Milton Herald - March 23, 2023

Athletic director leaves his mark on Eagles sports

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

MILTON, Ga. — Gary Sylvestri, a family man with a strong faith in God, is winding down after more than a decade as athletic director at Milton High School, where he oversees one of Fulton County’s largest sports departments.

Sylvestri, aka Coach Sly, started coaching football at Milton in 2010. Two years later, he was promoted to athletic director. Along the way, Sylvestri also helped brand the school.

“We made it the ‘M,’ and the empire,” he said.

“Everyone knows us for that now.”

Milton’s athletics department, which has 23 varsity sports, 90 coaches and around 1,050 athletes, has racked up major milestones during Sylvestri’s tenure.

In 2018, the Eagles won their first football state championship when they defeated the Colquitt County Packers in the finals. That game was also the first time since 1995 that a team outside of South Georgia and Gwinnett County won in the state’s highest classification.

Milton Farmers Market to operate on Saturdays

MILTON, Ga. — The Milton Farmers Market returns next month on a new day and with some new vendors, and it’s open for a few more.

After taking place on Wednesdays the past two years, the farmers market will now run between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays starting April

22 and through October.

The change is intended to draw more people, including more families, to downtown Crabapple on their offdays when they no longer have to deal with school pick-ups, rush hour traffic and other weekday responsibilities.

The shift means that the exact

make-up of vendors may change from last year, though there should still be a great variety of people selling fresh produce, homemade products and other special custom must-haves for the home and beyond.

For those interested in staffing a booth or with interest as a potential

vendor, email Judy Hall at miltonmarket@comcast.net.

The market will be in the City Hall plaza between Council Chambers and Community Place at 2006 Heritage Walk. It’s once again being run by Hall and vendors in partnership with the City of Milton.

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Gary Sylvestri, Milton High School athletic director, stands by an image of the high school’s football field in his office March 15. Sylvestri is set to retire in June. See COACH, Page 18

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Woman mounts fight against attempted fraud

MILTON, Ga. — A woman informed Milton Police March 6 that she noticed unauthorized transactions totaling nearly $3,000 on her charge card beginning March 1. She said the first transaction was for $596.06, made online at Target for a PlayStation 5 God of War Ragnarök console with a wireless controller.

A second transaction was made March 2 for $1,508.50 online at Revolve, where an unauthorized person purchased two pairs of pants, a shirt and a pair of shoes. The shipping address is the woman’s home address along with her phone number. But the woman said she never received anything, nor did she authorize the transaction.

A third transaction was made March 3 online at Wayfair in the amount of $193.95 for a Chanse 30-inch table lamp set. The shipping address was in Brooklyn, New York, along with the phone number of a man in the same city.

Police verified that the Revolve order was canceled. The woman also said the other two orders appeared to be canceled and that her fraud protection may have prevented the transactions from processing fully.

CORRECTION

Driver clocked at 85 mph along Crabapple Road

MILTON, Ga. — Milton Police clocked a white 2015 Jeep Wrangler driving east on Crabapple Road just past Arbor North Drive March 6, going 83 mph in a posted 35 mph zone at around 6:40 a.m.

Police activated lights and siren as they pulled over the vehicle. The driver said he had been trying to catch up to his friend after they left a nearby gym and that they were headed to a nearby gas station to get a donut.

Police called the driver’s mother who said she would be taking action at home regarding the incident.

Police charged the driver with speeding and reckless driving.

Police probe burglaries at homes off Deer Trail

MILTON, Ga. — A man off Deer Trail reported a burglary at his residence to Milton Police March 11.

The man said he left his residence with his wife early that day at 11:30 a.m. and returned at 8:38 p.m. When he returned, he noticed the living room lights were on, and there were multiple pry marks and damages on the wood door frame to his front patio door.

The door appeared to be the point of forced entry, the police report said. Police also noticed the master bedroom closet had been ransacked, with items and clothes scattered all over the floor.

The man’s wife said several of her 22-karat gold jewelry pieces were missing from inside the master bedroom closet, which consisted of two rings, two bracelets and two chains. The total value was placed at $5,000.

About an hour later, another resident off the same road in IMT Deerfield apartments reported a burglary. When police arrived, a man said he noticed pry marks on his front door frame when he returned from a four-hour outing at 9:31 p.m.

The man said the keyhole inside his front door appeared to have been tampered with because when he unlocked the door, it opened easily.

Police also noticed the master bedroom locked, but the man said he did not lock the room when he left.

Police observed the bathroom closet had been ransacked, with the luggage and clothes scattered all over the floor.

The man said he found his document folders laid on his bed, but nothing was missing from inside. But the man’s wife said all her 24-karat gold pieces were missing from inside of the master bathroom closet, totaling $5,000. Two hoop earrings, three stud earrings and a diamond earring were reported missing.

A detective responded to take photos and process the scene for latent prints.

Neither residence had cameras on scene or nearby, according to both police reports.

In a March 16 story titled “Milton, Alpharetta address plans for Mayfield Farm,” Appen Media reported Old Rucker Farm is a joint program with Milton and Alpharetta. The City of Alpharetta owns Old Rucker Park & Farm exclusively and solely operates the programs there.

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.

Milton grad stars in ‘Wicked’ on Broadway

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

MILTON, Ga. — Milton High School graduate McKenzie Kurtz has filled a childhood dream as she starts her run as Glinda in the award-winning musical “Wicked.”

Kurtz debuted in the role Feb. 14 at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway as the musical enters its 20th year.

“I have dreamt of being in this show, specifically playing Glinda since I saw it for the first time when I was 9 years old,” Kurtz said.

Watching that performance years ago was part of what spurred Kurtz to pursue musical theater. Few shows run for as long as “Wicked,” though.

“I remember being like ‘Please let this show be around when I make it to New York’ and of course it was, because it’s one of the most insane and amazing shows of all time,” Kurtz said.

“Wicked” the musical is the fifth longest-running show in Broadway history and has won over 100 international awards including a Grammy Award and three Tony Awards.

The role is a dream come true for Kurtz, who debuted on Broadway as

Anna in the Tony-nominated theater adaptation of the 2013 Disney film “Frozen” in February 2020.

Kurtz only had about a month of performances at the St. James Theatre before COVID-19 shut down Broadway. The theater star had to move home to Milton and reconnect with her roots. It was hard at first, but Kurtz carries the experience with her.

“Coming back to New York, I feel like that time that I spent in Georgia, especially with my family, was so valuable, and I’m carrying all of that love and support,” Kurtz said.

The actress spent her time at home doing theater in Atlanta, like the Alliance Theatre production of the musical adaptation of 1983 film “Trading Places.”

Kurtz said she’s lucky to have grown up in Georgia with strong support from her friends, family and the theater community.

“I got so many opportunities being in the theater program at Milton,” Kurtz said.

As a part of the Milton High School theater program, the actress racked up two Shuler awards, which honor Georgia-based high school theater. Kurtz was named Best Leading Actress

for Milton’s 2015 production of “Mary Poppins” and Best Leading Actress for 2012 in the program’s “Spamalot” production. She was also nominated for Best Leading Actress in 2011 and 2014.

Kurtz also performed at the Jimmy Awards, a national competition known as “the Tonys for teenagers.”

With several awards under her belt, Kurtz received a scholarship for Carnegie Mellon University’s precollege program and later attended the University of Michigan to study musical theater.

