Local News

Sheriff’s Office Takes Second Place in Dragon Boat Race

This year, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office took second place in the fifth annual AcworthCobb Dragon Boat Race at Lake Allatoona. All proceeds from the event go to local cancer patients and survivors.

During the race, Team Purple Dragons needed extra rowers in order to be able to compete, so some of the sheriff’s office team jumped in to help fill the empty spots. The members of the Purple Dragons are cancer survivors, and the deputies were ecstatic to help them win first place.

Director of Power and Public Works Wins Award

Acworth Power and Public Works Director Angie Luna received the Robert E. Roundtree Rising Star Award during the American Public Power Association National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in June. The award is presented to an individual who is seen as a future leader of a public power system and who has demonstrated a dedication to the goals and principles of public power. Luna joined Acworth Power in 2019 after working at the Fort Valley Utility Commission and the city of Norcross. As director, she oversees all department operations and the 41 full-time employees and participates in all city-sponsored leadership development programs. She leads the emergency preparedness leadership team and has improved policies and communications with other departments significantly, to ensure that the city is prepared for any crisis that potentially could disrupt service.

The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office’s Class of 2022 graduates.

The Cobb County Police Department’s Class of 2022 police academy graduates.

Public Safety Class of 2022 Graduates

Cobb County has a number of new public safety employees, as two groups of recruits — one for the Cobb County Police Department (CCPD) and one for the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) — recently graduated.

CCPD’s Mandate 58 completed more than 1,000 hours of police instruction at Cobb’s police academy, including countless hours in the defensive tactics room, getting in shape, and hundreds of hours in the classroom. The former recruits now are sworn Cobb County police officers out on the road, answering 911 calls, responding to wrecks and making traffic stops. Next, they will embark on phase 2 of their training on the road with their field training officers.

Eleven CCSO deputies in Class 339 graduated from Basic Mandate at the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy and are returning to work after several weeks of classroom and hands-on learning.

Summer Food Service Program

Happy Helpings, Georgia’s summer food service program, is providing free meals to children through July 28 at the North Cobb Regional Library at 3535 Old 41 Highway in Kennesaw.

Packages of 14 meals each — one week of breakfasts and lunches — will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last, Thursdays at 1:303:30 p.m. through July 28, excluding July 7. The food will be distributed via drive-through services in the library parking lot.

Prepared by a local county-inspected commercial kitchen, the meals are for children ages 18 and younger. Adults 19 years and older who are enrolled in school programs for students with disabilities also will receive meals.

Cobb County Public Library is teaming with Georgia Educational Resources Inc. (GER) for the third year to provide a summer meal service funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Last year, the library system and GER provided 36,076 meals to 2,787 children.

For information on the program, visit www.happyhelpingsga.com.