Marietta Daily Jounnal Progress 2011 E-H

CITIES & COUNTY

PROGRESS 2011 MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL FEBRUARY 27, 2011 5 OF 8 SECTION EE / 4

It takes a village County’s safety education center ‘second to none’ 4EE

INSIDE: TUMLIN TOUTS MARIETTA 2EE

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR 2EE

CITIES & COUNTY

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MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Citizen of the Year: Earl Reece

COVER

Strand’s executive director awarded for tireless efforts in the community

By Donna Espy despy@mdjonline.com

For his tireless efforts in the areas of education, arts and the business community, Earl Reece, executive director of the Earl Smith Strand Theatre, was named the Marietta Daily Journal’s 2010 Citizen of the Year.

Reece, a Cobb native, was presented the award by MDJ General Manager Otis Brumby III during the Cobb Chamber’s 69th annual dinner at the Cobb Galleria in January.

“I’m most honored, most appreciative, and most surprised,” Reece, 61, said when he received the award. His wife of 26 years, Terri, was in the audience as was his brother, Randy, a professor at Chattahoochee Technical Institute.

He also thanked Earl Smith for a “second lease on life” in working with the Strand Theatre, and expressed appreciation for his staff and advisory board.

The award recipient is always a secret, which necessitated some finagling since Reece had plans to be in New York on the night of the presentation. He had to be coaxed into changing his plans to attend the gala by Smith, chairman of the Friends of the Strand board and the restored theatre’s namesake.

“You’ve just got to be there,” Smith told Reece, adding he needed to represent the Strand on that important night. Those in attendance would no doubt agree that Reece is the face of the Earl Smith Strand Theatre, where he took on the director’s role in 2007. But his contributions to Cobb run much deeper.

In presenting the award, Brumby said Reece “has paid his civic dues like others who

Staff/Anthony Stalcup

Marietta Daily Journal General Manager Otis Brumby III, right, presents Earl Smith Strand Theatre Executive Director Earl Reece with the 2010 Cobb County Citizen of the Year award during the 69th Annual Cobb County Chamber Dinner. have received this award before him. He is a homegrown product who taught over 9,000 students, many of whom are probably in this room.”

He added that Reece has a theater on the Pebblebrook High School campus named after him “not because of money, but because of his time, energy, effort and accomplishments.”

Reece joined the Strand after serving 14 years as director of the Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School and 33 years of public education service. Smith said he asked Reece to come out of retirement to take on the job of building an exciting entertain-

ment venue in a 1935 Art Deco theatre on the Marietta Square. But first it needed to be totally renovated with money that had not yet been raised.

“I thought he was going to jump out of his chair with excitement,” Smith said of the meeting, which began a partnership between the two to raise dollars and bring the best in entertainment to the venue.

“It has been a great connection, and his relationship between the educational system and the arts has made it even more special.”

At Pebblebrook, Reece grew the magnet arts program from 200 students to a nationally-recognized program with more than 700 students. Grad-

uates of the program have performed on Broadway in over 30 shows and in many national tours. In fact, several grads have even performed at the Strand as part of the Atlanta Lyric Theatre, which now calls the Strand its home.

Since its opening in 2008, the Strand has hosted more than 1,100 events and has a staff of six full-time and 10 part-time employees.

Reece is also known for having the ability to talk people up on stage who wouldn’t otherwise venture there.

In January, he directed Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys,” a fundraising show for the Strand that featured wellknown Cobb government, business and community lead-

ers. Kim Gresh, president of S.A. White Oil Co., was one such non-actor who took to the stage because Reece asked her.

“I’ve had the pleasure of putting Earl’s name in my friend column,” Gresh said.

“We’re very kindred spirits, and I would not have done it for anyone else except him.

His years as a teacher have given him the ability to encourage and build people up.” She said Reece pulled together the entire cast and “we felt like one big family.”

Gresh also served with Reece as co-chair of the 175th City of Marietta birthday celebration in 2009 and saw him in action almost daily, with non-stop events planned around the city to mark the year-long party. Reece also chairs the educational task force for the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre and is active with the Marietta Kiwanis Club, the Cobb Cultural Arts Advisory Board, and the Marietta High School feasibility theater project committee.

Smith, who turned 80 earlier this year, is stepping down from the Strand board, but he knows the future is in good hands with Reece as director.

“I hope this convinces him that he is where he needs to be,” Smith said of Reece being named Citizen of the Year. “He and his staff deserve much of the credit for the Strand’s success. His connection with the community and with us (the Friends board) has allowed us to do what we have done.”

2011 marked the 48th year the Journal has presented the Citizen of the Year award.

Last year’s recipient was Cobb County Manager David Hankerson.

Marietta’s utility powers buildings and the budget

By Kim Isaza newseditor@mdjonline.com

Staff/File

During the State of the City adress, Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews highlighted goals in several key areas that he said his administration made four years ago and has largely met, including improving and growing downtown Kennesaw, increasing the quality of life in the city and making the community safer.

Kennesaw mayor touts growth and efficiency

By Marcus E. Howard mhoward@mdjonline.com

KENNESAW — Firstterm Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews said he has been proud of his accomplishments since his election in 2007, and will seek re-election in November.

“I believe my solid foundation of experience and demonstrated leadership is the ticket to our continued prosperity,” Mathews said. “I believe I’ve kept my promise of building our hometown in spite of the challenges we’ve all faced both personally and professionally. There is still a lot of work to do, and we’re slowly gaining momentum.”

Like most cities, Kennesaw has had to adjust its budget as a result of the economic downturn. The city faced a revenue shortfall that Mathews said officials predicted several years ago. Fiscal year 2010 general fund revenues totaled $21.24 million and the city’s expenditures were $21.14 million.

Operating costs were cut, purchases delayed, technology used more effectively, city employee wages were frozen, overtime was reduced, and employees were cross-trained to perform other duties, he said.

“We were able to trim the budget without substantially affecting services,” Mathews said. “So in spite of the economy, we are moving ahead to prepare for the turnaround we

know is coming.”

Mathews spent much of his address highlighting goals in several key areas that he said his administration made four years ago and has largely met, including improving and growing downtown Kennesaw, increasing the quality of life in the city and making the community safer.

A number of downtown projects have been completed or are moving ahead, the mayor said. A $3 million pedestrian underpass opened last summer, the Trackside Grill expansion should be finished in March, and progress has been made on the fiveacre mixed-use development behind City Hall that includes a parking deck.

By mid-2011, the 13,000square-feet Jiles Road retail development is expected to be completed, Mathews said. In February, the Legacy Park culvert project should be completed, he said. He also mentioned that progress is being made on SPLOST projects such as the Jiles Road bridge and the Jiles Road at Cherokee Street intersection improvements.

“The final stage of Jiles will be starting construction in the spring of this year,” Mathews said.

In addition, the annual Kennesaw Farmers Market had a record number of vendors and will continue in the spring, he said.

See Kennesaw, 7EE

MARIETTA — Marietta’s city-owned utility not only powers residential and commercial buildings, it also jumpstarts the city’s finances every year.

That’s because the utility transfers millions of dollars into the city’s general fund. In fiscal 2011, for example, the transfers will total $11.5 million.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2011, the Marietta Board of Lights and Water recorded an operating loss of $217,590 for the period, despite a 10 percent increase in revenues.

The BLW’s board of directors is the governing authority of Marietta Power and Water, which has 45,000 electric customers and 18,000 water and sewer customers. Of those, about 14,600 electric customers and 5,000 water customers live outside the city limits.

Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2010, total operating revenues were $30.97 million, and total expenses equaled $31.19 million, creating the $217,590 loss.

But for the same time period in the previous fiscal year, the BLW took in $28.12 million and spent $29.47 million — causing an even larger operating loss, of $1.34 million.

So by comparison, the second quarter of fiscal 2011 doesn’t look as bad.

“It’s $1.1 million better than the second quarter of fiscal 2010,” said BLW General Manager Bob Lewis.

Year-to-date, revenue has easily outpaced expenses.

Since the fiscal year began July 1, the city-owned utility has taken in $72.32 million and spent $65.66 million, leaving operating profit of $6.65 million.

Projections for the rest of this fiscal year, which ends June 30, are for a year-end surplus of $10.3 million, Lewis said — in part the result of additional rate increases that took effect this past Jan. 1. Electric rates increased by an average of five percent, water by eight percent and sewer by six per-

Cobb Commission chairman Tim Lee, left, and County Manager David Hankerson stand in front of the Cobb County Safety Village. See (4EE).

MDJ staff photo / Laura Moon

Important Numbers Government Services Social Security 800-772-1213 Ga. Drivers Services 404-657-9300 Ga. Labor Career Center 770-528-6100 Cobb Animal Control 770-499-4136 Cobb Elections 770-528-2581 Emission Inspections 800-449-2471 Auto Tags 770-528-8247 Cobb-Douglas Public Health 770-514-2300 Cobb Biz Licenses 770-528-8410 Cobb Community Transit 770-427-4444 Cobb County Gov’t 770-528-1000 Cobb Senior Services 770-528-5355 Cobb Solid Waste 678-581-5488 Politics Cobb Democratic Party 770-420-7133 Cobb Republican Party 770-272-0458 Cobb Libertarian Party 770-314-0799 Georgia Tea Party 888-487-1787 Public Schools Marietta City Schools 770-422-3500 Cobb County Schools 770-426-3300 Utilities

Cable and phone AT&T 800-331-0500 Comcast 800-266-2278 Charter Communications 877-860-1173 Power Acworth Power 770-917-8903 Cobb EMC 770-429-2100 Georgia Power 888-660-5890 GreyStone Power 770-942-6576 Marietta Power-Water Staff/File 770-794-5150 Woodstock resident Kirt Norman, left, and Marietta resi- Atlanta Gas Light dent James T. McCray keep an eye on the large monitors 877-427-4321 Austell Gas System at the Power Control Center at the city utility.

770-948-1841 Gas South cent, Lewis said.

As an example, he said, “We are required to keep the recent rate hikes were not 877-472-4932 Georgia Natural Gas about $21 million in reserves, as bad as originally planned.

770-850-6200 for obligations and contracts “We were looking at a Water City of Austell that we’ve signed. The $10 larger increase in electric million in surplus reserves is rates (to take effect in January 770-819-2302 City of Powder Springs on top of that $21 million,” he 2011), but we had such a 770-943-8000 said. “Any money that we good summer, we were able City of Smyrna make that increases our to offset that increase,” and 678-631-5338 reserves, that’s a benefit to rates did not go up as much, Cobb Water System 770-423-1000 the customers, because that he said.

Marietta Power-Water allows us flexibility in dealing 770-794-5150 with future price increases.”

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CITIES & COUNTY

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

3EE

COBB BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Stories by Katy Ruth Camp | krcamp@mdjonline.com

TIM LEE: CHAIRMAN

HELEN GOREHAM: DISTRICT 1

Tlee@cobbcounty.org | (770) 528-3300

Hgoreham@cobbcounty.org | (770) 528-3313

MARIETTA — 2010 was full of changes and challenges as Chairman Tim Lee took the reins of the county’s government and began to implement his vision to keep the county financially sound in a tough economy.

County leadership was officially shaken up in March when Chairman Sam Olens resigned from his county seat to run for the state’s attorney general.

In the July special election to fill the remaining two years of Olens’ term, Lee, who had been the northeast Cobb commissioner for eight years, bested political newcomer Larry Savage.

Since then, he has been the top dog through a number of important county issues, such as balancing a smaller budget with a drop in property values; drafting a project list for the proposed 2011 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax; dealing with the resignation of Public Safety Director Mickey Lloyd amid allegations he lied about his military service record; Tim Lee and renewing County Manager David Hankerson’s contract.

“It’s been exciting and busy. The difference between district commissioner and chairman is the commissioners deal more with constituent issues, while the chairman’s focus is more countywide with government policy issues and regional issues,” Lee said. “I feel I bring a good business discussion, a balance in terms of what needs to happen versus where folks would like to go and a good vision as to where we need to be and how to get there. I like the

fact that I am able to work with a whole set of new people on bigger, more regional and countywide issues.”

One of Lee’s goals for this year is the implementation of a countywide economic development initiative, which he announced in February during his annual State of the County address.

The chairman quoted economist Dr. Roger Tutterow, who predicted that the economy won’t get much better for years yet. To overcome that, Lee announced a countywide economic development initiative spearheaded by the Cobb Chamber, which he said will “leapfrog any other and put Cobb at the forefront of economic development.”

The initiative is to be wholly financed by businesses and aims to better market and lure companies to Cobb.

Lee predicted the project would take six to seven months to get fully up and running. It will bring together businesses, academia, and economic development experts, with input as needed from city and county staff and elected officials.

Ideally, he said, the Chamber initiative would lure new businesses to Cobb without ever going through the Chairman’s office.

Lee also said the county would evaluate its existing business incentive package for ways to make it stronger. That was a campaign promise made last summer when he sought the chairman’s seat, he said, and is “necessary See Lee, 7EE

JOANN BIRRELL: DISTRICT 3 Joann.birrell@cobbcounty.org | (770) 528-3317 NORTHEAST COBB — Northeast Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who took office Jan. 4, said her first few weeks as commissioner have been enjoyable and enlightening, and that she is already tackling the economic issues her district is facing.

“It’s been a great experience. I’m really enjoying it, learning a lot and just jumped in head-first,” Birrell said. “Even though it’s titled a part-time position, I knew there would be a lot of work involved. I really looked at it as a full-time job, because you have to be available and spend a lot of time on the job. But it makes a difference when you really enjoy what you’re doing and feel like you’re already making a difference in the community, working with people and getting things done.”

And what has being commissioner taught her so far?

“I was focused on being a consensus builder and listening to all sides and I’ve been very JoAnn Birrell conscious of that, not that it’s not in my nature because it is — at Waste Management, I was used to negotiating and listening to all sides — but this position has taught me how to be patient and thorough with that.”

Birrell won the four-year post after Tim Lee resigned from the seat in April to run for chairman. Birrell went up against architect Stephen Moon and business consultant Earl Stine in the summer’s Republican primary, ultimately besting Stine in a runoff.

“She’s honest, has a high level of integrity, is very

thorough and very open to other ideas and positions,” Chairman Tim Lee said of Birrell. Lee said he’s known her through community groups for about eight years.

“I’m excited to having her on board and looking forward to working with her.”

Birrell, a 15-year resident of the county, has served in numerous community organizations, including Keep Cobb Beautiful and the Neighborhood Safety Commission, among others.

In 2006, Birrell helped Cobb Police raise $10,200 to buy two new police dogs.

Birrell was employed as the community relations manager for Waste Management for 18 years. Since becoming commissioner, Birrell said she works parttime for Waste Management on a contractual basis.

Birrell is married to Dave, See Birrell, 7EE

WOODY THOMPSON: DISTRICT 4 Woody.thompson@cobbcounty.org | (770) 528-3312 ments, acting as the board’s COBB COUNTY — leader in decision-making Commissioner Woody and representing the board Thompson spent the last in the community. year in two seats – at the The last time a vice chair helm as interim chairman and as southeast Cobb’s dis- served as chairman was in 2002, when Joe Lee Thomptrict commissioner The job gave him a more son took over after Chairman Bill Byrne resigned to well rounded impression of the county and what it takes run for governor.

This year, to keep a county of Thompson steps Cobb’s size running into the third year efficiently and effecof his four-year tively, he said. term and said some “Serving as chairof the biggest man absolutely gave issues facing his me a new perspecdistrict are the tive. It was a good same in other disexperience, and I Woody tricts, as they stayed quite busy. It Thompson revolve around the was a lot harder for nation’s struggling same amount economy. money,” Thompson said, “I’ve been meeting with with a laugh. “But overall, it people about zoning and was a great experience. It development opportunities would be nice if each comcoming, but like anyone else missioner had that opportuin the economy, we’re dealnity, to serve as chairman.” ing with the job situation County Chairman Sam everywhere. We can help Olens appointed Thompson that to some degree with as the vice chair in January incentives and the enterprise 2010, which made Thompzone in my district where son the interim chairman we can give some incentives when Olens resigned in to come to our area by creMarch to run for attorney ating more jobs,” Thompson general.

A special election for the said.

One of the most talkedchairman’s seat was not about zoning issues over the held until July, so Thomppast year has been developson served as the board ment options for the Mablechairman for more than ton community in Thompthree months. son’s district. Thompson As interim commissioner, Thompson was in charge said the proposed formbased code was a positive of signing county docu-

proposal for his district, and that “something has to be done.”

“It’s something I’ve been looking for for a long time.

There are some areas in Mableton that have seen See Thompson, 7EE

for electing Goreham to another term. And WEST COBB — In 2010, west Cobb after her swearing-in ceremony in January, Commissioner Helen Goreham became the first woman to be elected to three consecu- Goreham said she looked forward to continuing to grow as a commissioner and as a tive terms on the Cobb Board of Commisperson. sioners. Her third term began in January.

“When I first started, I had no idea of But Goreham said she is not slowing the different issues I would be dealing down and still has goals to appropriately with as commissioner. I came from a zondevelop her district and bring businesses ing background, but here, there and job opportunities to Cobb in the is a range of topics you have to coming years. make decisions on, everything “As I always have, I think the from storm water to coyotes,” balance is in good planning, and Goreham said. “Today, I have a with our land use plan and with better feel of the different issues yearly updates, I think we address and I think I have grown as far those issues. By sticking to a good as the operations of the county, plan, we remove opportunity for my knowledge of the issues, and inappropriate development and misinformation, and that allows us to Helen Goreham my approach to dealing with individuals on the issues. And stay consistent and fair,” Goreham every day brings with it a new set of said. issues.”

“I want to ensure that the housing starts Goreham was born and raised thousands that we have in partially-started subdiviof miles away in Long Island, N.Y. She sions and foreclosure properties come in and her husband, Len, have two adult chilwith the same quality that was originally dren — a son and a daughter. Goreham and zoned, and that we maintain the quality of housing units and as much of their value as Len have lived in the county for 23 years, after spending two years in San Diego as possible,” Goreham said, of her 2011 newlyweds. goals. “I would also like to assist the rest Goreham, who trained as a physical of the board in encouraging businesses to locate to Cobb County and also assist local therapist, holds an undergraduate degree from Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, businesses as much as we possibly can.

