Residents of the Four Oaks subdivision off Peller Road have responded differently to the city’s proposed Peeler Road path project which calls for a 12-foot-wide concrete path for pedestrians and cyclists on Peeler Road between Winter’s Chapel Road and Lakeside Drive.
DUNWOODY, Ga. — Four Oaks subdivision residents appear divided about the design of a multi-use path planned for the area.
The city sought community feedback May 20 from residents in the Four Oaks subdivision on its most recent concepts for a 12-foot-wide concrete path for pedestrians and cyclists on Peeler Road between Winter’s Chapel Road and Lakeside Drive.
Some residents said they were shocked to hear some of their neighbor’s opposition to the Peeler Road multiuse path at the open house.
Peter Yost, longtime Four Oaks resident, said he thinks his neighbors who spoke with Appen Media after the meeting misrepresented the consensus in the subdivision.
Yost said there were two vocal residents who opposed the path at the meeting. Other residents were too intimidated to indicate their support for the project, he said.
“Input to community projects like the path are important for the city government to do its job,” he wrote. “The neighbors mentioned … clearly mistook the purpose of the meeting to be their opportunity
See PATH, Page 17
DUNWOODY, Ga. — MARTA announced the closure of parking decks at the Medical Center and Dunwoody stations during June to install new equipment for more convenient payment.
The Medical Center Station parking deck closes from June 4-28, and the Dunwoody Station parking deck shutters from June 10 to July 3.
MARTA encourages riders to use the parking decks at the Sandy Springs, North Springs, Doraville and Lindberg stations while renovations are underway.
During the temporary closure, contractors will install new entry and exit gates, ticket dispensers, license-plate recognition cameras and other system upgrades.
The larger project includes new equipment for long-term parking facilities at 10 heavy rail stations. The project is expected to conclude in April 2025.
The Lenox and Lindberg stations are currently wrapping up installation and are available for parking.
In the future, upgrades will be compatible with MARTA’s Automated Fare Collection 2.0 system, allowing customers to pay for parking with their fares through a single app.
The Hammond Drive parking deck at the Dunwoody MARTA Station sports a 2,500-square-foot mural. MARTA officials announced the parking decks at the Dunwoody and Medical Center stations on the Red Line will close during June.
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DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police arrested a 45-year-old Atlanta man June 1 after loss prevention at the Nordstrom Rack on Hammond Drive reported him for stealing sneakers.
When an officer arrived at the Perimeter Expo shopping center, he saw the suspect walking toward the Dunwoody MARTA Station.
The officer said he followed the suspect onto the transit platform, where he placed him under arrest.
The suspect had a duffle bag that contained three pairs of shoes, tin foil and tweezers.
The officer said tin foil and tweezers are common shoplifting tools.
The stolen merchandise totals $325.
During a criminal history check, officers discovered the suspect had three convictions for shoplifting through the Atlanta Municipal Court and DeKalb State Court going back to 2001.
Officers transported him to DeKalb County Jail for theft by shoplifting with three prior convictions.
DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police responded to reports of two vehicle break-ins along Mount Vernon Way May 30 after landscapers reported missing equipment.
An officer said he met with the caller who was speaking with another landscaper about missing equipment at Mount Vernon Way and Meadowcreek Drive.
The caller, a 62-year-old Duluth man, said he was cutting grass at a home on Mount Vernon Way around noon.
When he went to open his truck bed about 20 minutes later, his $525 STIHL blower and $325 STIHL trimmer were missing.
The second victim, cutting grass just a couple homes south, reported $1,400 in stolen lawn equipment from his trailer.
Both victims said they did not see anyone take the equipment.
DUNWOODY, Ga. — A 61-yearold resident reported a swindler to Dunwoody Police May 29 after an unidentified person posed as a member of the DeKalb County Police Department.
The victim said he received a phone call from a man claiming to be a “sergeant” with DeKalb Police. The call came from a number with a 404 area code.
The caller told the victim that he was under a gag order not to speak with anyone and had outstanding warrants for his arrest, totaling $5,500.
The caller then told the victim to call the DeKalb County Jail hotline number.
After bouncing around on the phone, the victim said jail personnel verified the situation was a fraudulent scam.
The victim said when he rang back the original caller, a “lieutenant” answered.
The victim said he told the caller he knew it was a scam and he was headed to the Dunwoody Police Department.
After that, the victim said the caller threatened to find and kill him.
When an officer called the number, he said he was immediately disconnected.
ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell Police are investigating a shoplifting incident May 29 after an alleged repeat offender evaded officers at the Target on Woodstock Road.
Police said the male suspect was inside the store when an officer arrived to speak with loss prevention employees.
Later, employees said the suspect concealed around $1,000 in merchandise in a black bin.
When loss prevention pointed out the suspect, the unidentified man began running toward the exit, knocking over items to block the officer’s pursuit.
Employees said the damaged items total around $200.
The officer said he chased the suspect through the parking lot to his vehicle, a black Nissan Rogue. When the officer drew his weapon and ordered the suspect to stop, the man reversed and drove away.
Another officer began to chase the suspect on Ga. 92 toward Cherokee County.
Because the suspect was driving at excessive speeds while weaving through traffic, officers canceled the chase due to department policy.
A loss prevention employee said they recognized the suspect because he has worn the same outfit during similar incidents at Target stores in Woodstock and Acworth.
Officers said records show both incidents are classified as felony offenses.
The suspect faces misdemeanor charges for reckless driving, failure to obey a traffic control device, obstruction and criminal trespass, as well as felony charges for shoplifting and fleeing an officer.
Officers said no warrants have been obtained but a court order was sent to Avis Budget Group, a rental car holding company, to help identify the suspect.
ATLANTA — It was Gen Z’s night on Georgia’s May 21 Election Day: All but one of the youngest cohort of statehouse candidates cruised to victories in metro-Atlanta.
One big upset stood out in particular, sending shockwaves through the political establishment. That was Gabriel Sanchez’s victory over State Rep. Teri Anulewicz in the Democratic primary for her Cobb County legislative district, which covers parts of Smyrna and Marietta. Sanchez won with 56.8 percent or 2,249 votes – compared with 43.2 percent or 1,711 votes for Anulewicz.
Anulewicz, who has represented District 42 since 2017, rose through party ranks to become deputy whip for Georgia’s House Democrats, while serving on key House committees, such as Appropriations and Transportation. Her reputation for working across the aisle earned her a broad base of support, even among Republicans. She won endorsements from a long list of state and local officials, including U.S.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath and the AFL-CIO of Georgia.
Her unexpected loss to a 27-yearold waiter and member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) may signal a shift in local politics — one where young, organized progressives running to the left of the establishment can win elections.
By all accounts, Sanchez ran an impressive campaign. Anulewicz outraised him more than two-to-one, bringing in $123,648 in donations, compared with Sanchez’s $50,097, according to campaign finance disclosures. But nearly half the contributions to Anulewicz came from political action committees, while Sanchez’s contributions were overwhelmingly smaller-dollar, individual donations.
That reflects the grassroots get-outthe-vote mobilization that Sanchez’s campaign has undertaken since last November to win. About 100 volunteers knocked on 17,000 doors, with the target of swaying 2,500 voters to defeat Anulewicz, according to Sanchez
See PRIMARY, Page 18
Gabriel Sanchez, center, in tie, celebrates with supporters May 21 after winning the Democratic primary against incumbent Teri Anulewicz for Georgia House District 42. The seat covers much of Cobb County.
DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody United Methodist Church will host an informational session about the dangers of opioids June 26 at its Fellowship Hall on Mount Vernon Road.
