City funds youth sports at Morgan Falls
By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The City Council renewed a contract with Sandy Springs Youth Sports July 16, continuing its practice of providing athletic opportunities to families who may be unable to afford it.
Since 2008, Sandy Springs Youth Sports has operated its programs, including baseball, softball, football and cheerleading at Morgan Fals Athletic Complex.
After the facility-use agreement expired June 30, elected officials signed off on a one-year contract with Sandy Springs Youth Sports for operation and management of the facility and implementation of its recreation programs.
The $160,000 contract represents a 6.7 increase over last year. It also includes four annual renewal options, each with a 5 percent increase, to account for rising service costs.
The 27.3-acre complex abuts Steel Canyon Golf Course, between Morgan
Falls Overlook Park on the Chattahoochee River and Roswell Road (Ga. 9).
For the first time, the contract between the city and youth sports nonprofit includes an additional $25,000 in scholarships for program participants.
Sandy Springs Recreation and Parks Director Brent Walker discussed the new contract amid questions from councilmembers.
See SPORTS, Page 12
2
Demolition of old bridge may produce traffic snarls
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Transportations has begun a four-week demolition of the old Mount Vernon Highway bridge over I-285.
The new bridge opened one lane in each direction April 22, and punch list items are now wrapping up.
A GDOT statement says that while all traffic lanes will remain open during the daytime hours, traffic pacing operations and lane closures will be implemented six nights a week.
To ensure crews can work safely, motorists should expect up to three lanes closed on I-285 in both directions between the Chattahoochee River overpass and Ashford Dunwoody Road from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday during the demolition.
Overnight closures of up to three lanes include I-285 eastbound from Riverside Drive to Mount Vernon Highway and westbound from Long Island Drive to the bridge.
The new bridge over I-285, delayed after a tractor trailer struck it in September 2023, is a part of the I-285 Westbound Auxiliary Lane project, which also includes a roadway between Roswell Road and Riverside Drive.
See BRIDGE, Page 12
ANDY BAUMAN/SPECIAL TO APPEN MEDIA
From left, Colan Wheat, president of the Sandy Springs Youth Sports Executive Board, and Recreation and Parks Director Brent Walker discuss the city’s new contract with the nonprofit at the July 16 City Council meeting.
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COMPARING POLICE TRANSPARENCY
Sandy Springs vs. Johns Creek
Sandy Springs Johns Creek
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.” It is the only city Appen Media covers that follows this practice, which goes against guidance from the Attorney General, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Sheriff’s Association, Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia and Georgia Press Association. Appen Media will continue pursuing the release of more detailed documents that belong to the public in order to inform residents how safe – or unsafe – their city is.
JAEDON MASON/DECATURISH
A Yondr pouch is placed on display at the July 8 Dekalb County Board of Education meeting. The School District spent $400,000 on a pilot program to see if Yondr pouches can bolster student learning and enforcement of its cellphone use policy during the 2024-25 school year.
Fulton County Schools keeps cellphone policy
Some metro districts employ new pouches
By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County Schools is keeping its cellphone policies intact, even as some Metro Atlanta school districts launch pilot programs to restrict their use in classrooms.
Susan Romanick, Fulton County Schools Communications manager, said the district prohibited elementary students from using smartphones in August 2023. Middle and high school classrooms allow some leeway at the teacher’s discretion.
“Fulton County Schools understands the distraction cell phones may pose in our schools,” Romanick said. “Recognizing this, FCS took steps to address the issue a year ago by updating the Student Code of Conduct for the 2023-24 school year, thereby limiting cell phone use among students.”
Romanick said she wants to remind parents and students that cellphone use during school hours is a privilege.
If students violate rules, school personnel can confiscate devices.
Romanick said discussions about updates to district-wide cellphone policy are planned for the Board of Education meeting in August.
She also said the district will solicit community feedback during September, with potential recommendations being brought forward during the October board meeting.
Policies in Metro Atlanta
DeKalb County School District and Marietta City Schools have adopted variations of a pilot program, testing the use of secure pouches to store student’s
electronic devices during instructional time.
Both school districts are employing the use of Yondr, a San Francisco-based technology company, which is now the industry leader in distraction-free spaces.
In DeKalb County, the company’s magnetized pouches allow students to keep their cellphones locked away from the moment they enter the building to when the last bell rings.
At entertainment venues, guests are allowed to keep their cellphone pouches and unlock them in designated areas throughout the venue.
Yondr pouches allow some flexibility for students because teachers and administrators can unlock them at their discretion.
The DeKalb County School Board opted to spend $400,000 on a pilot program for smartphone pouches at 10 middle and high schools across the district.
The five middle schools include Henderson, Lithonia, Salem, Sequoyah and Tucker. The five high schools testing the pouches are Cross Keys, Lakeside, Lithonia, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Tucker.
Out of the district’s more than 92,000 students, around 15,000 will participate in the program.
There are exceptions for students with medical or special needs, as well as emergency protocols.
Marietta City Schools’ Sixth Grade Academy and Middle School will also test out the Yondr pouches this school year.
Superintendent Grant Riveria said cellphones, smartwatches and social media have significant impacts on student learning and mental health.
Fulton Schools expands literacy plan
Initiative bolsters screening process to discern dyslexia
By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — With a revamp of its literacy initiative “Every Child Reads,” the Fulton County School District intends to better assist students showing signs of dyslexia.
In 2021, the district launched the program with a $90 million investment from the America Rescue Plan to recover from learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It uses evidence-based instructional practices and materials and focuses on the National Reading Panel’s “Five Pillars of Reading,” which includes phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. The Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS, covers professional development.