N.Y., and a master’s degree in health care Those two issues are key to my district.”

During his state of the county address in administration from National University in January, Chairman Tim Lee thanked voters San Diego.

BOB OTT: DISTRICT 2 Bob.ott@cobbcounty.org | (770) 528-3316 SOUTHEAST COBB — As he enters his third year as commissioner, Bob Ott said his district will likely be the first to spark redevelopment when the economy returns to some form of normalcy, and when it does, he’ll be ready.

“I am encouraged that in last day or so, three major projects that have been stalled are going to get started back up – they’re being bought out of foreclosure and getting started again,” Ott said in February.

“I think the encouraging news is we’re Bob Ott seeing some signs of redevelopment recently, with the senior living center that was approved in east Cobb, two subdivisions that are starting back up, the three I talked about in the Cumberland area starting up. So there are positives, and that brings jobs. But we want to make sure we keep the environment right to encourage that to continue.”

And when redevelopment gets jump-started again, the county will be armed with two master plans in his area — one for the Powers Ferry Road corridor and another for the Johnson Ferry Road corridor — that will outline the future of his district.

“I think it’s pretty wellknown that any recovery would start in District 2, so

that’s why we did those two plans and the city of Smyrna has also approached us about doing a similar internal study on the 41 corridor,” Ott said.

As a pilot for Delta Air Lines, Ott has been across the world and back. He is also a senior instructor and evaluator for the Atlantabased airline. He is also president and owner of DBO Software, which he said mainly assists with computer investigations.

Some of Ott’s previous jobs include an instructor and evaluator in the U.S. Air Force for 8 ½ years, where he also flew the FB-111, and as a middle-grades science teacher in New Jersey for two years. Ott said he still holds his K-12 certification as a math and science teacher.

The grassroots politician said his experience as an employee in the private sector, both past and present, has helped him to connect with his residents, but has also kept him grounded.

“I still have a regular job, and I’ve always said it’s really important to have that balance. I have a greater appreciation for all the aspects involved in governing. But as a person I’m still the same and would attribute that to a regular job. I still have to take my

kids to school, sit in traffic and have a boss,” Ott said.

Ott earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania in 1979 and a master’s degree in systems management from the University of Southern California in 1990. He and his wife, Judy, have two children, daughter Katie, 12, and son Christopher, 10.

The family lives in east Cobb, and Ott and his wife will have been married 17 years in April. They are members of Mount Bethel United Methodist Church.

Ott’s district is an industrial hub, as it is the home to major corporations such as Home Depot, IBM and US Sprint. It also includes the nationally-ranked convention center, Cobb-Galleria Centre.

Other than encouraging redevelopment, Ott said he wants to continue with what he started in February’s code amendments, when he helped staff to simplify zoning stipulations so they are easier for residents to understand and follow.

“I would like all zoning stipulations to be straightforward, so there’s no misinterpretation. I think that goes along with my number-one thing, which is transparency. The county should always strive to be as transparent as possible.

Whatever we say we’re doing, we need to be doing it, so there are no surprises,” Ott said.

AUSTELL the friendly city, is growing with Cobb.

Joseph L. Jerkins, Mayor Council Members: Kirsten Anderson, Trudie Causey, Randy Green, Virginia Reagan, Martin Standard, Scott Thomas

www.austell.org • 770-944-4300 2716 Broad Street, Austell, Georgia 30106

CITIES & COUNTY

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MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Village a model in safety education

By Katy Ruth Camp krcamp@mdjonline.com

MARIETTA — In the year-plus since the Cobb County Safety Village opened, county officials say it has proven to be an efficient, interactive and positive model for safety education.

“It’s an absolutely wonderful facility and benefit to the community,” Cobb Chairman Tim Lee said.

“We’re so grateful it’s here in Cobb County and that (County Manager) David Hankerson stuck with the vision he had for so many years and worked so hard to make that vision a reality.

We’re able to teach children more holistically and completely in terms of safety, fire and traffic. It’s second to none, and I hope the next generation, as they age, will have a safer environment as a result of the education they received at the safety village.”

Hankerson said the idea for a safety village came shortly after he was appointed as county manager in 1993, when he began looking to make the county’s budget more efficient.

At the time, Cobb firefighters were traveling to each of the elementary schools in the county to present safety lessons. The crews took along a mobile unit that resembled a home and allowed the firefighters to replicate safety lessons, such as “stop, drop and roll.” While the lessons were worthwhile, not to mention mandated by the state, it was costing the county a lot of overtime pay for firefighters, and only a few students could participate at a time, said Capt.

Scott Dodson, who is the coordinator of the new Safety Village.

Above: Cobb County firefighter Joel Earwood explains to fourth-graders from the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics how to crawl to the door and feel to see if it is hot before opening before the smoke detector goes off in Sparky's Bedroom at the Cobb County Safety Village. Left: Cobb County firefighter Matt Ereddia ensures that fourth-grader Aarushi Tandon, 9, safely makes her way down a fire ladder located in the window of Sparky's Bedroom.

Staff/Laura Moon

That’s when a county employee who hails from St. Louis talked to Hankerson about that city’s safety village, and Hankerson began researching other cities with similar offerings. It seemed like a good idea, but stayed on the back burner while

other issues took precedence.

But by 2004, Hankerson said, problems with the old program began to increase.

So he went to Canada, which has several safety villages, to check them out for himself.

Voters to decide on SPLOST in March Five cities will have municipal elections this fall

By Jon Gillooly jgillooly@mdjonline.com

MARIETTA — Residents in Cobb will have just one or two days at the ballot box this year. Countywide, a special referendum will be conducted March 15 on the 2011 SPLOST. In November, five cities will have municipal elections.

Four of those cities — Austell, Kennesaw, Smyrna and Powder Springs — will have mayoral races on the ballot in November.

In the SPLOST referendum, voters countywide will decide in a special election whether to pay the 1 percent sales tax for four years, to help the county finance parks and road improvements. If voters agree, the 2011 special purpose local option sales tax is expected to generate $492 million over the four years.

Collections would begin Jan. 1, 2012 — just as collections of the current SPLOST expire on Dec. 31, 2011.

Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler said early voting opens at her office on Feb. 21 and continues through March 11. Any registered voter may cast a ballot during those weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The office is at 736 Whitlock Ave. in Marietta.

Another option is to vote by mail. Applications for a vote by mail ballot are available at www.CobbElections.org and mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. March 15.

In the week before the special election, more locations will be open for county voters to cast their ballots. Advance voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, March 7 through Friday, March 11 at the locations listed below. n East Cobb Government Service Center, 4400 Lower Roswell Rd., Marietta, 300684233. n South Cobb Community Center, 620 Lions Club Drive, Mableton, 30126-2438.

Staff/file

Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration Director Janine Eveler said early voting opens at her office on Feb. 21 and continues through March 11. n Northstar Church, 3413 Blue Springs Road NW, Kennesaw, 30144-1082. n Boots Ward Recreation Center, Lost Mountain Park, 4845 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs 30127-4486.

Cobb Elections Main Office, 736 Whitlock Ave., (West Park Government Center) Marietta, 30064-4663 For the November municipal elections, candidate qualifying will be during the week of Aug. 29, Eveler said.

The city of Acworth conducts its own election. Seats held by Post 1 Alderman Albert “Butch” Price; Post 2 Alderman Doug Allen; and Post 3 Bob Weatherford are up for election this year.

Austell also conducts its own election, and longtime Mayor Joe Jerkins will seek another term this year. Three council seats are up for election. They are the Ward 2 post now held by Scott Thomas; Ward 4 seat held by Virginia Reagan; and the atlarge seat held by Randy Green.

Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews will seek a new term this year. His city likewise handles its own municipal elections. Two council seats, those held by Cris Eaton Welsh and Tim Killingsworth are up for election.

In Powder Springs, which contracts the county to conduct its election, Mayor Pat Vaughn is up for re-election,

and the council seats held by Rosalyn Neal (Post 1) and Tom Bevirt (Post 2) will be up for election.

Smyrna also contracts with the county to conduct its election. Citizens there will elect a mayor and all seven council seats. Longtime incumbent Max Bacon will seek reelection, though two other candidates — Alex Backry, a frequent critic of Bacon, and Donna Woodham, who opposes the city’s TAD-backed Belmont Hills redevelopment — are expected to run.

Elections director Eveler said the best thing about her job is working with the fantastic people who conduct elections here in Cobb and throughout the state.

“Those who came before me have said it is a passion that gets in your blood,” she said. “No one would work as hard as we do and put in the crazy hours we do unless they’re really hooked. We believe in the importance of our task — to provide fair and accurate elections that are convenient and accessible to all voters.”

Eveler advises voters to update their registration if they move, even if they are just moving within the county.

Voters can check their registration status, polling location, and get early voting information online at www.sos. georgia.gov/MVP.

And this time, the seed of the idea began to take root.

Dodson said that soon after the trip, the county formed steering committees to formulate what the public and county wanted to see at a safety village. In mid2007, the Board of Commis-

sioners allocated $5.2 million from the county’s fire fund to build the main teaching facility. The project — the first of its kind in Georgia and one of only two in the Southeast — broke ground in February 2008, and was officially open for business on Aug. 1, 2009.

Since then, 30,000 second- and fourth-grade students have been taught at the village, and ideas and education programs continue to grow and evolve, Dodson said.

“When our instructors were going out, we had 28 instructors every day in the schools and it was very labor-intensive and expensive salary-wise. Since we have brought students here, we’ve been able to reduce staff and reduce overtime costs by 36 percent. It’s done what it was built to do,” Dodson said.

The campus is made up of a main education facility with mini replicas of buildings such as the Strand Theatre and the new Superior courthouse, a look-alike Marietta Square, mini roads with traffic signals, sidewalks and pedestrian crossings and “Sparky’s House,” a home that generates fake smoke and teaches kids how to feel walls for fire, climb out of windows down a ladder, and move through smoke.

In the transportation areas, kids can ride bicycles and learn to stop at red lights and stop signs. There are electric go-carts they can drive on the roads. A school bus, donated by the Cobb County School District, teaches kids how and where to stop when a bus does.

The county will soon have railroad crossings with lights and arms that go up and down, and the City of Kennesaw has donated

funds for a train depot to teaches train safety. There are three signaled intersections, with a pedestrian crossing.

Dodson said the village can accommodate multiple students groups at the same time, with up to eight classes every day. Four full-time firefighters are assigned at the village, along with two full-time police officers.

Thirty-six other firefighters are trained to teach there.

The village still has dozens of spaces for sponsors to build more specialty buildings. Cobb EMC, for example, is nearing completion of its building, which will focus on electrical safety.

Sponsorships are also available for the fleet of 35 electric cars, and street namings and such. Proceeds from sponsorships go toward construction in the village.

“The facility can also be used as a multi-purpose facility, and there are more and more benefits to the public far beyond what we ever envisioned,” Hankerson said. “We’re tracking the numbers and facts by quarter and year so we can see the trends that are developing, and we’re looking at ways we could double or triple the number of kids we serve by working out logistics. We worked with the school systems to develop a good program, and we haven’t had one complaint from the school system or anyone else.”

The main educational building at the village is named in honor of Hankerson.

“All of the reviews and comments we’ve received have been overwhelmingly positive,” he said. “It’s been great.”

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

CITIES & COUNTY

5EE

Tumlin touts a mighty Marietta Accomplishments include opportunity zones, balanced budget, transparency

By Jon Gillooly jgillooly@mdjonline.com

MARIETTA — Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin delivered an upbeat State of the City address to a crowd of about 140 people during the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Marietta Area Council Meeting in January at the Mansour Center.

Even Tumlin’s sometime rival on the City Council, Philip Goldstein, seemed pleased with the talk.

“It was a good, positive speech,” Goldstein said.

“The thrust of it was positive, very pro-city, very upbeat, which it should be.

Very reflective of how things are in the city.”

Crediting Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn with the initiative, Tumlin spoke of how the city was the first in the state to restrict businesses that dispense addictive painkillers.

“The states around us are tightening up on these people that like to dispense Oxycontin like they dispense cough drops, and we just don’t want those folks in our community,” Tumlin said.

Tumlin said Marietta was also the first in Cobb County to create opportunity zones, in which the city encourages businesses to locate or expand in parts of the city through the use of state tax credits. He credited Economic Development Manager Beth Sessoms with that.

“We were the first in the state that created three,” Tumlin said, noting that the computer-oriented firm TASQ brought 350 jobs to the city when it located in an opportunity zone along Canton Road.

Regarding business permits, Tumlin said that for a three-year period business licenses were going down

from a high of 9,000, but this last year they increased from 7,300 to 8,000.

Tumlin said in the last four years the city’s general fund budget has dropped from $52 million to $48 million due to the recession. But even with a decrease in revenues, the city has not had to cut its services, he said.

“Right now our income is flat and one of the reasons is we’re not solely dependent on property tax,” he said. “It’s around 20 percent of our total revenue. We have the lowest tax rate of any county or city in the metro area, and we’re very, very proud of that, and we’ve kept it. But even though our property values have fallen, it’s not devastating to our budget.”

A big reason for the city’s low tax rate is that the cityowned utility, Marietta Power and Water, contributes millions of dollars to the city’s general fund each year. In fiscal 2011, the transfer will total $11.5 million.

In the last 10 years, Tumlin said the city has spent more than $97 million from SPLOST proceeds and state stimulus money to improve the city.

“You see the results in our trails, more sidewalks, brick sidewalks and brick crosswalks,” he said.

The city has concentrated on its four main gateways — Roswell and Franklin roads, and Fairground and Powder Springs streets — to make them more attractive and safer with medians and curb cuts.

Preliminary construction work is underway for a roundabout at the corner of Fairground and Allgood Road.

“I think you’re going to see the traffic flow in that area much better,” he said.

As one of 49 cities in

Georgia that belong to the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, Marietta Power has the most competitive rates in the county, Tumlin said. And with coal plants under fire, the city has invested in cleaner, more efficient nuclear energy as a source of electricity for residents, he said.

Tumlin also spoke at length on the city’s plans for the $25 million parks bond voters approved in November 2009.

Long neglected by the city, the 10.6-acre Hickory Hills Park on Chestnut Hill Road off Powder Springs Street is set to reopen in November after a $1.75 million facelift.

“That is one that is going to be a showcase for the city,” the mayor said.

Tumlin described the park as, “The one that’s near and dear to my heart because I ride by it every day. We traded with the Marietta Board of Education for Hickory Hills Park, that was owned by the Board of Education, and it’s getting ready to come out of the ground.”

The city’s designs for the park include two children’s soccer fields, an elevated hill for parents to monitor their children, a playground area with fencing and shaded seating areas for parents, a restroom building, a large pavilion available for rent, two tennis courts, a walking trail and picnic tables, as well as a parking lot that could hold 139 vehicles.

In 2006, Marietta’s school board swapped the park for the city’s old fire station on Polk and Winn streets.

Although the school system has long since renovated the firehouse as the headquarters of the school district’s foundation, little has been done

‘Marietta’s committed to offer you the best in service.

We want to protect you …

We’re going to enhance our history and promote our tourism, but we’re also looking forward to the future.’

— Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin

Staff/file

with the park, although not for lack of trying.

In 2007, then-Mayor Bill Dunaway proposed renaming the park after Tumlin’s late parents, Virginia and Steve Tumlin Sr., but was blocked by council members Philip Goldstein and Annette Lewis. Dunaway never could garner the four votes needed to rename Hickory Hills.

And in 2008, during a council retreat and prior to the parks bond being approved, City Manager Bill Bruton said the city had about $2 million to spend on park renovations, suggesting the money be used for Hickory Hills.

But Goldstein complained that the blighted Franklin Road area he represents on the east side of town was being ignored. Lewis also argued against the renovations, citing Hickory Hills Elementary School’s dwin-

dling enrollment.

Goldstein’s argument for Franklin Road getting nothing is no longer valid. In February 2010, the city spent $2.7 million to buy the 13acre Preston Chase apartments on Franklin Road near Delk Road from Regions Bank, and spent another $410,643 with Environmental Holdings Group, LLC of Buford to demolish the complex, turning the area into parkland.

Tumlin also touted his push for greater transparency by moving all council meetings from the cramped fourthfloor conference room of City Hall to the spacious council chamber, as well as uploading video of all meetings on the city’s website for public viewing.

Additionally in 2010, Tumlin said he was glad leaders sided with him on a push

to reduce the time frame for demolition permits from three years to 18 months.

“That was something I pushed, and I was greatly rewarded,” he said. “Two days after I did it, we had a building demolished on the Square.”

Tumlin said he was pleased with efforts of downtown shopkeepers, who have formed an eight-member nonprofit board called The Branding Project, to brainstorm ways to attract visitors to downtown Marietta.

“Marietta’s committed to offer you the best in service,” Tumlin said. “We want to protect you … We’re going to enhance our history and promote our tourism, but we’re also looking forward to the future. Marietta wants to stay a town that offers a small-town atmosphere, but with big-town opportunity.”

CITIES & COUNTY

6EE

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Powder Springs Mayor Pat Vaughn speaks to residents during the monthly Breakfast with the Mayor at Bailey’s Diner on Jan. 18. Vaughn touted the 10-year Lewis Road project, which created a new entranceway to the city by connecting CH James Parkway to Lewis Road to Marietta Street, the city’s main street.

Mayor Jerkins: Austell is wading through changes mhoward@mdjonline.com

Staff/Anthony Stalcup

Gateway to Powder Springs Mayor boasts better access to downtown area

By Kathryn Malone kmalone@mdjonline.com

POWDER SPRINGS — Mayor Pat Vaughn said she will remember one of the city’s greatest accomplishments in 2010 as the completion and opening of the 10year Lewis Road project.