The session titled “When to Use Narcan?” comes at a time when more adults and young people are experiencing opioid addiction or encountering fentanyl.
Narcan, a brand of the drug naloxone, is an opioid-overdose anecdote that first responders and caregivers for people with heroin addiction often carry.
The informational meeting will
explain when to use the life-saving drug, which is a godsend for those in the grips of opioid addiction.
Other topics include how to talk to children about the dangers of drug use, identify the signs of an overdose and administer naloxone.
Dr. Karen Drexler, church member and addiction psychiatrist, will join representatives from the Dunwoody Police Department and Summit Counseling to give community members the information they need.
For more information, contact Kathy Brockman at kathy.brockman@ dunwoodyumc.org or 770-394-0675.
7506 Wilderness Parkway Big Canoe, GA 30143
Facts About Me
bigcanoeanimalrescue.org 706-268-1346
Breed: Terrier/Shepherd/Malinois Mix
Color: White w/ black markings (Short haired)
Age: 6 months old
Weight: (Current) 27 lbs
Fully Grown: Medium Size (45lbs)
Sex: Female
My Info
Good with children & dogs
May need potty training
Healthy
Shots current
Chipped & spayed
My Story
What is it that makes me so special?
Well, first of all I’m a puppy, but besides that have you noticed the little beauty marks above my eyes? No other puppy is as unique as me. I’m enjoying my other canine friends here, but I really would rather be at home with you playing, enjoying belly rubs and treats. Want to go for a walk? Come meet me. I have puppy kisses waiting for you!
All BCAR dogs are placed as indoor family pets. No electric fences, please. Visit pets every Saturday 11:00 am to 2:00 pm (706-268-1346) or visit our website for adoption information at www.bigcanoeanimalrescue.org.
The Pitts Road bridge is one of two in Sandy Springs that are
bridge replacements project.
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The last of the three bridges over Ga. 400 was set to reopen to traffic May 31 in preparation for the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Express Lanes project.
The GDOT pulled forward the Ga. 400 Bridge Replacements project as a part of the phased delivery of the planned Express Lanes project, which will add two lanes in each direction from the North Springs MARTA Station to McGinnis Ferry Road.
One express lane is also planned in each direction from McGinnis Ferry Road to McFarland Parkway, or exit 12, in Forsyth County.
Because the three bridges were more than 50 years old, the state needed to replace them with taller, wider structures to fit the planned expansion of Ga. 400.
Metro Atlanta commuters may have noticed the construction of three bridges over Ga. 400, starting in early 2023, at Kimball Bridge Road, Pitts Road and Roberts Drive.
The Ga. 400 overpass on Kimball Bridge Road opened to traffic May 8 after a 365-day closure.
Contractors with C.W. Matthews Contracting Company added two lanes with a raised median, a multi-use path
on the north side and a sidewalk on the south side of the Alpharetta bridge.
A May 1 statement from Alpharetta said some additional work is required for installation of decorative fencing and pavers, as well as general cleanup.
A part of the GDOT’s project includes local agreements with municipalities for bridge aesthetics.
The Pitts Road overpass features a 12-foot-wide path on the south side and a sidewalk on the north side, which are separated from vehicular lanes with barrier walls.
The other Ga. 400 overpass in Sandy Springs, the Roberts Drive bridge, remained open as a new structure was built adjacent to the old bridge.
The new bridge, with the same design as the Pitts Road overpass, opened to traffic last December.
A statement from the GDOT’s project page said motorists and pedestrians may see some construction crews as punch list work concludes on the three bridges.
Kyle Collins, a communications and marketing strategist for the GDOT, said all work on the bridges should be finished by late August.
Collins said work also continues on the Mount Vernon Highway bridge over I-285, specifically opening the pedestrian components.
NORTH METRO ATLANTA — Johns Creek High School boys tennis took home its sixth straight state championship May 11, defeating Pope 3-0 for the 6A title.
The match was held at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College.
The Gladiators overcame the loss of one of its key players during the state playoffs and had to enter the championship game playing with a lineup that they had used when they were defeated by Pope previously.
Despite the loss in the regular season, the boys persevered to earn their title as state champions.
“It was nice to go out there and use that same lineup to completely turn the tables,” Coach Todd Hedden said. “And, two of the lines that lost last time actually ended up winning the points for us to take the state championship.”
To add to north Metro Atlanta high schools’ successful athletic season, the Roswell City Council recognized Fellowship Christian Academy’s varsity girls soccer team at its meeting May 28. The team won the state championship for its second year in a row.
Seniors Alden Hays and Avery Paulson will be attending Liberty University next year to continue their soccer career, and Rachel Williamson is headed to the University of Georgia.
“The greatest thing about them is actually the signature word that we had this year, which was ‘humility’…” Coach Andy Trevers said. “They exemplified that everywhere they went…”
At the meeting, Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson also recognized the individual achievements of athletes at Blessed Trinity Catholic School, including Jack Garrett, the state wrestling champion in the 144-pound weight class for the 6A division.
He also acknowledged the four winners of the 800-meter relay, Addy Wilson, Alayna Carter, London Ray and Claire Peterson. Wilson said Claire was also the 1600-meter state champion and the 3200-meter state champion as well as the school’s valedictorian this year.
The Georgia High School Association host annual state championship tournaments for varsity teams to compete for a first-place spot. This year north Metro Atlanta had a fighting season full of triumphs, and these varsity teams were able to claim the title as state champion within their division:
ALPHARETTA
• 6A: Alpharetta High School girls volleyball
AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA
The Roswell City Council recognizes the Fellowship Christian Academy varsity girls soccer team for its second consecutive state championship win at the council meeting May 28.
• 6A: FCS Innovation Academy’s esports team placed first in the game “Splatoon,” a third-person shooter game.
FORSYTH COUNTY
• 7A: South Forsyth High School dance team
The team placed first overall as well in Hip-Hop and Pom. Pom is a style of dance that emphasizes precise and synchronized movements.
• 6A: West Forsyth High School girls tennis
• 6A: West Forsyth High School girls soccer
JOHNS CREEK
• 6A: Johns Creek High School girls golf
• 6A: Johns Creek High School boys swimming and diving
• 6A: Johns Creek High School boys tennis
• 5A-4A: Chattahoochee High School boys cross country
• 5A-4A: Chattahoochee High School boys swimming and diving
• 1A: Mount Pisgah Christian School girls volleyball
MILTON
• 7A: Milton High School boys football
• 7A: Milton High School girls lacrosse
• 6A-5A: Cambridge High School girls lacrosse
• A Division 1: St. Francis High School girls basketball
ROSWELL
• 6A-5A: Roswell High School boys lacrosse
• 2A: Fellowship Christian Academy girls soccer
SANDY SPRINGS
• 6A: Riverwood International Charter School boys basketball
Taz (ID# 55129499) is the best. He is playful and does the cutest play bows over and over. Now all he needs is his best forever friend to play with him. He loves to run around outdoors and have fun. Taz has beautiful hazel eyes that are oh so hard to resist. We dare you to try. Expand your family by 4 furry little feet; meet Taz and have a loving friend forever. All adoptions include spay/neuter, vaccinations and microchip. All you have to do is provide the love and security that every shelter animal deserves. If you would like more information about Taz or if you have questions about adopting, fostering or volunteering please email adoption@ dekalbanimalservices.com or call (404) 294-2165; all potential adopters will be screened to ensure Taz goes to a good home.
Starting Friday, June 7th, and each Friday through Summer, all dogs can be adopted for FREE from LifeLine shelters and foster homes.
Name of Business: Culinary Dropout
Owner: Fox Restaurants
Description: Culinary Dropout serves classic meals done right. A place where food and music are life. We’re here to party all year long. While you and your crew enjoy good food & drinks, a local
band plays live for great vibes. Come hang out and stay a while.
