Sandy Springs Crier - March 30, 2023

Information on murder case sparse in Sandy Springs

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Memorial park gains ground

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Local leaders and veterans gathered at a vacant parcel across from Sandy Springs City Hall March 24 to break ground on the city’s newest construction project — Veterans Park on Roswell Road.

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, District 1 Councilman John Paulson and District 5 Councilman Tibby DeJulio spoke to the crowd about what the new park will mean for local veterans.

The Sandy Springs City Council gave final approval for the $5.7 million project at a meeting in early March. Veterans Park is expected to include a series of large fountains that mirror the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center fountains on Roswell Road, a memorial area commemorating local veterans and wide multi-use sidewalks connecting the park to City Springs and the rest of the city.

Council approves project to rework City Springs water reuse program

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs is preparing to pay thousands to drain and repair large underground water cisterns at City Hall, which were reportedly installed incorrectly when the sprawling City Springs campus was built in 2018. The cisterns, which hold nearly 300,000 gallons of water below City Hall and the City Springs green, were meant to manage dirty runoff from parking lots and roadways, and clean water from roof areas, to be used for irrigation, city fountains and feeding back into Marsh Creek, an offshoot of the Chattahoochee River.

However, after the City Springs campus was completed, city officials reportedly learned a contractor for the project deviated from the designs and installed a system that wasn’t watertight, which caused leaks and one of the cistern’s walls to collapse.

At a City Council meeting March 21, councilmembers unanimously approved a $389,752 contract with Reeves Young to build an underground water diversion system that will allow the city to periodically drain, clean and inspect the cistern.

“This is a huge project we did here. With many big projects, certain little

See COUNCIL, Page 12

PHOTOS BY ALEX POPP/APPEN MEDIA

Above left, Sandy Springs City Councilman John Paulson, Mayor Rusty Paul and Councilman Tibby DeJulio join the groundbreaking.

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2022

2018

After learning about an arrest made for homicide Feb. 26, Appen Media requested warrants and supporting documents from the City of Sandy Springs. Above is the only material the city made available, and officials told the news organization they believe warrants are not subject to public inspection.

Appen Media receives warrants and arrest information from every surrounding jurisdiction it covers. The position of Sandy Springs is in direct contradiction with guidance from the Attorney General, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Sheriff’s Association, Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia and Georgia Press Association.

Fulton County

When Appen Media made the same request to Fulton County, its records officers provided 25 pages of documents, including the arrest warrants and over 1,000 words of narrative case information. Without those county officials, Appen Media would have been unable to report on an alleged murder in Sandy Springs. Appen Media will continue pursuing the release of documents that belong to the public in order to inform residents how safe – or unsafe – the city is keeping it.

Sandy Springs Police Reports

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Each week Appen Media requests police incident reports to inform residents about the safety of their community. Sandy Springs continues to withhold what it calls the “narrative reports” of open cases. It is the only city Appen Media covers that does this. Without that information, The Crier is unable to report on crime in the city.

The city’s position is in conflict with guidance from the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Department of Law, Georgia Press Association and other organizations.

Here are a few public safety items gleaned from reports that include limited details:

On March 14 a Sandy Springs police officer filed a report about a car accident involving another Sandy Springs officer. The crime was listed as “serious injury by vehicle” and two people, a Sandy Springs resident and a Dunwoody resident were listed as “involved.” There were also two cars listed as property, although the involvement

of the people and the cars is not stated. The officer injured in the accident was taken to North Fulton Hospital. The case is still open.

• On March 16 Sandy Springs police officers arrested a man on one count of burglary and 18 counts of financial transaction card fraud. The arrest report said the man was taken into custody for an interview at the Sandy Springs Police Headquarters, where he provided a “full confession to the crime.”

• A Sandy Springs police officer responded to reports of theft on March 4 at the Bridal Sense store on Roswell Road. The incident report listed over $1,000 in stolen items including money, identity documents and a designer wallet. There are two “involved” people listed. One person is a Sandy Springs resident and the other is a Decatur resident. The case was cleared by arrest on March 10. No other information was provided.

Undercover alcohol sweep results in four violations

DUNWOODY, Ga. — The Dunwoody Police Department announced March 21 that four local businesses were recently cited during an undercover operation targeting underage alcohol sales.

Working with agents from the Georgia Department of Revenue, which regulates and enforces alcohol sales, undercover officers checked 17 Dunwoody businesses for compliance with state alcohol regulations and found four businesses that sold alcohol to minors, Dunwoody Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Michael Cheek said.

Businesses cited in the operation included the BP gas station on North Peachtree Road, the Walmart and Perimeter Bottle Shop on Ashford Dunwoody Road, and the Total Wine location on Perimeter Center West.

Each of the individuals who sold alcohol to minors during the operation were cited by Dunwoody police and released. They will also face administrative sanctions from the Georgia Department of Revenue.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, excessive

drinking contributes to more than 4,300 deaths among people below the age of 21 in the United States each year,” Cheek said. “The Dunwoody Police Department regularly uses alcohol sales compliance checks as a tool in our efforts to reduce underage drinking and the many issues that stem from it.”

Cheek said the department is grateful for the other 13 businesses tested during the operation that refused to sell alcohol to minors.

“The Dunwoody Police Department would like to commend each of these businesses for working to protect our community and keep our youth safe and sober,” he said.

Dunwoody leaders visit Canton to kick off City Council retreat

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

CANTON, Ga. — At first glance, the cities of Dunwoody and Canton might not seem like they have any similarities or common ground.

Canton, founded in 1834, is the mostly rural seat of Cherokee County with just over 32,000 residents, while Dunwoody, incorporated in 2008, is a northern suburb of Atlanta with a population of nearly 52,000.

But Dunwoody leaders said their community has a lot to learn from Canton, which has started earning statewide recognition in recent years for its vision, planning and approach to engaging diverse communities.

To kick off their annual retreat, members of the Dunwoody City Council toured Canton’s Etowah River Park and met with leaders at Canton City Hall, to ask questions, share successes and learn from each other.

Mayor Bill Grant, who calls Canton the “Coolest small town in America,” said much of his city’s recent success comes from the development of a “Roadmap for Success,” which guides almost every decision that city leaders make.

Launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canton’s Roadmap for Success is a set of seven different guiding principles (Creating Great Neighborhoods, Celebrating the

Diversity of Our Community, Advancing Regional Economic Success, Enhancing Historic Downtown Canton, Sustaining Our Natural Environment, Connecting Citizens to Parks and Rec -

reation and Leading with Excellence) which was developed by stakeholders throughout the community.

“I like to think of them as a giant coffee filter,” Canton City Manager Billy Peppers said. “Everything that we do as a city goes through that.”

Peppers said everything from employee evaluations and developer requests to annual budget discussions and city policy discussions is looked at through the lens of those guiding principles.

Canton’s Roadmap for Success won it the Visionary City Award from the Georgia Municipal Association in 2022 and is the reason why Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch and other leaders were so excited to visit the city.

Deutsch said even though Dunwoody does plan for the future, by setting a long-term strategic plan and integrating it into the daily operations of the city, Canton is going far beyond simple planning.