“My time in Milton High School was absolutely instrumental in getting me to where I am today,” Kurtz said.

In her second Broadway role, Kurtz is focused on making the iconic role of Glinda her own. Kurtz said after she was cast, people asked if she had watched bootlegs of other performances to figure out her rendition of famous songs like “Popular.”

“I really tried not to, and just tried to come up with my own bits, my own feel,” Kurtz said.

The creative team at the show welcomed her approach, and Kurtz said she can now take “creative liberties and comedic liberties” to add something new to every show.

While the actress admits she wants to pull from previous performances of Glinda, she often instead pulls from her time as Anna in “Frozen” as a source of inspiration.

“Frozen” centers on two sisters Anna and Elsa, and the complicated dynamics in their relationship. “Wicked” focuses on a pair of unlikely best friends, Glinda and Elphaba — characters from the 1939 classic film “The Wizard of Oz.”

“They both focus on this relationship between two women and that relationship evolves,” Kurtz said. “I think I carried my experience from ‘Frozen’ into this role because it is almost like a sister relationship.”

The actress said she also pulls from her own relationship with her sister to perform the dynamic between Glinda and Elphaba.

Kurtz has already set her sights on her next dream: originating a role that goes to Broadway.

“There’s nothing like that process of helping create a role and create a show,” Kurtz said. “That would be something I would really love to do next.”

MCKENZIE KURTZ / PROVIDED Milton High School graduate McKenzie Kurtz will play Glinda in the 20th year of “Wicked” the musical’s run.

Alpharetta student to perform in Toronto piano competition

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia. com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Kenneth Low, a 13-yearold pianist from Alpharetta, has been selected as the Georgia finalist to play at The Royal Conservatory of Music’s Music Lights the Way Piano Festival at Koerner Hall in Toronto March 21-22.

Low will play Frédéric Chopin’s “Mazurka in A flat Major, Op. 24, No. 3” in the intermediate level seven at the competition. The grand prize for Low’s level is a Yamaha b1 acoustic upright piano that retails for more than $6,500.

The Royal Conservatory College of Examiners member Jonathan Roberts said nearly 8,000 participants from Canada and the United States submitted videos of

their piano performances.

“As a judge for the Music Lights the Way Piano Festival, I was impressed by the quality of submissions from piano students across the continent,” Roberts said. “It was very exciting and inspiring to hear so much talent and joyful music-making in the performances at all levels and I am honored to have been part of this wonderful event.”

Low said he started playing piano around 2014, and he started loving it when he was 9 years old.

“It means a lot, and it is really exciting to be heading to Toronto to perform in front of the big crowd,” Low said. “I can’t deny that I have been wanting to do this for a long time.”

Low said he recommends the conservatory’s piano program because it has enhanced his knowledge. After his performance in Toronto, he plans to expand his repertoire and participate in more competitions.

Daffodil Days in Johns Creek celebrates local connections

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Symbolizing new beginnings in a caring community, Daffodil Days encourages community participation through a week-long giveback and volunteer effort.

The campaign runs March 19-25 with a market from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Johns Creek City Hall. The market will feature more than 70 artisans in The Gibson Co. market, family-friendly and kids’ activities, food trucks, a flower arranging cart and more.

Giving back connects residents and strengthens bonds, which can make a positive impact on the

community. Residents, business owners and organizations can apply with a “give-back action” idea. Some examples include raising funds for local nonprofits, Girl Scout Troop bake sales and crocheting blankets for cancer patients.

Approved applicants then spend the week of March 19-25 executing their give-back action. All city-approved giveback and volunteer events and activities will be recognized at the Daffodil Day Market March 25.

Visit johnscreekga.gov to submit an idea.

Twenty-six bones, 33 oints, and thousands of steps a day. Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia looks forward to helping you get back on your feet!

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Organizations host teen safety training at Roswell Area Park

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — Metro Atlanta nonprofit Revved Up Kids partnered with the Roswell Police Department to host a day of personal safety and self-defense workshops for children and teenage girls on March 11 at Roswell Area Park.

The two-hour sessions were split by age, with the first for children 6 to 11 years old and the second sessions for teenage girls ages 11-18. About 15 teenage girls and their parents gathered in the auditorium for a conversation on personal safety and a lesson on basic self-defense moves.

The seminars were hosted by Alli Neal, founder of Revved Up Kids. She began the organization in 2009 to protect children from sexual abuse exploitation.

“We want to proactively equip them, but also want to prepare them if things go wrong,” Neal said.

The workshop is split into a few main sections. First, Neal presents various scenarios and asks the girls what they would do. She provides tips on how to safely navigate dark parking lots, parties and various social situations while pointing out common red flags for exploitation.

Then the girls practice self-defense moves on prop figures. After the activity,

they reaffirm the lessons from the day. Parents can participate at certain points, but Neal said its important that the information comes from her.

“Even though a lot of the stuff we say may be similar to what their parents say to them, they hear it differently from us,” Neal said.

The workshop pushes parents to have “family conversations” about difficult topics. Neal said she sees that parents don’t know how to have conversations with their kids about sexual predators.

Paige Laine brought her daughter Shelby to the seminar after the teenager was pulled over by police on a quiet road at night. Laine said she’s glad it was a real police officer that pulled her over, but it helped her realize all she had not told her daughter about personal safety.

The founder said the solution to sexual predators is not to bar children and teens from common activities, like using Snapchat and TikTok.

“You can’t just do that if you want to keep your child safe,” Neal said. “If you forbid it, they’re going to sneak behind your back, and if they get in trouble they won’t come to you.”

Instead, Neal tries to meet parents and children where they are. She knows social media is how children interact with each

other, so she runs multiple workshops devoted to navigating the internet, both for parents and children.

“Most of the time it’s the adults fear that gets in the way of children’s knowledge and safety,” Neal said.

Neal said parents are grateful to be taught the “dialogue” they can have with their children on safety and exploitation.

She listed several key tips she wants parents to teach their children.

The first, bodily autonomy, emphasizes that children get to decide who touches them. She also said parents should teach their kids to trust their instincts and understand that respect is a two-way street.

Roswell Police Department hosted the sessions as part of an ongoing partnership that Neal said started before the onset of COVID-19. The organization has hosted a few self-defense sessions each year with the police department.

“It’s a priority for the Roswell Police Department to equip our young people with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to keep themselves safe,” Roswell Public Information Officer Tim Lupo said. “Our partnership with Revved-Up Kids who provide an excellent, well-received curriculum, is one of the ways we accomplish that goal for our community.”

Neal hopes to eventually replicate those police partnerships in nearby communities like Johns Creek, Milton and Alpharetta. She also is seeking enough funds to make the program free for all.

For every group that pays tuition, the nonprofit trains another group free of charge. The Roswell workshop offered scholarships for teenagers in need after some attendees paid the “tuition.” She also runs seminars in disadvantaged parts of the community at no cost.

The nonprofit plans to hold another self-defense and personal safety training with Roswell Police Department sometime in summer 2023.

DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA Shelby Laine practices a self-defense move on a set of prop legs at the March 11 personal safety and self-defense workshop run by nonprofit Revved Up Kids at Roswell Area Park.