Opened: February 2024
Address: 1231 Ashford Crossing, Building 900; Dunwoody, GA 30338
Phone: (470) 242-6712
Web: https://www.culinarydropout.com/
CUMMING, Ga. — Shannon Williams probably fits in with other mushroom enthusiasts, wearing one of several mushroom T-shirts and advocating for a holistic healthy lifestyle, skeptical of silver bullets.
He’s the type to notice a kinship with all things around us.
“Mushrooms are very close to us, not too far from us in the genetic pool,” he said.
Before news of the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Williams said he came down with a sickness that resulted in a stick up his nose and hushed tones from medical professionals in the hall of the hospital, keeping away from whatever he had.
During his recovery, his son Shannon, the second, turned him onto turkey tail mushrooms. It was off to the races from there, carrying over some of the same equipment he used to brew his own ale.
“I remember I still was in pain when I decided I wanted to sell mushrooms to the public, so I decided I want to feed and heal my public,” Williams said.
Out of the basement in his Cumming home, he grows more than a dozen varieties of (legal) mushrooms.
The 10-by-20 Gorilla tent is the last of three size upgrades for his burgeoning business Noble Fungi Farm.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever been born again, but it felt like that but without the politics,” Williams said. “It was my choice, right? It was like, ‘Hey, this is a good thing, and I benefited from it personally, like I am a witness. Have you ever met Mushroom Jesus?’”
Williams fetched a box of mushrooms from his car — pink and blue oysters, which he identified by their Latin names. He said they were the backbone to his farm as well as elm oysters and lion’s mane, though he also grows chestnuts, reishi, shitake. Cordyceps get their own room, and so would hen-of-the-wood if he chooses to add it to the bunch.
“Hen-of-the-wood, I believe, knows the difference between its spores and other spores,” Williams said. “If there’s too many other spores in the environment, it’ll grow, but it’ll be underwhelmed. It won’t be like, ‘Life!’ It’ll be like, ‘Life…’”
He sells whole mushrooms, mushroom jerky and mushroom tinctures at local markets, also listing mushroom-based recipes on his website like one concocted by his eldest daughter Rena for vegan rainbow mushroom stroganoff.
Soon, Williams will introduce chaga soap. Chaga is sclerotia, a byproduct of birch trees attacking the locale of a fungal parasite, similar to a mold. Like reishi, Williams said it is an immunomodulator and an adaptogen, nourishing organs to provide chemical
stability.
“It’s taking all the good stuff that the tree is throwing at it and making it grow,” Williams said.
Products or “value-adds,” as he likes to call them, are a third of his business. Another third is education, and another is having fun.
Williams said his wife Valerie gives his mind direction, one that sometimes takes him down into the grow room at 3 a.m., still finding it miraculous to see his mushrooms grow.
“I bring the purpose, and I bring the dreams, and she helps me make it make sense,” Williams said.
Valerie, responsible for marketing Noble Fungi Farm, chuckled every now and then from across the outside breezeway at Starbucks as Williams’ excitableness over mushrooms pulled him into tangents.
He dove into the weeds of mycology, a meticulous process helped by a skillset he developed working in finance and accounting for UPS before he retired.
“My grandmother used to say, ‘There’s a place for everything, and everything has its place,’ and that’s kind of my vibe,” Williams said.
He also shared insights he accrued while taking his health into his own hands, with a hope that people do the same.
“We shouldn’t lean so much on other things,” Williams said. “They all have their place, but people don’t know how to grow anything. They don’t know how to fix anything. Like it breaks, they just go buy a new one.”
In December of 1927, the DeKalb County Grand Jury weighed the question of whether the Shallowford District, also known as Dunwoody, should remain in DeKalb County or become part of Fulton County. Residents of the Shallowford District argued that the 5,500 acres in question were surrounded by Fulton County on three sides. In the previous year, Grogan’s District of Milton County, between DeKalb and the Chattahoochee River became part of Fulton County.
R.C. Head of the Shallowford District prepared the petition, arguing that the district did not pay enough taxes to DeKalb County “to meet the necessary expenditures from the county treasury. The opinion of the DeKalb County commissioners is that the expense of keeping up roads in the Shallowford District is a losing proposition.”
Dunwoody in 1927 consisted of a small business area that developed around the depot of the Roswell Railroad. The rest of the community consisted of small farms, and the railroad went under in 1921.
The petition to become part of Fulton County would first go before
This map illustrating the Fulton-DeKalb disputed county line was prepared by engineer and surveyor of Rabun County, J. A. Reynolds.
the DeKalb Grand Jury. If DeKalb approved, the matter would go before the Fulton County Grand Jury. Then Dunwoody could have become part of Fulton County. (Atlanta Constitution, Dec.3,1927, “Shallowford citizens seek entry into Fulton County”)
Just four days later, the Atlanta Constitution announced, “Shallowford’s plea for annexation to
Fulton disapproved.” The petition was presented to Judge John B. Hutcheson in DeKalb County Superior Court. A few years later, the boundary between DeKalb and Fulton counties along the northern edge of the Shallowford District was under dispute. DeKalb County claimed several hundred acres of land that Fulton County also claimed. (Atlanta
Journal, Nov. 13, 1934, “Acreage is given to DeKalb County under 1859 law”)
Secretary of State John B. Wilson declared the Old Martin’s Ferry or Lawrenceville Road as the northern boundary of DeKalb County. Fulton County claimed the Hightower Trail should be the boundary. The Hightower Trail was used by the Muscogee (Creek) and Cherokee people who had lived on and traveled this land.
Residents were not all in agreement of whether they wanted to be in Fulton or DeKalb County. Georgia Gov. Eugene Talmadge selected an impartial arbitrator to decide. That person was J.A. Reynolds, a civil engineer from Rabun County.
Secretary Wilson held hearings with arguments presented from both sides. Julius McCurdy represented DeKalb County and Ralph Pharr represented Fulton County at the hearings. The decision was in favor of DeKalb County, and from that point, the Old Martin’s Ferry Road or Lawrenceville Road was the boundary between the two counties. That road later became known as Dunwoody Club Drive.
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.
The City of Dunwoody has tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 5.81% percent.
All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to be held at Dunwoody City Hall, 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Dr, Dunwoody GA 30338 on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 6 p.m.
Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase are at Dunwoody City Hall, 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Dr, Dunwoody GA 30338 on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 8 a.m. and Monday, July 8, 2024, at 6 p.m.
This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 3.040 mills, an increase of 0.167 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 2.873 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $600,000 is approximately $35.90 and the proposed tax increase for nonhomestead property with a fair market value of $2,350,000 is approximately $129.42.
Brought to you by – Dr.
Titilola "Lola" Sode of Epiphany DermatologyBrookhavenWhat type of sunscreen should I use?
The best sunscreen is one that offers broad-spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays with an SPF of 30 or higher. Look for sunscreens labeled “broadspectrum” to ensure protection against both types of harmful rays. Additionally, consider your skin type and any specific skin concerns when choosing a sunscreen. For oily or acne-prone skin, opt for oil-free or non-comedogenic formulas. If you have sensitive skin, choose sunscreens labeled hypoallergenic or fragrance-free. Waterresistant sunscreens are ideal for outdoor activities or swimming. Ultimately, the most effective sunscreen is one that you will use
consistently and reapply as needed.