“Canton is not just looking at today or yesterday or tomorrow, but acknowledging that we might need 15 years to get to where they want to ultimately be,“ she said. “I think we

See DUNWOODY, Page 16

Tara Tucker

Paras

ALEX POPP/APPEN MEDIA

Dunwoody City Manager Eric Linton speaks to officials during the Dunwoody City Council retreat March 22. Dunwoody leaders visited the City of Canton to kick off their retreat.

A Place for ALL Jews

April showers readers with wide variety of book activities

By KATHY DES JARDINS CIOFFI newsroom@appenmedia.com

More info

Visit Roswell director to head state group

CULLEN

SLIMMING

Joining April’s mixed springtime bag of sunshine and showers is a similarly diverse array of author events. From Dunwoody’s Lemonade Days Festival to an evening of paranormal discussions, and historical fiction championing women to writing guidance for all, April’s book offerings are as varied as a spring bouquet.

Literary Events Around North Atlanta

Saturday, April 1, George Weinstein and Kim Conrey. Married authors Conrey and Weinstein will be selling and signing books and chatting with readers in Alpharetta. Conrey is the debut author of the sci-fi romance “Stealing Ares,” and Weinstein’s most recent release is “Return to Hardscrabble Road.” 11 a.m. Conversation, signing. Free. Posman Books, 4105 Avalon Blvd., Alpharetta, 470-509-5727. posmanbooks.com

Tuesdays, April 4-May 23, George Weinstein. Weinstein, executive director of the Atlanta Writers Club and author of six novels, returns to lead “Telling Your Story: Start It, Finish It & Share It – Part 2,” an eight-week interactive class for anyone 50 and older (though writers of all ages can connect with Weinstein through AWC.) The two-month program, which is open to anyone interested in writing, and not just those who attended the first series, is offered by Seniors Enriched Living, a nonprofit interfaith organization. 1:15 p.m. weekly. $70. Roswell United Methodist Church, 814 Mimosa Blvd., Roswell. 770-993-6218. https://sites.google.com/selroswellga.org/seniorsenriched-living/classes/spring?authuser=0

Thursday, April 13, Jennifer Laguzza Dickenson

In 2011, Dickenson was a busy lawyer when she was diagnosed with grade 4 brain cancer and given scant hope for survival. “The Case for Hope: What I Learned on My Journey from Cancer to Wellness: We Can Heal,” published in March 2022, details Dickenson’s cancer journey. 5 p.m. Discussion, signing. Free. Poe & Company Bookstore, 1890 Heritage Walk, Suite P101, Milton. 770-797-5566. Poeandcompanybookstore.com

Thursday, April 13, Townsend Prize for Fiction. The award ceremony for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, hosted by the Atlanta Writers Club, will be held in midtown Atlanta. North Fulton authors among the 10 finalists include Kimberly Brock, “The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare,” and Anjali Enjeti, “The Parted Earth.” Tickets include a buffet dinner, drinks and more. 6 p.m. $60. Atlanta Women’s Club Wimbish House, 1150 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta. atlantawritersclub.org/writer-resources/awctownsend-prize-for-fiction

Saturday, April 15, Morgan Rodgers. Rodgers’ new novel, “Family Business,” a story of twists and turns, is a page-turner. 11 a.m. Talk, signing. Free. Poe & Company Bookstore, 1890 Heritage Walk, Suite P101, Milton. 770-797-5566. Poeandcompanybookstore. com

On April 22, Atlanta Authors will host bestselling historical fiction novelist Lynn Cullen, author of “The Woman With The Cure.”

Author Jan Slimming is organizing appearances by 20-plus writers at Dunwoody’s Lemonade Days Festival

Here are some details about these and other events:

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, a resource for Georgia’s destination organizations named Visit Roswell Executive Director Andy Williams president of the trade association for 2023.

Williams has worked in sales, project coordinator and director positions in visitors bureaus in Dunwoody, Madison, Atlanta and Roswell. He joined the board of the association in 2019 and served as the group’s vice president in 2022.

The Visit Roswell Executive director assumed the role at the association’s annual conference on Feb. 12-15. At the Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Williams will head up a 12-member board of regional destination organization leaders and tourism professionals.

Tuesday, April 18, Ann Hite and Delilah S. Dawson. A Novel Idea presents a paranormal night promising “An Evening of Unknown Expectations” from a pair of bestselling authors. Hite’s newest book is “Haints on Black Mountain,” and Dawson’s latest release is “The Violence.” 7 p.m. Discussion, signing. Free. Vintage Pizzeria, 5510 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. 770-509-5611. anovelidea.us

Saturday, April 22, Lynn Cullen. Atlanta Authors hosts the bestselling author of historical fiction as she discusses her new release, “The Woman With The Cure.” Cullen’s book is based on the true story of Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, whose groundbreaking research helped make the polio vaccine possible. 2 p.m. Conversation, signing. Free. In-person and online. Roswell Library, 115 Norcross St., Roswell. 404-612-9700. forl.net/atlanta-authors

Saturday, April 22, George Weinstein and Kim Conrey. Conrey and Weinstein return, this time at the Cumming City Center Spring Market. 10 a.m. Talk, signing. Free. Cumming City Center Spring Market, Vision Drive, Cumming. 678-472-4708. cummingcitycentermarket

Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23, Lemonade Days Authors and Friends Bookstore. Twenty local authors, including nine from North Fulton, will appear for personalized book signing sessions during the Dunwoody festival’s 23rd year. Authors appearing include bookstore organizer Jan Slimming with her trio of World War II books, including “Codebreaker Girls: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park.” 10 a.m Saturday, noon Sunday. Brook Run Park, 4770 N Peachtree Road, Dunwoody. dunwoodylemonadedays.org

Thursday, April 27, Emily Carpenter. The bestselling author of “Burying the Honeysuckle Girls” returns to uncover a faith healer’s elusive and haunted past in “Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters.” Carpenter’s novel, a mix of historical fiction, mystery and thriller, has something for everyone. 5 p.m. Discussion, signing. Free. Poe & Company Bookstore, 1890 Heritage Walk, Suite P101, Milton. 770-797-5566. Poeandcompanybookstore.com

Saturday, April 29, Independent Bookstore Day at Bookmiser. The bookstore, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, will be observing Independent Bookstore Day with giveaways, story time, “epicurean delights” and much more. All day. Free. Bookmiser, 3822 Roswell Road, Roswell. 770-509-5611. bookmiser.net

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

“Andy is a proven leader with a diverse background in understanding and strategically capitalizing on the many segments of the travel and convention business markets,” Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus Executive Director Jay Markwalter said.

The association aims to “maximize the impact” of visitor economy with tourism education, leadership development and legislative work.

Marcus Jewish Community Center launches campaign to extend reach

DUNWOODY, Ga. — The Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta announced the launch of the agency’s Capital Campaign at its annual board meeting March 21.

The landmark campaign is a $36 million fundraising initiative intended to strengthen the organization’s ability to serve the entire community, develop new facilities to support innovative and transformational programs, as well as deliver a greater impact for the next generation of Jewish Atlanta and beyond. The Center has already secured $31.5 million from major donor gifts.

The MJCCA has served the Metro Atlanta community for more than 100 years and is widely regarded as one of the premier Jewish community centers in the country. Its mission is to remain a central hub for Jewish connections, provide necessary programs and services, and ensure that the agency continues to build strong Jewish identities

today and for future generations.

