Local News
Chamber Chooses New Board Members
Bonebrake, New E 9-1-1 Director A highly decorated officer, paramedic and veteran has taken the helm of Cherokee E 9-1-1. Shane Bonebrake, who recently retired from the Woodstock Police Department, was named the new E 9-1-1 director. Shane Bonebrake “I chose Shane Bonebrake for this position because he is a leader who leads by example,” said Public Services Agency Director Dana Martin. “He has earned an impressive reputation working in various public safety roles in this community, consistently demonstrating high standards of integrity, professionalism and dedication to service.” Bonebrake’s extensive background spans more than three decades in public service: he has served as the director of EMS Services for Six Flags White Water; narcotics and vice officer for the New Orleans Police Department; chief international flight medic for Worldwide Transport Services; a firefighter/ paramedic for Rockdale County; a Rockdale County 911 dispatcher; Cherokee County firefighter/paramedic; a soldier in the U.S. Army (field, flight and ER medic) and several roles with the Woodstock Police Department. Bonebrake views this opportunity as a way to expand his service to Cherokee County. He has a heart for public service, and his professional background exemplifies that. “I’ve spent my entire adult life in the streets and wanted more,” Bonebrake said. “I want to be part of a team that helps all aspects of public safety, and 911 is the heartbeat of the public safety system.”
The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce has a new board of directors. Seven members recently were elected to serve three-year terms beginning January 2022 through December 2024. The new members are: Neil Blackman, Corblu Ecology Group, LLC; Mark Goddard, Cobb EMC; Brandon Hartley, AT&T Georgia; Eric Rein, Renasant Bank; Jeff Rusbridge, Dyer & Rusbridge, P.C.; Jennifer Stanley, Northside Hospital Cherokee, and Jay Street, Automated Solutions Consulting Group, Inc. “I look forward to working with these new board members, as well those who will be continuing to serve the Chamber, as we work collaboratively to meet the Chamber’s mission,” said Brian Stevens, chief operating officer, FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Woodstock, who will serve as 2022 Chamber Chairman.
Local Scouts Help Protect Threatened Monarchs
Above, the girls held a ribbon cutting ceremony for their project. From left, Lena C., Julia C., Megan F., Callie C., Madeleine O. and Nova R. Left, Girl Scouts Lena C., Madeleine O., Megan F. and Nova R. paint bee hotels they created to go in their garden. 8
AROUND WOODSTOCK | December 2021
This is the year of the Monarch, which turned out to be the perfect year for local Girl Scout Troop 1721, six girls from Woodstock and Acworth, to do their Bronze Award Project, the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can earn. The girls chose to create a Certified Monarch Way Station in Dupree Park, after learning that the number of Monarch butterflies has diminished from more than a billion in 1990 to 200,000 currently. A Bronze Award project requires a minimum of 20 hours of work toward something that has a global or large-scale, measurable impact. Troop members created a garden design with buckets, and cardboard Girl Scout cookie boxes were used to layout where milkweed, annuals and perennials would go. They named it, “The Wing Stop: A Monarch Park and Pollinator Playground.” After months of research and hard work, the girls spotted their first Monarch caterpillars, crawling throughout the milkweed in their way station. This is the global impact that they hoped for as the caterpillars will transform into adult Monarchs, and those that survive will continue the migration to the forests of Mexico for the winter.