Since then, Assessment Director Kim-
berly Richards said the district has been able to close gaps, ensuring that students are returning to their previous levels, addressing a problem seen nationally.
“We were not immune from that trend,” Richards said.
But, COVID-19 is only one impetus for creating a culture of literacy within schools across the district. Another is legislation.
Senate Bill 48, passed in 2019, requires local school systems to screen for dyslexia, a neurobiological disorder that affects the ability to process language.
Districts must screen all kindergarten students and make referrals for grades 1-3 students through responseto-intervention programs. It also requires the creation of dyslexia teacher training and a dyslexia information handbook.
Then, in 2023, the Georgia Early Literacy Act, or House Bill 538, was enacted, setting a more generalized framework for teachers over kindergarten through third grade, characterized as a pivotal time when students go from learning to read to reading to learn.
Requirements of the house bill range
from training and instructional materials to reading screeners and reading intervention plans.
Executive Director of Curriculum Brooke Humphrey said legislation largely stems in Georgia’s historical underperformance as compared to other states, highlighted by COVID-19.
From 2019 to 2022, fourth grade literacy rates dropped from 63 percent to 61 percent above the basic level in Georgia, according to nationsreportcard.gov.
“By putting it into House and Senate bills, it’s making it where all districts in Georgia have to start making these moves,” Humphrey said. “Because it’s really a non-negotiable that kids have to be able to read.”
She said the district is ahead of the curve in terms of meeting the requirement of the recent legislation, though.
“Thanks to the work we started in 2021, we’re really well-positioned to handle that new legislation that has been passed,” Humphrey said, highlighting the resources and professional learning that began at the time.
But, the district has had to make some tweaks here and there, she said, like
making its intervention list more robust or adding parent notifications around the characteristics of dyslexia.
Humphrey described the district’s work to reach a level of specificity when it comes to intervention and the impact, reducing the harm to academic performance for those who show signs of dyslexia, but aren’t dyslexic, and for those who have been diagnosed in a clinical setting.
“We are now really working hard to teach teachers how to really address those skills, not to just say, ‘Oh, this kid has a reading problem,’” Humphrey said.
While the federal funding for the literacy campaign sunsets in September, the district plans to continue with the program by moving some of its components into the annual budget each year.
Based on an evaluation of the initiative, Chief Academic Officer Brannon Gaskins said professional development will continue for teachers. He said the district has added a literacy coach at every elementary school to support teachers around implementing the Science of Reading.
“[The evaluation] was very promising around some strong practices that we implemented,” Gaskins said.
DIONNA WILLIAMS/APPEN MEDIA
SCHOOLS
North Fulton County student population drops slightly
By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Fulton County Schools report from March identifies a few reasons declining student enrollment may continue north of Atlanta.
While Fulton County Schools’ reputation for high academic scores is well known, it hasn’t translated into standing room only classrooms. Student populations have dropped roughly 10 percent over the past seven years.
As enrollment declines, Fulton County Schools stands to lose more state funding, which is based in large part on student population.
The district estimates enrollment of 87,272 this year. That’s down 600 students from 2023-24.
The school district’s fiscal year 2025 budget includes revenues of around $460 million from the state and $840 million from local sources, mostly property taxes. Revenues total $1.84 billion.
In total, the 2025 spending plan includes an estimate of roughly $2.29 billion from all funds, up from the projected $1.84 billion in last year’s budget.
FULTON COUNTY SCHOOLS/PROVIDED
A graph shows Fulton County Schools enrollment from 2012-2024. The one-year cohort decline of 526 students for the 2023-24 school year is the largest in district history.
A March 12 report on 2023-24 enrollment from Operational Planning Executive Director Tarika Peeks dives into enrollment projections and forecast observations for student population trends across the county. The district divides school clusters into regions: South, Sandy Springs, North and FAVE, or full-time online schooling. Atlanta
Public Schools, a separate district, is not included in the data and analysis.
The North region, including elementary, middle and high schools in Alpharetta,
Johns Creek, Milton and Mountain Park projects a slight decline of 427 students from the 2023-24 to 2024-25 school years.
The Sandy Springs region, including all feeders to Riverwood and North Springs High schools, forecasts 207 fewer students over the same period.
With 8,996 students enrolled during the first month of the 2023-24 school year, the Sandy Springs region saw a 2.21 percent drop in enrollment, compared with North Fulton’s 1.14 percent decline.
The overall student population of Fulton County Schools has declined six out of the past seven years. The district reported an increase of 39 students in 2021-22, its only population increase since the 2016-17 school year.
One factor affecting enrollment in Sandy Springs is a decline in elementary school numbers. The report says a decrease in kindergarten enrollment affects the North region.
While the COVID-19 pandemic spurred private school enrollment, the declining student population trend has continued well beyond the end of the health emergency. Fulton County Schools’ overall cohort, or group of students that enter a program together and remain together throughout its duration, saw its largest decline of 526 students in district history.
School Board member announces retirement
District officials weigh cut in property tax rate
FULTON
COUNTY, Ga. — District 1 Representative
Katha Stuart announced her retirement after nine years of serving on the Fulton County Board of Education.
Her retirement, announced at a July 18 School Board work session, will be effective Aug. 31.
Stuart indicated that her time on the board combined with her belief in term limits led her not to seek reelection in the May election.
“I look forward to celebrating the beginning of yet another school year, and to visiting the incredible educators I have had the pleasure of serving,” Stuart said. “I will have additional comments at the August 6 board meeting, but for now, I will simply say what an honor it has been to serve in this capacity.”
Sara Gillespie defeated Lyndsey Coates in the District 1 race by a 54-46 percent margin in the May 21 election to replace Stuart in January 2025.
