Sandy Springs Crier - August 24, 2023

Sandy Springs expands district allowing open alcohol containers

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A policy allowing patrons to drink outdoors at City Springs events in Sandy Springs got an upgrade this week when officials voted to expand the city’s open container ordinance.

The move comes as Sandy Springs leaders prepare for construction on the next phase of the City Springs campus and plan for how the larger development will be used in the future.

“As the City Springs district evolves, we identified a need to expand the open container district boundary,” Assistant City Manager Kristin Byars Smith said at the Aug. 15 City Council meeting.

The city’s open container ordinance, initially approved in 2017, allowed alcohol consumption in a multi-block area largely within Roswell Road, Johnson Ferry Road, Sandy Springs Circle and Mt. Vernon Highway.

But Smith said the new boundary now includes city-owned parcels around the Heritage Sandy Springs Museum and Park, Hilderbrand Drive and several properties south of Mt. Vernon Highway.

“We tried to think carefully about where events would be happening, where folks would be walking and that sort of thing,” she said.

The ordinance change will only apply to licensed sellers of alcohol within

the City Springs footprint and will only take effect when city events are being held, and the right of way for roads has been closed.

“So, it's an official city event, the right of way has been closed, that's when this kicks in,” District 1 Councilman John Paulson said. “And if

that's not the case, you can’t just go wander around on a Thursday night, crossing the street (with alcohol).”

The updated ordinance goes into effect immediately, just in time for late-summer, early-fall events.

See ALCOHOL, Page 10

CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS/PROVIDED

A map shows the expanded borders of Sandy Springs’ open container district, which is centered around the City Springs campus. City leaders voted to expand the district at a meeting Aug. 15.

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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.

Property owners may face tax hike in Sandy Springs

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs city leaders are poised to approve a millage rate for 2023 that will increase property taxes for some residents.

Following initial public hearings in August, elected officials have tentatively approved a property tax rate of 4.731 mills. No public comments were shared during the first hearings.

A final hearing was scheduled for Aug. 22 prior to a formal City Council vote on the millage rate.

Sandy Spring’s millage rate is capped by city charter at 4.731 mills. With property values generally increasing each year, the city could roll back the tax rate to generate the same revenues as the prior year, or it can maintain the same millage rate, which generally brings in more money because property values have risen.

At the Aug. 15 public hearing, City Manager Eden Freeman said staff considered a revenue-neutral rate of

4.3808 mills. But the city would miss out on more than $3.5 million in revenues with the rollback rate, so it was not recommended, Freeman said.

Although many residents will pay more in taxes this year, officials stressed the city’s homestead exemption will ensure the increase isn’t too sizeable.

Homes with a fair market value of $500,000 and a homestead exemption should expect to pay about $65 more in city property taxes in 2023. For non-homestead properties, the increase will be about $70.

“Regardless of what happened to somebody's property value, if it went up a lot, the most their Sandy Springs tax could go up is 3 percent,” City Councilman Andy Bauman said.

While residents have received their 2023 property tax assessment notices, the Fulton County Tax Commissioner's office has yet to finalize the tax digest.

Once those numbers are finalized, Sandy Springs residents should expect to see their property tax bill in the mail, officials said.

CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS/PROVIDED

A graph published by the City of Sandy Springs shows how residents taxes are spent by county and municipal leaders.

A Place for ALL Jews

Fulton County grand jury hands Trump fourth indictment

By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA – A Fulton County grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump Aug. 14, charging the Republican with trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia that saw Joe Biden become the first Democrat to carry the Peach State since 1992.

Monday’s indictment was the fourth for Trump, following federal charges arising from his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and his retaining of classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after leaving office. He also is accused in a New York case of paying hush money to ex-porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign to cover up a sexual relationship.

Unlike the other cases, the Fulton County indictment was wide ranging, naming 18 other defendants and covering 41 counts. The list of defendants includes former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, formerly Trump’s personal lawyer; Mark Meadows, who served as the former president’s chief of staff; former Georgia Republican Chairman David Shafer; and state Sen. Shawn Still, R-Norcross.

Charges listed on the indictment included violation of Georgia’s RICO law (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt

Organizations), submitting false documents and false statements, forgery, conspiracy to commit election fraud, and perjury. The RICO charge, which was leveled against all 19 defendants, carries a mandatory minimum prison term of five years.

While the other cases against Trump were narrowly focused on specific incidents, the 97-page Georgia indictment encompassed several episodes. The list includes then-President Trump’s phone call asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at the beginning of January 2021 to “find” 11,780 votes, the margin Trump needed to overcome Biden’s vote count in Georgia.

