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Sandy Springs logs scores of staff exits since start of year Assistant city manager quits after three months By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The City of Sandy Springs finds itself short on a host of staff positions, including a couple of key posts. However, there is no precise accounting of how many positions are vacant because the city won’t discuss it. An open records request turned up 45 letters of resignation since February, but there is no way to determine how many employees left without leaving a note. Assistant City Manager Leonard Housley resigned July 6 after three months on the job. According to public records, the city agreed to provide Housley with a threemonth severance package totaling $47,196.06, or $15,732.03 per month. Housley’s annual salary was set at $185,000. His severance package exceeds his monthly salary because of a car allowance and insurance benefits. “Housley has chosen to voluntarily resign from his position in exchange for the city’s agreement to provide severance pay that is above and beyond what the city otherwise provides,” the severance agreement states. It also prohibits Housley from
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CITY SPRINGS THEATRE COMPANY/PROVIDED
Faux snow falls onto the cast of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” during the final musical number of the second act, “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” The audience sang along with the cast throughout the matinee Dec. 10.
Record crowds attend Byers Theatre for Irving Berlin’s Christmas classic By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The cast
and crew of City Springs Theatre Company’s production of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” put their own twist on the 1954 film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. The film tells the story of Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, a famous songand-dance duo, who unexpectedly find themselves at their former commanding officer’s Vermont lodge. Wallace and Davis team up with Betty and Judy Haynes, a sister act, to put on a Christmas show and save the
lodge from bankruptcy. Set in 1954, the musical film follows two sets of characters as they grapple with romance and the stress of putting on a show. While the Christmas classic was the highest-grossing film of 1954, the musical did not hit Broadway until 2008. The musical first premiered in 2000 at the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre. You can sing along to your favorite Christmas songs by Irving Berlin or watch premier tap dancing at the Byers Theatre at the Sandy Springs Arts Center.
Natalie DeLancey, executive director of City Springs Theatre Company, said audiences have been loving the “perfect Holiday production.” “Based on demand, and after the success of our recent productions of ‘Spamalot,’ ‘Cats’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ we’re extending the run of ‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas’ to include an additional five performances,” DeLancey said. “Having the gifted Sara Edwards back to both direct and choreograph the show ensures that we’re giving our audiences the Broadway-tier production they’ve come
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