Community News

It’s Almost Time for the Farm. Fresh. Market.

The 2021 Woodstock Farm. Fresh. Market. is making plans for the upcoming season, April 17-Dec. 18. The market will be open 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays on Market Street and in the backyard of Reformation Brewery in downtown Woodstock

To create a safe environment for shoppers and vendors, organizers have created a set of guidelines. • Shoppers should not touch any items on vendors’ tables. Vendors will bag the items being purchased. • Vendor booths have been spaced farther apart; shoppers are asked not to stand or walk between booths. • Shoppers are asked to visit booths one at a time, and be patient as vendors help each shopper. • While waiting in line to be served, please maintain a proper distance from others. • Try to avoid cash transactions. Most vendors will have electronic options for payment.

Hand-sanitizing stations will be set up throughout the market. Public restrooms are open at the Noonday Creek Trailhead. For more information, call 770-924-0406 or email kbennett@woodstockga.gov.

MUST Director Named to Executive Women Post

MUST Ministries’ Yvonne Byars was selected as the 2021 chairwoman of Cobb Executive Women. Byars has been the senior director at MUST Ministries for four years and, prior to MUST, worked for Procter & Gamble in IT project management with a certification as a project management professional. Yvonne Byars

“After spending 25 years in corporate, I was looking for something more fulfilling, and that’s why I chose nonprofit work,” Byars said. “I think my selection as chairwoman of Cobb Executive Women shows that MUST Ministries attracts individuals from Fortune 500 companies and other corporations. We’re able to bring skills from corporate and take them into the nonprofit world.”

Byars oversees MUST Ministries’ Neighborhood Pantry program, which serves more than 100 schools in Cherokee and Cobb counties, has helped more than 20,000 clients and distributed over 1 million pounds of food to students and families.

“Neighborhood pantries serve at-risk students and their families, and a lot of these households are struggling with the choice of paying rent or buying food,” Byars said.

She also developed the concept of MUST Ministries’ new Neighborhood Mobile Pantry. “The innovative mobile bus will take fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meats, breads, canned goods and even dairy, when available, to people living in ‘food deserts’ where groceries are not within walking distance,” she said. “We’re able to provide healthy food options in Cobb, Cherokee and surrounding counties.”

The Cobb Executive Women’s mission is to inspire women to achieve success personally, professionally and within their community. The group holds monthly luncheons and community outreach events, including one this summer when the organization came to MUST Ministries to make sandwiches to feed children in the Summer Lunch program.

Northside Hospital Offers New Cancer Therapy

Northside Hospital Cancer Institute Immunotherapy Program is one of just two programs in Georgia to offer the latest chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy.

Tecartus (brexucabtagene autoleucel), from Kite Pharma Inc., is the first and only FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy for adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). MCL is a rare subtype of nonHodgkin lymphoma, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Treatment often includes chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation.

Immunotherapy essentially is strengthening and empowering a patient’s own immune system to find and attack cancer. It works by taking immune cells, genetically modifying them to be better tumor-fighting immune cells, multiplying them to great numbers (tens of thousands), and then infusing them into the patient.

“We are excited to offer our patients the first and only FDA-approved CAR T-cell treatment for people with mantle cell lymphoma, whose prior treatment either didn’t work or stopped working,” said Scott Solomon, medical director of Northside’s Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Matched Unrelated Donor Program and Stem Cell Processing Laboratory. More information is available at www.northside.com.

Local News

Golf Tournament to Boost Scholarship Funds

Marine Corps League, Detachment 1311, in Woodstock is holding an April fundraiser to benefit the Marine Corps League Scholarship fund for Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) Cadets, Eagle Scouts, and Marine and Marine Corps League Detachment 1311 dependents in Cherokee and Cobb counties.

The 11th annual MSgt. George “Rip” and Barbara Masters Charity Golf Tournament is planned for April 26 at Cobblestone Golf Course in Acworth. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 9 a.m.

The scholarship is available to students who have achieved academic excellence and have demonstrated superior leadership qualities. In the past 10 years, the event has raised more than $40,000 to help local young people further their education.

A continental breakfast will be provided, along with lunch, carts and range balls. There will be awards given for first, second and third place teams, in addition to longest drive, straightest drive and closest to the pin honors.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, or to register to play, visit www.mcl1311woodstockga. org or email tournament director Ron Welborn at rwwelborn@comcast.net.

One Step Closer to New Parks

The next step in the Southwest Cherokee Parks and Trails Plan includes project phasing, implementation plans and report documents that are scheduled to be presented to the Cherokee Recreation and Parks Advisory Board on March 17, and to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners at the April 20 regular commission meeting.

Last month, residents viewed revised conceptual plans and provided feedback on the plan. Participants saw a map with four county-owned parcels identified as potential parks for the southwest area. The first two parcels identified make up roughly 52 acres located between Ga. 92 and Clark Creek Elementary School, the third 14-acre parcel is at the intersection of Hunt and Priest roads, and the fourth parcel is 43 acres at the corner of Old Alabama and Kellogg Creek roads.

“During the development of the 2018 Cherokee Recreation and Parks Master Plan, we identified recreation needs for the southwest Cherokee area,” said Cherokee County District 4 Commissioner Corey Ragsdale. “We are excited to see these plans come to fruition and to provide our residents with several options to choose from.”