The indictment also cited a meeting of “fake” Republican electors inside the state Capitol in December 2020 to certify Trump as the winner of Georgia’s 16 electoral votes rather than Biden, presentations Giuliani made to state lawmakers – also in December 2020 – leveling false allegations of election fraud, and a data breach at the elections office in Coffee County.

“Rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election results,” Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis told reporters after the indictments were unsealed.

Trump took to his social media website to blast the indictments as politically motivated by Willis, a Democrat, while sticking to his claim that he won the election in Georgia.

“[The] only election interference that took place in Fulton County was done by those that rigged and stole the election, not by me,” he wrote.

Willis took exception to Trump’s accusations.

“I make decisions in this office based on the facts and the law,” she said. “The law is nonpartisan.”

The grand jury had not been expected to act on Monday, as some final witnesses

Indictment names local figures

The Fulton County grand jury indictment includes several local political and legal figures. State Sen. Shawn Still, who represents portions of Fulton and south Forsyth counties; Harrison Floyd, who ran as a Republican candidate for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District in 2020; and Robert Cheeley, an Alpharetta-based attorney.

Attorney Tom Bever, who represents Still, told Appen Media Aug. 17 the first-term senator is innocent of all charges laid against him. Floyd and Cheeley could not be reached for comment on the indictment.

had been summoned to testify on Tuesday, including former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. Instead, Duncan, who has been one of Trump’s most vocal critics among Georgia Republicans, spent more than an hour testifying early Monday evening.

“I was honored to answer their questions to the best of my ability,” he said shortly after completing his testimony.

The grand jury also heard Monday from two Georgia Democrats, former state Rep. Bee Nguyen and former state Sen. Jen Jordan. Both ran unsuccessfully for statewide office last year, Nguyen for secretary of state and Jordan for attorney general.

“No individual is above the law,” Nguyen said after giving her testimony. “I believe that every individual who wrongfully and illegally tried to overturn our valid elections should be held accountable.”

Willis said she will give the defendants until noon Aug. 25 to turn themselves in. She said she plans to try all 19 at the same time.

While the timetable for that trial is up to the judge, Willis said she will ask for the case to be heard within the next six months.

CAPITOL BEAT/PROVIDED

Former President Donald Trump speaks to a crowd during a visit to Atlanta in July 2020.

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Dunwoody city officials discuss holiday display at mid-August meeting Istanbul

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Amid soaring Georgia summer temperatures, Dunwoody city leaders are feeling the holiday spirit and planning for the city’s annual Holiday Lights event at Brook Run Park.

At the Aug. 14 Dunwoody City Council meeting, officials held a first discussion about bringing bright lights and snow to Brookrun Park throughout December.

“Believe it or not, it's 100 degrees outside, but we're talking about December events,” Dunwoody Parks and Recreation Director Brent Walker said.

Georgia-based Chitwood Studios will produce the annual lights at the park and will have a “ski village” theme for 2023, Walker said. That means this year’s event will feature thousands of lights, several photo areas and a winter wonderland playground area, with a working “snow factory” and mounds of snow for kids to play on.

The park display is typically one of the most popular holiday events the city hosts, he said, and has historically drawn hundreds of families each night.

“We had a lot of good feedback, a lot of repeat families coming out,” he said. “It's a great free event, it's something that the kids get excited about. I bring mine out every year, they enjoy walking through lights and having a good time.”

But, after Walker’s presentation, several council members admitted they were underwhelmed by the 2022 Holiday Lights, which suffered numerous display malfunctions and inconsistent maintenance.

“I also had an underwhelming experience, but I went on the second to last day and you could see lights were out,” Post 1 Councilwoman Catherine Lautenbacher said.

Walker said his staff is aware of the malfunctions and they are already working to ensure it doesn’t happen again. This year, staff plan to have the lights less accessible and less likely to be unplugged by running and playing kids.

“Unfortunately, with that much traffic, and then the children running around, they damage a lot of it,” he said.

Mayor Lynn Deutsch said regardless of the changes they make, the city needs to have a daily maintenance plan for the display.

“There can be a plan where somebody shows up at 5:30 (p.m.) when it's dark and make sure the lights are on,” Deutsch said. “Because it is a very different experience when a quarter of the lights are off or half of the lights are off.”

The contract for the display, expected to run through all of December, states that Dunwoody will pay Chitwood Studios about $88,000 for production and execution.

The contract was set aside Aug. 14 and will be considered at a future City Council meeting, officials said.

Medical cannabis approved

Also at the Aug. 15 meeting, officials approved a set of ordinances regulating where medical cannabis dispensaries can operate in the city.

The approval comes following months of discussion over how medical cannabis would be regulated and where dispensaries could be opened near Dunwoody’s borders with Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville and Peachtree Corners, tucked at least 1,000 feet away from schools and places of worship.

