1-5-2018 Dunwoody by Rough Draft Atlanta: Atlanta Intown, Reporter Newspapers

JANUARY 5 - 18, 2018 • VOL. 9— NO. 1

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► 2018:

Looking into political crystal ball PAGE 10 2017: Year in Review PAGE 2 ► ►

OUT & ABOUT | P8

Students protest alleged racism at Dunwoody High BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

HONORIN

A group of students recently gathered in front of Dunwoody High School to protest what they said is racist behavior from some classmates. About 50 students gathered Dec. 18 at the entrance of Dunwoody High School before classes started to protest racism at the school that some allege has been going on for some time. “We are protesting because there’s a serious problem with racist comments and jokes being made all the time in the hallways and classrooms and no justice is being brought to the victims,” said Arryana Dixon, a senior at DHS. The protest that started about 7:30 a.m. was apparently sparked by a photograph that was shared on social media of the DHS football cheerleading squad that showed the only black cheerleader cropped out. DHS Principal Priscilla Cole told parents in an email that the crop was unintentional, and that the picture was

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Council members sworn in at new City Hall BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

READ OUR STUDENT PROFILES PAGES 14-29

Dunwoody welcomed a new City Council member and two returning council members to the City Council with a short and simple swearing-in ceremony at the new City Hall at 4800 Ashford-Dunwoody Road. Tom Lambert, who won the Post 3 seat in November, was sworn in alongside Pam Tallmadge and Jim Riticher, who were reelected to their second terms. Richard McCully, a Dunwoody resident See COUNCIL on page 13

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2017: Year in Review BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

HearAtlanta.com Meet Our Atlanta Audiologists Make an appointment today to have your hearing evaluated and meet our newest Dunwoody audiologist, Dr. Sara Feigenbaum.

Homeowners can enjoy fresh eggs from their backyard chickens and residents can now visit their elected officials in a new City Hall thanks to the work done in 2017 and included in our top stories of the year. Other major stories include a bid for Amazon to locate its new $5 billion headquarters in Perimeter Center and the rise of progressive political activism in the city regarded as a Republican stronghold.

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The city unveiled its new, sleek yet simple logo to go along with its new home at 4800 Ashford-Dunwoody Road. The city purchased the 45,000-square-foot building in May for slightly more than $8 million. Renovations and buildout have been ongoing for several months with move-in wrapping up this month. The building where the current city hall is located, 41 Perimeter Center East, is part of a massive proposed redevelopment from Grubb Properties that includes six residential towers and an office tower.

2010 vote where the council voted 4-3 to not allow backyard chickens. Mayor Denis Shortal cast the lone no vote; he also voted in 2010 to keep chickens out.

NATURE CENTER CELEBRATES 25 YEARS, EXPANSION PLANNED

The Nature Center celebrated its 25th anniversary and the city gave the gift of $400,000 in funding to go toward building a new pavilion slated to be completed in the fall. The city also formed a new Public Facilities Authority that will enable the Nature Center to enter into a 40year lease agreement with the city rather than traditional year-to-year leases. The long-term lease is necessary to solicit funds from foundations and corporations as the Nature Center undertakes a nearly $3 million capital campaign to add facilities and expand programming.

LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS AWAKEN

EGGS-ELLENT NEWS FOR BACKYARD FARMERS

This was the year the backyard chickens came home to roost, so to speak. The City Council approved an ordinance to legalize backyard chickens for residents who want to keep chickens as pets and also for fresh eggs. Local Girl Scouts helped lead the charge to legalize backyard chickens with several speaking during public comment periods at City Council and Planning Commission meetings. The new ordinance sweeps aside a

Political activism took to the streets as anti-Trump protests stretched into the historically Republican suburbs. Some residents rallied in support of “Dreamers” – undocumented immigrants whose parents brought them to the U.S. as children -- at the corner of Chamblee-Dunwoody Road and Mount Vernon Road

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following President Trump’s announcement to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA students at Dunwoody High School and their supporters also held a rally to protest the president’s action and to raise awareness. Another rally at Dunwoody High School protested alleged racism at the school. The grassroots Perimeter Progressives formed to recruit and urge Democrats to get involved in local and state races.

6TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT RACE

Republican Karen Handel won the 6th Congressional District seat in a narrow victory over Democrat Jon Ossoff in a special election that burned through record-setting campaign funds and drew a national spotlight. Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state and Fulton County Board of Commissioners chair, is a well-known figure in the majority-Republican district, which includes parts of Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. Ossoff was a political newcomer who lived outside the district, an unusual situation allowed by the U.S. Constitution. The race was viewed nationally as a sort of referendum on President Trump and locally as another sign of the area shifting from Republican red to mixed GOP-Democrat purple. Ossoff ran on a slogan of “Flip the 6th.”

HOTELS, HOTELS, HOTELS EVERYWHERE

A hotel boom in Perimeter Center took place in 2017, with a 7-story CITY OF DUNWOODY AC-brand A rendering of the hotel apAC-brand hotel. proved for 121 Perimeter Center West; a 10-story hotel approved at 1134 Hammond Drive in a small, unused portion of Perimeter Mall’s parking lot and adjacent to the Dunwoody MARTA station; and 12-story hotel proposed at 84 Perimeter Center East. A new 7-story, 127-room Residence Inn by Marriott hotel, which is part of the Spruill Gallery property redevelopment, opened in August.