The capital campaign funds will expand the agency’s impact and create new ways for the community to connect. Approximately $20.5 million will be invested at the Zaban Park Campus, and $9.7 million will be allocated to Camp Barney Medintz, the organization’s overnight summer camp in Cleveland, Georgia.

The MJCCA’s vision for Zaban Park and CBM includes:

• New outdoor aquatic center

• New pickleball facility

• Enhanced security

• Renovating areas of the main building

• Reimagining the courtyard

• Updating the preschool playground

• Upgrading upper fields 1 & 2

• Expanded parking

• Rebuilding Camp Barney Medintz structures

GEORGIA ASSOCIATION OF CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAUS / PROVIDED Visit Roswell Executive Director Andy Williams will lead the Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus.

Dunwoody High School wins audience choice award at student film festival

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

ATLANTA, Ga. — Dunwoody High School took home two audience choice awards for their student-made short films at the fifth annual DeKalb County Student Film Festival at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta March 21. Students, parents and teachers walked the red carpet at the theater before sitting down for the night’s program.

The film festival was put on by the DeKalb County School District, the DeKalb Entertainment Commission and re:imagine, an organization that assists young people with their filmmaking goals.

A total of 19 student films premiered. Each film required students to include a picture frame as a prop, a character named “Azari Binx” and the line “We’re running out of time.” The films spanned genres from comedy to horror.

A slate of four judges from the Atlanta film industry voted on novice and advanced films for categories including best editing, best cinematography, best acting, best overall and audience choice. Dunwoody High School students took home trophies in the audience choice category for both their

novice and advanced films.

The novice film, “Eye of the Beholder,” was also named runner-up for best set design. Students Aidan Kramer,

Joshua Estes and Ella Kellner worked on the film.

Yeats Bell and Carter Dyche, 11th

graders at Dunwoody High School have been in the “film academy” program for the past two years. They starred in and worked on the school’s advanced film submission, “A Brush With the Past.”

Along with Bell and Dyche, students Jaeden Brown, Blake Jones, Julia Ellet and Gillian Lenertz worked on the short film.

The film tells the story of a man who becomes obsessed with a cursed paintbrush that drives its owner mad. Bell and Dyche said making it to the film festival has been an “incredibly exciting experience” that they will remember fondly for years.

“If we’re able to reach this high and go to the film festival, I can only imagine what that will do for the program,” Bell said. “I’m very excited to see the future of the program.”

The pair said they are glad the school has a film program because it allows them to create their own art.

“I feel like film is where my creative expression shines the most,” Dyche said.

The said they are also grateful the DeKalb County School District has invested in film programs for high school students.

Joey Guggenheim, Ian Ballow, Riley Gunter,

DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA

Dunwoody High School students take home the audience choice award for their short film “A Brush with the Past” at the DeKalb County Student Film Festival on March 21. See FILM, Page

Wellstar opens $12 million Cancer center in Roswell

By DELANEY TARR Delaney@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — Wellstar North Fulton Hospital opened the doors to a $12 million comprehensive cancer center at a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 23.

The 12,000 square foot facility offers advanced cancer treatments including CyberKnife radiation therapy, a Specialty Teams and Treatments (STAT) Clinic, imaging services and an outpatient infusion center.

Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson, Milton Mayor Peyton Jamison and other Roswell city officials joined hospital representatives for the ribbon cutting.

Wellstar North Fulton President Jon-Paul Croom said the comprehensive cancer center is the only one of its kind in North Fulton County. Wellstar North Fulton’s sister facility, Wellstar Kennestone Hospital is the only other program in the area that offers the same level of cancer care, he said.

Croom credited the bulk of the development to Dr. Mark McLaughlin, a radiation oncologist who spearheaded the expansion.

“About four years ago, we got together with physicians in this area and administrators from Wellstar Health System to share a common goal,” McLaughlin said. “That common goal was to provide comprehensive, truly integrated cancer care at the Wellstar North Fulton Cancer Center.”

McLaughlin said when he came to Wellstar North Fulton about five years ago, the cancer care process was disjointed for patients. There was no “onestop shop” to receive care, and with spread out doctors and appointments things fell through the cracks.

“It’s really difficult for patients to navigate that very difficult diagnosis,” McLaughlin said.

When the oncologist presented his cancer center plan to Wellstar North Fulton President Croom, he said the goal was to make that vision a reality. The vision came with a hefty price tag, though: $12 million.

LOCAL

McLaughlin said he’s glad the Wellstar administration decided to invest fully into the cancer center. The money went to advanced technology like CyberKnife, an approximately $6 million radiation therapy.

The CyberKnife is a non-invasive device that uses “real time imaging” to treat difficult to reach spots, like lung and brain tumors. With those areas, McLaughlin said the tumor is “always moving.” CyberKnife has a robotic arm that moves with the patient, allowing high doses of radiation to hone in on the tumor’s location.

“What it allows people to do, instead of having five to eight weeks of treatment, it can shorten that to one to five treatments,” McLaughlin said.

The concentrated radiation allows patients to finish treatment faster. Prior to the cancer center in Roswell, patients would have to travel to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for the CyberKnife treatment.

According to McLaughlin, the hospital in Kennestone has one of the second busiest CyberKnife treatment programs in the United States.

The Wellstar Kennestone Hospital is about 40 minutes from Wellstar North Fulton Hospital. McLaughlin and Croom said the distance adds difficulty to treatment for patients and their families.

“When my parents were diagnosed with cancer and treated at Kennestone, it was hard for me to get from appointment to appointment,” McLaughlin said.

A key feature of the cancer center in Roswell is the Specialty Teams and Treatments Clinic, called “STAT” by hospital staff. The model brings medical, surgical and radiation oncology under one roof. Rather than having cancer patients travel to see specialists, they can meet with an entire team in one location at one time.

“All the doctors all know each other and are talking to each other, so you’re getting one congruent answer,” McLaughlin said.

Collaboration between doctors keeps patients from receiving different medical opinions as well. McLaughlin said typically, if a patient visits a surgical specialist, they’ll simply perform the treatment rather than look at another option.

At the cancer center, he said doctors can “put their heads together” to figure out the best care for a patient, even if it differs from what the patient expects.

“If I have a patient that comes in and says I want CyberKnife, we’ll meet in the STAT clinic and I’ll know the CyberKnife is not their best treatment,” McLaughlin said. “It could me medical, it could be a combination, but the model allows us to discuss things with the patient.”

The cancer center will officially open to the public on March 27, but the CyberKnife machine is already at full capacity. The hospital expects to serve many of the patients who have had to relocate to Kennestone Hospital for comprehensive care. Croom said Wellstar is already looking towards cancer center expansions to accommodate more patients.

“Cancer is one of those diseases that touches so many people, everybody has somebody that has suffered from it or died from it,” Croom said. “It’s so real, and to be able to have something right here, where you don’t have to go to Atlanta or travel long distances is just right.”

DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA

Wellstar Health Systems officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Wellstar North Fulton Hospital Cancer Center on March 23 at Hospital Road.

FROM COP TO COACH

Athletic director leaves his mark on Milton 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 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.

“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 the girls lacrosse team in CrossFit in its off seasons.

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.

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

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.