Since Georgia’s Hope Act was signed into law in 2019, the possession and sale of low-level THC oil has been legalized as medicine for people with 17 specific medical conditions, like end-stage cancer.

Unlike traditional cannabis flower or THC oil purchased illegally on the street or in states where it’s legal, Georgia law stipulates legal low-THC oil must contain less than 5 percent THC

Deputy Community Development Director Paul Leonhardt said nothing has changed in Georgia’s laws or the city’s recommendations since the last City Council meeting where medical cannabis was discussed.

Leonhardt said after much deliberation, city staff decided to stick with a recommendation requiring cannabis dispensaries to be spaced at least 2 miles apart, which they believe will prevent the businesses from clustering in certain areas of the city.

However, the 2-mile requirement could be shortened in the future as Georgia laws change.

“Just so we don't end up with multiple of these on one corner,” he said. “We can revisit that at a later time.”

After a short discussion, the item was unanimously approved.

WHERE IN THE WORLD

Ansley Warren just took a visit to Turkey and was kind enough to bring the Crier along for the ride. Here’s Ansley and the Crier in front of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

Where in the world is the Crier?

If you’re headed on a trip, the Crier wants to sightsee, too. Take a copy with you and share the moment with folks back home. Send your travel photos with the Crier to newsroom@ appenmedia.com

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Lemonade stand prospers at Alpharetta Farmers Market

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Cooper Garrison-Brook, a 12-yearold Johns Creek student, began selling lemonade to raise money for a new computer. Now, he has dedicated the weekly stand to helping those in need.

In May 2021, Cooper said he slipped while exiting the school bus and dropped his laptop, which broke on the pavement. Cooper, who was 10 years old, sought an enterprising way to earn money for a replacement.

That summer, he and his parents opened the first Lemonade with a Purpose booth at the Alpharetta Farmers Market.

His father Dan Brook is a partner in Bagel Boys Cafe, another local business. Dan said Bagel Boys owner John Lamb had provided the family some supplies for a test run at the market.

“Now it's become sort of a family thing where we all look forward to the time together on Saturday and doing it together,” Dan said.

While the lemonade stand began as a way for Cooper to earn money, sales continued to grow. By the summer’s end, the family decided to make Lemonade with a Purpose a staple at the market.

“We have had lots of people tell us it’s the best lemonade they have ever had,” Cooper said.

The purpose

Staying true to its name, Lemonade with a Purpose donates more than a third of its profits to charity. Its current recipients are the Rainforest Awareness Rescue Education Center, Discovering My Purpose and Save the Children.

Cooper’s mother, Laura Garrison-Brook, is the president and CEO of Discovering My Purpose, a nonprofit that provides resources and programs for young people.

Ultimately, Laura said Cooper chose the three groups because he is passionate about them. While the family volunteers at the market to keep the booth running, she and Dan said Lemonade with a Purpose is Cooper’s idea, from concept to execution.

“This is a big endeavor for our family,” she said. “And it's about helping Cooper connect to what lights him up, helping him connect to a sense of, ‘I have the ability to make a difference in the world,’ his own sense of agency.”

In its first year, the booth donated $1,555 to charity. To date, it has given more than $6,800. The booth’s cash tips sponsor Shihab, a boy in Bangladesh who is around Cooper’s age.

With the profits from the booth’s second year, Cooper and his family volunteered at the Rainforest Awareness Rescue Education Center in the Amazon rainforest in Peru for a week.

“I wanted to give back to the community,” Cooper said. “Obviously, everyone in the farmers market is what's fueling this business, so I felt wrong to just take for myself. I had to give back.”

The process

Much like the concept of Lemonade with a Purpose, the lemonade itself is also a product of Cooper’s mind. He said he spent weeks studying and testing recipes to find the perfect blend to sell at the market on Saturdays.

The process starts on Wednesday or Thursday, when Bermet, an exchange student from Kyrgyzstan whom Cooper considers his sister, makes a simple syrup base. Before, Cooper and his family would hand-squeeze the lemons, a process that takes between four and five hours.

The family has since invested in a commercial juicer, which expedites the process. They work through Friday to prepare the lemonade and watermelon puree. The juices are packed that evening and ready for the market in the morning.

At the farmers market booth, customers can choose from blueberry, mango, peach, pina colada, raspberry, strawberry and watermelon lemonade.

The booth also has weekly specials, like peach tea. Customers can add lemon, lime or grapefruit sparkling water or flavored popping pearls to their lemonade for $1 extra. Prices range from $5 to $7.

Cooper said the work is sometimes tiring, but he enjoys his seasonal business venture because it allows him to meet people and feel like he is a part of the community. On the side, he also works at a summer camp.