The $14 million project, which was funded by SPLOST and federal transportation dollars, created a new entranceway to the city by connecting CH James Parkway to Lewis Road to Marietta Street, the city’s main street. That entranceway opened in December, and helped the city solve the problem of traffic stopping at the train tracks by creating an overpass over the tracks.

“It offers a new entrance way into our downtown area,” Vaughn said. “Now people can come into the city without being held up by train.

They have an easier access to our downtown area.”

Another great accomplishment in 2010, Vaughn said was the pedestrian bridge

which is entirely covered by the city, is about $51 per week, he said. The family plan, which the city pays 75 AUSTELL — Mayor percent of, costs about $400 Joe Jerkins recently per week. Austell has addressed a range of issues already changed providers affecting his city, which has three times. suffered a significant drop “It’s gotten real expenin population and tax revsive for us. We’re going to enue since the devastating have to make some different flood of 2009. arrangements,” Jerkins said.

The flood damaged He said he expects about 700 homes. officials to tackle It’s estimated that the issue in about only half of their two months. occupants have The cost of moved back into health care is anoththem. The city plans er issue that to purchase 23 of Austell’s longtime the homes at a cost mayor will have to of $2.1 million, of grapple with as he which the city pays Joe Jerkins begins the last year 15 percent. The of his four-year term.

Georgia Emergency ManThe mayor said that agement Agency and FederAustell residents can expect al Emergency Management to see an increase in their Agency would pay the stormwater management remainder. Eight homes fees. He said the fee will have already been purrise from $1 to $3 per chased, Jerkins said in his month. And it’s likely to state of the city speech this gradually increase over the year. An additional 61 next few years to $5 per homes could be eligible for month. purchase within the next “We’ve been underfundfive years, he said. The city ed,” Jerkins said. “It’s costwould be reimbursed for 75 ing us more than we’ve been percent of the cost. charging. Other (cities) have The resulting decline in been charging a lot more.” property values has led to a However, a gas bill 33.3 percent drop in properdonation program, which ty tax revenue, the mayor allows customers to donate reported. Austell officials up to $10 to help others, expect to collect a little raised more than $20,000 more than $400,000 this year. The city has a $12 mil- in 2010, the mayor reported. Matching funds by lion budget.

Austell Natural Gas are Jerkins said the value of his own home — which was being donated to Sweetwater Valley Community not damaged by flooding – was cut by about 15 percent. Action Mission Program Inc. in Austell.

The city of Austell may To help pay for needed be forced to change its infrastructure improvement health insurance for its 100 projects in the city, Jerkins employees, as rates have said he is supporting the increased over the past few county’s proposed 2011 years, Jerkins said.

SPLOST. He said the city The cost increased by 16 percent this year, 14 percent expects to receive $1 million per year from the one-perin 2010, and 8 percent the cent special sales tax over previous year, Jerkins said. the four years of collections.

The cost for an individual,

By Marcus E. Howard

over the intersection of Old Lost Mountain Road and Richard Sailors Parkway on the Silver Comet Trail. Construction on the $547,000 bridge began in fall 2010 and it was open by the end of the year. Funded fully by SPLOST, Vaughn said the bridge provides a safer crossing at Old Lost Mountain Road for pedestrians and bicyclists.

In her State of the City address on Jan. 18, Vaughn said Powder Springs, a city of 15,958 people, enjoyed relative success in 2010, despite the economy.

The city cut its fiscal year 2011 budget by $688,000 amid a decrease in property tax revenues, Vaughn said.

As a result, officials had to lay off five full-time and nine part-time employees, she said. The city also cut back on landscaping efforts and delayed resurfacing some city streets. For next year’s budget, which begins Oct. 1, Vaughn said the city anticipates further cuts because of the continued decline in prop-

erty values. The general fund budget for FY11 is $7.02 million, while the budget in FY10 was $7.7 million.

Vaughn boasted that 22 single-family home building permits were issued in 2010, while only three were issued in all of 2009. The city saw a net gain of 92 additional businesses in 2010, compared with a net loss of four businesses in 2009. But occupational taxes collected in 2010 fell by $44,000, Vaughn said, which suggests that local businesses are still struggling.

“Despite the economic downturn,” Vaughn said, “we have still been able to keep our head above water, keep our reserves, keep it to a minimum the number of employees that unfortunately we had to let go, and hopefully some day when the economy turns back around, we’ll be able to have those employees back again.”

Powder Springs hired a new city manager in 2010, Rick Eckert, who started work in May. Two new City Council members were sworn in January 2010, Cheryl

Sarvis and Nancy Hudson.

Vaughn said her city and its employees are still working to recover from the devastating flood of 2009. Working with Cobb County, the city obtained hazard mitigation funding to bulldoze 16 homes in the floodplain. The properties cost about $2.4 million to purchase, with 85 percent of the funding coming from federal and state funds.

In her State of the City speech, Vaughn also highlighted several SPLOST projects like Lewis Road and the pedestrian bridge and touted that the city had nearly completed its Community Enhancement Master Plan.

“Even though it has been a very slow year economically, we have still been able to bring to fruition some of our projects that had been on the drawing board since we adopted the Community Enhancement Master Plan in 1996,” Vaughn said. “And I’m so proud that I have been able to be here long enough to see all of these projects come to fruition.”

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CITIES & COUNTY

7EE

Mayor Bacon: Smyrna tops in service

By Kathryn Malone kmalone@mdjonline.com

SMYRNA — Although 2010 was a difficult economic year for most city governments, Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon said he is proud that amid cuts, the city is still able to provide its residents with key city services.

“I still feel that Smyrna provides the best services to our citizens as any community in Cobb County or the state of Georgia,” Bacon said.

Although the city’s general fund budget has dropped 14 percent in the last two years, Bacon insists that the city is still financially strong.

“We are fiscally sound because we’re pretty conservative in a lot of things,” Bacon said.

Smyrna’s fiscal year budget for 2011, which began Oct. 1, 2010, is $65.2 million. Its FY10 budget was $65.6 million.

The city has made various cuts, spokeswoman Jennifer

Bennett said, including consolidating the parks facility maintenance with the public works department; reorganizing the parks administrative staffing; reducing health insurance for city employees; and eliminating salary increases for employees. Sanitation and recycling crews were also reduced by one crew each, but the city was able to do so by streamling those routes, she said.

Although the city has lost 11 full-time and seven parttime positions in the last year, Bennett said that many of those positions were lost through retirement or resulting from the reorganization of city departments.

“We had some attrition and some people were moved over,” Bennett said. “So we didn’t just come right out and lay off people. We worked on efficiency.”

Smyrna has not cut its public safety personnel, Bennett said.

According to the latest Census Bureau data, Smyrna

Staff/file

Despite cuts, Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon said, ‘I still feel that Smyrna provides the best services to our citizens as any community in Cobb County or the state of Georgia.’ has 50,712 residents in its 15 square miles. The median age is 33 and the median household income $55,468.

Housing starts in Smyrna were up this year over 2009 by 15 percent. In 2010, 54 housing permits were issued in the city, while in 2009, 45 permits were issued.

Bacon said he was pleased to finally see some new homes being built in Smyrna.

“In 2010 we saw a little bit, not much, of new subdivisions going up,” he said.

“And those that were going up they were very wellplanned developments.

Before they were $600,000

homes. Now they’re more like $300,000 homes, but they’re still good quality homes to our community.”

The city has seen many of its redevelopment efforts stalled by the recession in recent years, but Bacon said he was hopeful in 2011.

Although Jonquil Plaza went into foreclosure in 2010, Bacon said he expects that to help the redevelopment of the plaza.

“Probably 2011 is going to be a very positive year for us in that particular shopping center,” Bacon said. “I think you’re going to see development on it because of the foreclosure, not the magnitude of what they said they were going to do. That was sort of a negative that happened for us, but it will turn into a positive.”

In December 2010, the city bought the 48-acre Hickory Lake Apartments, on Old Concord Road near Windy Hill, for $9 million and plans to demolish it, which will cost about $4 million.

The city has high hopes that the land will help spark redevelopment in north Smyrna, especially with the uptick in traffic that is expected when the Windy Hill connector is completed in May. “In the very near future you’re going to see that that was a very wise to purchase that property,” Bacon said.

The new 52-acre North Cooper Lake Park and city of Smyrna Community Garden was opened in September.

The park, at 4201 North Cooper Lake Road off Concord Road, contains a paved walking trail, an off-road bike trail and meadow. However, the park’s community garden, which has plots for lease to Smyrna residents, has created the most excitement.

Residents have already begun growing lettuce, spinach, collards and tomatoes, among other vegetables, in the garden plots.

Bennett said plots are still available for rent and the first phase of the project has been “enormously successful.”

Acworth sees job creation, growth in tough times

By Marcus E. Howard mhoward@mdjonline.com

ACWORTH — Acworth is a city looking forward to its future.

In a January speech, Mayor Tommy Allegood reported a 12 percent increase in job growth since late 2009.

Allegood credited the city’s new opportunity zone program in downtown Acworth with creating the trend by providing incentives for business owners. In 2010, 50 new businesses invested in Acworth, the mayor said.

While Cobb County’s unemployment rate has hovered around 10 percent for

Kennesaw Continued from Page 2EE Sixteen new businesses opened in Kennesaw last year, including an insurance company, fitness center, tanning salon and pizza restaurant.

The application and issuance of business licenses in the city

Lee Continued from Page 3EE for us to succeed. The consensus between the government and business community was that economic development needed to be stepped up, and for us to come to a consensus.”

As for the kind of impact he hopes this initiative will have a year from now, Lee said: “I hope we will have recognition of our program at the state, national and international levels as one of the best economic development programs offered, and to have growth and impact in

Birrell Continued from Page 3EE and has a stepson and stepdaughter she said she considers her own. Birrell grew up in a small town in eastern North Carolina near the coast called Goldsboro. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in political science and attended paralegal school in Atlanta.

After working in the

Thompson Continued from Page 3EE good development — John Weiland has built two mixeduse developments, one at Discovery Boulevard and another at Pebblebrook Road — and some of these homes are in excess of a million dollars.

But in the downtown area, it’s

several months, Allegood highlighted 45 new jobs brought by Main Street Family Physicians.

Tommy The medical Allegood practice opened in an old Piggly Wiggly after moving from Kennesaw, where it was previously called Kennesaw Family Physicians.

By the end of year, the physicians practice is expected to bring 10 to 15 more jobs to downtown. Marietta Imaging Center has also opened a loca-

tion in Acworth.

“That doesn’t happen by accident,” Allegood said.

The city’s opportunity zone includes portions of Main Street, North Main Street and Cherokee Street. Businesses — including existing ones — are eligible to receive a $3,500-per-employee tax credit from the state when two or more jobs are created.

Among several other businesses opening in Acworth is an NTB auto parts store this spring and a RaceTrac gas station in the fall, Allegood said.

“We offer our citizens great services and we don’t raise taxes,” the mayor said.

“We do a great job for our

have remained steady, Mathews said.

The city of Kennesaw annexed roughly 50 acres of land in 2010, the mayor reported, thanks to the expansion of Beaumont Products on Big Shanty Drive, which has created 80 new jobs; the planned relocation of Kennesaw Charter School into a 100,000-square-foot facility

on Cobb Parkway; and a Kennesaw State University student housing project at Shiloh and Frey roads, which construction will begin on this spring.

Mathews touted a 14 percent decrease in the city’s crime rate in 2010, the lowest since 2002. Kennesaw is the only city in Cobb in which no homicide has occurred in the past two years, he said.

all four of the areas I discussed — job creation, business expansion, business retention and an expansion of tourism.”

Lee lives in northeast Cobb with his wife of 21 years, Annette, and they have three children and five grandchildren between them. Cobb County has been Lee’s home for 23 years.

Before holding elective office, Lee was president of the Northeast Cobb Homeowners Group for two years.

He has also been on the board of the Cobb County Civic Coalition, and was director of the East Cobb Civic Association for a time.

He also served a decade as

president of his neighborhood homeowner’s association.

Lee has also served on the board of MUST Ministries, where his wife works, and is past chairman and current board member of the Cobb Symphony Orchestra.

Currently, Lee serves on the board of the North Georgia State Fair.He also serves the Association of County Commissioners’ of Georgia as their appointment to the Advisory Board of the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy. He also belongs to the Marietta Kiwanis Club and Marietta First United Methodist Church.

North Carolina attorney general’s office for eight years, she sought work in the sales and marketing field. A job in the waste industry brought her to the Atlanta area in the late 1980s.

Birrell and her family are members of the Catholic Church of St. Ann in east Cobb. She also served on Parish Council at St. Joseph’s in Marietta and volunteered at Kennestone Hospital.

Birrell said the biggest issue facing her district today

is the lack of jobs.

“There are some empty retail strip centers in my district, but it could be worse.

That’s why I started Keep it in Cobb, to try to keep businesses alive.” Birrell said, referring to a business development initiative she announced during her campaign and launched in January. That initiative brings together local business owners to develop strategies and recommendations to the board to bring — and keep — businesses in Cobb.

quite old and depressed and needs a kick-start. That’s why I pushed to get library relocated from the East-West Connector to where it is now near the Arts Center and Mable House Amphitheatre. The form-based code is at the cornerstone of what we want to do there,” Thompson said.

Thompson grew up in East Point but moved to Cobb as a child in 1956. He served as

District 4 commissioner from 1997 to 2004, before being elected once again in 2008.

Thompson first served on the Board of Commissioners as a Republican, but now sits on the board as a Democrat as he said he felt he could reach more of his constituents with the switch.

Thompson is a licensed real estate broker and owns Thompson Realty Advisors, LLC.

community.”

He praised Community Development Director Christine Dobbs for working with builders, developers and banks to redevelop foreclosed subdivisions. The city issued 30 housing permits and closed 45 new homes in 2010, said Allegood.

The city also completed several SPLOST projects in 2010, including traffic improvements to Nance Road at Main Street, and Old McEver at Main Street.

Forty new parking spaces were created and streetscape improvements on Senator Russell Avenue are in progress, Allegood reported.

He said it was important for the proposed 2011 SPLOST to be approved by voters in March in order to fund three new projects: a new police station for a growing department, traffic reconfiguration on Mars Hill Road at Cobb Parkway and silent railroad crossings.

The mayor also spoke of plans to improve 100 acres downtown. He said the city plans to bulldoze the Moon Street public housing to redevelop the land and widen School Street.

Using Section 8 vouchers, residents have already been moved out of Carruth Street public housing, built in 1945,

to make way for Walton Properties to construct Legacy Village. Construction should begin within months, Allegood said.

The mayor also spoke excitedly about the new North Cobb Ninth Grade Academy, which will draw students from Awtrey and Barber middle schools. It is expected to be completed in the fall.

In his State of the City speech, the mayor stressed the importance of maintaining a good quality of life in the city. He briefly reported that violent crime was down by 90 percent and that property crimes were down by 22 percent.

8EE

GROWTH & REVITALIZATION

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

REAL ESTATE

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MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

By Donna Espy despy@mdjonline.com

There’s a new name in the Cobb real estate market, but the face behind the name is very familiar.

Sotheby’s International Realty has come to Cobb, and longtime Realtor Jim Glover is the agent representing them in the Marietta and west Cobb areas.

Residents may be familiar with the Sotheby’s name thanks to their famous 200year-old New York auction house. But it was more than the name that lured Glover away from Harry Norman Realtors, where he had been an agent in its Marietta office for nine years, and reigned as the No. 1 transaction agent from 2005 to 2008.

“Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s is a family business, owned by Jenny Pruitt and her son-in-law David Boehmig,” Glover said. “I liked it because of the personal service it provides, the international outreach and the state-of-the-art marketing.

These were all big factors in changing jobs. I was not unhappy where I was.”

While he was the No. 1 sales agent each of his nine years at Harry Norman, he admits his new position has rekindled the real estate flame.

“There are professionals at Sotheby’s who are challenging me to increase my business,” said Glover, whose office is in Buckhead on Northside Parkway.

Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty was formed by Jenny Pruitt after selling her company to investor Warren Buffett, Glover said. Pruitt had led her own firm in the Atlanta area since 1988, growing it to more than $1.5 billion in annual sales and 450 agents. After fulfilling her no-compete clause, Pruitt ventured back into the real estate market with the Sotheby’s name, getting the exclusive affiliation for the Atlanta region.

The Sotheby’s realty network has more than 25,700 properties listed in the United States, with 40 percent asking above $1 million and five

REKINDLING THE FLAME Staff/Anthony Stalcup

Above: Jim Glover shows one of the Marietta homes listed by Sotheby’s. Below: Glover shows the interior features of the home. A veteran real estate agent, Glover is representing Sotheby’s in Marietta and the west Cobb area.

Top-selling agent Glover views switch to Sotheby’s as new career challenge percent asking above $5 million. Internationally, the company represents more than 3,800 properties in countries like Germany, Slovakia, Vietnam, Greece, Cyprus and Italy.

In May 2009, it opened offices in Atanta, with 20 agents serving the metro area. That year, Atlanta Fine

Homes Sotheby’s International Realty had the most expensive single-family home sale ever recorded ($16,500,000) and the most expensive condo in recent history (the penthouse at The Mansion on Peachtree sold for $9,500,000). Last year, the firm sold the most expensive home in Atlanta, listed

at $13,900,000.

While Cobb may not boast those home prices, Glover said he is happy to be working in “my sphere of influence.” A Cobb resident, Glover is the great-greatgreat-grandson of Marietta’s first mayor – John Heyward Glover, Jr. He knows about Cobb, its history and the his-

torical homes that still dot the county.

“I live in an old house, and about 25 percent of my business is in historical properties,” said Glover, who moved his 1855 house from Marietta to west Cobb near Kennesaw Mountain in 1989.

“I know the old houses and the old house language that

COVER

goes with it,” he said, adding he lists homes at any price range.