8 | Milton Herald | March 23, 2023

Alpharetta Bee Company provides sweet deals

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Deborah Eves and Michael Buchanan bonded over a shared love of nature, but their passion for beekeeping and business started when they founded the Alpharetta Bee Company in 2021.

Buchanan and Eves started their backyard venture after a year of learning the ropes of beekeeping, and it first launched as The Sunny Honey Company.

“We started Sunny Honey Company, and we got into the Alpharetta Farmers Market, and we’re like wow, it was amazing how much people love honey,” Eves said. “Then the next year, which was last year before the farmers market started, we said, ‘Well, gosh, nobody realizes that we’re actually local Alpharetta beekeepers,’ so we changed our name to Alpharetta Bee Company.”

Eves and Buchanan feed, house and care for their Italian and Carniolan bees in their backyards on Pebble Trail. They also have hives at Buchanan’s cabin in Cleveland, where they produce their sourwood and mountain wildflower honey.

Buchanan said they learned best practices from a friend in Milton and from a neighbor in Cleveland with 35 years of beekeeping experience. The pair studied YouTube videos and purchased equipment in 2020, and the following year, they were ready to launch.

“It’s not something you can kind of stick your toe in the water about,” Buchanan said. “You’re either in it or you’re not.”

The process

Buchanan said much of the process is common sense, but it is also hard work. He said it is important to feed the bees and keep them healthy for the period that they have no nectar, which is 60-70 percent of the year.

The two expect to have 12 or 13 hives in 2023, and Buchanan said one

good hive can produce up to 70 pounds of honey.

“They’ve been around since the time of the dinosaurs, so they know what to do,” Buchanan said.

When the honey is ready to be harvested, Eves and Buchanan filter it from their extractor into containers. The honey is raw and never heated or

pasteurized, they said, and nothing is added.

Eves also uses the beeswax from their hives in candles and lotion, which is made with coconut oil and shea butter.

Working as a duo, Eves said, allows them to bounce ideas off one

It’s not something you can kind of stick your toe in the water about.You’re either in it or you’re not.

MICHAEL BUCHANAN, co-founder, Alpharetta Bee Co.

SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

Michael Buchanan and Deborah Eves farm, package and sell honey out of their homes on Pebble Trail in Alpharetta March 15. The couple started Alpharetta Bee Company in 2021 as The Sunny Honey Company.

See BEE, Page 9

Bee:

Continued from Page 8

another to find the best ways to run their business, and the bees are like their coworkers, rather than their employees.

A business with a mission

Alpharetta Bee Company served the couple as more than a business venture. Buchanan is a retired teacher, and Eves works as a substitute teacher at the Fulton County Schools Innovation Academy in Alpharetta.

Eves said two of her students want to learn about beekeeping and entrepreneurship, and this summer, they will help the couple at their Alpharetta Farmers Market booth.

“We’re going to train them to work at the market with us so that when one of us is gone, the other one that’s there will have somebody to help,” Eves said. “We’re super excited about it. They’re so cute.”

The company is also passionate about “bees, trees and seas,” and they said they hope to educate others and create awareness about saving the environment.

“We have information at the booth, and we have tasters so they can taste it,” Buchanan said. “They’re not just

buying it blindly, and we let them try some of the sourwood, wildflower, whatever. We try to teach people about beekeeping and how mosquito spraying in the yard is not really good for the bees.”

Besides beekeeping, Buchanan is an artist, writer and filmmaker, and he searches the West and Southeast for fossils and shark teeth. He said he enjoys sharing his findings with children at the farmers market.

“We just like to talk to people,” Eves said. “We have pictures of us in our beekeeping suits at the market, and we found that a lot of people love to talk about bees. And if people want to bring their kids over and visit the beehives, we encourage that as well.”

Looking back and ahead

Before the success of Alpharetta Bee Company, Eves and Buchanan had to face the challenges of obtaining a license, paying sales taxes and covering expenses as new business owners.

“To me, the bumpiest thing is the fact that you’re totally dependent upon the bees to help you do this,” Buchanan said. “If we lose a couple of hives, whatever, then it cuts back on product and things like that. We do the best we can, but still the bees have the final vote on how everything’s going to work, and we cannot control that.”

While the pair are still expanding

Alpharetta Bee Company sells wildflower, sourwood and clover honey, as well as creamed and infused varieties March 15. Owner Deborah Eves also makes lotion and candles with beeswax, and co-owner Michael Buchanan painted bees that the couple sell on handcrafted note cards.

their online presence and navigating the farmers market off-season, Eves said the business allows her to do the things she loves, and she is satisfied with the size and the market of the company.

“We don’t want it to get to where it’s just a job,” Buchanan said. “We still want it to be a business that makes us happy, not one that takes over our lives.”

Buchanan and Eves hope to expand

their honey varieties in the future, and they plan to sell children’s books related to beekeeping and nature soon.

Alpharetta Bee Company is at the Alpharetta Farmers Market Saturdays 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. April 1-Oct. 31 and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in November. The company will also set up at the Alpharetta Christmas Market in December,

The company’s online shop is at alpharettabeeco.com/.

Tucker

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SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

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Medical ethics and dermatology

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by - Brent Taylor, MD, Premiere Dermatology and Mohs Surgery of Atlanta

Ethical questions arise in all fields of medicine, and dermatology is no different. One of the more remarkable cases that I encountered during training was that of a woman who became pregnant while taking a medication known to cause birth defects. Despite explicit and severe warnings, she insisted that she be allowed to keep taking the medicine throughout her pregnancy. When her dermatologist refused to prescribe the medicine, the patient convinced the hospital’s ethics board to recommend that her obstetrician continue prescribing the medication during pregnancy. The woman received her prescriptions at the board’s recommendation, and the baby was tragically but not unpredictably born with birth defects.

Although I wholeheartedly disagree with the ethics board’s recommendation, I can see how ethical principles are sometimes difficult to apply in practice. The four guiding principles of medical ethics are often taught to be “autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.” Loosely translated, these principles mean: respect someone’s right to choose; do good; do no harm, and act in a fair or equitable way.

The above example is extreme. The ethics board made a mistake and prioritized “autonomy” above all other considerations (including “do no harm”). But many less dramatic ethical considerations occur almost every day in practice. When treating patients, I find that the common sense strategies of putting the patient first and asking what I would want for a family member go a long way towards making sound ethical decisions.

In Mohs surgery, a tissue removal technique for curing skin cancers, shades of grey are often encountered. Cancer is not always black and white. Sometimes, invasive cancer has been eliminated, but the edges have “in situ” cancer – cancer

confined to the top layers of the skin, or the edges exhibit “actinic keratoses,” best understood as “pre-cancers.” Severely sun-damaged individuals sometimes have cheeks or scalps that are covered with precancers and “in situ” cancers. Continuing to cut in such cases is sometimes not in the patient’s best interest. Instead, once the invasive cancer is removed, I frequently discuss switching strategies with my patients. We often treat the area around an invasive cancer with an anti-cancer cream post-operatively instead of dogmatically continuing to cut and missing the forest for the trees.

Personalized medicine is often medicine at its best. One recent patient presented to me for a second opinion regarding a melanoma on his eyelid. The first surgeon the patient saw recommended complete removal of the lower eyelid and a 3 month reconstruction process during which the patient would not be able to see from that eye. The patient and I discussed that the large margin the first surgeon recommended is the standard of care. However, the patient stated that at his age he did not want to undergo an extensive surgery. He understood the risks and chose a smaller margin. He understands that the “middle ground” option that he wanted is not in line with the official guidelines for treating cancers like his, but the smaller surgery that he chose is the option that is right for him. The standard of care is a guideline. The patient comes first.