It’s essential to apply sunscreen liberally and frequently for adequate protection against sun damage. Apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before sun exposure to allow it to absorb into the skin fully. Reapply sunscreen every two hours, or more frequently if you’re swimming or sweating heavily. Remember to reapply after towel drying as well. Additionally, apply sunscreen to all exposed skin, including your face, neck, ears, and any other uncovered areas. Sunscreen is a vital component of sun protection, but it’s also essential to seek shade, wear protective clothing, and avoid prolonged sun exposure, especially during peak UV hours.
Brought to you by – Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy
Ah, summer in Atlanta - when the sticky heat and wet air join forces. Luckily, there’s an escape just a short drive away: the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Nestled conveniently close to the city yet far enough to feel like a getaway, this gem stretches 48 miles from Buford Dam to Paces Mill, offering a refreshing array of activities that might just make you forget about the sweltering Georgia heat.
As a male therapist, I’m constantly surprised by my own hesitancy to ask for help. I know the benefits of regulating my emotions and opening up to someone I trust, but I also know the challenges men face when it comes to seeking therapy. Many men have grown up under pressure to suppress emotions and maintain a tough exterior. Be vulnerable? Not today! Unfortunately, this leads many men to suppress valid thoughts and emotions, missing out on greater satisfaction in our work, relationships, and life.
Here are some helpful strategies to regulate emotions:
1. Develop emotional awareness. Recognize tense shoulders, shaky legs, and tiredness as your emotions giving you a heads up. Next, identify your main emotional triggers, like work stress or financial problems, to know why your body is sounding an alarm.
2. Once aware, learn strategies to regulate the emotion. In the work I do with men, we process what the emotional alarms communicate and determine effective responses. Men tell me they feel more empowered and less stress when they can observe the anger or fear start in then body, and then check the facts and choose their response. Responding effectively versus just reacting is both tough and doable.
3. Create healthy coping mechanisms. It’s amazing the benefits I see in my office from straightforward actions like addressing sleep issues, drinking water, eating well, and exercising. In fact, regular exercise has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood in men.
I know it takes courage to seek help, and the benefits of improved mental health and wellbeing are well worth it. Learn more about Summit and schedule an appointment by visiting www.summitcounseling.org.
The Chattahoochee River provides the perfect opportunity to cool off when that heat gets a bit too intense. Water released from Buford Dam averages around 50 degrees, keeping the river in your national park cool year-round. Take a dip to cool off, spend a day fishing, or enjoy paddling along our scenic waterway. For a guided experience, check out our Paddle the Park series in partnership with Nantahala Outdoor Center!
If staying on solid ground is more your style, no worries- there are hiking trails and picnic areas galore. With 68 miles of
trail throughout the park, each unit offers something to cater to all levels! Don’t miss our monthly Community Hike where you can enjoy the trails with fellow park enthusiasts.
Ready for summer at CRNRA? Learn more about the park’s activities and consider joining the Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy. Membership not only supports the park’s preservation, but also comes with perks that make your visits even more enjoyable. Grab your gear and let the adventure begin - visit chattahoocheeparks.org to learn more.
Brought to you byDr. Basheer Shakir, neurosurgeon at Wellstar
The idea of getting spine surgery can make many patients nervous. Lower back pain and spinal complaints remain very common at the doctor’s office.
Successful treatment begins with an accurate diagnosis. The cause of spinal pain can include muscle strain, disc degeneration, poor bone quality or nerve compression. It is crucial for the spine specialist, neurosurgeon or pain
manager to strive to identify the specific cause to decide the optimal treatment strategy. While many patients may benefit from a short course of physical therapy, rest or medications for pain relief, others may require small procedures like epidural steroid or facet injections. Healthier diets and lifestyles, as well as optimization of bone quality, can also be very helpful.
For those patients requiring more than conservative, non-surgical therapy, surgical outlooks have never been more promising. Significant technologic advances in intraoperative imaging, minimally invasive and endoscopic techniques, spinal cord stimulation and artificial disc implants provide a variety of options for patients
to get back to work or leisurely activities quickly.
Be it a compression fracture in the elderly with osteoporosis, herniated discs, sacroiliac joint issues or even complex multiple-level scoliosis or revision-fusion procedures, patients now enjoy a plethora of previously unprecedented treatment options for each ailment. With exception to very large reconstructive operations, gone is the era of long hospital stays and tremendous pain. Current techniques are minimally invasive, resulting in less pain and better function for patients. Outpatient procedures have become the norm for many spine surgery patients, and the dim prospect of procedurerelated morbidity and chronic pain
have seen significant decrease. Apart from improving the patient’s experience short-term and long-term, cuttingedge techniques and technology have allowed neurosurgeons to care for more elderly and enfeebled patients with challenging medical problems that may have otherwise been turned away.
Wellstar Neurosurgery provides personalized, expert care. Our team collaborates with the Wellstar North Fulton Spine & Pain Center for patients who would benefit from pain management procedures. To schedule an appointment with a neurosurgeon for back or neck pain and to find out if you’re a candidate for surgery, call (770) 664-9600.
If pain is stopping you from doing what you love and nonsurgical options aren’t helping, you may benefit from spine surgery. At Wellstar, you’ll find a spine care team designed around your unique needs, offering both traditional and minimally invasive surgery.
Our spine surgeons collaborate with primary care providers and other multidisciplinary experts to determine the best combination of approaches to reduce your pain and improve your daily life. wellstar.org/spinesurgery
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Age: 5 years old
Fully Grown: Small (10 lbs)
It’s been a wild ride…. want to hear my story? First, I was lost, then I was hit by a car, then a wonderful family who I didn’t know helped get me to a vet to take care of me. After a week at the vet’s office (I’m ok, just a few scratches) they picked me up and took me to this nice shelter so I could find a new home!
I’m a little anxious and scared after all this as you might imagine but with the right family and a little patience, I’ll know I found my forever home.
All BCAR dogs are placed as indoor family pets. No electric fences, please. Visit pets every Saturday 11:00 am to 2:00 pm (706-268-1346) or visit our website for adoption information at www.bigcanoeanimalrescue.org
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — A corner of the art room at Village Park Milton, a retirement community in Alpharetta, is dedicated to Don Higgs’ sculpting work.
Materials, tools and art pieces, like a small llama and a bust of his wife Grace, crowd the area. Higgs, 92, works mostly in clay — plasteline isn’t as malleable, at least the stuff manufactured in the U.S. The best comes from Italy, he said.
“I love the feel of [clay]. It’s cool and smooth,” said Higgs, on his way to grab the mold of a young girl. She and the likeness of the rest of the Case children are on display in the lobby of Village Park, the result of a yearlong effort.
The mother, Christine Case, sat at the table in the art room with her youngest son Christopher, who was
busy doodling and staying occupied with Grace. Higgs approached Case one day at St. Thomas Aquinas, a place where he searches for new subjects.
“Don came up and said, ‘Oh, you have such a beautiful family’ … and then we started chatting,” Case recalled.
The next week, Case said Don brought along his portfolio and that the interaction unfolded into a year of regular visits to Village Park.
“It was really nice because we got to know Don and [Grace],” Case said. “In addition to Don doing his art, we became friends.”
Higgs dove into art in his mid40s, sculpting busts of his wife and children, later taking over his mother’s work as she aged. Once a professional sculptor in the Washington, D.C., area, Higgs’
mother had created busts of her nine grandchildren and passed the torch to Higgs when 29 grandchildren came along.
He did 25 of them.
“I had one niece that had eight children. I only got five of them done. I told her she was wearing me out,” Higgs said.
Higgs said his ability to create sculpture is something he was born with, though he learned techniques while helping his mother with casting growing up.
“She’d get her housework done in the morning and do art in the afternoon,” Higgs said.
His mother lived to be 103.