Fulton County law and policy include a process for filling a vacancy, but there is no precedent for naming a replacement after a candidate has already been selected. The remaining members will appoint a qualified resident of District 1 to serve out the remainder of the unexpired term, which ends December 31.
Fulton County Schools officials said an announcement on next steps will be made at the Aug. 6 work session.
District 1 Representative
a cherry-colored
at a July work session, effective Aug. 31.
Board President Kimberly Dove thanked Stuart for her service to Fulton County Schools.
“Katha’s leadership has been instrumental in driving significant improvements in graduation rates and establishing two STEM schools, even in the face of
daunting challenges such as the pandemic,” Dove said.
In other business July 18, the Board of Education held the first of three required hearings for a partial rollback of the Fulton County Schools millage rate.
Superintendent Mike Looney proposed a partial rollback from 17.14 to 17.13 mills.
Board members will review data, including how lower rates, up to the full rollback rate of 3.67 percent, would impact the 2025 budget and school operations, before making a final decision on the suggested millage rate Aug. 6.
Even though the proposed millage rate of 17.13 mills is a reduction, it is legally defined as a tax increase because it does not equal a full rollback to offset increases in property assessments. As a result, Georgia law requires three public hearings on the millage rate.
“I am proud to say that we have either had a partial rollback or maintained a flat millage rate for the last six years,” Looney said. “Five of those years were reductions, keeping Fulton County Schools one of the lowest millage rates in the metro area,”
Officials said the county-wide sales tax for education and floating homestead exemption reduces the burden on property owners and eliminates long-term capital debt in the budget.
“The proposed millage rate is a continuation of a long-term strategy by the board to reduce tax rates while ensuring our schools have the resources they need to provide the quality education our stakeholders expect,” Looney said.
FULTON COUNTY SCHOOLS/PROVIDED
Katha Stuart, pictured right center in
dress, announced her resignation
CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS/PROVIDED A map shows plans for the Peachtree Dunwoody Road multi-use path, connecting Hammond Drive and Mount Vernon Highway. The city is hosting an open house for community input Aug. 15 from 5-7 p.m.
Open house to feature details about proposed multi-use path on Peachtree Dunwoody Road
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. —Sandy Springs and the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts are hosting an open house Aug. 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. for the Peachtree Dunwoody Road multi-use trail.
The meeting will be held at 500 Northpark off Abernathy Road in the Peachtree Dunwoody Conference Room. It gives the public an opportunity to provide input on the Perimeter path.
The project aims to enhance bicycle and pedestrian access on the west side of Peachtree Dunwoody Road, spanning from Hammond Drive to Mount Vernon Highway.
There will be a 12-foot-wide path for pedestrians and cyclists with a 6-foot-wide landscape buffer.
There is an agreement to split the project’s funding 50-50 between Sandy Springs’ share of the county-wide sales tax and PCID contributions.
The City Council approved a $454,000 contract with Kimley-Horn in November 2023 for design services, including surveys, utility coordination, right-of-way acquisition, public involvement and final construction plans.
In the fiscal year 2025 budget, the city has $5.65 million set aside for construction of the multi-use trail in its TSPLOST (2016) fund.
Zooming out, the trail looks to increase connectivity to local MARTA stations, the PATH400 Greenway Trail and infrastructure improvements being built on Lake Hearn Drive and Mount Vernon Highway.
Sandy Springs proposes bump in property taxes
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — While Sandy Springs plans no increase in its property tax rate, home and business owners may see their tax bills edge up this year.
City leaders are proposing to keep the rate flat at 4.731 mills, but because property values overall have increased, it’s expected to bring in more revenue – about 2.19 percent more.
One mill generates $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. The taxable value, by state law, is 40 percent of a property’s real – or fair market –value. A home that is worth $100,000 on the market would have a taxable value of $40,000, and a levy of 1 mill would cost the homeowner $40 in taxes.
State law requires the city to advertise the proposed millage rate as a tax increase because it will generate more money.
Sandy Springs officials say the proposed tax increase for a residence with homestead exemption with a fair market value of $662,904 will be approximately $87.74. The proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $662,904 will be approximately $93.00.
Each year, the Fulton County Board of Assessors is required to review the assessed value of taxable
property in the county. A reassessment occurs when the trend of recently sold property indicates there has been an increase in fair market value, and the board is required to re-determine the value of taxable property.
The Sandy Springs tax rate is capped by city charter at 4.731 mills. It would require a citywide referendum to raise it.
Sandy Springs municipal taxes make up about 14 percent of a homeowner’s annual tax bill. Property owners also pay taxes to Fulton County and Fulton County Schools.
Georgia law requires local governments to compute a rollback millage rate that would produce the same revenue as the current year’s property digest.
The adopted 2025 budget requires more property tax revenue than would be collected with the rollback rate.
Before city officials can finalize the 2025 budget and millage rate, state law requires three public hearings to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase.
The hearings at Sandy Sprigs City Hall are Aug. 6 at 5 p.m.; Aug. 20 at 8:30 a.m. with final discussion and adoption Aug. 20 at 6 p.m.
Grammy-nominated band to headline Blue Stone fest
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs announced the headliner for its 2nd annual Blue Stone Arts & Music Festival Sept. 27-28: Grammy Award-nominated band Spin Doctors.
Spin Doctors is known for chart-toppers “Two Princes” and “Little Miss Can't Be Wrong” from their triple-platinum album Pocket Full of Kryptonite (1991).
The New York City-based alternative rock band, featuring Chris Barron, Erik Schekman and Aaron Cross, takes the main stage Saturday, July 28 at 8 p.m.