As interesting as philosophical principles like autonomy and nonmaleficence are, I have found that the most useful principles are variations of the Golden Rule. Treat patients like you would want your family or loved ones treated. And put the patient first.

If you or a loved one has a skin cancer or other skin care needs, please consider Premier Dermatology and Mohs Surgery of Atlanta. It is our privilege to take care of you.

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Partnering with a therapist to strengthen your child’s EQ

In the busyness of life, many of us grew up thinking we must keep going despite how we feel, and if symptoms of mental illness are not screaming at us, then we are “fine.” In other words, because our symptoms are not always visible, we often neglect considering therapy until things get extremely bad. In my experience, many adults who started therapy later in life had symptoms that began in childhood and would have benefitted from seeing a therapist in their youth. Statistics show that 50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24, with it taking an average of 11 years after symptoms first appear for an individual to seek treatment.

Due to many common barriers surrounding mental health, parents tend to seek therapy for their child as a last resort when they experience difficulties at home and school - often after exhausting all other options. While more attentiondemanding symptoms like anger issues, wishing to harm themselves or others, or crippling depression are valid reasons to consider therapy for your child, therapy can still be beneficial for children with more subtle symptoms like social withdrawal, acting out, or experiencing the impact of recent life events.

Therapy is an individualized process where kids can acknowledge their own experiences and develop coping skills to work through their emotions, also known as strengthening their EQ, or emotional intelligence. In therapy, kids build confidence, social and emotional awareness, conflict resolution, anger

management, problem-solving tools, stress management skills, selfawareness, and self-discovery (Many of us could use these skills even though our lives appear normal and healthy).

Although these skills can be taught at home, parents may run into roadblocks when they try to fix a child’s symptoms rather than address the root of their behavioroften unknowingly bringing in their own predispositions and biases. Alternatively, therapists are trained to put aside their beliefs and biases to hear their client’s voice and help them build healthier living habits. Throughout this process, parents can partner with their child’s therapist, ask questions, and receive advice as they support their child’s mental well-being.

While therapy is a safe place for children to share their experience and find support, it is also important for parents to create this space at home. Teaching a child healthy way to identify and manage their emotions at a young age will encourage them to avoid hiding their problems and know that they never have to face them alone. Each child not only has different experiences, but they also react to those experiences in different ways - even within the same family. Validate these experiences and normalize conversations around mental health, allowing kids to feel seen, heard, and acknowledged – knowing that no problem or feeling is too small to receive support or too large to overcome.

Summit Counseling Center is offering therapy groups for students throughout the summer, teaching skills to overcome anxiety, develop social skills, prepare for college, and more. Learn more about our groups and register your child at tinyurl. com/sccsummer23.

Brought to you by – Shaquanta “Shelley” Shelley, LAPC, Staff Associate Therapist at Summit Counseling Center

Johns Creek lays plans for elections task force

Roswell scraps effort to conduct ’23 polling

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Roswell officials have decided to stick with Fulton County to run its municipal elections this November, adding to the list of area cities abandoning efforts to operate their own polling.

Johns Creek, the first out of a North Fulton group to make the same move, has begun scoping logistics for setting up self-run municipal elections in 2025.

So far, Milton is the only North Fulton city that has formally adopted plans to operate its own municipal elections this November. In the first year, Milton has estimated $72,254 in costs for two polling locations on election day.

Sandy Springs has no council posts or referendums scheduled for this year.

Sparked by Milton’s decision in December to wrest control of its own city elections from the county, other cities across north Metro Atlanta have been exploring the idea over the past two months.

Discussion has centered around either selfadministration or entering into an agreement with Milton, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Mountain Park. The multi-city contract would have enabled one elections superintendent to oversee all the member cities’ municipal elections.

City staff in Johns Creek estimated that entering into the agreement would have cost the city more than $1 million, and operating its own election independently would have cost only slightly less.

In a spreadsheet, the city nailed down $721,884 of the $1 million for the first year of self-operated municipal elections and left some items unbudgeted. In its estimate, Johns Creek has accounted for 18 polling locations, the same number used by Fulton County in December 2022.

Fulton County set a deadline of March 31 for cities to decide whether they will go it alone.

Milton had a head start, spending more than a year to study the process through a six-member Municipal Election Feasibility Committee. The panel drew fire from some residents. One of its members, Mark Amick, was subpoenaed last June as part of a Fulton County investigation into Republican attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Cities rethink strategy

Municipal officials were also informed recently that the county had lowered cost estimates it will charge cities to operate their municipal elections.

Milton launched its effort last spring under the presumption that Fulton County would charge more than $6 per registered voter to run polling for their municipal election. That figure jumped to $11.48 in December, then fell to $9 and some change.

On Feb. 1, county officials adopted a percentagebased cost formula setting the charge to cities at $7 per registered voter – lower than originally estimated, but still more than twice the $2.96 it

Estimated election costs for cities

In an effort to save on costs they pay Fulton County to run their municipal elections, North Fulton cities have compiled estimates for what it would cost to run their own polling. Right now, there is no final figure from the county, but latest estimates indicate the cities will pay twice the amount they paid the county to run the 2021 municipal elections.

Here is a rundown of the latest figures from cities.

Roswell requires two readings for the agreement with Fulton County, so the city plans to have a special-called meeting for the measure sometime in late March.

“The fact that we’re in mid-March and there is so much work that needs to be done — there’s so many unknowns,” Palermo said. “I just feel that it’s more realistic to really explore this in 2025.”

Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson added another motion for the council to “formally commit” to run municipal elections in 2025. The council forwarded the measure to the next scheduled City Council meeting.

Wilson attempted to add a third motion, which would have committed the City Council to appoint an election committee by September, but it drew little support from the council.

Councilwoman Lee Hills, who has been a strong advocate for local control, said she was disappointed to see the city abandon its efforts this year.

“It’s unfortunate that this conversation is going in a direction that is not doing this in 2023, but I could not be more elated that it sounds like we’ve got great support for running our own municipal elections,” she said.

*Roswell also had another proposal that estimated $320,648 for 12 polling locations Note: Sandy Springs does not have municipal elections this year

charged cities in 2021 when municipal elections were last held.

Even so, the county’s cost reduction spurred some cities to rethink their efforts to go it alone with their own election apparatus.

At its Feb. 28 meeting, the Johns Creek City Council agreed to sign with Fulton County and abandon further efforts to operate its own elections for 2023.

The formal agreement was approved on the City Council’s consent agenda March 14.

That same night, at their work session, councilmembers explored opportunities in the future for city-run elections.

Also on March 14, Roswell announced in a committee meeting it would also sign with Fulton County to conduct its 2023 municipal elections. Councilmembers had been split over the idea days earlier at a workshop.

Alpharetta was scheduled to hold a March 20 City Council workshop to discuss cost estimates for running its own polling this November. Cost estimates for an Alpharetta municipal election this year have been drafted, and it is based on a varying number of polling locations. At most, the city is looking to spend around $300,000 for three locations.