“I've just been having fun with it,” he said. “That's the whole goal, is having fun at this point.”

With two summers under his belt and a successful third in progress, Cooper has no plans to stop selling his lemonade. While he said he may try to expand one day,

for now, he is content.

Cooper said he and his family are considering finding other families to sell his lemonade at other local markets. Until then, Lemonade with a Purpose can be found at the Alpharetta Farmers Market.

The market runs April through November from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays in downtown Alpharetta. The market will start at 9:30 a.m. in November.

“It's been a really good experience for our family to do this together and do something that gives back and at the same time, gives him a good experience,” Dan said.

PHOTOS BY SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

Cooper Garrison-Brook, center, runs Lemonade with a Purpose on Saturdays at the Alpharetta Farmers Market. From left, Cooper’s grandmother Cindy, mother Laura, father Dan and exchange student Bermet, whom Cooper considers a sister, volunteer at the booth.

Lemonade with a Purpose volunteer Laura GarrisonBrook pours lemonade for a customer Aug. 12 at the Alpharetta Farmers Market. More than a third of the booth’s profits are donated to charity.

“I’ve just been having fun with it. That’s the whole goal, is having fun at this point.”

COOPER GARRISON-BROOK Founder of

Lemonade

with a Purpose

ALPHARETTA FOOD TRUCK ALLEY

What: Kick off the weekend a little early at Alpharetta’s Food Truck Alley. Culinary options include more than 10 food trucks every fourth Thursday of the month until October, offering a diverse range of cuisine types. This is a family-friendly event, with limited seating available and will feature live music each month. It is recommended that attendees bring a blanket or chair and leave pets at home for these events.

When: Thursday, Aug. 24, 5-9 p.m.

Where: Old Roswell Street, 37 Old Roswell, Alpharetta

More info: facebook.com/foodtruckalley

OPENING RECEPTION:

BEYOND TRANSPARENCY

What: “Beyond Transparency” is an exhibition of local artists, emerging to professional, presenting a myriad of glass arts. Works in mosaic, stained, blown, lampworked and fused glass will be shown. The exhibit will be on display during normal operating hours from Aug. 26 to Sept. 28.

When: Friday, Aug. 25, 6-8 p.m.

Where: Roswell Visual Arts Center, 10495 Woodstock Road, Roswell

More info: roswellgov.com

MOVIES BY MOONLIGHT:

‘THE LION KING’

What: Bring a picnic or choose your dinner from a food truck and enjoy “The Lion King” on the big screen at this free event. The movie begins after sunset.

When: Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.

Where: Heritage Amphitheater Lawn, 6110 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs

More info: sandyspringsga.gov

GEORGIA AUDUBON

SOCIETY BIRD WALK

What: Learn about Georgia’s birds from Atlanta Audubon’s volunteer field trip leaders. All walks are free and open to the public, but please register. If you need to borrow a pair of binoculars, contact the field trip leader or the Dunwoody Nature Center in advance, and they should be able to loan you a pair.

When: Saturday, Aug. 26, 8-10 a.m.

Where: Dunwoody Nature Center, 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody

More info: dunwoodynature.org

GEORGIA AUDUBON SOCIETY BIRD WALK

What: Learn about Georgia’s birds from Atlanta Audubon’s volunteer field trip leaders. All walks are free and open to the public, but please register. If you need to borrow a pair of binoculars, contact the field trip leader or the Dunwoody Nature Center in advance, and they should be able to loan you a pair.

When: Saturday, Aug. 26, 8-10 a.m.

Where: Dunwoody Nature Center, 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody

More info: dunwoodynature.org

MILTON FARMERS MARKET

What: Every Saturday morning through October, more than a dozen vendors set up shop around Milton City Hall with fresh produce, fresh meat, sweets, coffee and tea, flowers, soaps, jewelry and more.

When: Saturday, Aug. 26, 8:30 a.m.12:30 p.m.

Where: Milton City Hall plaza, 2006 Heritage Walk, Milton More info: facebook.com/ miltongafarmersmarket

RIVERSOUND SOUNDS: JAKE LA BOTZ

What: Grab your lawn chairs, blankets and friends for a night along the banks of the Chattahoochee River, filled with music from singer-songwriter Jake La Botz. Guests are invited to bring their own food and beverages, but there will also be food and drink vendors onsite, while supplies last.

When: Saturday, Aug. 26, 7-9 p.m.

Where: Riverside Park, 575 Riverside

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.

Road, Roswell More info: roswellgov.com

BJ WILBANKS

What: Georgia-based BJ Wilbanks’s exploration of love and the pursuit of enlightenment has been referred to as “Back Porch Soul,” fusing the musical roots of Americana, Motown and Delta Blues into a blend of Southern Rock.