The creative gene is also in Higgs’ children, like his son who is a metal and stone sculptor in St. Petersburg,
Florida. Higgs’ wife Grace may have helped with that, a painter herself. Married for 60 years, the couple met in an art class at the University of Maryland.
“For every 100 painters, there’s one sculptor out there, I would say,” Higgs said.
For busts, Higgs starts by wrapping clay around a metal framework, which is eventually removed once the figure is cut in half. He said the eyes are the most difficult to get right, then the mouth, then the nose, especially if the subject is beautiful because there aren’t any outstanding features.
The process takes about 20 hours, firing the piece elsewhere.
Higgs created two busts and four reliefs of Case’s children, the reliefs done to save space.
“My oldest daughter said she doesn’t like heads,” Higgs said, laughing.
“She’s got heads all over her house, she says,”
added.
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Taste of Atlanta’s Food That Rocks at City Springs June 6 is a prime example of a party with a purpose.
As 7 p.m. approached, nearly an hour into the culinary festivities, a line of hundreds wrapped around Galambos Way and onto Blue Stone Road.
Partners helped each other put on $85 wristbands – the price of admission – while others looked for their friends and neighbors in the crowd.
For one night only, all ticket buyers had unlimited access to food tastings from 25 of Sandy Springs’ best restaurants and six local bakeries.
Butch Elmgren, owner of Thos. O’Reilly’s Public House, said vendors were asked to bring enough servings for around 800 people.
Elmgren said his restaurant missed out on the event last year because of an emergency, but he’s thrilled to be back.
For the ninth year, Taste of Atlanta’s all-inclusive culinary experience made its way to the Sandy Springs City Green. Donning a new artificial turf, thousands packed the greenspace and jammed out to live music from Oxford
Oxford Soul, a band comprised of local vocalists and musicians, covers crowdfavorite hits for Food That Rocks patrons at the City Green June 6. Dozens of couples danced together throughout the evening.
The mix of classic rock from 1970s and pop hits from the 2010s from the local artists kept couples, young and old, dancing throughout the night.
Of course, with any gathering 21 and over, patrons grabbed a cup of their favorite wine, beer or cocktail from more than a dozen well-known brands.
came to the event, which promotes City Springs, the city and its restaurants. Her favorite participating restaurant is Breadwinner, specifically its smoked brisket and mac and cheese combination.
The evening qualifies as a party with a purpose through its partnership with the Community Assistance Center, Second Helpings Atlanta and The Giving Kitchen.
Second Helpings Atlanta, founded at Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs in 2004, became an independent nonprofit in 2012. They focus on reducing hunger and food waste throughout Metro Atlanta.
In 2023, they diverted 5.2 million pounds of surplus food from landfills and distributed 400,000 prepared meals through partner agencies.
Leading up to the evening, Sandy Springs City Councilwoman Melody Kelley called it her favorite event of the year at the June 4 City Council meeting. While hanging out on the City Green, Councilwoman Jody Reichel said her favorite part of the event is seeing all her friends and neighbors. She said people from all over Metro Atlanta
Cameron Darweesh, engagement director at the Community Assistance Center, collected non-perishable food from patrons at the front entrance. The donations support the local charity, which provides basic need assistance for Perimeter-area families.
The DeKalb County School District and its several culinary programs at
See TASTE, Page 17
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local high schools partner with Taste of Atlanta to provide students with handson work experience.
Dulce Lambda and Ari Betan-Snook, former DeKalb County high school students, returned to the culinary arts program after their first year off at college. Students rotate between different restaurants, helping with cooking demonstrations and serving.
At her third Food That Rocks, Lambda said she enjoys the atmosphere, diverse crowd and new restaurants each time she comes out.
Dale DeSena launched food festivals in 2001. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring 2020, food tasting events in Atlanta took a two-year hiatus.
Now, the events are back.
In April, the organization presented its brand-new Atlanta Wing Fest at Uptown Towers in Buckhead.
The next “Eatertainment” experience from Taste of Atlanta, Grand Tasting Alpharetta, is Aug. 8 at the Hotel at Avalon.
To learn more and purchase tickets, visit tasteofatlanta.com.
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to voice their personal opposition to the project instead of its stated purpose of an opportunity for the neighborhood’s residents to ask questions and to offer suggestions.”
Yost said it’s nearly impossible to survey every homeowner in the 46-home subdivision, but he said he thinks the city is seeking input and doing its job.
Opponents of the path have cited the need for the subdivision to meet with the City Council as a group, rather than individually.
After the May 20 gathering with around 30 residents, some opponents are still seeking a public meeting with elected officials.
They cite concerns about stormwater management, tree loss, speeding and privacy.
However, Yost and his wife Patty said they are excited about the Peeler Road path.
“Further down the road when we’re connected to surrounding cities, we can use the expanding network of trails with alternative forms of transportation to move around safely and with a zero-carbon footprint,” they said.
Larry Yost said the need for a path on the north side of Peeler Road was apparent.
Yost said nearly everyone at the May 20 meeting drove from Four Oaks to
Hundreds peruse unlimited samples from 25 Sandy Springs restaurants, six local bakeries and dozens of drink tastings on the City Green June 6 at Food That Rocks. The one-night culinary experience is one of several annual events organized by Taste of Atlanta.
A side-by-side comparison shows potential improvements to the Peeler Road corridor behind homes in the Four Oaks subdivision. When city officials met with residents May 20, some were shocked to hear strong opposition to the project from their neighbors.
Windwood Hollow Park, less than a halfmile from most homes in the subdivision.
Because of a history of speeding on the roadway and no pedestrian access on its north side, Yost said the observation reaffirmed his belief that the path is needed.
Larry Mischik, path proponent and 32-year resident of Four Oaks, addressed some of his neighbors’ concerns about the project.
Mischik said privacy is not the responsibility of local governments. Even with those concerns and others about stormwater, Mischik said the path’s fencing and drainage would benefit homes backing up to Peeler Road.
“This path would add so much visual appeal to our neighborhood,” Mischik said.
“My wife and I completely trust the city to bring the same standard of excellence to this project that they have brought to all their projects, especially Brook Run, the baseball complex on North Peachtree Road and Windward Hollow Park.”
The two longtime residents said they do not want to prevent the city’s trail network from connecting with other Metro Atlanta cities.
Eventually, with the buildout of the Dunwoody Trail Master Plan, the path will be a part of a larger system, connecting Brook Run Park to the Winter’s Chapel Road commercial area and path.
The idea of eventually riding a bike from their homes to PATH400 and the Atlanta Beltline makes them smile.
Residents can still fill out an online
comment card on the city’s website through its Public Works Department projects page until June 20.
According to a city fact sheet for the project, the path is being funded through the city’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST.
The same fact sheet also lays out a schedule for the project and summary of the city’s community outreach related to its design. The design of the project is slated to run from this fall through next year, with construction anticipated for winter 2026.
While ground-breaking appears to be two years away, the city released preliminary plans for the project in February 2022, before work on the Trail Master Plan began.
In that announcement, the city gave an estimated construction cost of $1.6 million. The cost is expected to be higher with general inflation across other city contracts.
The only thing residents of the Four Oaks subdivision seem to agree on is that the stormwater network running through some of their properties is a mess.
Peter Yost described a situation more than 25 years ago, when stormwater maintenance came under the purview of DeKalb County. Before Dunwoody was incorporated, the county had the Four Oaks subdivision in a special tax district to pay for the upkeep.
Yost said DeKalb County crews came out to his property, fixed a sinkhole and charged him nothing.
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campaign manager and DSA-Atlanta co-chair Kelsea Bond.
“Our main takeaway from this campaign — and it’s something that we already knew in our gut — is that there’s a huge disconnect between what the average voter or American actually believes in, and what politicians are doing,” Bond said.