Roswell backs out

During a March 14 Administration and Finance and Recreation and Parks Committee meeting, Roswell City Councilman Mike Palermo said the city does not have enough time to weigh all the cost variables to reach an informed decision by the county’s March 31 deadline.

Earlier estimates show that Roswell planned to spend $362,822 for 21 polling locations. There was also a proposal based on 12 locations estimated for $320,648.

Johns Creek takes a lesson

While Johns Creek is out of the self-run election drive this year, City Councilman Chris Coughlin is ready for 2025.

Coughlin presented a five-page memo at the Johns Creek City Council March 14 work session detailing variables a city elections task force should consider upon its formation. The idea of a task force was introduced Feb. 28 by Mayor John Bradberry at a City Council meeting in which a few residents voiced a desire to take on the project.

Coughlin outlined three variables, including runoff voting, timing of elections and number of precincts.

For example, Coughlin mentioned the prospect of instant runoff voting, which remains stalled in the Legislature.

Instant runoff voting provides for ballots to include “top choices” for voters, eliminating the need for a runoff election in cases where one candidate fails to garner more than 50 percent of the tally. Johns Creek has already passed a measure to allow the practice if and when it clears the Legislature.

Instant runoff voting, Coughlin said, could save the city from 25 to 40 percent in election costs, and it would encourage more turnout and statistical power for voters.

Not everyone on the council was on board with the instant runoff proposal, however, but they agreed it warranted further study.

“I’m not necessarily sold on any of it,” Mayor Bradberry said. “I do think that there is optimism to think that maybe we could save money … but again, the devil’s in the details.”

— Staff reporter Delaney Tarr contributed to this story.

Alpharetta balances tree removal with development, preservation

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Amid explosive growth over the past decade, the Alpharetta Department of Community Development manages tree removal permits, balancing development with preservation of the tree canopy.

“At some point, we do make up for all of the trees that are removed in the city, whether they’re planted on that property or another property or on city-owned property,” City Arborist David Shostak said. “So, it is a balancing act, and it is complicated sometimes, but like I said, our goal is to just make sure we maintain a canopy and have all those minimum code requirements met.”

Shostak said Alpharetta received 1,176 tree removal permit applications for residential and existing commercial properties in 2022. Of that number, 908 were

issued.

To apply for a tree removal permit in Alpharetta, Shostak said applicants must complete an online form. Only the removal of dead trees on single-family detached properties and trees that pose an imminent danger do not require a permit, and he said the city does not charge a fee.

“We don’t want to put any barrier to someone being able to remove a tree, and we want to make it simple,” Shostak said. “We don’t want them to be like, ‘I’ve got to pay two grand to cut a tree down, and I’ve got to pay another $25 to the city.’ That doesn’t make sense, you know, for something like that when they’re fairly simple reviews.”

Applications can be marked incomplete, Shostak said, if an applicant does not provide sufficient information, but the only outright

See REMOVAL, Page 16

GOOGLE STREET VIEW/PROVIDED Alpharetta residents have noticed a difference in the tree cover on Canton Street and Shady Grove Lane. Shown are street views in July 2015 (top) and April 2022.

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Continued from Page 14

denials the department issues are those in which the applicant does not agree to replant trees according to code requirements.

“I think that we have a really good tree ordinance that requires a certain amount of trees off of a piece of property, so that can be a combination of tree saves as well as replant,” Community Development Director Kathi Cook said.

The department also has a requirement to save trees of quality and specimen trees, which qualify for preservation due to size, type, location, condition or historical significance, Cook said.

Community feedback

Alpharetta resident Michael Buchanan, who moved to the city in 1995, said he has witnessed many changes as the area developed and the population grew.

“When I first moved up here in ’95, then, you got off at Haynes Bridge, and it was a big lot of trees that went forever,” Buchanan said. “This was up here with horse farms and two-lane roads, and so there was a lot of grain.”

Buchanan and his girlfriend Deborah Eves, co-owners of Alpharetta Bee Company, said they are passionate about nature and trees in the city. While change is inevitable as development persists, they said they think Alpharetta is in a good place with tree preservation.

Buchanan, Eves and some of their neighbors spearheaded the Alpharetta Conservancy, an informal group seeking preservation of trees that maintain the character of their neighborhood.

Eves said she and her neighbors love to walk, and in early 2022, they noticed that some of the old oak trees on Canton Street and Shady Grove Lane were being removed.

That spring, the couple began attending meetings to ask the City Council to save the trees. Eves said Shostak and Cook joined them on walks through their neighborhood.

Then, at the Jan. 3 meeting, councilmembers passed an amendment to the Unified Development Code that protects specimen trees and trees of quality on Mayfield Road, Milton Avenue and Academy, Canton, Church, Cumming, Marietta and Roswell streets if the trees are located on building setbacks.

“They live in their neighborhoods, but they didn’t really live in our neighborhood,” Buchanan said. “And

so, every day we had to get up and see it, and we had to see it face-toface, these changes.”

Eves and Buchanan said they welcome progress in the city, and they recognize that the need for tree removal as the area expands is complicated.

“I would offer that anyone who’s lived in Alpharetta for a long time is probably a little bit overwhelmed with the pace of growth,” Eves said. “I don’t think too many people can deny that the city has made a sincere effort to promote green spaces.”

Their mission to preserve their neighborhood did not stop there. Eves and Buchanan advocated for the City Council to approve further amendments to the Unified Development Code, which passed at the March 6 meeting, allowing neighborhoods that do not have homeowners associations to adopt standards to prevent incompatible development.

Buchanan said he hopes the city will emphasize the balance between tree preservation and removal moving forward, and he and Eves intend on meeting with the Natural Resources Commission and continuing their efforts.

Ahead of the curve

David Long, specialist with the Northwest Georgia Forestry Commission Urban and Community Forestry division, said Alpharetta’s tree ordinance is more comprehensive than many in the state, and some municipalities do not have ordinances that are specific to trees.

“There’s always room for growth, but the fact that [Alpharetta has] three arborists on staff is pretty remarkable,” Long said. The Alpharetta ordinance, he said, also addresses soil disturbance, which is groundbreaking because most local tree ordinances only focus on what is above ground.

Long said some smaller municipalities implement tree boards that make decisions a few times a year, or these cities will include a clause about trees in development ordinances. He said Alpharetta has clear definitions of prohibited and recommended practices; public trees; and tree care, removal and maintenance.

“One of the biggest environmental threats to Georgia is sedimentation to streams, and it’s trying to balance all the development we’re experiencing with all the soil disturbance that causes, and it’s something that, in my personal opinion, is underaddressed,” Long said. “So it’s kind of nice to see a city that takes that into account with their planning.”

the girls lacrosse team in CrossFit in its off seasons.

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Milton is a 6A school playing 7A, Sylvestri said.

But Milton has claimed a total of 20 state championships with eight runner-up finishes across multiple sports, including football, baseball and basketball, while Sylvestri has led athletics. Sylvestri also emphasized the ties he has with teams that don’t do well.

School spirit moves through his family, too. Sylvestri’s wife, and his best friend for more than 30 years, works in the football office at Milton High School. His other two children work at Milton as well.

“I think people forget about that part of it,” he said. “Failure is the foundation to success, right?”

‘The grind’

With an Italian background, Sylvestri is tan, weathered from days on the field, and stocky. He sports a collection of tattoos on both arms, including one of two hands alluding to “The Creation of Adam.” A tattoo on his left hand says, “One love,” paired with Rastafarian colors.