When: Saturday, Aug. 26, 8-10 p.m.

Where: Matilda’s Music Under the Pines, 850 Hickory Flat Road, Milton Cost: $28.50

More info: matildasmusicvenue.com

ARTIST RECEPTION FOR DIANA TOMA

What: This reception is for the latest exhibit in the rotating gallery at Sandy Springs City Hall, featuring the work of Diana Toma until early November. Toma, an instructor at the Abernathy Arts Center, also painted a mural inside the Sandy Springs Library.

When: Tuesday, Aug. 29, 6-8 p.m.

Where: Sandy Springs City Hall, 1

Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

More info: sandyspringsga.gov

MOVIES BY MOONLIGHT: ‘THE BAD GUYS’

What: Bring a picnic or choose your dinner from a food truck and enjoy “The Bad Guys” on the big screen at this free event. The movie begins after sunset.

When: Friday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m.

Where: Heritage Amphitheater Lawn, 6110 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs

More info: sandyspringsga.gov

ROTARY CLUB OF ALPHARETTA

CONCERT SERIES: FLUXCAPACITOR

What: Held on the Town Green, this Alpharetta Rotary concert will feature the opening band School of Rock. Fluxcapacitor, an ’80s cover band, will follow.

When: Friday, Sept. 1, 7-10 p.m.

Where: Town Green, 2 Park Plaza, Alpharetta

More info: facebook.com/ RotaryClubAlpharetta

Shirley Peters Pruitt, memories of DeWald’s Alley

In February of 2023 I wrote about DeWald’s Alley, a community of Black families who lived off Barfield Road from the 1920s until the early 1970s. Shirley Pruitt contacted me to share her story, because she and her family lived there. Pruitt was born Shirley Peters in 1941 at Grady Hospital. She left Sandy Springs for many years but returned and lives there today.

The Peters family included seven boys and one girl, Shirley. There were eight homes at DeWald’s Alley. Some of the houses were set up for two families, and Shirley Pruitt’s family shared one side of their home with her aunt’s family for a while before using both sides.

Residents of DeWald’s Alley rented from Clyde and Susie DeWald, who lived nearby on Spruill Road, later known as Meadow Lane Road. Susie DeWald would go door to door collecting rent each month. The houses of DeWald’s Alley had outhouses, no electricity, and well water. Pumps were eventually installed.

Ms. Pruitt’s family planted a garden each year by their house. She remembers as a child going to Burdette’s Store at Mount Vernon Road and Roswell Road to buy groceries. She also recalls going with her father to a Spruill farm where Perimeter Mall is today for butter and buttermilk.

When she was 5 years old, Ms. Pruitt started school at the community’s church, known as Mt. Mary’s Baptist Church. The church was a wooden building, painted white, and located on Mt. Vernon Highway. Her grandfather, Will Peters, helped build the church. There had been both a school and church, but the school building burned down.

When the church membership had fallen to only five people, it moved to Lynwood Park in Brookhaven. Then, the children of DeWald’s Alley, including Shirley Pruitt, were bused to the Alpharetta Colored School. Due to segregation, the children were not permitted to attend nearby Hammond or Morgan Falls School. They were bused to a school that would have been at least a 15-mile trip before Ga. 400 existed.

The children’s teachers, Ms. Hambrick and Ms. Jones, went to the new school also. While Pruitt was attending the school, the school’s name was changed to Bailey Johnson. Bailey Johnson was the only school for Black children in north Fulton County. The last class to graduate from the school was in 1967.

All these schools, including Mt. Mary’s, were part of the Fulton County School System. In the school archives of the county, records indicate that Mt. Mary’s School

was in a church building. Some of the other schools that Black children attended were also in churches.

Other Black children in the area, who did not live on DeWald’s Alley, attended Mt. Mary School. Those families included the

Brown, Evans, Martin and Lucas families. The Evans children were cousins of Shirley Pruitt, and the family lived where Glenridge and Mount Vernon Road meet. The Lucas family lived on Meadow Lane.

The Fulton County Superintendent’s

Annual Report reveals the inequities of the time. There was one teacher at Mt. Mary during the 1929-1930 school year, and she earned $660 for the year. Hammond School had six women teachers who earned $1,434 each. (Fulton County School Archives)

During the 1948-1949 school year, Mt. Mary’s had two teachers for 51 children. Nearby Morgan Falls School had 12 teachers for 130 children.

At the age of 13, Shirley Pruitt had a terrifying experience. A White family that lived near where Johnson’s Ferry meets the Chattahoochee River was asking around for a babysitter. She went with the father of the family to their property and the man attempted to assault her. Fortunately, after a long struggle she was able to fight him off and escape.