Consequently, the Sanchez campaign’s approach was to go out and talk to constituents about their topline issues — housing, healthcare, a green economy — and connect them to DSA ideals. “This win just really validates what we’ve been saying all along, which is that our ideas are actually popular. It’s just that a lot of politicians are afraid to champion them,” Bond said.
Anulewicz did not respond to a request for comment.
Even for Cobb Republicans, her loss is a wake-up call. Skylar Akins, the Atlanta Young Republicans’ executive vice president and a resident of District 42, said it was completely unexpected.
If anyone had foreseen it, he added, a number of Republican voters in Anulewicz’s district would have chosen a Democratic primary ballot just so they could vote for her. “They definitely would have [picked a Democratic ballot]. The only thing we were deciding on the Republican side in Cobb County was the sheriff’s race,” he said.
Akins acknowledged the “sweat equity” Sanchez’s campaign put in. “I know they flooded this district with people because I was personally canvassed by his campaign three or four times,” he said.
Sanchez will face off against Republican Diane Jackson for the House legislative seat in November. Jackson ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
The other Gen Z candidates to win Democratic primaries for state legislative seats include Bryce Berry and Ashwin Ramaswami in Metro Atlanta and Madeline Ryan Smith in a Middle Georgia district.
Berry bested a crowded field
Here’s a rundown of run-off elections expected for the five-county, metroAtlanta area based on preliminary election returns:
Fulton County
• Democratic primary for Fulton County Commissioner, District 4: Incumbent Natalie Hall v. Mo Ivory. Clayton County
• Democratic primary for Clayton Sheriff: Incumbent Levon Allen v. Jeffrey E. Turner.
• Democratic primary for Clayton County Commission Chair: Alieka Anderson v. Terry L. Baskin
• Democratic primary for Clayton County Commissioner, District 3: Tashe’ Allen v. Attania Jean-Funny. DeKalb County
• Democratic primary for DeKalb CEO: Larry Johnson v. Lorraine Cochran Johnson.
• Democratic primary for DeKalb County Commissioner, District 4:
to win the Democratic primary for House District 56, which runs from Ansley Park, through Midtown, all the way southwest to Beecher Hills.
The district’s two-term incumbent, Rep. Mesha Mainor, caused a stir last July when she switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party – attracting Berry and four other Democratic challengers.
If Berry wins against Mainor in November, he could be the first public school teacher in the Georgia House of Representatives. The 2023 Morehouse College graduate teaches 7th grade math for Atlanta Public Schools. He told Atlanta Civic Circle last month that education reform, including greater teacher pay, along with affordable housing and accessible healthcare are his top issues.
Ramaswami ran unopposed to win the Democratic primary for Senate District 48 in Johns Creek, where he grew up. Ramaswami, a software engineer who just graduated from Georgetown Law School, will face off against Republican incumbent Sen. Shawn Still in November. The Democrat has said he decided to challenge Still after the latter’s
Lance Hammonds v. Chakira Johnson.
• Judicial runoff for State Court Judge Division A-3: Yolanda Mack v. Dionne McGee.
Gwinnett County
• School Board District 1: Karen Watkins v. Rachel Stone
• School Board District 3: Steve Gasper v. Shana White State Legislature
• Democratic primary for State Senate District 55: Iris Knight-Hamilton v Randal Mangham (DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties)
• Democratic primary for State Senate District 38: RaShaun Kemp v. Ralph Long III. (Fulton County)
• Democratic primary for State Senate District 34: Valencia Stovall v. Kenya Wicks. (Clayton and Valencia Counties)
• Democratic primary for State House District 96: Arlene Beckles v. Sonia Lopez (Gwinnett County)
indictment in the sprawling Fulton RICO case against former president Donald Trump.
In Middle Georgia, Smith also ran unopposed to win the Democratic primary for House District 158, located between Macon and Savannah. Smith is challenging longtime incumbent Rep. Larry “Butch” Parrish, who just completed his 20th term. This will be her second bid for the seat, after losing to Parrish in 2022.
A Gen Z challenger in Albany, Joshua Anthony, wasn’t able to unseat first-term Rep. David Sampson in the Democratic primary for House District 153. Sampson won a resounding 58 percent of the vote.
Incumbents fare well
Outside of Sanchez’s upset, incumbents fared well in the primary.
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson staved off a competitive challenge from former Democratic Congressman John Barrow, winning 55 percent of the vote in the closely watched nonpartisan primary. Pinson was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2022 by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, so now he’ll serve a
6-year term. In another nonpartisan judicial race, incumbent Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee also won with a commanding 83 percent of the vote. McAfee is overseeing the historic case alleging election interference against Trump and 14 co-conspirators.
Fulton Sheriff Pat Labat and District Attorney Fani Willis, the prosecutor for the Trump electioninterference case, both cruised to victory in their Democratic primaries. Another Democratic incumbent, Clerk of Courts Che’ Alexander, also attracted primary challengers, but won 52 percent of the vote to narrowly avoid a runoff. These primary victories all but assure their wins in November in the heavily Democratic county.
Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor trounced three fellow Democrats, winning 67.8 percent of the vote in their primary. He’ll face off against Republican primary winner Mike Baker, a former Gwinnett deputy, in the Nov. 5 general election.
Run-offs to watch
Several other elections will head to a runoff on June 18. In contests with more than two candidates, if no candidate secures over 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election between the top two vote-getters is held within four weeks.
Claire Becknell contributed to this story. This article was originally published on atlantaciviccircle.org.
Once upon a time there was a frog.
Someone caught it and decided to eat the frog. So, they got a pot of water and brought it to boil and then dropped the frog into the boiling water.
The frog freaked out and jumped right back out of the pot.
The guy tried again, then again, and each time the frog jumped back out. Frustrated, the guy mentioned the problem to his wife who laughed at him and told him to empty out the boiling water and put cold water in the pot. Then put the frog into the cold water and turn the gas on the stove back on, she said. The man, because he knew how wise his wife was, followed her directions and, of course, the frog never jumped out of the pot, even when it started to boil, because the water had heated slowly, and the frog never noticed.
I took someone to urgent care this week. We walked in and spoke to the receptionist who informed us we needed to self-check-in at the kiosk on the other side of the room, which we did. Then we
waited, and ultimately my friend was able to see a doctor.
The “check in” made me smile. As I waited with my friend, I thought about how this urgent care was going to change. Here is what I saw.
A year or two from now – maybe sooner – I walk into the same urgent care because I am feeling ill. In the waiting area, I don’t see anyone sitting down waiting because there are no chairs. Instead, I notice half a dozen kiosks.
“Odd, I think.”
Then I notice that three of the kiosks actually are occupied because I can see people in them, the bottom part of legs from the knee down. Those kiosks actually have walls that form sort of a box, like those old pay phone booths that were around in the late 20th century.
I step up to one of the open kiosks and touch the screen. “Hold still please” I hear from the screen, “I can’t scan your face if you keep moving,” it says. I freeze.
“Ray,” it then says several seconds later, “what brings you in today?” I explain that I am feeling bad and have headaches all day, have shortness of breath and no energy. The screen, which now displays an avatar of a well-groomed person – in their late 30s I estimate –in a white physician’s coat complete
with a stethoscope looped around her neck. “Your vitals look fine Ray, and I don’t detect an elevated white blood cell count, so it is unlikely that you have an infection.”