Carol Moson, president of the Cobb Association of Realtors and an agent for Re/Max Greater Atlanta Realtors, said she is glad to see Sotheby’s enter the Cobb market.

“It’s good for everyone, and they especially deal with high-end homes,” Moson said. “Hopefully, they’ll get more of them sold.”

She added that the current housing market has seen a glut of inventory on the market due to foreclosures, but a change is coming.

“Cobb has the beginnings of stabilization of the market,” she said. “Inventory is down, so we just need to take baby steps and it will all be good.”

Glover worked for 20 years at his family-owned Glover Machine Works steel business in Marietta before going into real estate. He said it’s a natural fit for him because he enjoys meeting people and building relationships through business.

Although he sees a lot of foreclosure sales these days and a sluggish market, Glover said he wouldn’t choose any other occupation.

“There is nothing more enjoyable than helping firsttime homebuyers purchase their first home,” Glover said.

Glover, 54 and single, also spends time giving back to the Cobb community. He serves on the boards of the Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society, the Marietta Welcome Center, the Marietta Museum of History, and the Cobb Preservation Foundation, Inc. He is also a member of the Friends of the Cobb Symphony. In his spare time, he loves to cook – especially seafood dishes given to him by relatives living in Charleston, S.C. He is also writing his second book on the history of the Glover family, which he hopes to publish this spring.

What’s his take on the current housing market?

“I believe things are going to start coming around this spring,” Glover said. “It has been a long, bleak winter, but we’re already seeing some improvement over the fourth quarter of last year.”

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MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

3FF

A win-win deal

Quick sale of home near Marietta Country Club works out well for buyer and seller

By Marcus E. Howard mhoward@mdjonline.com

MARIETTA — It’s no secret that in the current real estate market, buyers have the upperhand over sellers. However, one homeowner bucked the trend in Cobb County when he purchased and then resold his house, all in about a year. And he even made money on the sale.

In early 2010, Charles Dawson first bought the new, three-story house in the Oak Grove subdivision, off Gordon Combs Road near the Marietta Country Club. But in less than a year, his girlfriend’s job transfer forced him to put the house back on the market.

Given all he’d heard about the abysmal housing market for sellers, Dawson was not looking forward to the task. Besides, he loved the house.

“My girlfriend is a professional track athlete — runs for Adidas — and was transferred to train in Georgia and thought she was going to be there for a few years,” said Dawson, 36, an engineer. “After one year, she ended up getting transferred to another camp in North Carolina.”

So Dawson called up Gail Holman, the same Re/Max Around Atlanta agent who initially helped him purchase it. They listed the house, got a contract, and closed the sale on Jan. 28.

“To sell that quickly and for a profit in this market is unbelievable,” Holman said.

The primary keys to the sale were the quality of the home and its subdivision, and a good asking price, she said. Dawson had bought the home, which was a foreclosure, for $495,000. He sold it for $575,000.

For the new homeowners, Dr. Michael and Christin Lott, the availability of the house could not have come at a better time.

The couple, along with their three boys and one girl (ages 1 to 7), had been renting a house in Smyrna for nearly two years while looking for a new home to move their growing family into.

“We were looking for a home that would accommodate all of us,

Above: Dr. Michael Lott and his wife Christin, left, talk with realtors Gail Holman, left, and Micki Zagoria in the kitchen of their new Marietta home. Left: The Lotts with their children Micah, 7, Gabriel, 6, McKenzie, 2, and Elijah, 1, outside their new home.

Staff/Anthony Stalcup

but at the same time have a yard for the kids to go out and play in,” said Michael Lott, 34, an interventional spine and pain management physician.

The Lotts said their search last-

ed so long because many homes with the size acreage they were looking for are not located within subdivisions.

However, the found their 1.2 acre home site in Oak Grove, where

they said they have plenty of room to grow.

“My wife wanted to be in a subdivision with other kids,” Michael Lott said. “It’s not too large but is accommodating, so it’s still

homey.”

The couple does plan to use their contractor, Rodney Wright of Wright Construction, to make some improvements to the home, such as finishing an attic space.

Nevertheless, Christin Lott, 34, a homemaker, said she is thrilled with her new Craftsman-style home, which has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a three-car garage and is located in a cul-de-sac. She initially didn’t think her family could afford the home, considering its exclusive location.

“This guy was selling this house for a really great price,” she said.

“That’s how we ended up buying there.”

With so many homes flooding the market, selling a house is more difficult than buying one, according to experts. And because so many of them are competitively priced foreclosures, they can make selling a home that more difficult, Holman said.

“An appraisal is based on the appraisals that had the comparables in the neighborhood. If you have two appraisals in the neighborhood that appraised at $200,000 each and one at $50,000, then they’re going to include that $50,000 appraisal, and it brings everybody’s figure down,” Holman explained.

Holman said she expects this year’s real estate market to be a little better than in 2010. The spring 2011 market is looking more hopeful than it was in 2010, she said.

The Lotts gave much of the credit for finding their new home to Micki Zagoria, their longtime Realtor. Zagoria called the sale a “winwin” for both parties.

“She was able to help us find the home that we needed and that we desired,” Michael Lott said.

Dawson, the seller, is now renting a townhouse in North Carolina with his girlfriend. He also owns a house in his hometown of Baton Rouge, La. He, too, credited his agent and the asking price for the relatively quick sale of the house.

“It almost makes me think that maybe we didn’t ask enough for it,” he said.

Shaky foundation

Fewer than 700 homes built in 2010

By Kim Isaza newseditor@mdjonline.com

MARIETTA — Cobb County and its six cities issued a grand total of 685 building permits for new homes in all of 2010, a far cry from the building boom of the last decade. In 2005, for example, more than 5,700 such permits were issued in Cobb.

Unincorporated Cobb saw the largest number of newhome permits in 2010, with 466. The city of Smyrna issued 77, and Marietta was next, with 61 permits issued throughout the year.

Acworth issued a total of 28 new-home permits in 2010, and the cities of Kennesaw and Powder Springs each issued 23. The city of Austell issued only seven such permits last year.

For 2011, builders and other industry experts predict only slight improvement.

Chris Poston, senior vice president of Marietta-based Traton Homes, estimated his company will build about 175 new homes in Cobb in 2011.

In years past, he said, Traton build about 225 new homes per year in Cobb. The bigger difference between then and now for Traton is price-point.

“In the heyday in Cobb, five years ago, we were selling a lot of homes in the mid$500,000s,” Poston said. “In west Cobb, where we built from the high $400,000s to $1 million, we’re now building homes from the low $200,000s to $400,000s.”

Rob Hosack, community development director for Cobb County, said 2011 will remain similar to 2010 in terms of home building in Cobb.

“Slow and steady,” Hosack said. One factor this year will be the absence of the federal Homebuyers Tax Credit, which he said helped boost the number of new single-family homes in the first

four months of 2010.

Both Hosack and Poston said Cobb does still have large tracts of undeChris Poston veloped land available.

“We’ve issued permits for new subdivisions in east Cobb, and we’re seeing more activity in the area of infill tracts,” Hosack said.

Said Poston: “There is still land out there, though it’s getting smaller and rougher.

Cobb County was already moving toward more in-fill building. This downturn made everybody realize they want to be closer in. Location is still important.”

Steve Palm, president of the Marietta-based SmartNumbers, a housing data firm, said, “Until the econo-

my improves, new construction won’t improve. We need to strengthen jobs, and strengthen the resale market, and when those two things are happening, then we can start building again.”

“Until we start winnowing down foreclosures, you can’t build it cheap enough to go against them,” he said.

The last part of 2010 did see one glimmer of hope, though, he said. In both November and December, the number of homes that went under contract for sale was up from the same time the year before, he said, though that includes both resale and new homes.

But for builders, “it’s nasty out there,” he said.

Any idea when it’s going to get better? “You don’t want to ask me that,” he said.

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MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

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Historic beauty

Cobb Association of REALTORS©

Realtor of the Year 2010 Staff/Anthony Stalcup

Drew and Luanne Bentley take great pride in their Marietta home and the heritage its furnishings represent. ‘God has really blessed us through this rich ancestry and many family traditions,’ says Luanne, who met her husband when they attended Pace Academy.

Marietta home offers elegant glimpse into past where they came from,” Luanne said. “It’s just important to me that those traditions are carried on to future generations. To have an Family is the thread that runs throughout interest in your family history carries on to the Marietta home of Luanne and Drew Bentyour children and future generations to ley. Rich family history reflected in artifacts come.” from times past keep their heritage alive.

The importance of family is evidenced “God has really blessed us through this throughout the home that the couple purrich ancestry and many family traditions,” chased in 1987 from Lillian and Buddy Dardsaid Luanne, who en. Many cherembraces her husished items, such band’s roots. as a painting over Luanne attended the den mantle by six different Sarah Freeman schools from eleClarke (Drew’s mentary to high maternal greatschool and is “ever great-aunt), are thankful to have part of the Bentlived in Marietta ley’s daily life. for 31 years.”

Luanne relies The Bentleys on “Sarah Freeman met while attendClarke 1808-1896, ing high school at A Woman of the Pace Academy in Nineteenth CentuAtlanta. The home ry” by Joan Alice of Drew’s parents, Kopp and Scott the late Freda and This silver tea set belonged to Drew Bentley’s Grady Bowden.

Jack Bentley, is in maternal grandparents, Katherine and Frederick She said Clarke the same neighbor- Walcott Clarke. was an artist and hood featured in transcendentalist Atlanta Magazine in February 1956. Freda, an movement leader who established the Franklin avid collector, owned an antique store, The Lending Library in 1882 in a small building Curio Shop, off the Marietta Square near what behind the Clarke home place at the corner of is now the Marietta Pizza Company. Drew’s Whitlock Avenue and Whitlock Drive (known uncle is well-known Marietta attorney and today as Oakhurst). Attorneys Ben and Mary collector Fred Bentley, Sr. Anne Mathis now own the historic home.

“The pieces we have inherited are very See Historic, 7FF meaningful to all the family because we know

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REAL ESTATE

5FF

‘Our favorite place’

New Traton home, Cobb location a perfect fit for family that has moved often

By Marcus E. Howard mhoward@mdjonline.com

NORTHEAST COBB — Mark and Julie Andersen believe they found the perfect place for their family to live when they recently moved to Cobb County.

The couple, along with their two children, are the residents of a new home in the Wigley Estates subdivision in northeast Cobb. They moved into the house, built by Traton Homes, in September when Mark accepted a job in marketing at the UCB biopharmaceutical company in Smyrna.

They have been married for 12 years and previously lived in Shreveport, La.; near San Francisco; and in Rochester and Long Island, N.Y. However, Cobb now maintains the top spot on their list of favorite places they’ve lived, the couple said.

“It’s definitely been the friendliest place we’ve ever lived,” said Julie, 36, a homemaker. “We both just really wanted to be in the South. We like the weather and so we said, ‘Lets do Atlanta.’ We love Cobb County because of the schools and now that we’ve moved here we love it.”

Mark and Julie said they particularly enjoy the area’s parks, shopping destinations and symphony.

Julie said the couple has been doing a lot of home decor shopping for their house. When the weather is warmer, they enjoy frequenting parks with their two children, daughter Ella, 7, and son Nate, 3.

Staff/Todd Hull

Mark and Julie Andersen, and their children Ella and Nate, have moved around during the 12 years they’ve been married but they’ve now happily settled in Cobb. Julie says the school system was a big reason for choosing Cobb.

When their relatives come to town, the Andersens said they take pleasure in acting as tour guides, showing family members different parts of metro Atlanta, such as the Georgia Aquarium and museums.

“This, I think, has been our favorite place we’ve lived,” Mark Andersen, 41, said. “It made an

immediate impact on us as far as the friendliness of the people, groups we’ve already gotten involved in, and just feeling like we’re home.”

The Andersens attend the Catholic Church of St. Ann on Roswell Road in east Cobb. Julie is active there in the mother’s guild,

and Nate attends the church’s preschool.

Homes in Wigley Estates were previously priced from the $600,000s and now start from the $440,000s. The neighborhood schools are Davis Elementary, Mabry Middle and Lassiter High.

The Andersens live in a two-

story home with five bedrooms and four bathrooms, plus a media room, with hardwood flooring, private backyard and a three-car garage.

They said they enjoy its open floor plan, which is great for their daughter and son to roam around, and the fact that the family is allowed to use the swimming pool at nearby Hampton Ridge.

The community has 12 home lots, nine of which have been sold.

Homes are three-sided brick with three-car garages.

“The neighborhood is just off Sandy Plains Road, real close to Woodstock and Fulton County, not far from (Interstate 75),” said real estate broker Steve Lee of Traton Homes.

Because Wigley Estates is new and the Andersens were among its first residents, Julie said she has had the honor of being on an informal welcoming committee to greet new homeowners.

“For Christmas, I brought over Christmas cookies for some of the new neighbors,” she said. “Everyone has been really friendly.”

Binghamton, N.Y. natives, Mark and Julie met as college students at the State University of New YorkAlbany in 1994. Four years later, they were married.

Though the family has lived in five houses in six years, Mark and Julie said they see themselves living in their new Cobb home for a while.

“As long as the job is going well, and it is, and everything else is fine, we plan on staying here,” Mark said.

Commissioners approve development plan for Mableton

By Katy Ruth Camp krcamp@mdjonline.com

MARIETTA — The Cobb Board of Commissioners has unanimously approved the master plan for future development of the Mableton community.

Cobb Community Development Agency Director Rob Hosack said the county hired development

design firm Duany-Plater last summer to develop a master plan for the Mableton community that would include future schools, businesses, homes and a town center area, using the tiered-development format of a form-based code.

The plan was met with positive feedback from residents, the county’s planning commission and the board. The firm then created a

form-based code that creates binding zoning restrictions on the area.

The form-based code will come before the board as a code amendment on Feb. 22, along with almost 70 other various amendments.

“You take the master plan, like we have several other plans in the county, and the form-based code shows you how you get the plan into action, and how you create

what’s outlined in the master plan,” Hosack said.

Hosack presented the board with the Planning Commission’s recommendations for the form-based code on Feb. 8.

Those include: creating a specific map of the exact boundaries of the Mableton area to be considered under the code; for the board to place two residents from the

Mableton area onto the form-based code’s Review Committee; a clarification of how current property owners can apply for rezoning under the county’s current zoning ordinance if they choose not to participate in the form-based code, which staff say is optional to property owners; and that the county will not use eminent domain to fulfill the details of the code.

REAL ESTATE

6FF

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Walton Communities buys Meeting Park near Square

By Jon Gillooly jgillooly@mdjonline.com

Staff/Laura Moon

Smyrna city councilman Mike McNabb, foreground, applauds as one of the old banks in The Crossings at Four Corners shopping center is torn down in preparation for the new stores that will be built in Smyrna.

Kroger to anchor new Smyrna mall

The Kroger planned for the new Crossings shopping center will replace the 40year-old Kroger that is now located across South Cobb Drive. The new store will SMYRNA — Although it took nearly include a gas station, bakery, floral shop five years of planning, an Illinois-based redeveloper broke ground recently on the and wine shop and a drive-thru pharmacy.

Kroger bought 7.5 acres of land from redevelopment at the Crossings Shopping Tri-Land in December. Demolition began Center on South Cobb Drive and Conon the old shopping center’s anchor store cord Road. in early January.

The shopping center which was purTri-Land Executive Vice President Hugh chased by Tri-Land Properties, Inc. in 2006, will be anchored by a 96,000 square Robinson called the deal with Kroger “critical” in the redevelopment of the project, foot Kroger to be opened in November. saying it wouldn’t At the groundhave happened withbreaking ceremony, New strip mall in Smyrna out the company’s Smyrna Mayor Max Dobbins commitment.

Bacon said the city Air Reserve While the current hopes the shopping Base shopping center is center will have a 153,000 square feet, halo effect on the surWindy Hill Rd the new center will rounding area and reach 230,000 square inspire the redevelopfeet and include eight ment of stalled proout-parcel buildings jects such as Belmont that will be for sale or Hills and Jonquil lease.

Village.

The Crossings at Four Corners will be Robinson said that “We haven’t had a anchored by a 96,000several small tenants, ground-breaking like sq.-ft. Kroger store. such as a cell phone this all week,” Bacon store and nail salon joked. “Maybe all Staff/Caroline Brannen have already signed month. Maybe in the leases for the new shopping center, which last several years. But this is great. And will be completely renovated and include the Kroger they’re going to put here is new store fronts. going to be unbelievable ... We think the Tri-Land will renovate 60,000 square community has been waiting for this.”

Councilman Mike McNabb praised Tri- feet of retail space. A 25,000-square-foot plot will be available for development next Land Properties and Kroger for bringing to Kroger. the project to fruition, saying that they A traffic light will be installed at the have established a tone of leadership through “steadfast determination to remain north property line on South Cobb Drive.

When Tri-Land bought the property committed” to the project.

A crowd of about 50 people watched as from a company called Triple N in 2006, Robinson said about 15 tenants remained. a bulldozer tore down an old bank buildThe last of those tenants moved out in ing situated at the front of the shopping October 2010, he said. center, close to South Cobb Drive.

MARIETTA — Meeting Park, the 12-acre property near Marietta Square that was hailed as the cornerstone of the city’s downtown development efforts until the economy crashed, has a new owner.

Marietta-based Walton Communities closed on the property on Dec. 22 for an undisclosed sum from Regions Bank, Walton partner David Knight said.

Knight said he has no immediate plans for the site located at Waddell and Waterman streets.

“We’re just going to take our time. It’s a very important piece of real estate to the community of Marietta,” he said.

Bob Silverman, president of Atlanta-based Winter Properties, purchased the property for $8.4 million from the Marietta Housing Authority in April 2006. The site formerly housed the 132-unit Clay Homes complex, built in the 1940s for workers at the Bell Bomber plant.

Silverman had planned Meeting Park to be a community of 300 homes, townhouses and condos, seven restaurants, 10,000 square feet of trendy shops and office buildings for pro-

fessional firms.