“I’m a safe adult for them to talk to. I’m not going to judge them,” Sylvestri said. “I’m not going to condone what they’re doing sometimes. But I’m going to educate them. There’s more learning going on in the hallways, and in the sports field, than in the classrooms in this building.”

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.

CALENDAR

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.

SANDY SPRINGS FARMERS MARKET

What: Shop for fresh produce and artisan foods every Saturday morning from April 8 to November 18, where more than 30 vendors set up shop around the City Green, many bringing their farm to your table. Other vendors offer artisan foods, and many participants offer pre-orders.

When: Saturday, April 8, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

When: March 30-April 1, times vary

Where: Byers Theatre, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

Cost: $30

More info: citysprings.com

GEORGIA ENSEMBLE THEATRE PRESENTS ‘BRIGHT STAR’

What: An editor in 1940s North Carolina sets out to find the true story of her difficult history in this homey musical that flits between the present and the past in a heartbeat. The emotional and uplifting Appalachian tale is inspired by a true story and features a Tonynominated bluegrass score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.

When: March 30-April 16, time vary

Where: Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest Street, Roswell Cost: Tickets start at $32 More info: get.org

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, April 1, 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

‘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

Where: City Green, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

More info: citysprings.com/farmersmarket

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/

LAZY DOG SPRING MENU TASTING

What: Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar is hosting a special sneak peek event to celebrate its new, seasonal menu additions. Taste your way through a special four-course menu featuring reimagined favorites from past menus and new flavors to kick off the season. The event is for two people.

When: April 2-April 4, 4-9 p.m.

Where: Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, 4532 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody

Cost: $85 for two

More info: lazydogrestaurants.com/ spring-menu-tasting

MUTATE AT FIVE

LOCAL NEWS

What: Mutate at Five is a free familyfriendly, beer, wine, music and food festival held every first Thursday from April to October.

When: Thursday, April 6, 5-9 p.m.

Where: City Springs, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

More info: visitsandysprings.org

SANDY SPRINGS FARMERS MARKET

What: Shop for fresh produce and artisan foods every Saturday morning from April 8 to November 18, where more than 30 vendors set up shop around the City Green, many bringing their farm to your table. Other vendors offer artisan foods, and many participants offer pre-orders.

When: Saturday, April 8, 8:30 a.m.12:30 p.m.

Where: City Green, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

More info: citysprings.com/farmersmarket

SAMI BEIGI LIVE IN ATLANTA

What: Performing in the area for the first time, popular Iranian singer/song-

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.

writer, guitarist and producer Sami Beigi was nominated for three World Music Awards in 2014. Formerly a member of the Persian Black Cats, he’ll have you dancing the night away with his many successful singles, including “Yeki Bood Yeki Nabood,” “Ey Joonam,” “HMG” and “In Eshghe.” He's joined in this appearance by one of the pioneers of Persian Rap, Erfan.

When: Saturday, April 8, 8:30 p.m.

Where: Byers Theater, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

Cost: $79-199

More info: citysprings.com

SANDY SPRINGS ARTSAPALAOOZA

What: The two-day festival features a children’s play area, local musicians, interactive art stations in addition to up to 150 arts and crafts participants in every discipline. On Easter Sunday, the Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces is hosting the largest Easter Egg Hunt in Sandy Springs with more than 10,000 hidden Easter eggs.

When: Saturday & Sunday, April 8-April 9

Where: 6100 Lake Forrest Drive, Sandy Springs

More info: sandyspringsartsapalooza. com

Northview High School presents Interschool Genetics Symposium

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — More than 50 students, parents and residents gathered at the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce for a student-led Interschool Genetics Symposium March 18.

The event, hosted by the Northview High School Genetics Engineering Club, aimed to create awareness of careers in genetics and science, technology, engineering and mathematics – or STEM.

Club founder and President Vaishali Prahalad said she and the club organized the event to interest students in STEM by showcasing how a future in the fields could look. The symposium featured a Q&A session with three professionals in medicine and genetics.

Prahalad said she had been conceiving the symposium for months, and the club had worked hard to put it together.

“Being able to share what we have put together was really, really meaningful and powerful,” Prahalad said. “And I hope that in the future, we will keep continuing to get people to commit and dedicate themselves toward science.”

The panel included 10X Genomics Science and Technology Advisor Nirav Patel, Emory University School of Medicine genetic counselor Lauren Lichten and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Rheumatology Fellow Dr. Christian Oliveros. All fielded questions from students and parents on internships, opportunities and how to get started in STEM fields.

Johns Creek Mayor John Bradberry, who inaugurated the event, said life science and biosciences have a strong and growing presence in the city.

“I feel like this is a very auspicious occasion,” Bradberry said, “because, you know, basically what this represents to me is that our community, especially at the student level, is hand in glove with what we're attempting to do at the city level.”

Bradberry said Boston Scientific is coming to the Town Center’s Innovation Hub later this year, and the city will repurpose the water reclamation plant at Cauley Creek Park into a STEM playground this summer.

“That is something that, whether it's going to be robotics or something related to art or engineering, that is going to be a place that, of course, you

can enjoy the fun parts of the park,” Bradberry said. “But there, you'll be able to actually have a space where you can pursue your extracurricular intellectual endeavors as well.”

Greg Hampikian, founder of the Idaho Innocence Project, presented via Zoom on the use of genetics in exoneration efforts in Georgia and across the country.

The event concluded with a student-led interactive game in which participants used their phones to design a baby using CRISPR, a genome editing technology. Students in the Genetics Engineering Club also shared recent projects.

Students interested in starting a genetics engineering club at their school can reach Prahalad at vaishali. prahalad@gmail.com for more information.

PHOTOS BY SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

From left, panelists Nirav Patel, Lauren Lichten and Dr. Christian Oliveros answer student and parent questions at Northview High School Genetics Engineering Club’s Interschool Genetics Symposium at the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce March 18.

Johns Creek Mayor John Bradberry speaks at Northview High School Genetics Engineering Club’s Interschool Genetics Symposium at the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce March 18. Bradberry inaugurated the event and recognized the growing STEM industry in Johns Creek.

Council:

Continued from Page 1

items linger longer than we all would like, and this is one of the last if not the last one,” District 1 Councilman John Paulson said. “So, I'm glad it's here, let's take care of it.”

In a presentation to the City Council, Sandy Springs Director of Facilities Dave Wells said the city went back to the drawing board several times to design the water diversion system in the most cost-effective and least intrusive methods possible.

“Due to the complexity, as well as mitigating the project cost and disruption to the site, staff had to redesign the project to take into consideration existing site conditions, construction costs and site availability,” Wells said, adding that the project will require coordination with events scheduled on City Green during the summer.

Wells said the project will run pipes around the cistern, allowing stormwater to bypass it so the 300,000 gallons of water can fully drain over a two-week period. And because a bypass wasn’t built into the original designs and the time the cistern takes to drain, they’re unable to determine whether previous waterproofing attempts have been successful.

“Once we get a little bit of rain in there, we'll probably like a quarter of an inch of rain on the roads but we get about six feet of water in the cistern,” he said.

As part of the project, he said they will also need to clean or replace pumps in the cistern that feed the irrigation system and fountains, which are currently being fed by municipal water.