Visit cherokeega.com and click on SW Cherokee Parks and Trails Plan on the homepage for more details, or contact Bryan Reynolds at bdreynolds@cherokeega. com or Sarah McColley at smccolley@tsw-design.com.

Sheriff’s Charity Makes Donations

Donations to three charities were made recently by the Frank Reynolds Charities, using funds raised at the November Hawks Ridge Golf Tournament. The nonprofit is dedicated to creating a stronger community by uniting people to serve others.

The donations this year included $10,000 to the Anna Crawford Children’s Center, $3,000 to the Children’s Haven, and $1,500 to Goshen Valley. For more details and photos, visit www.frankreynoldscharities.com. The charity also is on Facebook.

Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques delivered his 2021 State of the City address on Jan. 22, at the Elm Street Theater to members of IN WDSTK. Here are the highlights; check www.woodstockga.gov for the entire speech. The Economy

•Despite recent struggles, Woodstock has seen a continuation of its robust local economy. While overall revenue was down 4.6% due to certain revenue streams being lower, the local economy was driven by retail sales and investments in construction. There was a $65 million increase in construction value from 2019, bringing the 2020 total to $185 million. Six hundred new businesses were licensed, up 42% from 2019. Forty-five hundred total permits were issued, up 44% from 2019. Four hundred and fifty-six single-family permits were issued up 42% from 2019. • The city reduced the millage rate 3.77%. Debt decreased $2.5 million, and the debt rating was raised by Moody’s Debt Rating Scale to Aa2. The finance department received the Achievement in Financial Reporting Award for the 27th consecutive year by the Government Finance Officers Association. • The Woodstock DDA opened Made Mercantile in November, with seven member companies located in the retail small business incubator. In conjunction with the city, the DDA closed on the purchase of the current Morgan’s Ace Hardware site. The current store will relocate to its new location this spring, just north of Ridgewalk Parkway on Main Street.

Sustainable Living

•The city’s Sustainability Plan was completed and adopted in 2020. The goal of these programs is to define and implement the necessary steps to minimize the city’s negative impact on the environment while promoting energy efficiency and cost savings. • The 2020 Little River Clean Up accounted for 200 volunteer hours, cleaning up more than 2 tons of litter and debris. The Bring One for the Chipper event recycled 397 Christmas trees. The Street Sweeper collected 255,3359 pounds of leaves and debris. • The Adopt-A-Trail Program initiated in 2020 allows businesses, corporations and organizations to adopt 1-mile sections of the trail system for cleanup events. There are currently nine sections, all of which have been adopted.

Improvements

•Investment in infrastructure improvements continued through smaller projects that incrementally improve traffic flow and pedestrian facilities. A major project funded this year, utilizing a $3.27 million infrastructure grant from the state, is the Hub Transformation Project, which will change Mill Street to twoway, add a roundabout, and add a left turn lane from Towne Lake Parkway to Main Street. • Public works completed 5.4 miles of paving, 4.511 miles of sidewalk, and opened the Ridge Trail Extension and the Reeves Street Connection to Woodpark Place. Water treatment plants were completed as well.

Community

•In a year of distancing and reduction of public events, the city continued to provide outreach and engaging programs. Woodstock Parks and Recreation produced a virtual Memorial Day Ceremony that garnered national media attention. Instead of annual ceremonies, parks and recreation created an exhibit in the visitors center to commemorate Patriots Day and produced a virtual Veterans Day observance. The annual Christmas parade took place at River Ridge High School by organizing a reverse parade of lights, allowing parade-goers to enjoy from the safety of their vehicles. • The Woodstock Public Safety Foundation raised more than $100,000 for community outreach programs such as Shop with a Hero. Explorer Post 1609 earned second place in its category against more than 3,500 other explorers at the annual competition in Gatlinburg. IN WDSTK raised more than $20,000 in Scarecrow Invasion and Jingle Mingle fundraisers, all of which was re-invested into the community. • The communications team rebuilt and launched a new topic-based city website making it easier to find information. Parks and Recreation sought input for a master plan update and received more than 300% more responses than the previous plan, allowing staff to plan for facilities and programs based on citizen feedback. The SMART Woodstock plan for technological advances for a better experience in the Main Street corridor was completed and adopted. Pilot projects being considered include in-ground lighted crosswalks and parking availability technology. The city received a $135,000 grant toward a $175,000 Livable Centers Initiative Study to update the downtown and Highway 92 corridor development plans that were adopted in 2002 and 2013, respectively. The community engagement process began last month. • Woodstock’s police department completed a three-year assessment and maintained national and state certification in 2020. Reported crime was down 21% from 2019, the lowest level in a decade. WPD instituted implicit bias training and provided training in social intelligence, doubling the state’s requirement. Gov. Brian Kemp recognized Woodstock Police Department for its Internet Crimes Against Children Investigations Team. • Woodstock Fire & Rescue reached 7,152 citizens through outreach efforts, even with reduced in-person interactions. The department responded to 5,720 calls for service, maintaining a 5-minute average response time. Fire personnel completed an average of 309 hours of training per employee with a 100% EMS training and recertification for all personnel. • The IT Department completed an Initial Security Assessment and assisted Fire & Rescue in moving to the new county-wide dispatch system. GIS launched DATA HUB with free data, maps, and web apps and worked with WPD to develop an accident analysis dashboard to improve information gathering on accident trends and causes. Using City Reporter Parks Inspection Software, staff found and repaired more than 200 faults at park facilities.