But all that were ever built were 15 town homes, which stand empty.

Winter lost the development last year when the bank foreclosed on the property.

The bank ran foreclosure notices in the Journal for a listed $23.5 million debt.

While Knight wouldn’t reveal what his firm paid for the property, he said it wasn’t $23.5 million.

Although Walton advertises itself as a company that develops, owns and manages apartment communities throughout the metroAtlanta area, Knight said he had no plans to build apartment buildings there.

“I don’t think that would be received very well. Marietta has a lot of apartments right now,” he said.

Construction of apartments would require the City Council’s approval.

“If they deviate from [Winter’s] plan one iota, they will have to come back to the council for a change,” Mayor Steve Tumlin said.

Knight said he wants to involve the council, community and stakeholders in determining what to do with the site, “and if they feel we’ve got a good plan, go back and seek a rezoning from the city of Marietta.”

By Kathryn Malone

kmalone@mdjonline.com

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Staff/Laura Moon

One of the model townhomes at Meeting Park near the Marietta Square.

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From left, at the groundbreaking ceremonies are: The Kroger Co. Real Estate Manager Paul Zhajanka, Sen. Doug Stoner, Smyrna Councilman Mike McNabb, Tri-Land Properties, Inc. Executive Vice President Hugh Robinson, Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon, Councilman Pete Wood, Councilwoman Melleny C. Pritchett and Mayor Pro-Tem Wade Lnenicka.

Upscale active adult community to open near Marietta Country Club

By Marcus E. Howard mhoward@mdjonline.com

KENNESAW — Arbor Green, Kennesaw’s newest active adult community for those age 55 and older, is priced from the low $200,000s and is just minutes from the Marietta County Club. The community offers the ultimate in maintenance-free living. The neighborhood of 44 homes is expected to be completed by mid-2012.

The luxury, three-bedroom, two bath ranch villas include full brick craftsmanship and welcoming front porches and outdoor spaces.

Inside, dramatic raised 9- and 11-foot ceilings with vaulted areas create an open space that’s designed for entertaining.

A gourmet kitchen with tile backsplash, maple cabinets with crown molding and stainless steel under-mount sink with pullout faucet, are a culinary lover’s delight.

Homeowners are sure to enjoy the spacious green spaces throughout the community, as well as a 3-acre central park with walking trails. A spacious covered gathering pavilion will be completed this spring. All homes include an oversized, double garage for large vehicles or extra storage.

Residents receive professional landscaping, weekly garbage service and cable television as part of their monthly homeowner’s fee.

Arbor Green offers easy access to some of the area’s top shopping and recreational destinations, including Town Center at Cobb mall and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. It’s also conveniently located to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta.

To visit Arbor Green: Take Interstate 75 north to exit 269 (Barrett Parkway). Turn left onto Barrett Parkway. Then make a right onto Stilesboro Road. Cross Kennesaw-Due West Road. Arbor Green will be on the left.

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MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

7FF

Traditional twist Marietta couple mixes old and new with home decor

From staff reports

By Sally Litchfield sallylit@bellsouth.net

Nothing conveys a true sense of style more than delivering the unexpected.

The Marietta home of Marci and Dr. Gary Jacobson, located at the base of Kennesaw Mountain, is surrounded by traditional houses, as expected in Marietta. And the home that the Jacobsons purchased in 2008 is admittedly “traditional” on the outside.

But upon entering the redbrick home, the surprising urban decor demands a second look.

“My taste is influenced by my family back in Chicago,” Marci said. The couple grew up less than 1.5 miles away from each other in the suburbs of Chicago but did not meet until introduced through mutual friends while attending different colleges in the South. They moved to Marietta when Vascular Surgical Associates hired Gary after his medical training.

Influenced by vast examples of modern architecture evidenced in Chicago, the Jacobsons wanted a modern decor.

“It can be incongruent with the traditional styles of a lot of houses in Marietta,” Marci said.

“It was hard for me to visualize the modern look I liked.”

After seeing the work of Atlanta interior designer Bob Brown in some printed material, the Jacobsons engaged Brown to decorate several rooms on the main level of their home.

“I liked the look (Brown) achieved. It kind of spoke to

Historic Continued from Page 4FF

“You can still see the building outside of their house where she started the library,” Luanne said.

Clarke came to Marietta from Boston. She is the stepgranddaughter of Dr. James

Mayor targets N. Smyrna for redevelopment

Staff/Anthony Stalcup

Dr. Gary Jacobson and his wife, Marci, admit their home is ‘traditional’ on the outside, but inside it takes a dramatically different turn with a surprising urban decor me,” the stay-at-home mother of two children said.

Working with Brown, the Jacobsons achieved a look that is minimalistic, uncluttered and clean. The simple color palette of cool greens and blues is anything but boring. Although the Jacobsons like white, they used it sparingly because of their lifestyle with children and pets.

“The colors are very calming

Freeman Clarke who founded the first Unitarian Church in America, King’s Chapel in Boston. A September 1893 Marietta Daily Journal story noted that Clarke raised $2,200 from Bostonian friends Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathanial Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry David Thoreau for the library. They also contributed

to me. It makes me very happy, the color palette,” Marci said. “I do like that my children can come into these rooms and enjoy them. It’s very livable.”

The use of bold graphic patterns like that of the dining room rug (designed by Brown especially for the home) and mimicked in the back of the dining room chairs creates a visual design that is as unpredicted as it is adventurous.

original works to Clarke’s library.

Other pieces inherited from Drew’s maternal grandparents, Katherine and Fredrick Walcott Clarke, are displayed in the home. Mr. Clarke founded Marietta Hosiery Company in 1946, now known as Marietta Drapery & Window Coverings Company. Its adminis-

“Little details like that (rug and chairs), I really love,” Marci explained.

Contemporary art throughout the rooms instantly bring the space into the here and now. The natural light flooding through large windows gives vibrancy to the open feel of the space.

“I love the light,” she said.

And, “I’m looking forward to decorating the rest of the house.”

trative offices are still located on the property originally purchased for $799.80 at what is not the South Loop across from CVS/Pharmacy off the Square.

“For us, we just kept (the property), just held on to it, enjoy having it. The real estate is more than just a piece of property,” Drew said.

Drew and his brother,

SMYRNA — The Smyrna City Council approved the $9.5 million recently purchase of the Hickory Lake Apartments, a complex on Old Concord Road near Windy Hill. The complex consists of 92 buildings on 48 acres. The buildings are to be demolished this spring.

Mayor Max Bacon said the city has high hopes that the land will help spark redevelopment in north Smyrna, especially with the uptick in traffic that is expected when the Windy Hill connector is done in May. “Hopefully it will be an economic engine that will help us redevelop that end of town for a better use,” Bacon said. “We’re very optimistic about it and don’t know that we’ll have the opportunity to acquire an apartment complex with that many units. Really, the 48 acres is what we’re attracted to.”

And though City Administrator Eric Taylor would not call the 41-year-old apartment complex blighted, he said it is reaching the end of its life cycle. He also admitted that the area is a hotspot for crime.

“It’s the highest area for 911 response in the city,” Taylor said.

The city has received 11 bids from contractors for demolition of the apartment complex. The bids included both the cost and timeline for the project, ranging from $1.28 million for a sixmonth project to $3.3 million for a 270 day, or nine-month project. The lowest bidder looks to be Atlanta Demolition with a cost of $1.28 million and a timeline of 180 days, or six months, but city officials have yet to make a recommendation on the contract.

Douglas Clarke “Bullet” Bentley, still own and operate Marietta Drapery & Window Coverings Company, which supplies window and bed coverings for multi-family housing, hospitality, commercial, education and healthcare markets.

“Marietta is where we are from. We just love Marietta,” he said. “It’s a great place to

grow up and to raise your kids, too.”

“God has really blessed us through this rich ancestry and many family traditions.

Although Drew’s parents are no longer with us, certainly the pieces we have inherited are very meaningful,” Luanne said. “It is important for us to be a part of the community.”

GROWTH & REVITALIZATION

8FF

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

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PROGRESS 2011 MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL FEBRUARY 27, 2011 SECTION GG / 7 OF 8

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HEALTH & FITNESS

2GG

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Dietitians offer guidance, support Locals looking to lose weight stay on track with help of professionals

COVER

By Kathryn Malone kmalone@mdjonline.com

SMYRNA — Several years after losing 100 pounds, Karen Sullivan says she still needs the support and advice of her dietitian to help her stay on the wagon.

Prior to her gastric bypass surgery in 2006, Sullivan, 44, was required to consult with a registered dietitian to help her learn how to eat healthier and manage her post-surgery body and diet. But since then, Sullivan, who works at Emory-Adventist Hospital in Smyrna, still sees EmoryAdventist dietary director and clinical dietitian Jenny Fox for help making healthy food choices.

“When I started working here, the cafeteria was dangerous for me,” Sullivan said.

“So I made an appointment with Jenny, and I came and sat down and talked with her just to get some ideas and to make sure I was staying on track. She’s pretty much been helping me out about three and a half years now.”

Fox explained that there is a difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist. Dietitians are required to have at least a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics, be board certified and pursue continuing education to keep up that certification. A nutritionist, she said, usually has just a certification in nutrition.

Sullivan’s goal is to lose more weight, and lower her blood pressure and blood sugar, but Fox said she sees patients with many different goals and needs.

Fox, who manages the hospital’s cafeteria and plans the meals served to patients in the hospital, said she sees both hospital patients and outpatients who are referred to her by doctors. She counsels gastric-bypass patients like Sullivan, diabetics, people who suffer from ailments like kidney disease, high blood pressure, and people who come to the hospital because of malnutrition.

She said she recommends that anyone who suffers from a disease that is affected by diet consult a dietitian. Fox said she would also encourage people who are obese, overweight, have high blood pressure or high cholesterol or have problems with weight loss to meet with a dietitian.

While she typically works with cardiac patients in the WellStar Hospital system, Pam McFarland says you don’t have to have a disease or a dietary issue to see a dietitian.

“Anyone can see a registered dietitian, and I would encourage anyone and everyone to do that,” McFarland said. “During a person’s life — if you’re dealing with a child, or a teen or a busy mom or an elderly person — everyone eats. It’s important during those stages to know what to eat, and those things

Staff/Anthony Stalcup

Fox talks with Smyrna resident Karen Sullivan about nutritional values. change.”

McFarland has worked with patients from all walks of life, including athletes, busy moms who want to learn how to teach their children to eat right, people with eating disorders, and those with celiac disease.

McFarland advises patients who are seeing a dietitian for the first time to be ready to talk about their eating habits from the moment they walk through the office doors. She recommends that people bring a log of what they’ve eaten the past few days, or nutrition labels from products they usually buy. She also tells people to bring a list of supplements and medications that they take.

With a typical patient, Fox said, she usually starts by asking about what that person is doing now with meal planning and how and what they eat on a normal day. Once she has established their eating habits and goals, Fox said, she starts with the basics of nutrition education.

“Every person is different,” Fox said. “Sometimes

about healthy food options at we kind of start with the work. basics of food 101 and talk “I come to Jenny a lot, about what foods go in what probably too much,” Sullivan food groups. Some people said. “A lot of things in the need more focus on portion sizes, others need help under- cafeteria … you go through the line and standing what everything the confusSome people need looks great, but ing nutrition I know as a label means more focus on portion bypass patient, and what to sizes, others need help look for on understanding what the I can’t touch everything. So that.”

Fox said confusing nutrition label a lot of times she tends to means and what to look when I go in I’ll see somefocus more for on that.” thing new that on portion — Jenny Fox, they have and size than Emory-Adventist dietary I’ll try it. I caloric intake with director and clinical dietitian always like to try to come to patients.

Jenny, or I’ll shoot her an eShe finds that most of her mail and say, ‘I tried this patients feel more comfortthey had in the cafeteria, I able controlling their porreally enjoyed it, but is it just tions, rather than counting a garbage food or is it a food calories. that’s really healthy and Once a patient has a good nutritious for me?’” grasp on nutrition, she said, McFarland offers consulshe works with them to cretation with cardiac patients ate a meal plan that best fits and also has created several their goals and lifestyle. programs to help teach her Sullivan, like most gastric bypass patients, has a relatively strict diet. She tries to eat 80 grams of protein per day and often consults Fox

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patients how to shop and cook.

She does grocery store tours once a month and invites patients and their family members to come along. They spend about two hours in the store, and she teaches them how to chose more nutritious products, how to identify certain vegetables in the produce section, how to pick out lean meats.

McFarland also conducts cooking classes for her patients, which helps them learn how to cook low-fat and low-sodium meals.

“A lot of people don’t know how to prep low-sodium, low-fat meals,” McFarland said. “They think that if you leave the salt out it’s not going to taste good … It helps them see that it doesn’t have to taste bad to be healthy.”

She also offers a comprehensive class for diabetics and lately, McFarland said, she’s been e-mailing recipes

Emory-Adventist Hospital nutritionist Jenny Fox works with clients setting weight loss and exercise goals. She said she recommends that anyone who suffers from a disease that is affected by diet consult a dietitian.

MDJ staff photo / Anthony Stalcup

to her patients.

Although most of McFarland and Fox’s patients are referred to them by a doctor, they both encourage anyone interested in seeing a dietitian to visit the American Dietetic Association’s website at www.eatright.org to find a local dietitian.

McFarland said the Health Place at WellStar offers consultations with a dietitian for about $60 per visit. Fox said a session at Emory-Adventist can cost up to $120, but that the hospital offers discounts. Both dietitians said that in some cases insurance does cover the cost dietitian visits, especially for diabetics and people with kidney disease.

“That’s a small amount of money to pay to get some good, valid information for the rest of your life,” McFarland said.

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

HEALTH & FITNESS

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Trauma care: A necessary step Kennestone hospital applies for certificate of serve trauma needs of five counties

By Kathryn Malone kmalone@mdjonline.com

MARIETTA — By June, WellStar Kennestone Hospital hopes to be the only trauma care center serving Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties.

In December 2010, hospital executives announced that they had applied for a certificate of need, which would allow Kennestone Hospital to become a Level II trauma center.

The not-for-profit system has hired a trauma director and the hospital is already equipped with three emergency trauma rooms, but WellStar will need to hire a team of physicians who will focus on trauma care. The state designation will likely mean hundreds more patients each year for Kennestone.

“As we look at it, there is going to be some investment required as we formalize our role with trauma,” said Candice Saunders, Kennestone’s executive vice president and administrator, though she and other officials declined to say how much it is investing in the effort. “We think it’s the right thing to do. We’re the community’s hospital. We’re committed to meeting the needs of our community. The data is very clear that as you have a designed trauma program you improve the quality and the outcomes of care.”

In medical terminology, “trauma” refers to any serious injury from an accident or act of violence, such as car crashes, a fall from a ladder, a stabbing or gunshot wound.

Patients who suffer trauma usually need to be taken to a trauma center and cared for as soon as possible following

an accident or violence in order to increase their chances for survival. This timeline is often referred to as the “golden hour.”

“If you look at national data, the mortality rate for patients seen in either a designated or verified trauma center is 25 percent lower, because you have a commitment around the resources and the model in which you care for those patients,” said Patricia Mayne, executive vice president for emergency and surgical services at WellStar Kennestone.

There are now 16 designated trauma centers in the state. Only one Level I trauma center, Grady Memorial Hospital, serves the metroAtlanta area.

But metro Atlanta does have three Level II trauma centers: Atlanta Medical Center, Gwinnett Medical Center and North Fulton Medical Center in Roswell.

Level I is the highest level of designation for trauma centers, and provides the greatest level of trauma care, prevention and rehabilitation, while Level IV is the lowest.

A Level II center generally provides the same trauma and specialty care to patients as a Level I center, but lacks the research facilities required to give it the top distinction.

A spokesman for the Georgia Hospital Association explained that adding Kennestone to the list of trauma care centers will truly be a lifesaver, especially for trauma victims whose accidents occur in the outlying areas of Cobb, Bartow and Paulding counties.

“This service is a huge addition to the citizens of the Northwest Georgia area,”

Special/file

WellStar health system is aiming to begin serving trauma patients in rooms like the one above. said Kevin Bloye, vice-presi- rooms in its emergency department, it has nearly all dent of public relations for GHA. “When you look at the of the equipment it would northwest metro-Atlanta area, need. Saunders said the hospital does not plan to expand which includes Cobb and the number of its trauma Paulding and Douglas counrooms. ties, I would say, absolutely, Mayne and her staff estiit’s necessary. There are hunmated that the trauma care dreds of thousands of resicenter designation would dents in that area that curincrease rently don’t the numhave nearby ber of access to trauWe think it’s the right ma care. So thing to do. We’re the com- patients Kennethat’s great munity’s hospital. We’re news.” committed to meeting the stone sees by about Mayne, who needs of our community.

250 to 450 is leading WellThe data is very clear that per year, Star’s applicaas you have a designed which tion process, trauma program you equates to said the hospital began look- improve the quality and the one to two outcomes of care.” patients ing at what it would take to — Candice Saunders, per day.

The receive the Kennestone’s executive vice trauma trauma care president, administrator designadesignation in tion means fall 2009. At that time, it created a steering that the hospital will be evaluated and monitored by an committee made up of seven outside group, the state office hospital administrators and of EMS and trauma.

18 doctors, representing a Much of the work it takes variety of specialties, to to become a designated traudesign a plan and medical ma center will require the model of care for trauma hospital to submit data patients. regarding its care of trauma Since Kennestone already patients to the Georgia serves 1,300 trauma patients Department of Community each month in its emergency Health. Kennestone officials room, and has three trauma began the data-collection exam rooms and 63 exam

“

process, which will last about three months, in January.

From there, an official from the state will come out to do an on-site visit. The hope, Mayne said, is to be certified by early summer of 2011.

WellStar has hired Dr. Barry Renz, a traumatologist who most recently worked at Gwinnett Medical Center, as its medical director for the trauma program, and he will begin working at Kennestone in the spring. WellStar plans to hire a team of physicians who will work hand-in-hand with emergency room doctors and nurses. Although it will not hire any more nurses, the hospital is working to train and certify more nurses in trauma care.