Once the project is complete the city can begin reusing stormwater for everyday tasks, which was an initial priority with the City Springs campus design, Mayor Rusty Paul said.

“It's an environmental thing,” Paul said. “One of the things when we built this facility, we wanted to make it as sustainable as possible. That meant we made this building as highly energy efficient as we possibly could, and we wanted to capture the water on the site for reuse.”

To fund the project, Wells said the city will have to modify its 2023 budget and reallocate $380,000 from a different city project. Councilmembers unanimously approved the budget amendment and funding reallocation at the meeting.

As part of a pending lawsuit against City Springs project designers over the cistern’s designs, Paul said Sandy Springs will attempt to recoup the project funding.

“We're expecting to be reimbursed for a major part of this, if not all, after that litigation is concluded,” he said.

Film:

Continued from Page 7

“It’s the idea of movie magic, but it’s in the classroom,” Bell said. “You can’t really capture a better feeling.”

Tammy Wichman, the Film Academy and mass communications teacher at Dunwoody High School said events like the student film festival are vital.

“I think it’s really important that they are allowed to express their creativity and use their imagination in a forum that is open for them to make mistakes and learn,” Wichman said.

The teacher makes it mandatory for all of her program’s students to attend whether or not their film was nominated. Senior Marc-Alexandre Barbe, who has been in the film academy for four years, said “its awesome how DeKalb supports the arts.”

This is the first time Wichman’s current students have attended the annual student film festival. For the past few years, the festival has been held online due to COVID-19 concerns. She said nights like this give students

“a voice and gives them a platform to express it.”

Tom McFerrin is an instructional coordinator for the Career, Technical and Agricultural Educational programs, which include film programs in schools across DeKalb County. McFerrin sees film programs in the school district as vital — he’s helped increase the number to 15 programs.

To the coordinator, teaching students about film makes sense in Georgia, where the film industry is rapidly expanding.

“Its super important to keep these kids in Georgia,” McFerrin said. “To keep them in the industry here, right in our backyard.”

He said the students, who collaborate and create the films entirely on their own, often “blow him away.”

“For them to be able to edit and put together a story and put it on film is pretty impressive,” McFerrin said.

Also at the festival, Chamblee High School students took home the best editing and best cinema awards in the novice category for their short film “Guise.”

DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA

The DeKalb County School District hosts its fifth annual student film festival at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta March 21. The festival showcases students premiere their films and compete for the night’s awards.

Name: The Halal Guys

Name: Super Chix

Owner: Missy Moon

Description: At Super Chix, we serve fresh, never frozen chicken. We marinate our fillets and jumbo chicken tenders in house each day. All our produce is delivered fresh and cut by hand. To top it off

Name: Bloom Holistic Dentistry

Owners: Dr. Zahra Punjani

Description: At Bloom Holistic Dentistry, we provide high quality, personalized and comprehensive dental care for adults and children in a comfortable and friendly environment. As a holistic or integrative dental office, we evaluate and treat the entirety of

we serve

hand-cut fries, premium frozen custard, & an unlimited dip sauce bar.

Opened: February 2023

Phone: (770) 864-5682

Address: 4712 Ashford Dunwoody Rd Ste 360, Dunwoody, Georgia, 30338

Website: https://www.superchix.com/

Owner: Joseph Hafez

Description: The Halal Guys are bringing American Halal Food to the masses. Featuring a flavor profile that can't be replicated in any other cuisine format, flawlessly cooked, premium quality Halal meats that are seasoned to perfection,

and a melting pot of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors that are sure to delight.

Opened: March

Phone: (770) 559-5505

Address: 237 Perimeter Center Pkwy NE, Dunwoody, GA 30346

Website: https://thehalalguys.com/

the mouth’s structures and functions as it relates to overall health and wellbeing.

Opened: November 2022

Phone: (770) 396-1188

Address: 200 Ashford Center North; Ste. 330; Dunwoody, GA 30338

Website: https://www. bloomholisticdentistry.com/

Name: Business Owner’s Emporium

Owners: Chastity Conn Moore

Business Description: The Business Owner’s Emporium offers 7,000 sq ft of private office, meeting, and cowork space. Our community is designed to inspire, connect, and support small businesses and entrepreneurs. We

feature amenities and on-demand business services to help entrepreneurs correctly structure and grow their businesses.

Phone: (678) 587-5278

Address: 56 Perimeter Center East; Suite 150; Dunwoody, GA 30346

Website: https://bizownemporium.com

Tornado devastated Dunwoody 25 years ago

A category F-2 tornado cut through Dunwoody a little after midnight April 9, 1998, leaving a path of destruction.

More than 3,000 homes were damaged, 1,500 families were displaced, and damage to homes and property exceeded $150 million. In all, 70 homes were destroyed.

Tragically, John Janisch of Delverton Drive died when a tree struck his home.

Local news station 11 Alive reported there were 62 tornados in a three-day period ending with April 9. The tornado that struck Dunwoody began its path in Alabama and touched down in Cobb County. In Dunwoody, it came across Chamblee Dunwoody Road, moved east along Peeler Road, down Tilly Mill Road, through parts of Kingsley, across Happy Hollow Road and through Fontainebleau Forest, then across Winters Chapel Road into Lockridge Forest. Finally, it struck Peachtree Corners and northern Gwinnett County. (Dunwoody Crier, June 1998, “April 9, 1998: The Storm”)

Those watching weather reports on television just after midnight heard the warnings to take cover, but those who had gone to bed already either woke up to a sound like a freight train or to the sound of trees crashing all around or on top of their homes.

Some in the direct path tried to walk out in the night with flashlights once the tornado had moved on, only to be unable to maneuver around the fallen trees in the dark. Others walked out the next morning to see the snapped and fallen trees and damage to their property.

Dunwoody High School was set up as a shelter for those whose homes were damaged, but many stayed in their homes if they were able. Others stayed with family or friends or rented nearby. There were blue tarps on houses all up and down the streets with the most damage. Homeowners were advised to be wary of those trying to take advantage of the desperate situation, over-charging for tree removal and repairs.

A large pin oak fell on the home at Donaldson-Bannister Farm during the tornado, damaging the two front upstairs bedrooms and the chimney. Other trees fell through the windows

of the dining room, plus there was damage to the barn. Owners Linda and David Chesnut repaired all the damage and replaced damaged magnolia trees.

The tornado’s path included what was then DeKalb College, today’s Georgia State University Dunwoody Campus. Eighty percent of the trees on campus were snapped or uprooted. Travis Weatherly, director of plant operations, seeing the damage for the first time the following morning, observed, “There are no words to describe the destruction.” There were fallen trees everywhere, broken windows, roof damage, and water inside buildings. The campus remained closed through the following weekend. (Dunwoody Crier, April 4, 2018, “Dunwoody Tornado April 9, 1998 “)

The Dunwoody Homeowner’s Association, Dunwoody Preservation Trust and Dunwoody Nature Center joined forces following the tornado with an initiative called “Replant the Dunwoody Forest.” More than 25,000 trees were planted around Dunwoody thanks to the effort.

Lemonade Days, Dunwoody Preservation Trust’s annual festival at Brook Run Park, began the next year with a children’s carnival and tours of rebuilt and rehabilitated homes.

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.