There would have been no protection or recourse from the legal system at that time for Shirley Pruitt or her family. The family no longer felt safe and moved to Roswell. After the family moved, Pruitt needed to see a dentist for a filling, but no dentist in Roswell would take a Black patient. She ended up going to a Norcross dentist, who said she must enter through a back door. Then, when he administered Novocain, he struck a nerve causing permanent damage to her face.

Shirley Pruitt’s grandparents lived on the property of Dr. Griffith on Heard’s Ferry Road, where her grandfather worked. The couple had 10 children, plus they raised a grandchild on the property.

Ms. Pruitt remembers learning to drive a Dodge straight shift on Barfield Road, a dirt road at the time.

Shirley Peters later married Lugene Pruitt, and they had four children. After the marriage ended in divorce, Shirley Pruitt moved back to Sandy Springs.

While living in Roswell, her oldest son played basketball at Roswell High School, and her youngest child Denny was the mascot. Later, after moving to Sandy Springs, Denny played basketball at North Springs High School. During his time playing on the team from 9th to 12th grade, in the mid-1980s, he was the only Black player. Ms. Pruitt went to all his games. As a senior in 1988, Denny Pruitt was nominated to the McDonalds’s All-American Team.

I am grateful to Shirley Pruitt for reaching out to me and sharing her story of living at DeWald’s Alley in Sandy Springs. This history can be preserved thanks to Ms. Pruitt.

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.

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF

Columnist

SHIRLEY PRUITT/PROVIDED

This Atlanta Journal Dec. 17, 1987 clipping from Shirley Pruitt’s mementos includes her son Denny Pruitt, far left, during his years playing basketball at North Springs High School.

PROVIDED

At left, Ms. Pruitt's brother-in-law Clarence Pruitt, and on the right her cousin A.C. Peters stand in this DeWald's Alley photo from the 2017 Sandy Springs Gazette.

Authors can trigger a variety of emotions

to ferret out the murderer and get the story. Along the way, Hollywood moguls and others try to shut down her investigation, but she has no plans to stop.

KATHY MANOS PENN

My two recent reads evoked different emotions — one book was entertaining, while the other was thought-provoking. I found one delightful and the other distressing. Perhaps I should have read them in reverse order, so that I could more easily dispel the cloud created by the second one.

“The Girl Who Knew Too Much” by

Amanda Quick

Amanda Quick is a new author for me, and this book, the first in her Burning Cove series, was a great place to start. Set in the 1930s in an exclusive hotel near Hollywood, California, it entertained me with its spunky heroine and a few mystery men.

Rookie reporter Irene is on the scene for a murder or two and, of course, uses her investigative skills

Continued from Page 1

“For instance, we have our upcoming Bluestone Art Music Festival that's Sept. 29th and 30th,” Smith said. “This will be in effect for that event.”

After a brief discussion, the ordinance was approved 6-0, with Mayor Rusty Paul absent.

Trail funding approved

Also at the meeting, the City Council accepted a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that will help fund the local sections of the PATH 400 trail.

In April 2022, Sandy Springs applied for more than $12 million in funding from HUD’s multi-billion dollar Economic Development initiative, which was needed to complete the 1.8-mile, multi-use trail from Buckhead into the Perimeter District.

But this year, the city learned it will receive a substantially smaller grant amount —a little more than 6 percent of what it had sought, Public Works Director Marty Martin said.

“This grant does not require a local match,” Martin said. “So, the $750,000 goes directly into the funds available to render the project.”

Despite that much smaller grant amount, Martin said they are confident they can fully fund the project through local sources and Atlanta Regional

It's an intriguing mystery with a bit of romance thrown in, and there's more than one mystery solved by the time it's over. I enjoyed the way the author slowly revealed the backgrounds of the main characters as the story progressed. Wanting to know more about each of them was a big reason that I found this book to be a page-turner. I wanted to learn their secrets as much as I wanted to find out who the villain was – and the villain was a shocker.

I highly recommend this book, but I suggest you be prepared to stay up late several nights to finish it. I sure did. This next novel will also keep you awake at night, but for different reasons.

“I have some questions for you” by Rebecca Makkai

I've been struggling to put words to

how I feel about this book. It is unquestionably a well-written crime tale, one set in a New England boarding school.

Finally, I found an NPR review that captured its essence:

"This is a dark, uncomfortable story about murder, racism, sexual abuse, grief, the nature of collective memory, privilege, the way humans want to be at the center of tragedy even when they're not, and feeling like an outsider."

The story centers on a crime committed in 1995 at the school, the murder of a promising senior girl. Twenty years later, Bodie Kane, the girl's roommate, answers the call to teach two short mid-semester courses at her alma mater.