When a trauma patient comes into the emergency room, the emergency room doctors and trauma physicians will work to stabilize the patient and assess their needs. From there, the trauma physician will contact the specialty doctors needed to fully care for the patient, whether that be a orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon.

“It’s very much an interdisciplinary type of care model and having that physician right there, bringing all those resources there is where you get the benefit,”

Saunders said.

The WellStar board of trustees support Kennestone’s application to become a designated trauma care center.

“There exists a real community need to improve the quality and access to trauma care for the residents of Northwest Georgia,” said Randall Bentley, chairman of the WellStar board of trustees. “WellStar is our community healthcare organization for this area, and obtaining this important designation is consistent with the mission of WellStar.”

In the November 2010 General Election, voters rejected a statewide amendment aimed to help upgrade and expand the state’s trauma network, which required residents to pay an extra $10 in annual car registration fees.

Keith Bowermaster, the spokesman for WellStar, said that Kennestone’s designation application process was not started in anticipation of the amendment passing.

Although the tag tax could have created a permanent funding source for Kennestone, the defeat of the amendment has no affect on WellStar moving forward with seeking the designation, he said.

4GG

GROWTH & REVITALIZATION

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

HEALTH & FITNESS

5GG

Future park has friends in east Cobb When funds fall short, locals take initiative

By Katy Ruth Camp krcamp@mdjonline.com

NORTHEAST COBB – In northeast Cobb, at Sandy Plains and Wesley Chapel roads, sits 26.5 acres of beautiful land, complete with rolling hills, a lake, hundreds of trees and plenty of open space.

When the county purchased the land from the Mabry family for $4.3 million in May 2008 using money from the 2006 parks bond, many nearby residents and business owners became excited over the prospect of finally having a passive park nearby.

But almost three years later, the land is still not open to the public and remains undeveloped because of lack of funding. So many in the area have decided to put their own time and energy into creating the passive park.

Neighbor Mark Jernigan said he and others knew the property would likely not be developed for years, but instead of waiting for something happen, Jernigan took note of the public/private partnership that helped to develop East Cobb Park and formed the nonprofit group Friends of Mabry Park with another resident, Lee Berg.

“This would just give a nice, passive park to a community that desperately needs it,” Jernigan said. “There are sidewalks around here, but other than that, there really is no good place around here to go for a walk. It’s amazing to step from the busy activity on Sandy Plains and into this serene, natural, beautiful piece of property. It’s really a whole different world.”

Chairman Tim Lee, who was the district’s commissioner at the time the county acquired the property, also attested to its beauty and the need for the park in the area.

“It’s huge, primarily because there isn’t a passive park of this magnitude anywhere near that area of the Tim Lee county. It’s right down the street from several schools, businesses and neighborhoods, and I would estimate its use to be on par with East Cobb Park, which is extremely utilized,” Lee said.

Lee said once it was evident that funding to develop the property would not be available for some time, he met with residents in the area and talked about the success of East Cobb Park’s private development. Since then, he said he has helped the Mabry Park group with everything from finding a suitable company to develop the master plan to putting them in touch with people who could advise them on the process of development.

“Once the master plan is approved and adopted, the group will move forward to raise money to build it out.

We’ll also work with them in that regard,” Lee said.

Jernigan said in October that the group hoped to raise $20,000 to pay for a master plan, which would provide more detailed options for park amenities. Some of those amenities could include walking trails, a playground, a dog park and gardens, said JoAnn Birrell, a member of the

MDJ/file

Lee Berg, vice president of the Friends of Mabry Park, speaks about possible trails and picnic area around the pond at Mabry Park in northeast Cobb. friends group and now the northeast Cobb commissioner.

In early February, the group had raised $18,000 for the campaign, enough to get a master plan up and running,

Berg said.

County spokesman Robert Quigley said the county had hired the firm URS through a competitive bid process to create the master plan for $7,500.

Quigley said county park staff have already had the first meeting with the firm, and that the plan will take about three months to complete. Dates for public meetings on the master

plan were to be set by the end of February.

“Things are getting ready to start happening,” Berg said. “You can’t go to individuals, corporations, or

HEALTH & FITNESS

6GG

Kennesaw Mountain park map

Fitness Centers In Cobb Smyrna, 30080 (770) 436-1381

ATA Taekwondo Center www.ataatlanta.com 3940 Cherokee St. NW Kennesaw, 30101 (770) 427-840 American Body Works www.americanbodyworks.com n 2851 Cobb Pkwy NW Kennesaw, 30152 (770) 420-0080 n 3931 Mary Eliza Trace Marietta, 30064 (770) 429-7878

Midtown Athletic-Windy Hill www.midtown.com 135 Interstate North Pkwy NW Atlanta, 30339 (770) 953-1100

Gold’s Gym www.goldsgym.com n 5505 Bells Ferry Rd Acworth, 30102 (770) 592-4950 n 2840 East-West Conn.

Austell, 30106 (770) 432-8688

n 4930 Davidson Rd Marietta, 30068 (770) 971-0557

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n 3621 Vinings Slope SE Atlanta, 30339 (770) 693-9013

n 3362 Acworth Summit Blvd.

Kennesaw, 30101 (678) 973-0635 Jazzercise www.jazzercise.com n 555 Nickajack Rd. Mableton, 30126 (770) 434-5303

n 3210 Hopeland Industrial Dr. Powder Springs, 30127 (404) 915-8911

n 1625 Ridenour Blvd Kennesaw, 30152 (678) 275-2021

n Vinings UMC 3101 Paces Mill Rd. Atlanta, 30339 (678) 293-5858

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n 3195 Acworth Due West Rd. Kennesaw, 30152 (770) 639-3087 Just Fitness 4 U www.justfitness4u.com 3101 Roswell Rd NE Marietta, 30062 (770) 565-6330

Coffee’s Gym www.coffeesgym.org 1800 Lower Roswell Rd NE Marietta 30068 (770) 321-6900 Cosmos Fitness Center Cosmosfitness.com 2745 Sandy Plains Rd NE Marietta 30066 (770) 579-3488

n 4400 Roswell Rd NE Marietta, 30062 (770) 973-3370

n 4200 Wade Green Rd. Kennesaw, 30144 (678) 202-5179

Curves for Women www.curves.com n 3451 Cobb Pkwy NW Acworth, 30101 (770) 974-3922 n 5330 Brookstone Dr. NW Acworth, 30101 (770) 422-9744 n 3600 Cherokee St. NW Kennesaw, 30144 (770) 426-0033

Women’s Premier Fitness Womenspremierfitness.com 4961 Lower Roswell Rd NE Marietta, 30068 (770) 565-5450 Workout Anytime www.workoutanytime.com n 3335 Cobb Pkwy NW Acworth, 30101 (770) 974-8787

n 1600 Kennesaw Due West Rd NW Kennesaw, 30152 (770) 422-2279 n 4401 Shallowford Rd Roswell, 30075 (770) 363-8578 n 3100 Highlands Pkwy.

Smyrna, 30082 (404) 792-3555

n 2995 Cobb Pkwy Atlanta, 30339 (770) 956-9093

n 1185 Barrett Pkwy Kennesaw, 30144 (678) 202-5503

WellStar Health Place www.wellstarhealthplace.org 330 Kennestone Hospital Blvd.

Marietta, 30060 (770) 793-7300

n 800 Whitlock Ave NW Marietta, 30064 (678) 355-5530

LA Fitness Sports Clubs www.lafitness.com n 1025 East-West Conn.

Austell, 30106 (770) 432-4262

Bodifit by Mercedes www.bodifitbymercedes.net 1720 Mars Hill Rd Acworth, 30152 (678) 522-2572

n 1290 W. Spring St. SE Smyrna, 30080 (770) 431-9311 Stack’s Gym www.stacksgym.com 2375 Hwy. 92 Acworth, 30102 (770) 974-5986

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One to One Health Centers onetoonehealthcenters.com 700 Sandy Plains Rd NE Marietta, 30066 (770) 795-0091 Snap Fitness www.snapfitness.com n 1450 Veterans Mem Hwy. Mableton, 30126 (404) 472-2113

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MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

HEALTH & FITNESS

7GG

Good Samaritan care Clinic offers care to the uninsured

By Marcus E. Howard mhoward@mdjonline.com

MARIETTA — Cobb County’s sick are getting well, thanks to the Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb in Marietta.

Since opening in 2006, Good Samaritan has provided a range of health care services for patients without health insurance or the means to afford care. It is a nonprofit, Christian-centered clinic serving the county’s working poor with the stated mission “to spread the love of Christ by providing quality health care to those in need.”

“We do this by providing medical, dental, physician dispensary (medications), counseling, and social work services to uninsured patients who have nowhere else to go,” said Dr. Larry Hornsby, medical director.

“Unlike the traditional primary-care model, this is an all-in-one practice that is open Monday through Friday and provides after-hours coverage as well. We augment these services with volunteer physicians and dentists in both primary care and specialties along with volunteer nurses, pharmacists, dental hygienists, counselors, interpreters and administrative assistants, among many others.”

In 2010, Good Samaritan provided 18,221 patients visits, which is a little more than 1,500 visits per month, the clinic reported.

At any give time, nearly half of Good Samaritan’s staff is made up of volunteers — doctors, nurses, dentists, dental assistants, interpreters, and prayer room volunteers, said Kacie McDonnell, operations director.

However, Good Samaritan does maintain a devoted staff

Staff/file

Jim Flippin, 72, is greeted warmly by Northwest Family YMCA co-manager Elizabeth Janda, left, lifeguard Linda Crabtree and co-manager Melissa Betts after the three ladies rescued him from a heart attack in the pool at the center in Kennesaw.

Lifeguards’ quick actions save life of man in pool

By Kathryn Malone kmalone@mdjonline.com

Staff/file

Dr. Larry Hornsby, medical director of the Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb, helps patients at the clinic, which provides care to the uninsured and poor. that includes one full-time primary care physician and one physician assistant. It also has one general dentist and one hygienist. Additionally, there are 12 medical providers and 14 dentists who volunteer on site.

The Good Samaritan Clinic was modeled after the Good Samaritan Health Center in downtown Atlanta that has been operating since 1999.

The clinic, at 1605 Robert Drive off Austell Road in Marietta, is housed in a 7,500-square-foot facility that includes a medical wing with seven exam rooms, a lab, phlebotomy room, a conference/education room, a pharmaceutical dispensary and seven offices. A dental wing has six dental operatories, three offices, an X-ray room, sterilization room and work areas, as well as two consultation rooms.

Good Samaritan aims to help those in need, which is defined as being people

whose household income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level and who don’t have health insurance, Hornsby said.

“While we do see patients who are homeless or in drugrehab programs, most of our patients are the working poor,” he said. “They are people that we see every day who are employed and are working hard to make it, but don’t have jobs that provide health benefits and cannot afford private health insurance.”

In the past few years, a large number of our patients have lost their jobs and are struggling to keep their residences and food on the table, Hornsby said.

“I have a patient who was still working, but had been forced to live in her car. This made taking medications regularly and eating a healthy diet incredibly difficult,” he said.

“We were able to provide her with affordable medications, help her figure out how

to eat a healthy diet, and keep her healthy so that she could make it through an incredibly stressful time. She is now living in an apartment and continues to work.”

Good Samaritan is overseen by a 21-member board that consists of physicians, dentists, accountants, social workers, pharmacists, businessmen, and U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey of Marietta.

The clinic relies on private donations to keep its doors open. In 2010, it was awarded a $102,500 grant by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s Common Good Funds.

“Almost 80 percent of our operating costs come from generous donations from individuals, businesses, churches, civic groups and foundations,” said Ashley Garrison, development director. “The remaining 20 percent comes from the patients that pay for services on a sliding scale based on their ability to pay.”

KENNESAW — Just a week before Thanksgiving, Jim Flippin received a gift to be very thankful for from three women who work at the Northwest Family YMCA — his life.

At about 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 15, Flippin, 72, was swimming laps at the Northwest Family YMCA, off Mars Hill Road near the regional county library in northwest Cobb, as he does five days a week, when he had a heart attack while in the water.

“I was swimming for about 10 minutes, and usually my shortness of breath would correct itself,” Flippin said. “But it didn’t.”

Linda Crabtree, the lifeguard on duty at the time, said she saw Flippin do a flip turn as usual, but then saw him stop in the water. So she sprung into action.

“I look and I’m like, ‘What is he doing?’ It looked like he was getting something that he had dropped,” Crabtree said. “I ran to him and I’m like, ‘He’s in trouble.’ And my first thing was, he’s having a heart attack, because he’s a good swimmer.”

Crabtree radioed her coworkers, Melissa Betts and Elizabeth Janda, for help, and the two women ran to the pool

to assist in reviving Flippin.

Janda said when she got to the pool area, Crabtree had Flippin next to the pool wall and was holding his head out of the water. Together, Janda and Crabtree pulled the 6-foot4-inch Flippin out of the pool, while Betts jumped into the water to help push him out.

Janda and Betts brought a defibrillator with them to the pool area. Betts administered CPR and Crabtree shocked him three times before the firefighters arrived just five minutes after Crabtree had began helping Flippin out of the water.

The rescue workers had to shock Flippin two more times before they transferred him to the ambulance, Crabtree said.

The three YMCA workers said that Flippin’s incident was the first time they have ever had to use the defibrillator.

Flippin was eventually taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where he awoke hours later in a daze.

His daughter, Lucy Johnston, who was at the hospital minutes after her father arrived, said he was asking about the incident and directing her how to unlock his locker at the YMCA. “All the ER doctors were going, ‘who did this? It’s amazing.’ They were shocked,” Johnston said of her father’s revival.

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GROWTH & REVITALIZATION

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

SPORTS & RECREATION

PROGRESS 2011 MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL FEBRUARY 27, 2011 SECTION HH / 8 OF 8

DISC GOLF

THE GAME IS CATCHING ON AT OREGON PARK 2HH

INSIDE:

Finding the right golf pro 4HH

Atlanta Beat -- Year 2

6HH

SPORTS & RECREATION

2HH

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Staff / Anthony Stalcup

Above: Playing from the rough has a whole new meaning at the Oregon Park disc golf course. Noah George of Marietta, left, Abraham Hirsh of Kennesaw and Ryan Bassett of Taylorsville, know from experience. Below, right: George, Bassett, Brian Pound, Patrick Copeland and Mitch Lane play one of the more challenging holes on the Oregon Park course that is a long, narrow par 3.

Over the river and through the woods... to the third hole

By William Bretherton wbretherton@mdjonline.com

There is no clubhouse, no dress pants and no shoes and no greens.

But disc golf, or Frisbee golf as it is more commonly known to some, is quickly becoming one of the more popular recreational sports in Cobb County.

Like its traditional brethren, disc golf follows many of the same procedures and rules that golf does. Players attempt go from start to end in as few strokes as possible. In the case of disc golf, the game tends to take on a more casual — almost irreverent — tone. “(Disc golf) definitely has more of that outdoorsy, hiker type of casual nature,” Cobb Disc Golf president Bob Pressley said. “It hasn’t been around for 120 to 130 years like regular golf when they dressed up in a suit almost with shoes.

“But you will see a very casual outing, not that any of the pro tournament match anything that you will on the PGA tour, but you will see pros with sponsor gear on, and a nice golf shirt. But they will probably be in some shorts and hiking boots. It’s much more of a casual game because, depending on where you play, it’s a little more physical in the amount of walking you have to do.”

Disc golf courses usually utilize changes in elevation over the long distances, as well as, obstacles (most commonly trees) in the direct path between the tee and the basket, which sits two feet off the ground. As a result, the game does give its participants exercise. Also, they participate in the game much differently than those of “ball golf” do.

“Oregon Park is a very beginnerfriendly course,” Pressley said. “It’s not

COVER

Bassett makes his putt to conclude a hole during a round of disc golf at Oregon Park in west Cobb.

MDJ staff photo / Anthony Stalcup

super long. There are courses twice as long, and with elevation changes that are more severe. Two rounds (of 18 holes) could put a good strain on you, so you had better be comfortable to do it. Outer

gear may look like you are out for a run versus the tendency to have a traditional look with slacks, a golf shirt and a nice polished pair of shoes on.”

Since early 1995, Oregon Park has been one of the largest and oldest disc golf courses in Georgia. The origins of disc golf trace back to as far back as the 1970s though.

“There is quite the following out there of guys that have played for 15 to 20 years,” Pressley said. “There is plenty to be read about the history of disc golf and the exact date or time (of its origination) is disputed. It’s about the mid-to-late1960s, depending on how technical on what was considered disc golf.

“From metro Atlanta, I’ve talked to some old timers in the 1950s and 1960s.

I’ve never seen pictures of it, but had a few part-timers that don’t play as much now that (said) at some point Piedmont Park had disc golf set up.”

As a result of its longevity, Oregon Park has become a destination for disc golfers from all around Georgia. As a result, the course became more popular over time. Originally set up as a nine-hole course, overcrowding became a problem.

“In the old days with nine holes, it would get crowded enough that groups would overlap shooting at the same holes,” Acworth resident Brian Pound said.

As a result, the course expanded to 18 holes in 2009, and more baskets were purchased last year to make tweaks to Oregon Park’s course, which may be expanded once more in the future to 27 or 36 holes.

So, why are there so many people interested in disc golf?

“It’s free, and we all get to come out and do something for fun,” said Ryan Bassett of Taylorsville.

Getting started: Disc golf basics

By William Bretherton wbretherton@mdjonline.com

With the expansion in popularity of disc golf, Oregon Park is seeing more participants on one of the most popular disc golf courses in the region.

As a result, more players

need to familiarize themselves with the rules of the game.

Although disc golf is similar to “ball golf” — as it is sometimes referred to by disc golfers — in the way that it’s played, there are many differences.