The Blue Stone Arts & Music Festival runs from 4-10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27 and 10 a.m.10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28.
Organizers expect around 10,000 people to make their way to City Springs the last weekend of September.
The family-friendly celebration includes multiple performing stages, Kids Zone and allday artist market with more than 60 vendors. Festivities span across the City Springs District, encompassing City Green and Blue Stone Road. Admission to the festival is free.
The action-packed weekend also sees the running of the Sandy Springs Recreation and Parks Department’s Blue Stone 5K-9 along Mount Vernon Highway.
The pet-friendly road race steps off at 8 a.m. Sept. 28 and costs $35 for participants.
CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS/PROVIDED
Grammy Award-nominated band Spin Doctors headlines the Blue Stone Arts & Music Festival Sept. 27-28 at City Springs off Mount Vernon Highway. Organizers said second annual arts and music celebration is expected to draw around 10,000 patrons.
To register for the Blue Stone 5K-9, visit runsignup.com/Race/GA/Atlanta/BlueStone5k9.
A full schedule, including a complete calendar of events and musical line-up, will be announced later.
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Password Management: Create strong, unique passwords for every account to defend against cyber threats. Stop using the same login credentials everywhere!
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Off Leash brings dog oasis to Alpharetta’s Main Street
By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — An explosion in pet ownership following the COVID pandemic has spurred new dog parks to pop up around the country.
One of the newest – and one of the most unique – is Off Leash Alpharetta at 142 South Main St.
The first-of-its-kind luxury dog park combines different concepts with outdoor and indoor spaces, a canine-friendly dining patio and a human-only indoor restaurant and bar.
Off Leash Alpharetta sports a 22,000-square-foot turfed field outside and a 3,000-square-foot indoor park.
The brainchild of co-founders Wendy Newman and Lonnie Cooper, the owners welcomed its 142 members for the opening July 14.
With more than 100 canines in the park at its member-only event, Newman said there were no incidents between dogs, thanks to her well-trained staff.
Dog bars in Metro Atlanta like Fetch Park offer a social hub for dog owners and lovers. The concept from Newman and Cooper follows a similar thread with their own unique spin on the dog park business.
While some competition exists in Metro Atlanta, Off Leash Alpharetta goes beyond the typical municipal dog park.
Anyone is welcome to dine with or without their dog at Off Leash, but guests must have an active membership or day pass to enjoy the off-leash portion of the outdoor and indoor parks.
With an additional brick-and-mortar location planned to open in Decatur next year, Off Leash provides a relaxed, inviting atmosphere with professionally trained “dogtenders” on hand to ensure a safe and happy experience for patrons.
Newman, a Dunwoody native, assessed the first few days of operation.
“It’s been really good, I think there’s a lot of things we’re figuring out in this first week,” she said. “Because this is ours, we have the ability to pivot and make adjustments.”
Newman said the next hurdle is letting Alpharetta residents know that Off Leash is now open and welcoming patrons.
Pandemic sparks new venture
Off Leash co-founder Cooper started an industry-leading sports and media talent agency in 1986, Career Sports & Entertainment.
The agency now lists clients like Ernie Johnson Jr., John Smoltz and Nate McMillan.
Newman said she started at the agency in the early 2000s, working alongside Cooper with his marketing and talent agencies.
“I came in as the assistant controller for his business,” Newman said. “I am now the CEO over those business.”
PHOTOS BY OFF LEASH ALPHARETTA/PROVIDED
Off Leash Alpharetta co-founders Wendy Newman and Lonnie Cooper, center, cut the ribbon on their newest venture July 17 with members of the Alpharetta City Council, Mayor Jim Gilvin and K-9 units from the Police Department. Newman said her golden retriever Shiloh, pictured front center, is almost always hanging out at the dog park,
A look inside the Off Leash Alpharetta restaurant shows the finished product after remodeling the former Rite Aid building at South Main Street and Old Milton Parkway.
Founders pick Alpharetta
The former Rite Aid building at South Main Street and Old Milton Parkway served as great bones for the buildout of the state-of-the-art dog park.
Newman said the location struck her instantly.
“We have a great commercial real estate broker we’ve been using for years, and we put him on a mission,” she said.
After looking at more than 50 locations, Newman said she could see the completed facility when she drove up to the property two years ago.
Patrons may notice the old pharmacy drive through, now a transition zone between the indoor and outdoor areas.
With Newman as CEO since 2017, Cooper Holdings now owns the marketing agency You Are Here; the digital firm IfThen; talent agency CSE; and its newest business Lonnie Cooper Ventures.
“When COVID happened and our other businesses were still trucking along, he and I decided that we wanted to start a ventures company,” she said. “This idea was born out of that.”
Newman said the goal is to continue to build the Off Leash brand.
“This is our flagship, we won’t have any other location that will be quite as big as this,” she said. “The goal is to take this type of business into other locations and scale it based on the community.”
Newman said the next Off Leash location in Decatur at 240 East Trinity Place will be smaller but with the same concept.
“The one in Decatur will have an outdoor space and a big, covered area with heaters and fans,” she said.
Construction has yet to begin, but doors are expected to open in 2025.
Park welcomes members
Off Leash Alpharetta is open from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
All dogs are required to be spayed or neutered and current on vaccines.
Membership benefits include unlimited year-round or month-to-month access, discounts on food and non-alcoholic beverages and invitations to exclusive members-only gatherings.
For more information about membership and FAQs, visit www.oldogpark.com/.
Newman said there are special events planned like doggy yoga, pet adoptions, mobile grooming and training workshops, open to the public.