When he retires in June, Sylvestri said he’s going to continue traveling to Jamaica and spend more time with family. Some are up North, and he has grandkids around the country he’ll get to visit. His daughter Danielle lives in Virginia, and his son Nick lives in Utah.

But he’s not going to stop working. He serves as the associate pastor at a local church, a role he had when he lived in South Florida. He also plans to start up a podcast called “Behind the Bench,” where the first guest will be James Hines, the executive director of the Georgia High School Association.

“I’m not going to sit down at 60 and just sit by a palm tree,” Sylvestri said.

Sylvestri said slowing down “the grind” is going to be a shock, considering his work routine. As athletic director, he carries a host of administrative tasks related to buses, clubs, custodians, facilities and parking at the school.

He also stays involved with coaching. Sylvestri put one hat down in 2016 when he stopped coaching football but soon picked up another, training

Sylvestri’s son Vincent, affectionately “Vinny,” is the running back coach, and his daughter Dominique is a community-based instruction (CBI) teacher, working with students who have special needs. She also used to coach junior varsity soccer at Milton.

A time in uniform

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Sylvestri moved to Milton from South Florida, where he worked as a police officer. After the night shift, he’d take a nap then go off to coach football at inner city schools. He first started coaching in 1983.

“My wife, God bless her…” Sylvestri said. “She put up with a lot.”

On the force, he learned to be a “chameleon,” jumping from call to call, which served him in athletics leadership.

“When you’re dealing with parents or you’re dealing with students … you’re dealing with different personalities, different cultures,” he said. “If you’re set in your ways, you’re not going to get very far. It’s a relational job.”

Sylvestri said he tries to “chill in life” because of what he had seen in his 20 years in police work.

“I have a lot of stuff locked up in a closet in my head, to keep there forever if I can,” he said.

When he retires, Sylvestri said he’s going to miss impacting the lives of Milton’s kids. He’s always had an open-door policy for anyone that needs to talk. Sylvestri believes part of God’s plan for him is being there for people.

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Stand-Alone Gloss

THE ECOLOGY OF SANDY SPRINGS

What: Join this exploration into the ecology of Sandy Springs led by Alan Toney, a master naturalist. Explore the loss of the original pristine forest and the regrowth of the mature second-growth forest. Discover what’s living in your own backyard and how proper landscaping can encourage as well as discourage wildlife from taking up residence. Learn about the relationship between raptors and crows, the importance of native bees and insects, how to get rid of those pesky invasives and more.

When: Tuesday, March 28, 7 p.m.

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

COMMUNITY:

SNAP!DRAGON’S GARDEN OPENING RECEPTION

What: Spring has sprung at the Dunwoody Community Garden. Visit the event for an afternoon of Instagramworthy selfies, free popcorn and garden-themed goodies for kids. Moondog Growlers will be on site with beverages available for purchase. Exhibit runs until April 1.

Where: Brook Run Park, 4770 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody

When: Saturday, March 25, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

More info: dunwoodyga.gov

HEALTHY FOREST LECTURE WITH INTERPRETATIVE HIKE

What: If we understand the soil of today, then we can better understand the forest of tomorrow.

This program will cover seed bank, soil science, soil horizon, soil testing, limiting factors, mycorrhizae, richness, biodiversity, urban forestry, fungal network (mycelium), nutrient uptake, nutrient fixing and root grafts. Participants can submit soil samples to UGA and begin a soil composition index.

When: Friday, March 24, 12:30 p.m.

Where: Lost Corner Preserve, 7300 Brandon Mill Road, Sandy Springs

More info: sandyspringsga.gov

DUNWOODY FARMERS MARKET

What: The Dunwoody Farmers Market brings together a variety of vendors selling local and organic fruits, veggies and produce, coffee, breakfast, baked goods, prepared meals, frozen treats, eggs, grass-fed meat and fresh seafood.

When: Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m.12 p.m.’

Where: Brook Run Park, 4770 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody

More info: dunwoodyga.gov

FAIRY HOUSE OR GNOME HOME WORKSHOP

What: After a long, cold winter, the

fairy houses and gnome homes are ready for a refresh. Bring your imagination to the first Spring Fairy House and Gnome Home event. Kids and adults will be provided with natural materials like seed pods, pinecones, bark and nuts to build a structure to take home or to leave at Lost Corner for all to enjoy. Registration is encouraged but walk-ins are welcome.

When: Saturday, April 1, 10 a.m.

Where: Lost Corner Preserve, 7300 Brandon Mill Road, Sandy Springs

Cost: $15 per person, $30 per family

More info: sandyspringsga.gov

ARTISTIC AFFAIR

What: Building off the success of last year’s groundbreaking fundraising event, Spruill Center for the Arts presents “Artistic Affair: An Arts Experience” to be held at Factory Atlanta. The fundraiser and auction will include a DJ, magician and fortune tellers, live art painting, open bar, hors d’oeuvres and more.

When: Friday, March 24, 7-10 p.m.

Where: Factory Atlanta, 5616 Peachtree Road, Chamblee Cost: $75

More info: spruillarts.org/artisticaffair

JUST FOR FUN:

STUDIO SERIES: MICHELLE MALONE

What: Closing the Studio Series, songwriter and modern-day guitar hero Michelle Malone brings her unique mix of roadhouse rock ’n roll, blues, gospel, country-soul and folk to the stage.

When: Thursday, March 23, 8 p.m.

Where: Studio Theatre, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

Cost: $20-30

More info: sandyspringsga.gov

SANDY SPRING THEATRE COMPANY’S ‘SPAMALOT’

What: Join King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the glamorous Lady of the Lake as they turn the Arthurian legend on its ear in their

quest for the Holy Grail. Along the way they encounter dancing showgirls, flying cows, killer rabbits and assorted French people. The production is the winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical.

When: Up to March 26, times vary

Where: Byers Theatre, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

Cost: $37-100

More info: sandyspringsga.gov

ROSWELL DANCE THEATRE PRESENTS ‘MARY POPPINS’

What: Follow Mary Poppins as she adds sunshine, adventure and magic to the previously solemn and serious Banks home. Join Jane and Michael as practically perfect Mary introduces them to the charming Bert. They explore the rooftops of London, enjoy a spoonful of sugar, fly a kite and do it all in the most delightful way.

When: March 30-April 1, times vary

Where: Byers Theatre, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

Cost: $30

More info: citysprings.com

‘THE NICETIES’ AT STAGE DOOR THEATRE

What: Zoe is a young Black student at a liberal arts college. What begins as a polite clash in perspectives of the founding fathers between her and her liberal, tenured professor explodes into a tightrope of what it means to hear and what it means to listen.

When: Up to April 2, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Where: Stage Door Theatre, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody Cost: $35 for adults, $20 for students, $15 for children

More info: stagedoortheatrega.org/ the-niceties/

FEATURE YOUR EVENT ONLINE AND IN PRINT!

It’s even easier now than ever to promote your event to hundreds of thousands of people, whether online, through our newsletters or in the Crier and Herald newspapers.