Even before she gets there, the question tormented her: Did they convict the right person? What follows is Bode working her way backward and forward as she examines what she remembers, what she may have blocked, and what she could have done differently. Mixed in with the crime at the center of the novel

are references to the oh-so many crimes against women that we are now accustomed to hearing about.

It's a thought-provoking book, not just as you try to determine whodunit, but also as you consider today's social environment. What I found most horrifying — yes, horrifying – were the descriptions of what teenage boys said and did to their female classmates in 1995. Do the sexual insults and accusations hurled by these young men have any basis in reality? If so, today’s teenagers inhabit a different world than the one I grew up in. "Dark" is a word that comes to mind as I attempt to describe this book, but somehow, that doesn't begin to touch it.

Award-winning author Kathy Manos Penn is a Sandy Springs resident. Find her cozy mysteries locally at The Enchanted Forest in Dunwoody and Bookmiser in East Cobb or on Amazon. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com, and follow her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/KathyManosPennAuthor/.

Commission funding.

“We think, possibly, one more phase after this year… to execute the project,” Martin said. “It depends a lot on the funding pace and the funding schedule within Atlanta Regional Commission as they try to satisfy all requests in a particular fiscal year.”

Atlanta officials are working on several pieces of the PATH 400 project now, and Sandy Springs officials expect to complete their 1.8-mile portion in sections as funding becomes available.

“The project marches forward toward us,” Martin said.

Meanwhile, Martin said city leaders should expect an updated, phased approach schedule in the coming year.

“I think it's a great project,” District 4 Councilwoman Jody Reichel said. “I love riding up (Ga. 400), seeing people on their bikes and walking on the paths.”

Columnist

Alcohol:

“I think it’s a great project. I love riding up (Ga. 400), seeing people on their bikes and walking on the paths.”

JODY REICHEL District 4 Councilwoman

They finally fired the cannon at my old newsroom

My first newspaper job was at the Marion County Record, a small weekly in central Kansas.

equipment and electronics.

for her age up till last Friday. That night, she was crying. Following the police raid, she couldn’t eat or sleep.

The next day, she collapsed and died.

PAT FOX Managing Editor pat@appenmedia.com

The late editor and publisher Bill Meyer taught me everything I know about community journalism. Bill’s wisdom and his command of writing for his small-town audience was an acquired taste for a young college graduate with aspirations for the New York Times or Chicago Tribune. It took months, but I finally came around.

The first thing Bill told me was to focus primarily on the massive historic courthouse directly across the street where all county government business took place. An annex, just off to the side, was home to the City of Marion Police Department.

Bill told me that at one time, the courthouse had an old Civil War cannon on its front lawn. It was aimed straight at the newspaper. The antique had been removed by the time I arrived in 1980.

But last Friday, they lit the fuse anyway.

City police, acting on a warrant signed by a magistrate judge, raided the newspaper office, confiscating equipment, computers and other materials necessary for publishing The Record. They didn’t stop there.

Police also raided the home of the publisher, Bill’s son Eric Meyer, seizing

The raid sought information on a confidential source the newspaper had used to investigate a DUI conviction of a local business owner applying for a liquor license. The news staff never intended to publish the story because they surmised it was planted to discredit the business owner. Nevertheless, they did check out the lead by combing through government records.

During the process of the home and newsroom search, police snatched a reporter’s cell phone, aggravating an earlier injury she’d sustained to a finger.

Eric’s 98-year-old mother, Joan, who shared ownership of the paper, also lived at the house with Eric. Police took her computer, the router that gave her access to Alexa smart speakers she used to call for assistance and to stream television. Joan watched as police pored over her son’s bank records and investment papers.

Joan was the paper’s community editor, and had been when I worked there, so I knew her well. She was always laughing, smiling about something.

Her son said she was in good health

The Marion County Record was my professional nursery. Now, it’s ability to publish has been seized. I know of no other instance in my lifetime in which police shut down a newspaper in the United States. There are countless cases of it happening in Turkey, China and Russia.

I spoke with Eric on Monday, and, like his father, he was focused on getting the paper out this week. He said he was in the middle of untangling the mess left in the wake of the police raid.

“Even if I have to scribble something out on a notebook and deliver it door to door, we’re going to have something published this week,” he said.

So, this is where I should write some lofty platitudes about freedom of the press, about guarding our constitutional rights –maybe quote Jefferson. I should write that the press is the only profession specifically cited for protections in the U.S. Constitution.

I should write all that.

But, I’m too angry. I’m furious.