At Oregon Park, the first hole isn’t as clearly marked as

it would be on a typical golf course. There is no clubhouse, and no scorecard given out at the course. Though most players start at the hole closest to the main entrance for Oregon Park, some players start their rounds from other holes.

“Because of what it’s been and where it is now, you could

call something a particular hole, but because it’s in the middle stages of design,” said Bob Pressley, president of the Cobb Disc Golf Club. “Is there a route to the course?

Additional holes and how they will be routed or re-routed isn’t to be determined until See Disc, 3HH

OREGON PARK IS THE DISC GOLF DESTINATION FOR COBB COUNTY

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

SPORTS & RECREATION

3HH

Cobb provides plenty for outdoor lovers

By Greg Oshust goshust@mdjonline.com

Special to the MDJ

Lake Allatoona fishing guide Fred Duncan has been in the business of providing people a quality experience on the lake for more than 20 years. Duncan considers Lake Allatoona to be a ‘sleeper lake’ where people are just now finding out how good the fishing there can be. Read more about Duncan at www.allatoonastripers.com.

Lake Allatoona, the place to fish

By Adam Carrington acarrington@mdjonline.com

Most recreational fishermen refer to Lake Allatoona as the Dead Sea because they believe they’re no fish in it.

The fisherman who know the lake don’t seem to think that way. Fishing guide Fred Duncan calls Lake Allatoona the Sleeper Lake.

He would know because he’s fished it for 14 years.

“Back in the drought (three years ago), I stopped at a gas station and someone couldn’t believe I was going fishing because they thought there was no water in the lake,” Duncan said.

“Lake Allatoona is a sleeper lake.

Absolutely loaded with fish, but you have to spend time on the water to get into the rhythm and pattern of the fish throughout the seasons.”

The best spots to fish on Lake Allatoona varies on the season.

With the lake being crowded with fishermen during the spring, summer and fall, Duncan said the parks that are usually successful are Galts Ferry, Kellog Creek, Tanyard Creek, Iron Hill, Allatoona Creek, Clear Creek, Stamp Creek and Little River.

In breaking it down in more detail, he suggests Little River, Galts Ferry and Kellog Creek are the ideals places to fish in the spring and the fall. Fish are transitioning from spawning areas in the spring and are in the same place in the fall because they’re seeking optimum

Disc Continued from Page 2HH

the final design is created or reviewed. You’ve caught it at the point where it’s somewhat haphazard.”

Oregon Park’s course is undergoing renovations in that it has 18 baskets to complete a full course, but its design changes when baskets are moved to different locations on the property. While flag positions move on greens of regular golf courses, moving a basket changes where the “green” for a disc golf course is.

From the first tee, golfers must aim for a basket that is two feet off the ground. At Oregon Park, baskets are marked by a metal pole coming straight out of the ground with chain links hanging from the top leading into a basket. After the first shot, discs are spotted using another disc or a mini disc.

Between the tee and the basket, there are usually more obstacles than in a typical golf course, such as trees and brush that would block the direct flight of a disc to the basket.

“Typically, what we don’t

water conditions.

In the winter, fish are usually at Allatoona Creek and Iron Hill because of the higher levels of dissolved oxygen. Duncan said there are bait fish that congregate in those areas.

Red Top Mountain, Clear Creek, Iron Hill and Allatoona Creek are the hotbeds during the summer.

The temperature and dissolved oxygen in those areas attract most fish.

As of late, fishing during the winter at Lake Allatoona has been treacherous.

The water temperatures also have dipped below 40 degrees making the fish unwilling to eat.

“The last few winters have been extreme and the water has gotten into low 40s and high 30s,” Duncan said. “When it gets too cold, metabolism slows to a crawl and they eat very little and very infrequently.”

Duncan stresses that the water temperature governs the life cycle of fish.

“When there is good water quality, temperature and adequate dissolved oxygen, you will find your fish congregating in (certain) areas and areas change throughout the season,” Duncan said.

“On Allatoona, there is a rhythm and pattern throughout the season, and the fish are responding to those elements that they need.”

Understanding the rhythm patterns of the fish in Lake Allatoona requires hours of fishing and learning the lake.

Duncan said unsuccessful fishermen

do is create holes that are open space with little to no obstacles in the way,” Pressley said. “With open space, you can have those holes, but they are not very challenging. You may have part of an open area that may have a treeline or something in the way.”

Like golf, the goal is to reach the basket from the tee in as few strokes as possible with par for each hole typically set at three stokes. Longer distance holes require higher par scores.

Along with the course itself, disc golfers carry around different discs depending on shot choice. The discs in play are weighted differently, and carry different tips. For instance, drivers generally have thinner edges and have wedge-shaped edges to cut through the air at high speeds, allowing them to fly farther.

Mid-range discs aren’t as light as drivers, but have rims that are more blunt in order to give players better control. Putters are heavier discs that have the least blunt edges and are meant to be thrown from short range.

Discs can be purchased at most sporting goods stores and online from prices ranging from $8 to $50 per disc,

fish at the wrong spots at the right time.

He also said timing is important to catching fish on Allatoona and noted that the key to being successful is becoming in sync with the fishing patterns.

“You have to know the areas of the lake that the fish prefer depending on the season,” Duncan said. “When you have the right water temperature with good dissolved oxygen, you have it going on.”

Fishermen don’t need a boat to be moderately successful on Lake Allatoona.

There are fishing jetties at Red Top Mountain and Gulfs Ferry where there are mostly catfish, bass and pan fish. But the ones in pursuit of the bigger fish would need a boat and head to the deep open water.

In regards of bait, light spinning tackles are recommended. Live minnoes and small jigs also work for crappie and live worms and night crawlers could be used for brim.

For bass or spotted mount, Duncan advises plastic lures, spinnerbait, topwater stick baits and crankbaits. For striped bass or hybrid striped bass, he suggests live shads, live shiners and live trout.

“Patterns repeat themselves every year,” Duncan said. “It’s like you rewind and start the tape over again that you been listening to for 20 years. Guys keep a log — but I do it so much, it’s all in my head.”

though most starter sets (driver, mid-range, putter) can be found between $20-30.

On top of the discs themselves, there are many different types of shots. The most typical shot is the one most commonly used to throw a Frisbee or disc. Discs can also roll on the ground by putting backspin on the disc and flicking it forward. The “tomahawk” is a shot that requires a player to throw the disc over a player’s head on its rim. This shot is typically used in tight spaces to get through a narrow area, such as thick brush or from behind trees.

The “thumber” like the tomahawk is thrown overhand, but with the thumb sitting inside the rim of the disc with the index finger on the outside edge. After being thrown, the “thumber” turns over mid-flight onto the bottom side of the disc.

Much like regular golf, discs can be played with a hook or a draw to the shot, as is required with holes that play a dogleg. Also, the angle and velocity with which a disc is thrown greatly impacts its distance and accuracy much like regular golf.

Outdoor enthusiasts have plenty of options to choose from in Cobb County, with a number of parks that give plenty of opportunities for such popular activities as running, bicycling, swimming as well as many others.

The Silver Comet Trail has long been a popular destination for outdoor-minded people in the county.

The trail begins at Marvell Road in Smyrna and winds its way 61 miles through south Cobb, Paulding and Polk counties before ending at the Georgia/Alabama state line.

It plays host every day to a number of walkers, runners, bicyclists, rollerbladers, horse riders and dog walkers and is accessible to wheelchairs.

The trail features four trailheads — at Marvell Road, Fontaine Road, the East-West Connector and Cooper Lake Road. Each trailhead has paved parking lots, restrooms, water fountains and other amenities.

It is also host to two of the most popular road races in the county — the Silver Comet 10K, which is held in March, and the Silver Comet Half Marathon, which takes place in October.

The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area also attracts a large number of people, with several park units located in Cobb County.

It is a popular destination for runners, walkers and bicyclists as well as canoeists and kayakers.

Each of the park units are open to the public every day from dawn to dusk. The daily parking fee is $3, while an annual pass is $25.

Cochran Shoals is the largest of the Chattahoochee

park units in the county.

Located just north of I-285 off of Interstate North Parkway, Cochran Shoals features a three-mile fitness trail for runners, walkers and bicyclists as well as plenty of space for bird watchers.

Akers Mill is located off of Cobb Parkway in Vinings and offers several miles of trails as well as Sandy Point, a beach-like area located next to the river.

Paces Mill is also located off of Cobb Parkway and includes around 3 miles of trails.

The Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is another of the county’s major outdoor recreation areas.

The park is open every day from dawn to dusk and features 18 miles of trails for runners, walkers, hikers and bicyclists as well as bird watchers.

Parking at Kennesaw Mountain Park is free. The park’s road is closed during weekends and holiday, but a shuttle bus is available to the public during weekends that provides transportation to the top of the mountain, with $2 charged for adults, $1 for children ages 6 and 11 and children younger than 6 are free of charge.

The Cobb County Parks and Recreation Department features a number of parks with walking trails, including Heritage Park in Mableton, Lost Mountain Park and Wild Horse Creek Park in Powder Springs, Oregon Park in Marietta, Sewell Park and East Cobb Park in east Cobb and Tramore Park in Austell.

Swimming is another activity that the parks and recreation department provides, with Powder Springs Park and Sewell Park featuring outdoor swimming pools.

Runners have plenty of opportunities in ’11

By Greg Oshust

2011 Cobb County road race calendar

goshust@mdjonline.com

Running enthusiasts won’t have any trouble finding a race to participate in Cobb County.

One of the primary hotbeds for running in the metro Atlanta area, Cobb has a plethora of races for runners to chose from, with approximately 20 races scheduled to be held in the county in 2011.

Among the many races in the county, ranging from the 5K (3.1 miles) distance to the half-marathon (13.1 miles) include a number of the most popular running events in the Atlanta area.

The most popular race, as it has been for over a decade, is the U.S. 10K Classic, which completed its 17th edition in 2010.

The U.S. 10K Classic continued to grow in size last year with around 16,000 people participating in the event’s signature 10K (6.2 miles) race as well as the 10K

March 12 — Silver Comet 10K, Mableton March 12 — Hoya and the Hare 5K, Kennesaw April 2 — Knock Out Cancer 5K, Marietta April 23 — Jonquil Jog 5K, Smyrna May 22 — Freight Train 5 miler, Kennesaw June 11 — Miles-4-Major 5K, Kennesaw July 30 — Run for Life 5K/10K, Kennesaw Aug. — Music on the Mountain 5K, Kennesaw Sept. 5 — U.S. 10K Classic, Marietta Sept. 12 — East Cobb 5K, Marietta Sept. 18 — Iron Horse 15K and 5K Express, Kennesaw Oct. 30 — Silver Comet Half Marathon, Mableton Nov. 25 — MUST Ministries Gobble Jog 5K/10K, Marietta

wheelchair race, the 10K incline skate, the 100K men’s professional cycling race and the 10K women’s cycling race.

It was the biggest group of participants in the event’s 17year history, surpassing the 2009 mark of approximately 13,000 runners.

See Runners, 7HH

SPORTS & RECREATION

4HH

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

The right pro can help your game

By Carlton D. White cwhite@mdjonline.com

Golf is no different than any other sport.

In order to play it correctly, you must have the proper equipment and the proper knowledge.

The best way to know if you have the proper equipment is to ask someone who knows. But, going to a golf store or a golf shop for balls, clubs and a bag is only half the story.

“If you really want to learn how to play golf, then it’s important to learn from a golf instructor,” said Dan Mullins, the director of instruction at City Club Marietta. “Instructors can teach you the nuances of the game. They can show and teach you things that won’t be able to figure out on your own or by watching television.”

Mullins would know. The 2001 Georgia PGA Professional of the Year, Mullins has over 30 years of experience working with players of all skill levels, and he has competed in and won several local and regional tournaments as an amateur and a professional. Joining him at City Club Marietta is head golf professional Al Morrison, who has been teaching for over 15 years.

“Teaching professionals can give you better ideas on chipping, on putting, getting out of sand and bunkers, proper stance, proper grip, basics of the swing, all of that stuff,” he said. “We can relay these ideas to people and give them perspectives that they may not have thought of. Just like any teacher, we help you think a little bit outside the box and build from there.”

However, not every teaching pro is the same. The key to finding the right golf professional depends on what you’re looking for from your pro.

Golf knowledge and experience along with teaching ability all come into play.

Cobblestone Golf Course redesigned and flourishing

By Carlton D. White cwhite@mdjonline.com

Early in 2010, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners approved funding for more than $600,000 on course improvements for Cobblestone Golf Course in Acworth, one of Cobb County’s premier public courses located on Nance Road along the shores of Lake Acworth.

Completed last summer, the renovations and changes to the course have been well-received.

Managed by Affiniti Golf Partners, the course, which originally opened in 1993, had Champion Bermuda planted on the greens and the bunkers and traps were completely renovated with new drainage, liners and sand.

Champion Bermuda, which is a hybrid grass, has proven to have a good putting surface and is more tolerant to heat and traffic than the bent grass that was used.

Other cosmetic changes were done to the course, which fully reopened in early September.

“The changes we’ve made to the course have been widely well-received,” General Manager Terry Harnage said.

“We opened on Labor Day weekend. The care for the course is different during the weekend, but putting has been good and the people that have come here have liked what they’ve seen.

“We had the greens and bunkers redone. We did some irrigation and tree work, and design-wise, we reshaped the greens to their original size from 18 to 36 inches.”

When Cobblestone opened, it won several awards, including a four star rating from Golf Digest and earned a spot on the “Top 100 Courses You Can Play” from Golf Maga-

zine. Recently, the course was named one of Golfweek’s “2010 Best Municipal Courses.”

The changes have already contributed to increased exposure and use for the facility.

“The number of tournament bookings has already increased, so that’s a strong indicator that the changes we made to the course are paying off,” Harnage said. “We’re getting more groups making reservations for the spring and summer than we had last year. We expect that to continue to increase once more people see and play the course as the weather warms up.”

With the spring and summer seasons on the horizon, Cobblestone expects its loyal patrons to continue using the course, and hopefully, invite guests to play it as well.

As more people see the changes that have been made, traffic should steadily increase based on word-ofmouth.

“Right now, it’s hard to compare the amount of traffic,” Harnage said. “Folks definitely come out when we have good weather. But, because we opened in the fall, we missed the traditional start of the full golf season.

“We had a short season after the renovations were completed, so a lot of people haven’t seen the course. Once spring begins and the weather warms up, we expect to see a lot more people using (the course).”

Greens fees for Cobblestone are currently $51.50 for play Monday through Friday and $60 on weekends and holidays. Twilight rate plans and times vary by season.

Staff file photos

PGA pro Dan Mullins, director of instruction at City Club in Marietta, works with Marietta resident Bradley Wilson on his golf swing. The right teaching pro can conservatively help take 10-to-15 strokes off a high-handicapper’s game and can help turn the good amateur players into great ones.

“Your level of teaching changes depending on the skill set of your student,” Mullins said. “It’s like teaching elementary, high school and college students. There are beginners, average players and advanced players.

Depending on who you’re teaching and what they’re looking to get out of the lesson, you have to taylor the instruction.”

According to Mullins, the key to finding the right teaching professional is to ask the right, and plenty, of questions.

“It’s important to ask questions about a professional before you decided to work with them,” Mullins said.

“Find out about the credentials of the person giving instruction. How long have they been teaching? What level of player do they teach,

whether it’s all levels or beginners or advanced players, etc.

“If you ask questions and get an idea of the professional’s background, then you’re already ahead of the game.

Knowing the difference between a teaching professional and a golf instructor is also important. Word of mouth or asking people who have already worked with that pro, is also a good idea.”

With so many advancements in technology, oftentimes a golf instructor might use digital equipment as part of his or her teaching strategy.

Mullins’ background also includes knowledge of the use of video and computerized equipment in analyzing a golf swing.

“The right clubs are important,” he said. “We provide demo clubs when analyzing a golf swing using our video and television equipment. So, the problem with your golf game could be the clubs. By comparing and analyzing swings, we could probably find the right clubs for you to use.”

As with most things, there is a fee to learning to play golf well, and prices will vary with each professional. Golf instructors and teaching professionals usually charge per hour for lessons, but they also have series of 1-hour lessons that may cost less than each separate individual hour.

Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter how many hours of instruction a person gets if he or she isn’t committed to learning and practicing on their own.

“It’s up to the golfer to take the practice time between lessons and work on their golf game,” Mullins said. “There needs to be a balance between practice and playing time. It’s the only way for them to apply what they’re learning.

But, most important, get proper instruction first. This way, you can break bad habits and become a better golfer.”

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

SPORTS & RECREATION

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COBB COUNTY GOLF COURSE DIRECTORY Golf Courses Atlanta Country Club (private) 500 Atlanta Country Club Drive Marietta, GA 30067 (770) 953-2100 www.atlantacountryclub.org Head Pro: Scott Schroeder Greens Fees: N/A Bentwater Golf Club (Private) 100 Golf Links Drive Acworth, GA 30101 (770) 529-9554 www.canongategolf.com Head Pro: Justin Tackett and Jim Sims Greens Fees: N/A Brookstone Golf and Country Club (private) 5705 Brookstone Drive Acworth, GA 30101 (770) 425-8500 www.brookstonecc.com Head Pro: Mark Avery Greens Fees: N/A City Club of Marietta (public) 510 Powder Springs Street Marietta, GA 30064 (770) 528-4653 www.cityclubmarietta.com Head Pro: Dan Mullins Greens Fees: $48 (Monday through Friday), $58 (weekends/holidays) Twilight rate plans and times vary by season.

Please check for website for details Cobblestone Golf Course (public) 4200 Nance Road Acworth, GA 30101 (770) 917-5152 www.cobblestonegolf.com Head Pro: Chris Wright Greens Fees: $51.50 (Monday through Friday), $60 (weekends/holidays) Twilight rate plans and times vary by season.

Please check website for details Dogwood Golf Club (semi-private) 4207 Flint Hill Road Austell, GA 30106 (770) 941-2202 www.dogwoodgolf.org Head Pro: Ryan Medford Greens Fees: $45 (Monday through Thursday), private on weekends Twilight rate plans and times vary by season.