Donaldson-Bannister Farm was hit hard by the April 9, 1998 tornado.

PROVIDED

This June 1998 Dunwoody Crier cover includes a map showing the path of the storm.

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist

PRESERVING THE PAST

Free flying in Dunwoody

Man has yearned to fly for centuries.

Initial efforts involved hot air balloons and gliders. In fact, in the 1480s Leonardo da Vinci made more than 100 drawings of a flying machine that he never built. He just wanted to show how man could fly. According to NASA, the modern-day helicopter is based on his design.

MEYERS

In 1783, the French Montgolfier brothers invented the first flying hot air balloon. The first passengers were a sheep, rooster and duck. The colorful silk balloon rose 6,000 feet and traveled more than a mile. Soon, the brothers were sending human passengers aloft.

In the mid- to early 1850s, George Cayley, an English engineer, designed many gliders. Later in the century German engineer, Otto Lilienthal studied the flight of birds and wrote a book that the Wright Brothers used as a basis for their designs. Unfortunately, Lilienthal was killed when one of his designs crashed with him aboard. In 1891

Samuel Langley, who was director of the Smithsonian Institute, built a glider with a steam-powered engine. Orville and Wilbur Wright studied these and other early pioneers to develop their “Flier” that they took turns piloting four times on December 17, 1903, thus ushering in all that has come after them.

I mention these early champions of flight to highlight the fact that flying on currents of air is the basis of controlled flight. In this age of rocket ships and jet planes, it is easy to forget how much we owe to those who proved that objects could be suspended in and made to fly freely on currents of air.

A small but dedicated group of enthusiasts are keeping the notion of free flying alive locally. These knowledgeable and very patient individuals, many with technical backgrounds, devote countless hours to making and flying model airplanes that depend on air currents to stay aloft and have great fun in the process. They call themselves the Thermal Thumbers of Metro Atlanta.

Free flight model airplanes have no external controls. The goal of the sport is to achieve the longest flight duration possible by making minute adjustments to the design and trim of the airplanes. Two kinds of free flight airplanes are used, indoor and outdoor. The two types are quite different in appearance, size and weight.

Indoor models are very light, typically weighing no more than a dollar bill or

a baby aspirin and fly very slowly. They are powered by special rubber bands, twisted by a device that provides a set number of twists to help assure desired flight characteristics. Too many twists and the plane will hit the ceiling. Typically, the planes are flown in school or church gymnasiums with high ceilings. Competitions are held locally, nationally and internationally every two years. One popular location for world championship competitions is a vast salt mine in Romania noted for its still, cold air and 200-foot-high ceiling.

In early March, members of the Thermal Thumbers gathered in the gymnasium of St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Dunwoody with its ultrahigh ceiling for a day of practice flights and competition with their delicate balsawood models. Doors must be kept closed and ventilation turned off to “calm air currents,” says Dohrman Crawford, Thermal Thumbers of Atlanta vice president and ex-Viet Nam War forward air controller and retired Delta Airlines pilot He says that a welldesigned and adjusted model plane may occasionally fly up to one hour, although most test and practice flights are timed to last just a few minutes.

Outdoor models are usually larger and heavier. They often have engines that shut off soon after launch to help the planes catch the thermal drafts that can carry them to amazing heights. Finding the thermal drafts is one of the challenges of this sport. Different kinds of outdoor models exist each with its own specifications and rules.

Radio controlled model airplanes are also popular outdoors, but they are in a special category and are not considered free flight.

In the U.S., the sport is supervised by the National Free Flight Society. The first national competition was held in 1915.This year the nationals will be held at the University of Idaho June 19-23. The World Air Sports Federation (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) supervises international competitions.

Newcomers of all ages are always welcome to visit or become involved with the Atlanta area group. For information, contact James Martin, jnnmartin1963@ gmail.com.

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.

Indoor free flight model airplanes are built to precise specifications and carefully flown in large spaces such as gymnasiums. This is an F1D model measuring 30 inches long with a wingspan of 22.7 inches and weighing 1.4 grams or about as much as a dollar bill. The plane was built by Kang Lee who has won two world championships and works for Google. The plane is made of balsa wood. Wings are covered with ultra-thin mylar film. Kag flew his plane at a practice/competition session in early March in the gymnasium of St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Dunwoody.

BOB

Columnist

DOHRMAN CRAWFORD/PROVIDED

Dorman Crawford, vice president of the metro Atlanta free flight indoor model airplane club, the Thermal Thumbers, prepares to launch a Phantom Flash, an indoor model designed in the 1930s and still popular today.

BOB MEYERS/APPEN MEDIA

Conversation around a table in Knoxville

he replied. Huh?

More about Kelsie

RAY APPEN

Publisher Emeritus

We were sitting around a table with friends at a restaurant in Knoxville. We had driven up because our friend’s adult granddaughter Kelsie, who works at the Knoxville Museum of Art, was introducing a new exhibition that she had curated, and we wanted to see it – as well as visit her grandmother and her parents. We have known everyone for many years; they are island friends who we only see when we are at the beach.

Kelsie is an artist herself – incredibly talented, creative, smart, and her own person, just like her grandmom. She is one of those people who just seems to ooze talent which is communicated by the sparkle in her eyes, her clothes and hair, and a certain reserved confident aloofness – not a casting judgement aloofness, but a demeanor of someone who perhaps sees things that other people do not.

The exhibit pulled almost a dozen artists from all over the South as well as local artists. The art was full of big ideas – big picture vistas – “high art.” That is, most of it was contemporary, mixed medium, conceptual and symbolic. Think plastic, glass, photoimages, cardboard, dreams, memory and more.

All the artists were there with their work. The museum was serving hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer, and there may have been music. The exhibit was a true event – a melding of ideas, talent, knowledge, experience and connection. Everyone seemed to be plugged into the same energy, and at times it felt overwhelming to me, but,

Dunwoody:

Continued from Page 4

have core values built into some of our plans, But maybe in isolation. So how do you connect it all.”

Leaders spent a large portion of their time at the joint city meeting talking about one specific part of Canton’s Roadmap for Success — Celebrating the Diversity of Our Community — which Canton leaders said was a good example of the successes they’ve had after creating the roadmap.

Grant said they had to work very hard to build trust and make connections in the city’s growing Hispanic

at the same time, alive, engaged, and fun.

Anyway, as we sat around the table post-show, my wife was telling a story, and part of the story for some reason had something to do with Johnny Carson. She stopped mid-sentence during her story though, and looked at the granddaughter and said, “you have no idea who I am talking about do you? You don’t know Johnny Carson, do you?” Kelsie’s completely blank look on her face was her answer. She looked around the table for clues. Nothing. We got nothing.

community. That effort to reach Hispanic community members started small, with interactions in city schools and churches by police officers and other city employees but has since morphed into a vital citywide effort.

“I knew we were making progress when a couple of months ago, I got a call from one of the churches asking me if I would come and talk to their men's group,” he said. “It just shows me that we're slowly breaking down those barriers, and there's so many, but I think we are slowly making progress.”

Like Canton, Dunwoody has a rapidly growing and diverse community. Over the past decade, Dunwoody’s

Kelsie Conley also owns and manages her own gallery in Knoxville called “Bad Water Gallery” (website: LvL3official.com). It is located at 320 East Churchill Ave. Her gallery recently was cited in London’s Financial Times along with three other galleries around the world as an example of the new emerging art venues of note – “making shows for the next generation.”