Then the avatar asks me if I am still taking the Lipitor that Dr. Jamison (my former primary care physician) prescribed to me last year. I tell her that I am. She then replies that with my family history of heart disease and high cholesterol, that the probability is 74.82 percent that I need bypass surgery. “The problem,” she says, “is that Humana doesn’t pay for that procedure unless the diagnosis is 75 percent,” and that she is sorry, but that I will have to defer treatment until I cross the 75 percent threshold. “Don’t worry though,” she says, “there is a 96.15 percent probability that on or before October 22nd, you will pass the threshold.
“I have contacted your employer and notified them that you will be on sick leave for the next five days. I also reached out to your wife so she will know that you will not be able to drive Jimmy to practice today as you have annotated on your Google calendar.”
Also, she said, “I did notice some spots on your arm – basil cell carcinomas – that urgently need to be
removed. I took the liberty to notify Dr. Rajan in the procedures kiosk No. 7 on your right as you exit this kiosk. He is expecting you and has scheduled your procedure at 3:05 – in 12 minutes. Is there anything else I can help you with Ray?”
I tell her no and thank her for her time. As I start to leave, I hear her again, in a slightly softer, less authoritative voice, tell me that the behavioral issues Mary Lisa (my daughter) is having at school – and which are noted in her school record – are normal and that, she will most likely grow out of it – at least an 88.44 percent probability. She is a good girl from what her records indicate, she says, with a warm smile.
As I open the door to exit, I hear her voice yet again: “Ray, I noticed that you are parked in a handicapped spot, and your records do not indicate that you have handicap authorization. The patrol is scheduled to pass by in 16 minutes, so if you hurry you can either move your car or exit. That fine is a big one, and I know that you are already two days late paying your Chase Emerald Card so, lets avoid this fine, OK?
I nod my head yes and walk a little faster, relieved that she gave me the heads up.
What are you in the mood to read?
Genteel mysteries set in 1920s England or a fast-paced modernday mystery set in small-town Maine?
These three books are equally entertaining, but the third is quite different from the first two.
“Murder at Millar’s Hotel” by Kelly Mason
I'm hooked. This cozy mystery set in 1920s England has an inspirational main character. Lady Ellen of Ashcombe Hall is staying at Millar's Hotel in a seaside town while her family home is being refurbished.
A war widow, she turned her home into a convalescent home for WWI vets, and now in 1924, is ready to move forward. This is a cozy mystery, so of course, her plans are disrupted when she runs into an unpleasant character from her past.
But she also runs into a charming
man who spent time convalescing at Ashcombe Hall, and the game is soon afoot. Lady Ellen is a caring main character who looks out for others. Some might label her a rescuer, but that's part of her charm. I can't wait to dive into book II to see what develops next for her.
“Murder at Archly Manor” by Sara Rosett
I enjoy the author's contemporary Murder on Location series set in a Cotswolds village, so I wanted to try this historical cozy series set in 1920s England. What a delight. Olive Belgrave is just my kind of heroine--down-to-earth, able to fend for herself and not terribly impressed by the moneyed upper class. She holds her own no matter the surroundings, and the witty dialogue grabs your attention. It's the first in the 8-book High Society Lady Detective series, and I highly recommend you pick it up.
Now, hold on to your hats, fast forward 100 years, and skip across the pond to the U.S.
“The Busy Body” by Kemper Donovan What fun! Two smart women are on
the trail of a killer. One is a ghostwriter who pens memoirs and autobiographies for celebrities and politicians, and the other is a losing candidate in a recent presidential election. One is accustomed to being front and center. The other is a woman who makes a living being invisible.
You're bound to note the similarities to Hilary Clinton in former Senator Dorothy Gibson, who has sequestered herself in her Maine home to lick her wounds.
It occurred to me only as I sat down to write this review that I couldn’t recall the ghostwriter's name. I'm betting it was never mentioned, which is in keeping with her occupation. How clever! When a neighbor dies, the two "involve" themselves in the investigation, and as befits a mystery with amateur sleuths, solve the case. Other than the cursing, this is very much a cozy mystery. Plenty of clever clues, red herrings, and twists and turns abound. The phrase "Musk adjacent" to describe an entrepreneur is an example of the author's way with words. A few times, I had to stop and think before I got the
meaning.
The ghostwriter's life story is never fully revealed, though there are hints. That means there's more to come. Plus the subtitle is "A Ghostwriter Mystery," which is a clue that this will be a series.
The witty dialogue, complete with plenty of snark, will keep you entertained, and you'll be tempted to read nonstop, much as you would with an Agatha Christie story. It's no surprise to learn that the author hosts an Agatha Christie podcast. I await the announcement that book 2 is on the way.
I enjoy having a variety of books on my nightstand so that I’m sure of finding one that fits my mood. After the calm ones set in England, “The Busybody” was a nice change.
Award-winning author Kathy Manos Penn is a two-time Georgia Author of the Year nominee and a Sandy Springs resident. Find her cozy mysteries on Amazon or locally at The Enchanted Forest, Bookmiser, and Johns Creek Books. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail. com, and follow her on Facebook, www. facebook.com/KathyManosPennAuthor/.
BOB MEYERS
The history of the Shirley family can be traced back to the 11th century in Europe. Since I am related to the Shirley family and was vaguely aware of my Irish and English roots and have a fondness for Irish pubs, I tracked down the Shirley Pub in the small Irish town of Kells near Kilkenny a few years back. I spent a delightful time with the owners in their nearby home.
The Shirley Arms boutique hotel in the heart of Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, is another worthwhile location to visit. The Shirley estate just outside Carrickmacross was the largest estate in the county in the 17th century, covering some 26,000 acres, about the size of Disneyworld. At the end of the 19th century the lands had to be sold due to the Irish Land Acts. The estate now has fewer than 1,000 acres.
English Protestant migration to Ireland took place over several centuries. Ireland was a very Catholic country dating back to St. Patrick’s trip to Ireland in the 5th century to convert the population to Christianity. In 1649 the English Parliament sent General Oliver Cromwell to quell a Catholic uprising in Ireland. Cromwell devastated several Irish cities and was preparing to attack Kilkenny when the city capitulated. One of the Kilkenny residents was Thomas Shirley who had immigrated to Northumberland County, Virginia in 1643. DNA tests have shown that the Kilkenny DNA matches the DNA of at least some of the Shirleys of North Fulton, so it is safe to conclude that at least some local Shirleys are descendants of both Ireland and England.
The Shirley family history is detailed in an 1841 book “Stemmata Shirleiana” by Evelyn Phillip Shirley. It records the lineage of the Shirleys through the oldest sons from 1066 to the late 1800s. It dates the Shirley lineage to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by William, Duke of Normandy, who invaded England with his army from Northern France, an attack which earned him the name William the Conqueror. After becoming King of England, William seized the estates of families who did not support him and gave them to those who did support him. Among those who came with William from Normandy was Sir Henry de Ferrières (1036-1101).
According to a book written by Fred Shirley of Alpharetta (1935-2017) “The Shirleys of Northumberland, VA,” King William rewarded Ferrières with vast lands seized from six landowners who had opposed the king.
The Shirley lineage began as the surname of several parishes, the first being in Derbyshire in the English midlands. There are several other Shirley towns in England. Shirley is a Saxon word, signifying “a clear place or pasture.” The charming Shirley village and civil parish still exist today in Derbyshire which had a population of 270 in 2011. In the 14th century the Church of St. Michaels was built in the town and the local Saracen's Head pub built in 1791.
Fred Shirley’s book is a great resource about the history of the Shirleys in America. Fred tells the story of Thomas Shirley, who was probably the first, or certainly among the first, Shirley immigrants in 1643 as a very young man. He became a successful tobacco farmer and was a leader in his community. He passed on to future generations of Shirleys his qualities of “wisdom, ambition and an adventurous spirit,” wrote Fred Shirley. Thomas married Francis Snatt
Shirley (1633-1690) in 1665. He died in 1696.