Please check for website for details Fox Creek Golf Club & Driving Range (public) 1501 Windy Hill Road Smyrna, GA 30080 (770) 435-1000 www.legacyfoxcreek.com General Manager: Tony Deshan Greens Fees: $29 (weekdays), $35 (weekends) Twilight rate plans and times vary by season.

Please check for website for details Governor’s Towne Club (private) 4200 Governors Towne Drive Acworth, GA 30101 (770) 966-5353 www.governorstowneclub. com Head Pro: Will Hutter Greens Fees: N/A Indian Hills Country Club (private) 4001 Clubland Drive

Marietta, GA 30068 (770) 971-2605 www.indianhillscc.com Director of Golf: Lance Cantrell Greens Fees: N/A Legacy Golf Links & Driving Range (public) 1825 Windy Hill Road Smyrna, GA 30080 (770) 434-6331 www.legacyfoxcreek.com

General Manager: Tony Deshan Greens Fees: $29 (weekdays), $35 (weekends) Twilight rate plans and times vary by season.

Please check for website for details Marietta Country Club (private) 1400 Marietta Country Club Drive Kennesaw, GA 30152

(770) 426-1808 www.mariettacountryclub. org Head Pro: Stephen Keppler Greens Fees: N/A

land Abernathy

Pinetree Country Club (private) 3400 McCollum Parkway NW Kennesaw, GA 30144 (770) 422-5902 www.pinetreecc.org

Marietta Golf Center

Interim Head Pro: Way-

$11, 135 for $13

Greens Fees: N/A

Driving Ranges

1701 Gresham Road, NE Marietta, GA (770) 977-1997 Bucket of balls - 35 for $5, 55 for $7, 80 for $9, 110 for

Legacy Golf Links 1825 Windy Hill Road, SE Smyrna, GA 30080 (770) 434-6331 Call for prices Tee 1 Up 3185 Sandy Plains Road Marietta, GA 30066 (770) 578-1234 Bucket of balls – small (4050) for $5, medium (80-90) for $9, large (115) for $12

SPORTS & RECREATION

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MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Chattahoochee Tech ready to make noise in athletics

By Carlton D. White cwhite@mdjonline.com

Staff file photo

The Atlanta Beat’s Lori Chalupny, left, looks to her teammate during a Women’s Professional Soccer game last season at the KSU Soccer Stadium. Chalupny will lead a new roster of Beat players into the team’s second season, which starts April 9.

Atlanta Beat prepare for their second year

By William Bretherton wbretherton@mdjonline.com

Heading into the second year of play for Women’s Professional Soccer’s Atlanta Beat, there have been many lessons learned and many new faces that have gone through the franchise.

However, the Beat is excited to take the field this season starting April 9 when they face the Boston Breakers at KSU Soccer Stadium.

“We are so ready to get going,” Beat owner and general manager Fitz Johnson said earlier this month. “It’s a long offseason, and players are going to be arriving at the end of the month. We are signing a couple more players, and then we will be ready to go into camp. We learned a lot in year one and are looking to apply that in year two.”

Though the Beat have not unveiled any plans for any new accommodations or promotions to start the season, Johnson and the Beat have been interacting with fans to find ways to add more to the viewing experience.

“There’s not anything new as in revamped,” he said. “We did a real nice job at the concessions this year. We are trying to see what works. We added a couple of new items.

“We changed the configuration for tickets for the entire stadium to make things easier. If you are buying a general admission section ticket, then you can sit anywhere (in that section). On the west side, it’s a little more closely monitored.”

On top of the flex packs that many professional teams offer standard with season ticket packages, the Beat are selling “flexi passes” or vouchers that will allow fans to purchase general admission tickets that can be used for any game during the season.

“It’s very similar to a flex pack,” Johnson said. “Usually, you have to pick three games.

With these, you can buy 20 tickets. You can take 20 people to one game, 10 to two games or you can split them up any way you want.

With these, you can go to any game.”

According to the team’s website, singlegame general admission tickets are $15 and increase up to $100 for super suite and onthe-field VIP seats.

On top of responding to fans’ wants at the gate and inside the stadium, the team has made drastic changes to the product on the field. Since the beginning of last season, Johnson has taken over the duties of general manager, Gareth O’Sullivan was replaced as coach by James Galanis and the entire roster has a different look.

Instead of Swiss forward Ramona Bachmann, a slew of international players and goalkeeper Hope Solo leading the franchise, the team will have an all-American feel to it this season to go along with a youth movement.

“I think it goes back to what you learn in a year,” Johnson said. “This time last year, we probably had 24 players signed. We found out that it was like a revolving door. This year, we are taking a little different approach.

We’re trying to get some stability and some

Date

Opponent

April 9 April 16 April 24

Venue April Boston Breakers KSU Sky Blue FC (NY/NJ) KSU Western NY Flash KSU

Time 7 PM 7 PM 6 PM

May May 1 Western NY Flash Sahlen's Stadium 4 PM May 8 @ Washington Freedom TBA 4 PM May 15 Philadelphia Independence KSU 6 PM May 21 @ Sky Blue FC Yurcak Field 7 PM May 28 @ Washington Freedom TBA 7 PM

June June June June

July July July July

June 4 @ Philadelphia Independence Widener U. 7 PM 11 Washington Freedom KSU 6 PM 19 Boston Breakers KSU TBA 22 @ Sky Blue FC Yurcak Field 7 PM

10 16 23 31

July @ Boston Breakers Harvard 6 PM Philadelphia Independence KSU 7 PM Washington Freedom KSU 7 PM @ Philadelphia Independence Widener U. 6 PM

August Aug. 6 Western New York Flash KSU 7 PM Aug.14 Western New York Flash Sahlen's Stadium 6 PM

youngsters in here.

“We just have a much better feeling going into camp this year. We have evaluated the talent here (in the U.S.) was plentiful. We may pick up an international (player) if we need one. We’re not ruling it out, but we probably won’t have one.”

Returning from last season are midfielder Lori Chalupny, defender Tina Ellertson and forward Lauren Sesselman.

Though there are three U.S. national team veterans on the roster in midfielder Carli Lloyd, defenders Cat Whitehill and Heather Mitts, the team is mainly made up by players who are 28 years old or younger.

The youth movement is highlighted by the Beat’s two draftees in the 2011 WPS draft, UCLA midfielder Kylie Wright and Virginia forward Meghan Lenczyk.

SMYRNA – Atlanta metropolitan residents interested in seeing intercollegiate football in Cobb County may not have long to wait following the debut season of club football at Chattahoochee Technical College.

The Golden Eagles have rapidly expanded their athletic programs over the past six years to include track and field, cross country and basketball with the teams competing in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association as well as the National Junior College Athletic Association.

“We have a tremendous commitment from our president,” said John Furman, Coordinator of Sports Information. “Dr. Sanford Chandler has a vision for the school and cares a lot about sports. He understands how athletics can help the college grow and reach more and more people.”

Last fall, Chattahoochee Tech athletics expanded once more with the addition of club football.

Currently competing in the National Club Football Association, the Golden Eagles finished the season with a 4-4 record, with wins over Shorter, Clemson and the University of South Alabama, under first-year coach Tim Freeman.

“We won our first game, 18-7, at Shorter,” Freeman said. “It was exciting. It gave the guys an understanding that we can compete against four-year schools.”

Not only is Chattahoochee Tech competing as a club sport, it is looking to go beyond that and play at the junior college level.

“When I came in and spoke with the president and the athletic director (David Archer), the idea was that we would play at the club level for two years and then move up to the national junior college level,” Freeman said.

“We’re leaving no stone unturned to get backing to try to make that move as soon as possible.”

With the economic climate slowly recovering, it may take Chattahoochee Tech a little longer than it wanted to advance football past the club stage.

“We’re using student activity and athletic fees to fund the program,” Archer said.

“Fundraising is different in this economy.

We’re looking at opportunities in the business sector and in the community. We’re

starting slowly. Last year, we had a $30,000 to $40,000 budget. Next season, we’re not sure what it will be yet, but we’re excited for the new season.”

Despite the economy, the enthusiasm of the administration continues to push the program forward.

“We recognized that there aren’t many two-year junior college football programs in Georgia, and felt like we could help fill that void in the state,” Archer said. “The only other program is Georgia Military College.

“There are a lot of kids not quite ready for the four-year college level, but still want to continue playing football. This is an opportunity to provide them with that platform to continue playing and get an education, while preparing them for their future.

“We have a huge service area, and this gives kids an opportunity to stay closer to home.”

The club football team plays its games at Osborne High School and attendance has been good.

“I was very pleased with our attendance this year,” Freeman said. “At Shorter, we had as many fans as they did, and every game we’ve had at home, there’s been a good crowd and good support for the players.

“There are five assistant coaches, and last year’s roster had about 53 players on it. We’re hoping to bring in about 70 to fall camp and keep around 65.”

Chattahoochee Tech wants to raise awareness of its club team and the school’s aspirations for competing at the national junior college level. The Golden Eagles were even involved on national signing day, as they received “letters of commitment” from a eight athletes, including a few local players such as Woodstock offensive lineman Kyle Thornton, South Cobb running back Demarcus Adkins, and Sprayberry athletes DeAlvarez Attiwio and Josh Moody.

“Our goal was to sign a good firm class that has a chance to leave us and play at Division I or I-AA,” Freeman said.

“They’ll help us compete, and the commitment letters they signed are documents outlining the way they should behave as a part of our program and that they are playing as non-scholarship athletes.

“We’re very excited about this group, and our future. Kids are hearing about us, and like what we’re trying to do here.”

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011

SPORTS & RECREATION

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Tennis Dynamics brings its A-game to center

By Adam Carrington acarrington@mdjonline.com

Staff / Mike Jacoby

James Harris, of the East Cobb Mets, center, takes his hat and glove from teammate Devan Stewart. Harris and Stewart are among the thousands of players play at the East Cobb Baseball Complex each year trying to get better for their high school teams while at the same time trying to catch the eye of a college or pro scout.

East Cobb Baseball set for another busy summer in 2011

By William Bretherton wbretherton@mdjonline.com

With spring upcoming, it can only mean one thing.

Baseball season is just around the corner. Not only do Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves return to regular season play, but East Cobb Baseball makes its return.

This year, there will be few changes to last year’s slate, which suits East Cobb Baseball’s president, Guerry Baldwin, just fine.

“The goals here are always the same,” he said. “They are about the participants and the game. We try to do everything we can possibly do to make their experience with the game, and advancement up to the highest level we can get it.

I think we do a pretty good job because we do it emphasizing hard work and the team, and what it takes to actually make it as a college player or beyond.”

Starting last Friday, the Triple Crown Spring Frost tournament for children ages 8-14 began. The top two teams to advance through this event will earn berths to the Triple Crown World Series in Steamboat Springs, Colo., the Summer Nationals in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and both Fall Nationals in Las Vegas and St. Augustine, Fla. Many more events like the Triple Crown Spring Frost tournament will go through until as late as November 6. In order to put on so many events over such a long span of time,

Runners Continued from Page 3HH

The large hills that the runners encounter on the 10K course that begins at Cumberland Mall and goes north on U.S. 41 to the finish line at White Water park makes the U.S. 10K Classic one of the toughest races in the nation.

The 2011 U.S. 10K Classic will be held on Sept. 5.

The MUST Ministries Gobble Job is the secondlargest road race in the county.

The eighth-annual edition of the Thanksgiving Day event was the largest in its history, attracting around 8,000 participants for its 5K and 10K races, an increase from the 6,400 who ran in 2009.

The Polar Bear Run is another long time Cobb County favorite, with the popular east Cobb event being held for the 23rd year in a row at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church on Jan. 22.

The race attracted its usual large group of runners this year, with around 2,000 signing up to run in the 5K and 2K fun run.

Also attracting large groups of runners every year are the Silver Comet 10K and half marathon races at the Silver Comet trail in south Cobb.

East Cobb Baseball must maintain its facilities with travel ball teams consistently using the fields. With so many teams traveling from out of state, schedules must be handled with care.

“I would say that probably first and foremost, when you have to deal with everybody’s travel plans and making sure that you can fit schedules to when they can and will be there,” Baldwin said when asked what the most difficult thing was about putting together events. “The schedules are first and get very, very difficult from time to time, but that’s part of it.

Next, it’s making sure that when it’s their time to play the game, the field being in the best condition that it can be in.

It takes time to keep fields maintained so the kids can play on first-class fields.

“With umpires, you have to make sure they are on time and ready to go. We check that they are professional and do a really good job… It’s quite an army of talent that it takes to pull that off.”

While the Triple Crown event starts the schedule, the Perfect Game East Cobb Invitational for 14-and-under teams up to 18-and-under teams highlights the summer at East Cobb Baseball. With the large number of teams coming to the area, there are more opportunities for college and pro scouts to evaluate talent.

On top of the large number of events that East Cobb Baseball puts on every season,

there are a large number of collegiate and professional scouts that come out to see who the next great star of the game will be. After Braves outfielder Jason Heyward had a stellar rookie season, there will certainly be just as much if not more attention paid to East Cobb Baseball this year.

It’s fair to say that East Cobb Baseball has become a training ground and a crucial part in developing baseball talent in the area.

“The teams in general that come out of here get a lot of instruction to what it takes to be the highest player you can reach,” Baldwin said. “We try to instruct them in that way and help them understand that it’s a team game. There is a lot of showcasing. It makes it tougher for kids to understand what a team is. We try to stay away from that.”

Overall, it’s clear that baseball has become an integral part of the East Cobb community and of baseball in Georgia at large.

“I think there’s some really exciting things that have happened in the past 20 years in Cobb, Cherokee, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties,” Baldwin said. “Baseball has become a very viable sport to a lot of people, which is good for the kids. I’m glad to see it and the part that we had to play in it with high schools and other organizations. We’ve made baseball better for everyone and all the kids, and hopefully that should be the most important thing.”

The Silver Comet half marathon is the longest road race in Cobb County, with its 13.1-mile course covering the south Cobb portion of the popular 57-mile trail that stretches to the GeorgiaAlabama border.

It was another big year for the Silver Comet half marathon, which had 1,705 participants in 2010 — an increase from the 1,603 runners who competed in ’09.

The Silver Comet half marathon will be held for the 11th year on Oct. 30.

The Silver Comet 10K also draws large annual crowds.

The race featured 845 participants last year, a drop from 1,027 in 2009.

The 13th edition of the Silver Comet 10K will take place on March 12.

Launching the racing calendar in a big way every year is the ATC Resolution Run, which features its popular 5K and 10K races in Kennesaw on New Year’s Day. The Resolution Run is held by the Atlanta Track Club as part of its Grand Prix series and is the only ATC race currently held in the county.

A total of 1,223 runners participated in the 5K and 10K races this year, a little less than the 1,452 who took part in 2010.

Another long-time favorite

on the county’s race calendar is the Run for Life, which has been holding its 5K and 10K races every summer since 1984.

The Run for Life began its lengthy run at Life University in 1984 and stayed there for around two decades until moving to Roberts Business Park in Kennesaw in 2004.

The race attracted 594 participants in 2010, a slight increase from the 522 who showed up in ’09.

The 28th annual Run for Life will be held this year on July 30.

The Jonquil Jog in Smyrna has also been a popular destination for runners for a number of years. The race had 507 participants last year after having 628 in ’09. This year’s event will be held on April 23.

The Run for the Son 5K and 10K races in Powder Springs attracts a large number of participants every year, with 526 runners taking part in this year’s edition on Feb. 5.

Cobb County runners also participate in several of the other major races in the Atlanta area, with the Peachtree Road Race, the Publix Georgia Marathon and Half-Marathon and the Atlanta Marathon and HalfMarathon being the most popular.

Laurel Park Tennis Center in the city of Marietta underwent new management last May that has quickly brought in new ideas to involve the city in the tennis community.

The new management goes by the company name Tennis Dynamics.

It’s a five-person team headed by J.P. Weber, who is director of tennis operations at Laurel Park. His wife, Jennifer Weber, is the schools program director. Thabani Sithole and Steve Gutke are staff professionals and Norbert Elliot is the conditioning specialist.

Tennis Dynamics’ motto is “Go Slower and Get There Quicker.” Instructors emphasis that tennis can’t be taught overnight and players can sometimes take years before finding success at a high level. They stress basic fundamentals, patience and long hours of training. They say players who rise quickly can fall just as fast because their game hasn’t been fully developed.

The program has been running junior and adult tennis clincs for the last nine months and has worked tirelessly at organizing tournaments that attract marquee junior and adult players who live in and out of state. They also host free round robins once a month as well as camps for juniors and adults.

“I think its hard for us to get name out here because we’re new,” Jennifer Weber said. “It’s work in progress and strying to get started as a new business out here. We have a lot of things to look forward to out here.”

Laurel Park’s numerous tennis programs includes QuickStart Tennis and a Pee Wee Program for youngsters ages 4-9. It also offers four

Staff / Laura Moon

Marietta’s Megan McClinden is just one of the many successful high school tennis players to come from Cobb County in recent years. levels of junior development programs that’s based on skill level. Tennis Dynamics also offers coaches at the state, southern and national levels and provides many helpful hints such as pre-match warmup, match strategy and post tournament evaluation.

Tennis Dynamics offers private lessons, league play, clinics, round robins and cardio tennis for adults and there are other newer porgrams such as school programs, summer camps and Polar Bear camps for those who enjoy cold weather tennis. A strength and conditioning

program that emphasizes speed, strength, flexibility, endurance and coordination are also offered.

At other tennis centers in Cobb County, Steve Lottinger, the facility manager of Harrison Tennis Center in east Cobb won the ‘Ace Award’ by Special Pops Tennis for his role in introducing a tennisplaying experience for disabled adults and children.

Sweetwater Tennis Center in Austell is now offering a Build-A-Player program for beginners and a Competition Development program for tournament.

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GROWTH & REVITALIZATION

MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011