She said Off Leash Alpharetta will have a set up for college football games on Saturdays in the fall, and its craft kitchen offers a full menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Rainy weather isn’t a problem. Off Leash’s indoor, covered space welcomes pups during inclement weather for day play.
“We wanted a big outdoor patio and the ability to have indoor dog space,” Newman said. “The lot behind this Rite Aid was perfect for outdoor space.”
The most significant work involved the drainage system with an underground detention pond for the turf field.
When patrons enter the front doors of Off Leash Alpharetta, the indoor restaurant’s high ceilings and new garage doors make the former Rite Aid building hard to recognize.
Newman said the only place off limits to dogs is the indoor restaurant. It also happens to be one of the only violated rules during its first week of operations.
She said it takes a visit or two to get used to the layout of the dog park. Some patrons are so excited when they arrive that they head straight into the indoor dining room with their pet.
“We definitely are reminding people that being in the park with your dog is important, it’s not a doggie day care,” she said. “We did this so you can be with your dog.”
A canine hangs out on the turfed outdoor dog park behind Off Leash Alpharetta at 142 South Main Street. The official grand opening of the first-of-its-kind luxury dog park was July 15.
OPINION
PAST TENSE
Austin Elementary could have been Spirit of ’76 Elementary
The story of Nettie Southern Austin, the namesake of Austin Elementary School, has been told in this column before. However, I was surprised to read about other names suggested for the Dunwoody elementary school before it opened in September 1975.
The March 27, 1975, edition of the Atlanta Journal featured an article, “DeKalb officially picks names for two new schools,” listing other names being considered for the school. Students, teachers and local citizens submitted ideas. The other DeKalb County school receiving an official name was Stone Mill Elementary School.
One of the suggestions for the school which became Austin Elementary was Chester, honoring the former owner of the property. Harry M. and Mildred Chester lived where the school was built, next to neighbor T. K. Peters. The former Peters home is now part of Dunwoody Nature Center. Across Roberts Drive lived the Swancey family in the old home that still stands. Harry M. Chester was personnel administrator for the Georgia Health Department.
C.L. Harper School was also on the list of recommended names. Harper was a former DeKalb County Schools assistant superintendent. Former DeKalb County Schools Assistant Superintendent Sam Moss was also suggested. The superintendent of DeKalb County schools, Jim Cherry, already had a school named for him on Hermance Drive in Brookhaven.
Apple’s Way School was suggested, perhaps because there were still farms and fruit groves in Dunwoody.
With the bicentennial coming up the following year, Liberty School and Spirit of ’76 are not surprising suggestions. Although Spirit of ’76 Elementary School is a bit of a tongue twister. We Believe was also suggested, which needs clarification.
The final name suggested but not chosen was Roberts
GET OUTSIDE, GEORGIA!
Drive School. Since Roberts Drive is named for the 40-year engineer of the Roswell Railroad, the school would also have been named for engineer Ike Roberts.
One name not mentioned in the Atlanta Journal article is recorded in an oral history of several Dunwoody citizens in 1994, Elizabeth Davis School. Davis was a teacher and principal of Dunwoody School.
The name chosen in 1975 was Austin Elementary, honoring teacher and principal Nettie Southern Austin. Austin was born in Dunwoody in 1882 and attended teacher training at the State Normal School in Athens,
Georgia.
She was honored by former students and the Dunwoody community in 1949. A surprise garden party was held at Boxwood Farms, which is now Donaldson-Bannister Farm. (Atlanta Constitution, “Teacher of 46 years gets surprise fete of lifetime,” May 18, 1949)
Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media and the Dunwoody Crier. She lives in Atlanta. You can email Valerie at pasttensega@ gmail.com or visit her website at pasttensega.com.
Hiking and hamming at Allatoona Pass off I-75
STEVE HUDSON Columnist
It always amazes me that even after exploring the Georgia outdoors for…well, for a lot of years…there are still places right in my backyard that I’ve never explored before.
One of those is Allatoona Pass.
I’d never really heard of this site until one day a couple of weeks ago. You may know that one of my hobbies is ham radio, and in recent years something called “Parks on the Air” has become a popular activity among ham operators all over the globe. The idea is to make contact with other hams who are operating portable stations from various state or national parks. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s something I’m coming to enjoy a great deal.
Much of my Parks on the Air hamming had been from the comfort of home. I’ll get on the radio and make contact with others who were “activating” various parks.
But I’d never tried to do one of those “activations” myself. It sounded like it would be fun, though. I already had a small, portable ham radio set, easily small enough to fit into my daypack. Technology has come a long ways in recent years, and one result is that you can pack a lot of engineering sophistication into a small and portable package. That’s good news for hiking hams like me!
The other things I’d need would be some batteries, a small telescoping antenna, and a Morse code key (yes, hams do still use Morse code!) – plus some headphones (lest I disturb other trail users) and of course a notebook in which to log the callsigns of the other stations I was sure to contact.
And – of course – I needed a place to go.
On the Interweb, I found a map showing designated POTA parks. Zooming in on northern Georgia, I saw several promising dots near home. One was Red Top Mountain State Park. Another was the Allatoona Wildlife Management Area. I knew about both of those.
But there was a third dot too. A little more zooming identified it as Allatoona Pass State Historic Site. Could I learn more?
A quick visit to gastateparks.org/ AllatoonaPassBattlefield told me that the site was easy to reach (it’s just off I-75 via Exit 283). From there, a short drive takes you to a small parking area, where a system of footpaths carries you into the site.