In 1784 descendants of Thomas, John and Elizabeth Shirley, loaded their wagon with their seven children and, together with their six horses and 13 cattle, left Northumberland and traveled to Abbeville County, South Carolina, where John purchased 200 acres on the Savannah River. John constructed a sawmill and grain mill, and the family grew and prospered. Other relatives followed them to Abbeville or settled in Honea Path about 19 miles from Abbeville.
In the mid-1800s, some Shirley families left South Carolina and moved to north Georgia, attracted by reports of good land available at cheap prices. They were also aware of newspaper reports of the Gold Land Lottery of 1832 and that some owners of the 40acre land lots were selling their lots at low prices since anything they received represented a profit.
John Franklin Shirley (1841-1906) was born in South Carolina and moved with his wife Mary Catherine Shirley (1846-1915) and children to North Fulton in 1846. He enlisted in the Confederate Army, 56th Infantry Regiment, Company 1, 3rd Regiment
GA State Troops. After the Civil War, John became a successful farmer with more than 1,000 acres with two sawmills and several houses in the Union Hill, Ocee and Stono communities about 3 miles from Alpharetta.
John and Mary’s son, James Wright Shirley (1868-1960), and his wife Dora Josephine Strickland (1870-1931), lived on a farm that includes what is today Lake Windward in Alpharetta. Just below the house was a large building housing the Stono Post Office, store and grain mill owned by Mr. Shirley. He also owned a general store in Ocee, the Farm Merchandise Store in downtown Alpharetta and a 500-acre farm with five tenant houses. James and Dora had 10 children most of whom were farmers. Fred Shirley and his sister Sally David, who lives in Hiawassee, were grandchildren of James Wright.
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.
Ireland! We’ve been here a week, and we are driving. Yes. Driving. As in a car – a car with the steering wheel on the other side. That wouldn’t be too bad by itself, but it turns out that the cars (including ours) are all on the other side too.
In theory, that’s just a little right-toleft conversion. How hard could it be? Yeah.
When we picked up the rental car, it was all fun and adventure till we started across the rental car lot and suddenly realized that, yes, it was gonna be up to us to make an Irish car go where we wanted it to go. Actually, it was going to be up to the not-me part of us. We had decided early on that she would be the driver, and now it was time.
We found our car, settled in, and decided to start out with a little practice.
“Let’s drive around the parking lot a few times,” I offered helpfully. So we did. It was harrowing.
We drove around a few more times. Harrowing still.
After about a half hour, we got to the point where we could drive in a big rectangle without having a heart attack every 30 seconds.
“There!” I said helpfully. “That wasn’t too bad! And may I say that you have a very firm grip on the wheel!”
So lesson one of driving where the wheel isn’t where you think it should be is to practice a bit in a place where the odds of rending metal are. Heed that, Grasshopper, for wiser words were never writ.
But eventually, we knew, we would have to leave the safety of the car park (a bit of Irish for you there) and take to the open road. Our task was to drive from the city of Cork across 69 miles of right-is-left-is-right roadway to our cottage by the waters of Coulagh Bay.
“You’ve got this,” I said, ever helpful.
We set the GPS (lesson two of driving where they drive on the other side of the road is to have, and use, a GPS –it means you’ll have one less thing to worry about) and slowly made our way to the exit. It was not on the expected side. We panicked for a minute but adjusted and then…and then…
Into the traffic we went.
You think driving mirror-image-style in a parking lot is exciting? Wait till you try it on an actual road.
What’s it like? Well…
Sometimes, there is no right or left way to drive on Ireland’s country roads
“It’s like you’re in a video game,” she said. “You’re driving along and suddenly HEART ATTACK! A car or something just pops into view, and you’ve got to dodge it!”
It’s one heart attack after another for the passenger, too, only their magnitude is compounded by the stacked-stone wall zipping by not 6 inches from your left ear. Fortunately, you’re usually warned of impending wall encounters by the sound of branches scraping down the side of the car. That doesn’t really help things, but it does provide a nice conversation starter. In fact, one time when I gently commented on it, she replied (fairly directly) that whatever they were, those [insert descriptive adjective] branches were probably softer than the front corner of the [insert another descriptive adjective] construction truck which had just zoomed by not 6 inches from HER ear. Which brings us to lesson three: No matter how strong the urge, while sitting in the passenger seat, try if possible to avoid screaming “WALL!”
All that does is upset things, including any nearby sheep who may be within earshot. You do not want upset sheep.
And speaking of sheep, here’s lesson four: Sheep do not have any concept of boundaries, at least the kind between pasture and highway, so when it comes to the open road they hold all the cards. It was not at all unusual to round a corner and find the road suddenly blocked by one or two or 200 sheep, all standing there cool as can be and saying “Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha!” That’s Sheep
for “So you enjoyed that roast leg of lamb last night, did ya? Well, who’s in charge of things now, buddy boy?”
Usually, about that time, the nearest sheep will get what I swear is a menacing look in its otherwise friendly eyes and begin to ease inexorably toward your car. Or maybe that’s just my imagination? Or maybe not…
Anyway, passing cars and sheep eventually got a little easier too. Eventually we got to where hearts did not completely stop every time another vehicle passed.
But then came that horrible, awful, terrifying realization: Sooner or later we were going to have to TURN!
Oh no. You think driving on the other side is hard? Wait till you have to turn from one other side to the other other side. Just wait.
The first time this happened, we just stopped and looked.
“Where do I go?” she asked.
I looked left, and I looked right, and there were cars and trucks and various farm machines coming and going, and sheep, and they were all looking our way...
My brain said “No way” and went back to thinking about escape routes should the sheep attack.
I glanced in the side mirror and saw the face of the driver in the car behind us. He was apparently familiar with drivers trying to drive on the other side of the road, for he smiled a big smile and gave a jaunty wave.
I appreciated that. I really did. But we still had to do something.
“Which way?” she asked again, and my brain kicked back into gear.
“We’re going right, so go to the far lane,” I think I said, or at least I should have. “But look right, then left, then right, or something like that. And watch for sheep, for I’m told they have long memories. And be sure to –”
But she was already in motion. She turned right, rolling smoothly into the far lane.
“There!” I said.
There were a few more turns, and with each one it got easier. We learned to talk through each turn, watching the road and the traffic and whatever sheep were within range and trying against all odds to get our brains to think in upside-down mirror images. Two really are better than one when it comes to driving like this, and that brings us to lesson five: When driving someplace where you drive on the other side, be sure you have a wingman, at least at first. That lets you, the driver, concentrate on driving while your partner concentrates on where exactly that driving should take place.
Try it, and you’ll understand exactly what I mean.
So now we’ve been in Ireland for close to a week. We have learned to drive, mostly. Yeah, Ireland changes your life.
But back home, I recalled, we had met some who did not understand how that could be or even why we would want to give it a chance to do so.
“Why would you want to do that?” someone said to me before we left for Ireland. “Why would you want to go some place where they don’t even drive on the right side of the road? Why not just stay here in America where we do it like God ordained it, like it’s ‘sposed to be done?”
What an odd thing to say.
It occurs to me this morning, as we drive comfortably and relaxed through the Irish countryside, that the right side of the road is simply a matter of what side of the road is right. I drive on the right side of the road at home. My new fishing buddy Derek, who I met in the past week, is dyed-in-the-wool Irish and drives on the right side of the road too. We are much more alike, and much less different, than we sometimes think. You know? This world of ours could do well to remember that right about now, don’t you think?
Yeah, it sure could. Maybe it’ll help. But I’m still gonna let her drive.