I think most of us were caught off guard momentarily – surprised and startled a bit. It was no big deal though; it was just one of those moments. I mean, why should we expect a gen Y to know Johnny after he had been off the air since 1992? (The last show was May 22, 1992 – wow. The first show was October 1, 1962.). The rub is that he/his memory remains so clearly in place for my generation and those close, and it is hard to remember that our frames of reference – no matter how clear they are to us – may be diddly squat to others.

Who is Johnny Carson?

Who is John Galt?

How about Lenny Bruce, Richard Brautigan, Ken Kesey or Wavy Gravy?

How about David Foster Wallace, Julia Butterfly Hill, Bobby Sands, or H Rap Brown?

And Rachael Carson?

I know them all, but, well, that’s just me. Others do not. Indeed. But they know people and stuff and events that I don’t know. Maybe that’s the point.

When son Hans was in first or second grade at Alpharetta Elementary, his teacher (Mrs. Benton?) asked him what his favorite music was. “Anything by Rodgers and Hammerstein,”

population grew by more than 12 percent, including significant changes in the city’s Asian and Hispanic populations and a downward shift in the city’s average age.

Those demographic shifts will require Dunwoody officials to change how they are reaching and engaging with residents, Deutsch said.

“We're getting younger, while some of the North Fulton cities are getting older,” she said. “We aren't the same community we were when we became a city, we all experience it on a daily basis.”

Dunwoody doesn’t have the same resources that Canton does, as the Cherokee County seat, she said, but there are still many elements they can

I polled my kids – just for fun –asking them if they knew who Johnny Carson was. They made fun of me and my question. Figures.

To try to buffer possible embarrassment for Kelsie, I asked her if she was familiar with Howard Finster. Her face lit up. “Yes, of course. Summerville. I was at his studio last year. Some of my friends have some of his stuff.” It didn’t look like anyone else at the table – there were about 10 of us – other than my wife – had Finster on their radar.

Who is Howard Finster?

I often say that “everything important I learned in life, I learned from my children.” Well, almost everything. And the irony is that one of the main reasons they can teach me, is because I taught them – and they remember.

William Faulkner said that “the past isn’t dead; it isn’t even past.” It is still with us – every day. And he could also have said that the future is here too, now. That was crystal clear in Kelsie’s show – for all to see – frozen in time in the museum that afternoon, in a still moment – ha, Elliot’s “still point,” while we talked, listened and looked.

The older I get the more I realize that every moment matters. Every connection. Every memory. Every player on stage. The more we see, the more context we absorb, the more meaning we add to our lives. And the moments we miss, or ignore, or don’t see on late night tv, or hear in our parent’s voice as they read to us, or study about in school, is an excruciating loss that we often don’t even see or realize. But it is a loss for all.

Who is Johnny Carson? Who is Howard Finster?

Indeed.

replicate, like starting to build trust in the DeKalb County schools and doing as much good as they can in underserved communities.

“You have to get where they are,” Cpl. Tania Cruz of the Canton Police Department said. “That way, you can bridge that gap and always let them know, we're not immigration, we're not here to lock people up and send them back to their country. So that way, they know it's a safe space.”

After the meeting with Canton officials, Dunwoody City Manager Eric Linton said he plans to begin meeting with city staff soon, to see how they can begin developing their own type of roadmap, using input from the entire community.

SPECIAL TO APPEN MEDIA

Kelsie Conley stands for a photo.

Get prepared: It is time for hummingbirds to return

What a joy to see the variety of birds that come to my bird feeders and suet baskets each day! As the temperatures warm and the day length increases, more birds will return from their winter migration locations. At the beginning of April, when the spring flowers begin to bloom, it is time to prepare for the return of the hummingbirds by adding a hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water to my collection of bird feeders and suet baskets. At the end of September each year, I remove the hummingbird feeder because the hummingbirds are departing for their long migration journey to their winter feeding grounds in Mexico and Central America.

The males leave first, followed by the females two weeks later. Because hummingbirds depend on nectar for survival, they are not attracted to my feeders filled with black sunflower seeds. Most hummingbird feeders are red because hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers. Store-bought, pre-made nectar can be used to fill your feeder, or you can make your own. Tips for creating your own hummingbird nectar include:

• Make a mixture of 4 parts water to 1 part sugar.

• Boil the water and add the sugar stirring until the sugar dissolves.

• Do not add red dye! There is no research that proves red dye is safe for hummingbirds.

• Clean the feeder with soap and water and rinse thoroughly.

• After the sugar solution cools, add it to the feeder.

• Store the extra solution in the refrigerator.

• To prevent mold, clean the feeder every other day, rinse thoroughly to remove any soap residue, and add fresh nectar.

A suggestion: you might want to add two hummingbird feeders and, if possible, space them several feet apart. Last summer, I observed whenever two hummingbirds arrived at my feeder, only one bird would place its long beak into the feeder to obtain the nectar water. In fact, the male hummingbird at the feeder was aggressively signaling the other hummingbird to leave the area near

About the Author

the feeder. Male hummingbirds are small but they are also very territorial!

To attract hummingbirds to your garden, add some native flowers such as cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Eastern columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), or jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) to your garden. Other excellent additions are native vines such as trumpet-creeper (Campsis radicans) or coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). Avoid using insecticides, as insects are also important to their diet and provide a source of protein needed for these active birds.

Hummingbird identification is easy. Why? There is only one species of hummingbird that spends its mating and nesting season in Georgia, the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

Because hummingbirds are small, get out your binoculars in order to distinguish between the male and female hummingbirds. The male, as in most birds, is the most colorful and has a ruby throat and iridescent green back. The female is also beautiful with her iridescent green back, but instead of a ruby throat, she has a white throat speckled with a few grey dots.

Here are some interesting facts about ruby-throated hummingbirds:

• They only weigh 2 to 3 grams, the equivalent of 2 to 3 paper clips.

• They are one of the smallest birds in Georgia.

• They must consume half of their body weight in nectar each day to maintain their high metabolism.

• Their heart beats 1,260 times per minute.

• They breathe 250 times per minute.

• They are the only birds that can fly backwards.

• Males do not participate in making the nest or feeding the young. After mating, the male abandons the female and looks for another mating opportunity.

• The female constructs a nest out of plant material and spider webs and camouflages the nest by gluing lichen to the exterior.

• Almost without exception, the female lays two tiny white eggs in her nest.

• The incubation and fledging periods take about one month. The eggs are incubated by the female for 12-14 days. After hatching, the female feeds the young for 14-18 days.

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

• Stan Tekiela, Birds of Georgia, Second edition, Adventure Publications, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-64755-200-8

• Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer, Field Guide to the Birds of America, National Geographic. ISBN: 1-42620071-4, pages 278-9, 82-3.

• Roger Tory Peterson, Peterson Field Guide to Eastern and Western Birds, Seventh Edition, Mariner Books, 2020, ISBN-10 132877143.

• Charles Seabrook, “Male hummingbirds ready for fleeting, flitting romance,” Wild Georgia, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Saturday, April 23, 2022.