One thing you’ll notice right away at Allatoona Pass is the series of interpretive signs along the trails. From one of them, I learned that the “Pass” refers to a railroad pass cut through a rocky ridge. In April
of 1862, the legendary steam locomotive known as The General roared through the pass during the Great Locomotive Chase. Then, about two and a half years later, on Oct. 5, 1864, the pass was the site of a fierce battle involving more than 5,000 soldiers. It’s said that about 30 percent of them died that day.
Part of the trail system leads you through the pass itself, following the route of the long-gone tracks, and then you can venture farther to see well-preserved trenches and earthen fortifications scattered serenely across the landscape. Today, all you’ll hear is the wind in the trees and the calls of birds or maybe the sound of a bass boat on nearby Lake Allatoona. You might even hear the wail of a modern-day locomotive as a freight train passes nearby. But on that day in 1864, the soundtrack would have been
AUSTIN FAMILY PHOTO
Nettie Austin and her students gather in front of the Dunwoody School in the 1940s. The school sat on land where the Dunwoody Library is today.
VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist
The Cagles, a traditional family in rural North Fulton
BOB MEYERS
Like many early families in North Fulton, the Cagle families trace their origins to Europe, specifically to Germany and Holland with some French overtones.
In a previous column I profiled the numerous Cagles associated with the Boiling Springs Primitive Baptist Church, a small country church founded in today’s Milton in 1837.
It is thought that the Cagles of Georgia and thousands of Cagle families throughout the United States are descended from Leonhart Kegel, also known as Leonard Cagle. He arrived at the port of Philadelphia in 1732 from Holland after migrating to that country from Germany. Records show he arrived on the ship Loyal Judith. It is thought that after some years in Pennsylvania he moved to the colony of North Carolina where he may have anglicized his name to Cagle.
His son, John “Dutchman” Cagle, resided in Moore County, North Carolina. John’s son Henry is thought to be the first Cagle to settle in Georgia. His family settled in Hancock and Jones counties circa 1794. Pioneer Cagle families lived in several Geogia counties in the late 1790s and early 1800s.
The surname Cagle was first found in medieval Normandy in the region of Calvados, France, where it is still a popular name. The Cagle House in Cagletown, Jasper, Georgia is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1871 by Peter and Rachel Cagle who migrated to Cherokee County in 1839 from Moore County, North Carolina. Moore County can be considered the ancestral home of many Cagles who began to migrate from there throughout the South, Midwest and West Coast beginning in the 1790s.
Students:
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Cohort growth is shown as grade-levels progress each year, which tend to decline in the latter years of high school enrollment.
While cohort sizes in the North region shrunk in elementary and high schools, middle school cohorts grew slightly from 2022-23 to 2023-24.
The district’s declining cohort size is most pronounced in the South region.
BOB MEYERS/APPEN MEDIA
The Cagle Farm had a large bank barn measuring 20 feet by 40 feet. Because It was built on the side of a hill, or bank, it could be entered at the upper and lower levels. The barn was built by previous owners, probably prior to 1920. The main upper level has a door above the entrance to a loft for storage of feed and tools. The lower level was for animals, wagons and equipment. The barn still stands in fairly good condition.
Closer to home, Charles Ubert Cagle (1903-1983), known as Charlie or Grandpa, and his wife Sarah Ardella Phillips Cagle (1905-1992) lived on a farm of approximately 70 acres on Dinsmore Road in today’s city of Milton. In 1950, they purchased a 50acre farm on Bethany Road with a handshake, a common practice in those days. They raised cotton and watermelons as cash crops and vegetables for the family. They had 12 children. Grandpa Charlie Cagle raised sweet yellow and orange meated watermelons and developed quite a business selling them. He plowed the land with a with a horse named Dan and later with a mule named Ginny and sold melons and vegetables during the harvest season to some two dozen customers in Alpharetta out of the large trunk of his 1946 blue Ford. The family barn was large and still stands as a rare example in Georgia of a bank barn, built on a hillside with entrances on two levels.
While schools south of Atlanta saw a cohort decline of 916, the North region saw an increase of 702. The Sandy Springs region is in the middle with a decline of 174.
A part of the Fulton Conty Schools report covers housing trends across the South, Sandy Springs and North regions, which doesn’t bode well for long-term cohort growth.
Districtwide forecast observations predict continuing enrollment decline at a slow rate, growth in the South region and decreasing enrollment elsewhere partially due to a lack of housing inventory.
For the Sandy Springs region, the re-
Charles N Cagle Jr and Tim Cagle, who lived across the street from their grandparents. They currently live on Old Jones Road in Alpharetta.
The unofficial historian of the family is Faye Jones, first cousin of Charles Jr. She has been collecting family stories for many years and lived with her grandparents for several years as a young girl.
“Every morning in the summer you could hear Grandpa Cagle gehawing to the mule as he plowed his watermelon patch,” she says. “He refused to use a tractor and never had one. He just walked through the dirt.”
Faye says her mother began plowing at age 9.
Their oldest son Charles N Cagle Sr. (1930-2023) spent his early years on his parents’ farm on Dinsmore Road. As a teenager, he moved to his grandmother Mary Maggie Westbrook Phillips’ home on Birmingham Road. Later, he moved to his parents’ farm on Bethany Road.
At age 20, Charles Sr. was drafted by the Army during the Korean War. He spent 18 months in Korea until he was severely wounded by a phosphorus grenade. He was returned to the U.S. where in 1955 he married Bonnie Sanders Cagle (1931-2011) who also came from a family with 12 children. They met at the Piney Grove Church off McFarlin Road which burned down in the 1980s.
After his military service and marriage, Charles Sr. built a house on Bethany Road across from his parents’ home on 1 acre his father sold him. He later expanded the land to 3 acres. He lived in the house for 67 years. The City of Alpharetta now owns the property. Charles Sr. and Bonnie had two sons,
port points to the trend of declining enrollment, growth of private school cohorts and stagnant residential development.
