sometimes you get a euthanasia thrown in,” Wolkow said.

A veterinarians’ days are an emotional rollercoaster. One moment, Wolkow could put a dog down for the deepest kind of sleep — something you do “for a pet” and not “to a pet” — and the next,

she could be greeting a new puppy.

Every life stage is important, she said, and it’s important to be there for the clients and their pets.

“We don’t build a wall around our heart, you know, and especially those clients that you’ve had for years and years that you’ve seen as babies, and then they’re 16 years old,” Wolkow said. “I’ve been in long enough to kind of have that whole life stage at this point in my career.”

Growing up with animals, she decided to be a vet at 3 years old. Wolkow never wanted to do anything else.

“I grew up in a family of human doctors and had no desire to do that,” she said. “I’d tease my dad – ‘If I don’t get into vet school, I’ll go to med school as my backup.’”

Now, she has two dogs — Gasper and Peter, who is on his way to be a guide dog. Gasper had the same training but is too terrified of stairs. Wolkow also has two snakes and two sugar gliders.

“[Animals] love unconditionally,” she said. “I would be lost without having dogs.”

As a veterinarian, a major issue Wolkow comes across is the lack of preventative care, especially with cats. Cats are underrepresented, she said. Oftentimes, the beginning stages of sickness in cats are too subtle to be detected. Cats get heartworms just like dogs do,

Wolkow said, but for them, there’s no treatment — they’ll just die.

Clients should seek annual, if not biannual, exams, she said.

said.

“If people would come in more often for preventative care, we’re going to catch things on bloodwork before they actually get sick,” Wolkow

PHOTOS BY AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Village Animal Hospital’s banner covers an old sign from when the space was corporately owned. The vet clinic is in Dunwoody Plaza off Dunwoody Village Parkway.

Village Animal Hospital has three exam rooms, but owner Riva Wolkow plans to add more and make the existing ones larger.

An array of topics: What do you think?

So, this column is sort of like a mini “house-cleaning.”

There have been a number of things that have occurred recently that are either solid potential “column topics: or at least semi column-worthy.”

or “oblivious to anything but their own field of vision, sensibilities, and values.” “Myopic,” but with a more negative twist, comes to mind. Yes, they might have just moved in last week, but my guess is that is only the case in a few instances.

Not all social media is bad

RAY APPEN Publisher Emeritus ray@appenmedia.com

One item has to do with one of my recent columns about social media. Another has to do with a longer article that our reporter Amber wrote about drag theater, and another consists of a few things that happened, or I observed when we were in New York to see a Broadway show this past week (“Music Man”).

Don’t know where I live

Every week we deliver just over 100,000 local newspapers (Heralds and Criers) to homes. These are free, non-subscriptionbased, so every week we usually receive a few requests to stop delivery – for whatever reason. However, it is not that unusual that when we ask the caller their address and the name of the subdivision in which they live, so we can stop delivery, they give us the address but cannot give us the name of their subdivision because they don’t know it.

They don’t know the name of the subdivision in which they live?

I am not sure what the opposite of “woke” is but is it possibly “comatose”

A reader took the time to correct me about a recent column in which I focused on all the negative/toxic aspects of social media without acknowledging the positive ones. My bad. He was right to call me on that. While I did consider it when I wrote the column, I think in my mind I was thinking that the positives are obvious – just as are the negative aspects. Again, I should have addressed that aspect.

NYC/Broadway/honking

We walked a lot on Broadway as well as took Ubers and Lyfts. One thing was constant – thousands of cars and trucks and honking – honking, honking, and more honking. So, at some point one sort of just stops hearing those honks; but, at another point I had an epiphany about them. Those honks in NYC were not personal; they are not road-rage like they very often are in Georgia. It felt like –opinion here – like those NYC honks were saying “move on,” “quit holding everyone up”, “wake up.” That’s in contrast to the toxic, often threatening, name-calling personal outrage that is

THE CITY OF DUNWOODY, GEORGIA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

The City of Dunwoody Planning Commission will meet on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Dunwoody City Hall, which is located at 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338, for the purpose of due process of the following:

Special Land Use Permit Request (Case # 22-03) for 1822 Mount Vernon Road: The property owners, Anna Khoklan and Roman Khoklan, request a Special Land Use Permit to allow a 7-resident personal care home. The property owners also request a concurrent variance from Sec. 27-202, to allow additional parking.

Should you have any questions, comments, or would like to view the application and supporting materials, please contact the City of Dunwoody Community Development Department at 678-382-6800. Staff is available to answer questions, discuss the decision-making process, and receive comments and concerns.

honking in Georgia and specifically in North Fulton. The volume of honks in NYC surely would have resulted in – how many? – people pulling out their guns and … in Georgia?

Tik Tok and Elon

Another reader pointed out to me that in my column about social media, I should have been defending First Amendment rights of free speech instead of trashing social media. I get his point of view. But I also believe that free speech is not absolute; that you cannot shout “fire” in a crowded theater. I also pointed out to him in my reply that, in my opinion, that an unregulated, unencumbered Internet – which is the main conduit of “free speech” is incompatible with all forms of government. I have not heard back from him yet, but I am sure he will not agree.

Of note, I noted that Congress just passed a bill banning TikTok from being loaded onto any computer belonging to the U.S. federal government; free speech vs what?

The story about theater and drag actors

So, we have received a lot of “feedback” about a recent story about a drag show in Forsyth County.

One reader who had previously emailed me to complement us on how much progress we had made in our Forsyth coverage expressed his disappointment in

our story choice – “you digressed.”

A good friend – who I respect and like – reached out to me about how sad he was that we reported/promoted anything to do with the topic

So here is a poignant local example of choices that must be made and the impact of those choices for a newspaper or media of any sort – and for the audience served. None of the choices are easy. Where does one draw the line? Ban TikTok? Ban reporters because they write true stories about you (Elon Musk)? Ban politicians because they shout “fire” in a crowded theater? Who gets to define “fire?”

Is all we (the media) have to do is make sure that what we write is objectively the truth - (yes)? But, what about story selection? If we write about crime, does that mean we are promoting crime? Do all people have a fundamental right to live their lives as they choose so long as they do not harm others – and more. Are some lifestyles more important than others? Is someone “woke” if they think people should be treated the same? Are people “comatose” if they attack others as being woke because they are different than they are? And on and on.

Respect, honesty, the truth, and common sense are some of the markers that should lead a media – and individuals – to the best middle ground I think. Peace on Earth, good will to everyone.

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