Newsrooms, reporters never forget

EDITORS NOTE

CARL APPEN Director of Content and Development carl@appenmedia.com

As a company executive, I have the pleasure of attending conferences about the media industry. We network, train and problem-solve. One of my least favorite parts about the events, though, is the amount of time spent talking about the work. In recent years, there seems to be a trend of less editorial boards and more media columnists. Greater resources spent on analyzing local news and less on producing it. The people talking about local news are often those I want to listen to least. I would much prefer visiting other newsrooms and sitting quietly in the corner, observing the work they’re doing.

Over the weekend, news broke about a Kansas police department raiding a small weekly newspaper.

Officers armed with a signed warrant stormed the office of the Marion County Record and the home of its publisher. They seized equipment, notes and other newsroom materials.

The operation’s cover was a search for information about a confidential source who had tipped the newspaper off to a

MEYER

This week’s editions of the Herald and Crier newspapers are dedicated to Joan Meyer and staff, past and present, of the Marion County Record.

local liquor license applicant’s buried DUI conviction.

I knew Appen Media Managing Editor Pat Fox cut his teeth in Kansas newsrooms, so I sent him an article about the incident. As it turns out, Pat spent his first few years out of school at that very paper, working alongside the same family that was raided.

In a letter to Editor Eric Meyer, Pat wrote about an issue he had with the City of Marion Police Department some 40 years ago. He was not surprised to see more problems with the department, he wrote. More concerning was the fact that a district judge had signed a search warrant that was so likely illegal.

Pat’s letter never made it to the Record publisher because email service was

disabled when police seized the paper’s equipment.

Unfortunately the disaster turned into a tragedy. Over the weekend, co-owner of the paper Joan Meyer, 98, passed away.

She was in the house with her son Eric as police officers and sheriff’s deputies executed the warrant.

She had been in good health, the Record reported, but was unable to eat or sleep following the raid.

Pat later told me he knew Joan. She had worked in the newsroom alongside him. Her husband Bill Meyer was Pat’s first editor.

If I had to bet, the Meyer family did not attend many industry conferences.

The Marion County Record is probably one of those newsrooms where I’d rather visit and shadow, where operators are too busy doing the work to spend time talking about the work.

Pat signed his letter to the Record as the managing editor of a news media group in Alpharetta, Georgia. I’m sure he is almost as proud of that as I am. Pat Fox’s byline leaving the pages of the Marion County Record as a reporter, only to reappear as one running a newsroom 1,000 miles and many years away.

I know Bill and Joan had an impact on the people of Marion County. I also know they had an impact on the people of Metro Atlanta. The Meyers coached Pat, who in

turn has fostered a group of reporters at Appen Media.

I’d like to imagine some Appen reporters will end up teaching the next generation of journalists, too.

I don’t know much about Joan Meyer, but I know she contributed to Pat’s experience, which trickled down into my knowledge and the skills of my peers in the Appen Media newsroom. By that one fact I know she has had more of an impact than any conference I’ve attended.

One problem for the Marion County Police Department, Chief Cody and Judge Viar is that the U.S. Constitution protects the press, and the Department of Justice follows that lead.

Another is that journalists have a long, collective memory. News of the raid has been on the cover of The New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today. It ran on ABC Sunday night and in Britain’s Guardian.

Those companies sent a condemnation letter to the Police Department, alongside the signatures of Bloomberg, the Associated Press, McClatchy, Pro Publica, the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times.

I know one Atlanta journalist who spent his Saturday morning reading up on the Kansas Open Records Act.

We already knew the Meyers and the Marion County Record were paying attention. Now everyone else is, too.

“Even if I have to scribble something out on a notebook and deliver it door to door, we’re going to have something published this week.”

ERIC MEYER Marion County Record publisher

Workforce Development Coordinator is responsible for developing programs and services for NFCC clients and students seeking employment, post-secondary education, or other career options. The workforce development coordinator collaborates with local employers to help match job seekers to open positions. They work directly with clients on the job application, resumes, and interview preparations and provide tips for successfully securing and improving employment to foster financial stability.  Bachelor’s degree in a human services, human resources, or other related field required and 2 years of professional experience in human services, human resources or career counseling preferred.

To view the entire listing visit https://nfcchelp.org/ work-at-nfcc/. To apply, please submit resume to Carol Swan at cswan@nfcchelp.org.

Part-time

Donor Operations Associate

The Donor Operations Associate greets and removes donations from vehicles and sorts merchandise in a designated area.  They are responsible for keeping the merchandise secure, all areas free of debris and the donor door area neat and clean.  This position is the face of NFCC so they are expected to provide excellent customer service and treat each donor with a professional and friendly demeanor.  High school diploma or equivalent preferred. Ability to perform low to moderate facility maintenance tasks.  To view entire listing visit: https://nfcchelp.org/work-atnfcc/  To apply, please complete an application for employment and email to Marten Jallad,  mjallad@nfcchelp.org.

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