•https://site.extension.uga.edu/ paulding/2021/06/creating-ahummingbird-habitat/

•https://avianreport.com/ hummingbird-identification/

CAROLE MACMULLAN

Guest Columnist

DEBBIE KOENIGS/USFWS

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Common Milkweed

BILL THOMPSON/PROVIDED Ruby-throated Hummingbird

PROVIDED

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Female Drinking

COURTNEY CELLEY/USFWS

A male ruby-throated hummingbird hovers near a feeder, showing part of his tongue.

APPEN MEDIA’S FIRST EVER

Shopping Spree Giveaway

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

Each week, our newsroom will hide this shopping cart image in the newspaper. Once you find it, visit appenmedia.com/shoppingspree and enter

1) Your name

2) Your email

3) The page number you found the image That’s it!

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

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

H R NG ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

GET OUTSIDE GEORGIA

The things you remember this time of year

So I’m sitting here looking out the window, savoring the notion that spring’s about to get here at last. And I’m glad. Winter is nice, but spring is better. When spring comes around, everything is once again brand new. The world awakens in every way, and thoughts turn to…

…fishing.

Yeah, I was going to say to love, and that’s true too. Sometimes the cliches are right on. But at this precise instant it’s fishing that’s come to mind.

The start of what we always called “fishing season” was always an epic occasion in my family, heralded by much excitement and ritual and ceremony. It was kind of like Christmas, or maybe birthdays, but deep down I guess I always knew that the coming of fishing season was always at the top of the list.

Later, when I had kids of my own,

I’d get just as excited as I did when I was a child. That first warm spring day would come, and I’d be ready. I’d get up early while the kids were still asleep and pick up the fly rod and ease toward the door, quiet as dawn, set to slip out for a morning of solitaire-style water therapy. Just me and the creek and, with any luck, a fish or two.

I started to daydream, to remember…

Years ago…spring had come, and The Day had at long last arrived. But the night before, while I was getting ready, the child had seen the rod. And knew.

“Take me?” asked the tiny voice. I hadn’t said no. But I hadn’t said yes either.

And now, not asleep after all, in the wee small hours of the first day of Fishing Season, on that Most Important Day of All Days, the little one had appeared as if by magic there in the hall by the door.

“Take me with you?” the tiny voice said again, this time rubbing sleepy eyes with one hand and holding a bright orange Snoopy spinning rod in the other.

“Take me fishing?” – a question now – and for an instant the universe had paused.

I remembered. I’d looked toward the flyrod — and then I had looked at the child …

And to my immense credit…

“Take you fishing?” I’d said. “Take you fishing! Of course I’ll take you fishing!”

The child smiled then, and all creation cheered as we followed the dew-sparkled path that led to the water, walking slowly, taking our time on our way to the pond to see what would happen next.

I remembered. It was a long time ago, but I remembered every detail. I remembered it all... ***

Her voice nudged me back to present tense.

“I made you coffee,” she says. There’s a pause, and I sip. She makes the best coffee.

“Thinking about fishing?” she asks, or maybe it’s a statement. She knows me well.

“Uh-huh,” I say, “and other things…”

“Good thoughts?” she asks.

“Oh yes,” I reply.

I take another sip. It’s heaven in a cup.

And I remember something else –

It was last year. We were going to dinner or lunch or something, and on a whim I said, “Have you ever been fly fishing?”

She allowed as to how she had not.

“Well then!” I had said, suddenly unaccountably hopeful, and a few miles down the road I turned right instead of left and we were soon at a little creek that I knew was full of fish. I rigged up a rod, and in a minute we were walking a shaded trail through the soft green light of the wood.

We reached the water. I stepped down onto a gravel bar, taking her hand to steady her over a rough spot as she followed. Then I handed her the rod.

“Want to try it?” I asked.

For an instant the universe paused. Then --

“Sure,” she said, and she smiled.

She cast the little fly over near that deep spot there, exactly where I would have cast it if I’d been holding the rod.

The fly began to drift with the current. She followed it with her eyes.

I watched, too, waiting, expectant, wondering where the drift would take it, watching to see what would happen next.

STEVE HUDSON Columnist

Workforce Development Coordinator

Develop programs and services for clients and students who are seeking employment, post-secondary education, or other career options. The coordinator collaborates with employers in the community who are hiring. The role also includes working one-on-one on job applications, resumes, interview preparations and offers tips for successfully securing and improving employment. Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services or related field required.

For full job description see: https://nfcchelp.org/wpcontent/uploads/2023/02/Workforce-DevelopmentCoordinator-2023.pdf. To apply, send resume to cswan@nfcchelp.org.

Accounting Specialist – PART TIME

Responsible for the day-to-day transactions within the accounting department. The specialist is accountable for preparing financial transactions, processing invoices, and entering general ledger data which will assist in balancing the income statement, managing budgets, and preparing financial reports. Role works closely with the Finance Manager and Director of Finance and Administration. Bachelor’s Degree in Finance or related field required.

For full job description see: https://nfcchelp. org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/AccountingSpecialist-02.21.23-1.pdf. To apply, send resume to jrice@nfcchelp.org.

Now Hiring: Office Coordinator

Local commercial real estate company is hiring an Office Coordinator. The role includes coordinating administrative tasks between our property management, leasing and accounting departments. The position requires exceptional communication and organizational skills, knowledge of MS Office, a strong work ethic, internal drive, and a positive attitude. This is an office only (not remote work) position. Please contact us Employment@ mpshoppingcenters.com for more information.

Part-time

Administrative Assistant for Youth and Children

Protestant church in downtown Alpharetta seeks a parttime (15-18 hours per week) Administrative Assistant for Youth & Children’s Ministries. In addition to normal administrative duties the candidate will assist with scheduling, social media, securing supplies, maintaining attendance records, planning events and mission trips. Qualified candidates are a person of outstanding character who is friendly, organized, able to prioritize, exhibits an understanding of the importance of confidentiality, and is willing and able to work in an environment that is welcoming and inclusive of all people.

A degree from an accredited college or university is preferred. Computer competence within Office 365, editing, and writing skills are required. Experience with REALM is a plus.

Successful completion of a criminal records and child abuse background check is required. Send resumes to alpharettajobopening@gmail.com.

Office Space

Wonderful Office Suite Available

• Turnkey – Everything provided

• Utilities included

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Miscellaneous

Budget Fabrics

Mon-Fri 8-6 • Sat 8-3 770-396-6891 770-396-6824

Used Cars

JAGUAR XK-8 CONVERTIBLE 2002, triple black, with superb lines, garners attention wherever you go! Wife’s garaged beauty, excellent condition! 103,000 miles. Second owner. Clean title. $7750. iaofga@gmail.com, 678-667-0391

Garage Sales

SCAVENGER HUNT still lives!

We’re now in Chamblee; 5352 Peachtree Rd 30341. 404-634-4948

Is

Handyman

MATTHEW THE HANDYMAN

Carpentry, Painting, Drywall, Plumbing, Electrical and Small Jobs. 404-547-2079

HANDYMAN: LET ME FIX what your contractor didn’t! Or add a new kitchen or bathroom. Insured. 20 years experience. 770-292-0576

Haulers

Bush Hogging, Clearing, Grading, Hauling, Etc.

Many local referencesCall Ralph Rucker 678-898-7237