To promote your event, follow these easy steps:

1. Visit AppenMedia.com/Calendar;

2. Provide the details for your event including title, description, location and date;

3. Click the red button that reads “Create event”

4. That’s it! Submissions are free, though there are paid opportunities to promote your event in print and online.

PRESERVING THE PAST

Sun Valley Beach Park is an oasis between two cities

When teenagers in Roswell and Alpharetta needed a place to hang out in the 1950s and 1960s, they would often congregate at the Sun Valley Beach Park on Highway 9 halfway between Roswell and Alpharetta. Today the remaining land is overgrown with weeds and beaver dams where traces of its existence are barely visible on Sun Valley Road, but in its day, it was an amazing family recreational and entertainment park popular throughout north Fulton County. Here is the story.

MEYERS

The park was founded in 1950 by Joe C. Mansell (1906-1997) as a fishing lake only. Joe was the principal investor and manager of the operation. The park grew and a Board of Directors was established consisting of friends and relatives of Joe including architect Jim Barker who designed the park’s bathhouse; his brother-in-law Chuck Cunningham, also an architect; Jasper Dolvin, Principal of the Roswell Elementary School; Joe’s cousin, Clarence Westbrook; Bob Patten, a builder and Terry Martin among others.

Sun Valley Park offered a wide assortment of attractions including a 14-acre swimming lake with an imported white sand beach, two boating and fishing lakes one of which had a skating rink around it. The park had a stable operated by Joe’s cousin, Harry Kaye Mansell and cousin Howard Rucker. The stable offered horseback riding and pony rides for children. Nephew Willie Mansell ran the bait shop. There were row boats for rent, train rides around the property, a pony-pulled covered wagon, picnic grounds with tables, area for Boy Scout overnighters and a snack bar. A bowling alley was added in the early 1960s. Admission for adults was 50 cents and 25 cents for children when it first opened.

Joe’s daughter, Linda Mansell Martin, has many memories of the park. She worked every summer as a teenager “behind the basket counter (for holding swimmers’ clothes) or flipping burgers at the snack bar or eventually becoming a lifeguard at the swim lake when I was a little older.” She recalls “sock hops, picnics, swimming, diving and sunning, train rides, fishing and horseback riding through the woods, egg hunts, and even a few folks who were caught

‘skinny dipping’ when they broke in at night.”

In the 1950s the rivalry between Roswell and Alpharetta teenagers was strong. The park was neutral ground where teens from all over the area would gather to enjoy the fun and sun. “I don’t know what teenagers in Alpharetta and Roswell would have done without the park. It healed some of the rivalry between the two cities,” says Linda. Up to 500 to a 1,000 people would visit the park on weekends.

Linda says her father” along with his 4 siblings, inherited land along Highway 9 from their father, Robert Henry Mansell II, a farmer, who provided his children with a house and 60 acres of land each.” Joe, Robert’s oldest son, started his career as a farmer also, but found that he preferred other ways of making a living. In 1930 he opened a filling station in Roswell, and then an ice and coal business. Subsequently he was an investigator in the Fulton County Solicitor General’s office in Atlanta where he worked for 20 years.

Joe served as Mayor of Roswell in 1941 and 1942.

He sold part of his 60 acres to Carroll Beyers for Beyers Furniture Store and land for Greenlawn Cemetery in 1961. The rest was Sun Valley Property, all along Hwy 9. When his wife, Lessie Coleman Mansell (1908-1959) became ill with cancer in 1950, he quit his Atlanta job to be home with his wife and two daughters. It was then that Joe decided to convert the property into the recreation park. After his wife died, the family moved to Florida for 8 months where Joe managed the Sharlo Manor Motel on Clearwater Beach. In October 1965 Joe sold the park to John Talbott, Jr, an Atlanta physician, who operated the park for three years before closing it.

Today there are businesses and apartments along Sun Valley Drive, and the City of Roswell owns 11 acres of the original property. A few remnants of the park’s glory days can be detected by discerning eyes, but most of the remaining park land is overgrown with vegetation.

A postcard of Sun Valley Park shows some of its features: lake, beach, walking trails and miniature pumpkin church. CIRCA MID -1950s

BOB

Columnist

Joe Mansell, searching for Civil War relics with a mine detector at the site of the New Hope Church battle during the Atlanta campaign. He collected a bucket full of minie balls, a Civil War bullet.

Did this ad catch your eye?

Weekend trips to Flowerland and Fischer Mansion

“Dr. L. C. Fischer, according to his annual custom, invites the public to visit his country home, Flowerland, near Chamblee, to see his rose gardens which are among the most beautiful in the state and are now nearing full bloom. Dr. Fischer announces that the rhododendron and climbing roses are in full bloom, and that the bush roses, which are rapidly opening, will reach full bloom within the next ten or fifteen days.”

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist

This invitation appeared in the May 14, 1939, Atlanta Constitution.

Dr. L. C. (Luther) Fischer and Dr. Edward Campbell Davis started the Davis-Fischer Sanitorium on Crew Street in 1908. Then they built Crawford Long Hospital on Linden Avenue in 1911, which is now Emory University Hospital Midtown. (“Caring for Atlanta, A History of Emory Crawford Long Hospital,” by Ren Davis)

Prior to Dr. Davis death in 1931, the two doctors changed the hospital from privately owned to a nonprofit operation to provide healthcare to all Atlantans. In 1940, Dr. Fischer gave the hospital to the Emory University School of Medicine, “to serve as an arm of its teaching and healing mission.”

Dr. Fischer bought 60 acres in Sandy Springs in the 1920s and started a dairy called Oak Terrace. In 1932, he sold the dairy farm and bought 138 acres in Chamblee. He and wife Lucy Hurt Fischer built a home with elaborate gardens, calling it Flowerland. The home was designed by Phillip Trammel Shutze.

The gardens included rock walls and ponds to make the best use of the terrain and Nancy Creek. People from all around Atlanta and farther away would drive to Flowerland, especially in the spring. Visitors often caused traffic to back up for more than a mile on Chamblee-Dunwoody Road.

Flowers from Flowerland were sold in a retail shop by the same name on Peachtree Road. They were also cut and placed around the hospital.

When Lucy Fischer became ill, Dr. Fischer continued having the gardens maintained for her to enjoy. After she died in 1937, Fischer sold the property to the John William Lee family, and Mrs. Lee later sold 48

acres to the Atlanta Diocese of the Catholic Church. The home became D’Youville Academy, a convent and school for girls. The name D’Youville came from the founder of the Sisters of Charity or Gray Nuns of Montreal, Marie Marguerite d’Youville.

In the 1970s, the school closed, and Fischer Mansion was sold to Atlanta Unity Church. The church used the mansion for church services, Sunday School, offices and a bookstore.

Fischer Mansion was in danger of being demolished in 2005, but it still stands as part of The Preserve at Fischer Mansion neighborhood on Chamblee Dunwoody Road. The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. Next door is D’Youville Condominiums, developed

in the 1970s by Cousins Properties, built on land which was part of the gardens of Flowerland.

Of course, the history of the land does not begin with Dr. Fischer. This was land of the Creek Nation before the 1820s land lotteries. John Barrette of Hall County was granted the property after the land lottery but sold it soon after. William Wallace owned the land beginning in the 1880s, where he operated a sawmill and furniture shop.

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.

PHOTOS BY PAT SABIN/PROVIDED

Fischer Mansion in 1999, during ownership of Atlanta Unity Church.

Fischer Mansion, as seen from the back in 1999.