North of the Chattahoochee River, the forecast predicts a continuing decline of cohort size and enrollment with fewer home resales and slower residential development.
Figures show counties like Gwinnett, Forsyth and Henry are seeing growth in enrollment, while more developed ones like Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton are facing a decline in student population.
Paul Donsky, communications director at Atlanta Regional Commission, said
Grandfather Cagle stacked his yellow watermelons under an ancient sycamore tree in the front yard to keep them cool. Faye learned a lot by eavesdropping under the tree which was a gathering place for Grandmother Cagle and Faye’s mother and aunts who would sit around “stringing and breaking beans for canning.”
Grandpa also grew peanuts for his family.
“After we got off the school bus in September, we would pull the peanuts off the vines and then Grandpa would dry them and put them in a barrel in the smoke house,” Faye says. “In winter we would have parched or roasted peanuts, or Grandma would make peanut brittle in a skillet on top of the stove.”
Everyone I spoke with for this column agreed that the Cagles were and still are a loving, caring, traditional Georgia family who worked hard and helped each other.
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.
North Fulton is a more mature suburban area than Cherokee and Forsyth counties, which are growing much faster with more land available for new housing developments.
Donsky said declining cohort sizes in Fulton County Schools is due to a combination of factors, one being a decline in birth rates across Metro Atlanta.
“People are just having fewer kids, it’s a nationwide trend,” he said. “Note that [the ARC’s] 2050 population forecast shows that North Fulton’s population will be among the slowest growing in the Atlanta region.”
Columnist
OPINION
Retirement is a lie when you get there
RAY APPEN Publisher Emeritus ray@appenmedia.com
I am not one of those folks who plans a lot or sets many goals. I generally deal with life by moving forward and managing stuff as I encounter it –“ready, fire, aim.” It has served me well all these years. Almost 100 percent of my major “life decisions” were less than planned and frequently simply spontaneous decisions that generally worked out well.
Christina and I near literal retirement – as in 100 percent no working. Right now, we still are minimally involved in our media company, but soon even that minimal involvement will cease as we turn the company over completely to our sons, Hans and Carl. They have basically been running it on their own anyway for the past few years – and doing a better job than we ever did. I do hope to continue to write some and will probably continue to help out some with circulation, but that will be about it.
I have friends who counted down the days until they retired, like counting down the last several thousand days, one at a time. I have never understood that. Like, how awful would it be to be doing something that you really didn’t like that much – for years? And I also recall how many folks that I know who – the first day of retirement – suddenly see the sun shining, the grass greening, and finally discover that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I don’t get that either. I mean, I get it, but I can’t relate to it very much.
It is not that I didn’t make any changes as I transitioned from “working” to “retiring.” I did make a few. I made the monumental decision to never, ever be in a hurry again – not for anything or anyone. I no longer run late yellow lights. I stopped speeding. I sometimes even turned down a road or two I didn’t know just because it looked interesting. And ironically enough, I almost completely stopped being late for anything.
When I stopped being in a hurry, I discovered that I also stopped getting mad or upset, generally – especially while out driving from point “A” to point “B.”
And that was a good thing, because coming to full stops at stop signs, driving the speed limit, and generally driving peacefully and not in a hurry
tended to upset other drivers out there. Sometimes their faces turned red. Their horns blared, as if their hurry was my problem or my concern – and, well, it wasn’t. And I just didn’t care so much, especially since the vast majority of them weren’t in a hurry for a reason anyway, except of course the parents with multiple young kids. Being in a perpetual hurry was just how they live. And they wonder why they are on blood pressure medicine or why they never seem to have enough time.
I did make a couple strategic decisions about my time and how I use it. I finally severed most of my connections to social media, including deleting my Facebook and Instagram accounts. My next step is to go the rest of the way and figure out how to cut, or greatly reduce, my remaining “screen use.”
At this point the majority of that time is spent on news sites, checking email and texts. Surely, that should not be hard to cut back on. I also have a theory that one of the reasons we all over-expose ourselves to “screen time” is that it gives us something to do with our hands. I remember when I first quit smoking that a huge problem was what to do with my hands if I was not holding a cigarette. I think the phones are a similar thing.
So, anyway, I do find myself making a few changes for “retirement,” but honestly, it is not like “retirement” is much different than “work” for me –hence “retirement is a lie.”
I stay just as busy as before, but in different ways. I still run out of time to do stuff I want to do, hence my work on cutting screen time. I am spending more time with our grandchildren, something that gives me great pleasure. And while I have worked really hard to manage how I spend my time, I continue to run a time deficit.
I think I want to invent a “retirement theme” for myself. That theme is probably going to be something along the lines of “back to analog.” I want to distance myself as far as I can from anything digital and embrace more real/ human experiences – person-to-person encounters; time alone doing nothing; time spent in silence; more time spent reading (printed) books, especially those classics I have put off reading for decades. And yes, for sure, I actually do hope to do some more hiking, but when, where, and how far, well, I’ll probably know those answers when I start walking.
I am in no hurry.
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION/PROVIDED
A map shows travel adjustments for the demolition of the old Mount Vernon Highway bridge over I-285, expected to run July 22 through the end of August. Lane closures and traffic pacing operations will only occur overnight.
Bridge:
Continued from Page 1
The auxiliary lane project is one of the I-285 Advanced Improvement Projects, required before large-scale Major Mobility Improvement Program projects, like the Top End Express Lanes,
Phones:
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“School should be a place to learn and grow; that can't happen if students are distracted by their phones,” Riveria said. “This solution will create a more focused and supportive educational environment.”
DeKalb County, Fulton County and Marietta all have similar cellphone use policies, but pouches are thought to help teachers and administrators with enforcement.
Milton High School adopted the use of Yondr pouches in some of its classrooms in 2018, according to an 11Alive report.
However, FCS Media Relations Manager Anne Boatwright said there are currently no schools in the district that use Yondr pouches for cellphones.
Milton High officials said July 23 there are cellphone pouches, not from Yondr, in some of its classrooms but there is no school-wide policy on their use.
Elsewhere in the region, Atlanta Public Schools’ Midtown High School sent out an email to parents and students in May, explaining its reasons for banning cellphones and other personal electronic devices from its campus.
The Midtown High newspaper, The Southerner, said the policy limits students’ abilities to pursue journalism. Students will still be able to use their
can begin construction.
The MMIP looks to create additional capacity to improve freight movement, enhance safety and decrease travel times across the state.
For more information about the new Mount Vernon Highway bridge and I-285 Westbound Auxiliary Lane Extension, visit i285wbauxlanes-gdot. hub.arcgis.com/.
school-provided Chromebook, which comes with restrictions and oversight.
Where Fulton County Schools sit
Officials say no FCS schools will use Yondr pouches this fall.
While DeKalb County and Marietta have taken steps to limit cellphone usage, some of their board members say that students will adapt to the use of smartwatches, laptops and other personal electronic devices.
An FCS spokeswoman said the district remains committed to creating an optimal learning environment, and the Board of Education is committed to monitoring and evaluating district policies to best serve students and the community.
The Fulton County Board of Education started a process at its June 11 work session to review its policies surrounding cellphone use and access in schools.
FCS Superintendent Mike Looney said the district is not proposing a change to the policy but opening a discussion about how to best serve student safety.
Board members received a benchmarking document, reviewing what other Metro Atlanta school districts are doing, and where FCS policy sits.
For now, middle and high school teachers have discretion over cellphone use in classrooms. Whether the policy needs more enforcement will be a topic of discussion at FCS Board of Education meetings this fall.
Sports:
Continued from Page 1
“In the past, we just funded $150,000 for upkeep at the park,” he said. “[Sandy Springs Youth Sports] applied separately through our nonprofit arts and recreation grant.”
Walker said because of the close relationship between the organizations, they decided to directly fund scholarships and free up grant money for other nonprofits.
Colan Wheat, president of Sandy Springs Youth Sports Executive Board, said the funds can support up to 50 youth athletes, depending on whether they play fall and spring sports.
“Many of our athletes are playing baseball and football or cheer and softball,” he said. “It’s probably going to be 35-40.”
Wheat said program participation is growing rapidly, and so is the number of athletes that need scholarships. In the past five years, he said scholarships have jumped from 10 a season to 25 or more.
“To date, we’ve never turned one person away,” Wheat said. “For many years, we funded it ourselves.”
City Councilman Andy Bauman said the scholarship money should be seen as a start rather than a cap on youth athletics.
During the presentation, Recreation and Parks Director Walker also provided councilmembers with the status of capital improvements underway at Morgan Falls Athletic Complex.
“We have one of our engineering firms on call doing the hydrology study of the park for future development of potential artificial turf,” Walker said. “They’ve completed that hydrology study and now are working on stormwater management systems throughout the park.”
He said once contractors wrap up the remaining 25 percent of work on the study, bids will go out to firms for construction.
There is also funding available for the proposed batting cage facility at the old administrative building.
“Things are kind of in planning right now,” Walker said. “We hope to have a bid out this year for some of the work to be done.”
According to the fiscal year 2025 budget, the city has $1.8 million set aside for improvements to the Morgan Falls Athletic Complex. There is also $150,000 for new lighting and $75,00 for demolition of the administrative building.
City staff anticipates spending $5 million from the general fund in fiscal years 2026-27 on construction of the improvements, according to the five-year Capital Improvement Plan.
A map shows an overview of improvements to the Morgan Falls Athletic Complex. City staff said bids on some of the work will be out by the end of the year.
CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS/PROVIDED
cannon fire and gunshots and the yells and screams and moans of fighting and dying men.
How the distance of time changes things.
But just then, what I wanted to hear was the sound of Morse code in my headphones. And so I packed the radio and all the rest into my venerable green daypack and set off to enjoy some radio in the woods.
Arriving at the park, I shouldered the daypack and started down the trail. I wasn’t really sure where I was going, but
that can be half the fun with this sort of thing, and I knew I’d recognize the right spot when I saw it.
Sure enough, after a while I found a high spot on the trail, one with a convenient fallen tree which would be a perfect place to sit. I connected the antenna to the radio and plugged in the battery and the Morse code key. I slipped the headphones onto my ears and flipped the switch.
Signals! There were many signals, each from another ham somewhere in the world, and over the next hour or so I made contact with a couple dozen of them. I talked to folks in Georgia, of course, and also in Florida and Ohio and Wisconsin and Maine. I talked to others in Kansas and Colorado. I even heard one station in England, but my tiny little signal was
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not strong enough to cross the pond. Next time? Maybe so!
After a while, as the sun started to set and the mosquitoes began to form squadrons, I finally called it quits. I packed up the gear (it took but a moment) and began the hike back to the car. As I hiked, the woods were illuminated by myriad lightning bugs, doing their own kind of signaling with their own kind of code. The soft green flashes were soothing and were, it occurred to me, much better than the blinding, crashing blasts of gunfire and death that illuminated that very same place about 160 years ago.
Yes, I thought to myself, radio technology has come a long way.
Isn’t it a shame that some other human
not done
same?