Hostas are the solution to shade

Quandary! What if you love trees but you also love flowers and gardening? Trees provide relief from the unrelenting heat of Georgia summers and create an atmosphere of tranquility, but they also block out the sun, a requirement for most annuals and perennials. When my family decided to move from the city to a rural suburban home, we fell in love with a home I described to friends and relatives as a home that looked like it was helicoptered into a hardwood forest. Within days of moving into our new home, I soon asked myself, how can I love a house in the woods and also have a flower garden? The solution was hostas!

No shade garden should be without a hosta. I now have more than 75 varieties of hostas in my garden. Hostas have been the mainstay of shade gardens for at least one hundred years. Even though their flowers are insignificant, the appeal is the diversity of their leaves. The leaves of hostas, thanks to hybridizers, come in a variety of sizes, colors, and textures.

Hosta is a diverse genus of plants native to Japan and brought to the United States in the mid-1800s. Interestingly, Dr. Philip von Siebold, the first European that wished to share hostas with the world beyond the borders of Japan, smuggled them out of Japan by boat. Unfortunately, the ship wrecked, and a forbidden map of Japanese coastline was discovered along with Siebold’s collection of hostas, resulting in his arrest and the loss of most of his precious cargo of botanical specimens. Some hostas survived and were successfully introduced beyond the borders of Japan in the 1830s.

For over 100 years, hostas have been extensively hybridized by both amateurs and professionals to produce hundreds of shade garden possibilities. For drama, try big and bold hostas with large dinner platesized leaves such as Elegans, Big Daddy or Sum and Substance or small and demure varieties such as Little Blue Mouse Ears. Color options are also available from true green to blue green to chartreuse green to yellow green. Other hosta hybrids provide more possibilities, including those with white, cream or blue borders,

About the Author

hostas with white, lavender, and purple flowers, as well as flowers with fragrance and without fragrance. Thanks to hybridizing techniques, the hosta varieties seem endless, and there are always new introductions to add to your woodland garden.

Another benefit of adding hostas to your garden: they are easy to grow! All they need is soil amended with compost, water/rain once a week, and dose of fertilizer or manure in the spring. If deer inhabit your woodland garden, you will need to purchase a deer repellent. My favorite is Liquid Fence® which I apply with a sprayer once a month.

To begin your love affair with hostas, go online, search ‘hosta’ and click on images to look at the dazzling varieties of hostas to add appeal to your woodland garden.

To learn more about how to plant, care for, fertilize, and prevent eradication from deer, hostas’ enemy number one, visit the NFMG YouTube channel and check out my Spring 2021 Gardening Lecture, “Hosta – A Perfect Addition to Your Shade Garden” at https://youtu.be/ N5vUNT1aYjw.

Happy gardening!

North Fulton Master Gardeners, Inc. is a Georgia nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization whose purpose is to educate its members and the public in the areas of horticulture and ecology in order to promote and foster community enrichment. Master Gardener Volunteers are trained and certified by The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Learn more at nfmg.net.

This week’s “Garden Buzz” guest columnist is Carole MacMullan, a master gardener since 2012. Carole describes herself as a born biologist. Since childhood, she loved to explore the out-of-doors and garden with her mother. When she entered college, she selected biology as her major and made teaching high school biology her career for 35 years. After retirement in 2008, she had three goals: to move from Pittsburgh to Atlanta to be near her daughter and granddaughter, to volunteer, and to become a Master Gardener. Shortly after moving, she became involved with the philanthropic mission of the Assistance League of Atlanta (ALA) and in 2012, completed the Master Gardener program and joined the North Fulton Master Gardeners (NFMG) and the Milton Garden Club. Carole uses her teaching skills to create a variety of presentations on gardening topics for the NFMG Lecture Series and Speakers Bureau. She also volunteers weekly at the ALA thrift store and acts as chair of their Links to Education scholarship program. Her favorite hobbies are gardening, hiking, biking, and reading.

For more information

• Growing Hostas - https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail. html?number=C955

• Rosemary Barrett, Hosta

2004)

• North Fulton Master Gardenershttps://www.nfmg.net/

CAROLE MACMULLAN Guest Columnist

(Firefly Book, New Zealand,

Top left- Guacamola hosta - Hosta of the Year 2002, The American Hosta Growers Association

Top right - Striptease Hosta - Hosta of the Year 2005, The American Hosta Growers Association

Middle - Blue Angel Hosta, 6 Varieties of Hosta in containers

Bottom right - June Hosta - Hosta of the Year 2012, The American Hosta Growers Association

My lack of electrical knowledge is shocking

When youngest son Greg reported that one of his friends was going to work for Pike, my puzzled reaction was: “I didn’t know he was fond of wheelbarrows, sod, and all things greenery.”

“No Dad, not that Pike. He’s going to work for the electrical people,” Greg corrected me.

So, no dealing with Mulch and chinch bugs. Instead, the friend will be playing with enough electricity to fry him like he’s strapped into Ol’ Sparky, or whatever the electric chair was named at many prisons. He’ll be in one of those buckets attached to trucks and then hope his training taught him good from bad in terms of wires that is.

I have no idea why there are times of year when static electricity is on us like some type of plague. Touch something randomly and sparks fly from your fingertips like you’re immersed in a remake of “The Wizard of Oz” or fiddle-deep in a Charlie Daniels Band song.

With a little “pop” like that being so unnerving, a heaping helping from Zeus is unimaginable.

Skip Caray, the late Braves announcer who was so crochety he never failed to amuse, was synonymous with Georgia Power as he shilled: “Don’t step on downed power lines.” Skip found the tagline hilarious, doubtless even more mirthful after he had imbibed a few. Sure do miss Skip.

I’m pretty much all thumbs when it comes to all things electricity. I’m usually pretty good with changing a lightbulb, providing I don’t outrun my coverage and “square peg-round hole” things by doing the uber-manly gesture of using too much wattage.

Bottom line is that electricity scares the bejezus out of me. The fear is justified and stems from a past incident that culminated with me prone on the floor, foggily looking up at the ladder I’d fell (more like flown) from and, for some reason that could be written up in a medical journal, I smelled lemons.

All I had wanted to do was change a ceiling light fixture. Zeus had other ideas and even though it wasn’t a downed power line, I got zonked when I grabbed the wrong wire and as citrus smells invaded my olfactory, knew I had made a rotten choice.

Whenever there are electrical problems in the house, I take no chances after my brush with getting

thunderstruck. I call an electrician and take no chances. Not only do I leave the room to let him work, I leave the house or, better yet, leave the county and hope I am rewarded with light when I return and flip the switch.

I marvel at guys who can come into a house and work some sort of magic by getting the lights back on. Me? I’m an easy mark and unscrupulous handyman’s eyes light up like a slot machine when I say: “It’s broken. Can you fix it?”

As inept as I am with repairs, it’s no wonder going to Home Depot is in no way comfortable or therapeutic. No sir, it can be as traumatizing and nauseating as flashing lights in the rear-view mirror when you’re going

80mph just for the heck of it.

I’ve been pretty fortunate with the repair folks who have helped us. There were a few occasions when I was being worked over and I played along with the charade.

It seems like any chicanery aimed towards me can be nipped in the bud.

“Let me show you how to change that light fixture. I’ll squeeze us some fresh lemonade for when you’re done.”

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

MIKE TASOS

Columnist

PEXELS

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