PLAN LOOKS AT MIXED-USE FUTURE FOR PEACHTREE INDUSTRIAL AREA

The city is asking for community input on the future redevelopment of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Winters Chapel Road. While city officials say no official plans are in the works, concept plans include the replacement of some older apartment complexes — home to nearly 1,900 households — with mixed-use projects. The study of the Peachtree Industrial Boulevard area includes apartment complexes that the city once controversially targetDUN

Community | 3

www.ReporterNewspapers.net ed for replacement with a sports complex. Such a use is not in the current study, but it does show those apartments replaced with single-family houses and townhomes.

tel management officials agreed to the tax hike in return for the city’s promise to build park amenities near their hotels for their customers.

AMAZON HQ2 AND HIGH STREET

LOCAL MOMS CREATE ANTI-SEMITISM GROUP

Amazon started a nationwide frenzy when it announced it was seeking a city to locate its new headquarters, known as HQ2. The long-vacant High Street property, 42 acres at Hammond Drive and Perimeter Parkway and near the Dunwoody MARTA Station, is a contender along with several other spots in metro Atlanta as Georgia hopes to woo the corporate giant and its promise of more than $5 billion in construction and jobs for up to 50,000 people. GID Development Group, the Boston-based developers for High Street, submitted the property bid to the state, but city officials have said GID is also still moving forward on its plans for a giant mixed-use development at the site, a plan that’s been in the works for more than a decade.

Following a series of bomb threats early in the year -- including Dunwoody’s Marcus Jewish Community Center of At-

lanta -- a group of Dunwoody-area mothers founded the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism. Some 200 people attended its first meeting in March, which covered topics such as a push to enact a state hate crimes law and concern over a wave of anti-Semitic bullying in North Fulton schools. The group held another, private forum on school bullying later in the area, with similarly large attendance.

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PERIMETER CENTER TO GET GREEN SPACE

The City Council agreed to raise its hotel-motel tax rate to create additional revenue slated to go toward adding trails and green space to Perimeter Center. The tax increase will bring in an extra $850,000 a year to the city to design and build the green spaces and another $850,000 to the Dunwoody Convention and Visitors Bureau to market them. Ho-

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Students protest alleged racism at Dunwoody High School Continued from page 1 not used in any formal setting. But Dixon said the demonstration was to protest more than just the photograph. Before Dixon could say anything else, however, DeKalb County District 1 Regional Superintendent Sherry Johnson interrupted and said no students could be interviewed by the media. A DeKalb Schools police officer asked all people who were not students to leave the campus. DHS Principal Cole, who was watching the protest, declined comment. The rally was advertised on social media as a Black Lives Matter protest. Cole sent an email to parents acknowledging a protest was planned in response to “a viral picture went out that was mischaracterized which involved our football cheerleading squad and it has impacted our school community.” DeKalb School Board member Stan Jester of Dunwoody attended the rally and said he had talked to cheerleaders and their parents and learned that the black cheerleader, who was standing on the outside of the group, was cropped out when the photo was submitted to Walgreens to be cropped from a 4-by-6 to

4-by-4. The machine at Walgreens made the crop, he said, not any of the students or faculty. He did note that DHS students were speaking out at the rally and he wanted to hear what they had to say. “I want to know what their concerns are,” he said. “Dunwoody is a very open community. We respect their thoughts.” He added that he disagreed with them protesting the cropped photo, but that he was pleased to see it was a nonviolent protest. “I don’t agree with what they are saying, but I wanted to make sure they just weren’t blindly following a crowd,” he said. “There is no doubt this [protest at DHS] is indicative of what’s going on socially and politically,” Jester said. “I believe minority students, especially students of color … they feel like they are being kept down [and] immigrants feel like they are being kicked out. They feel like … what’s the right word … is oppressed the right word? They feel like they aren’t being given a chance.” Schelle Purcell, whose daughter Chanel Fairley, a sophomore, was leading the chants, attended the protest to show her daughter support. She said the protest was brought on by the black cheerleader being cropped out of a photo, but that

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Chanel Fairley, a sophomore at Dunwoody High School, leads chants at a protest at the school Monday morning. About 50 students gathered to protest racism. Right, DeKalb School Board member Stan Jester at the Dec. 18 protest.

she heard black students, including her daughter, deal regularly with racist comments. “When you hear stories, you want to support them,” she said. “It was time to do something, to say something.” She said she wrote the principal and cheerleading coach asking about the cropped photo and was told it was a mistake made by Walgreens. She said she

was not convinced and her daughter and cousin decided to move ahead with the protest after they heard backlash from fellow students and football players. “They were telling them, ‘What does it matter. It’s only a picture,’” Purcell said. “Well, nothing ever matters until black kids get together and take a stand against racism.”

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PCIDs pays $2.8M to settle Sandy Springs lawsuit BY JOHN RUCH

The Sandy Springs dispute involved a sidewalks and streetscape beautification project along Peachtree-Dunwoody Road between I-285 and Abernathy Road carried out around 2008 and 2009. The PCIDs commissioned the project using federal grant money provided through the Georgia Department of Transportation, with the city acting as a fiscal agent required under the grant policy. The PCIDs are two jointly operated self-taxing business districts, one in Fulton County and one in DeKalb. The grant — and the lawsuit — specifically involved the Fulton CID. Years later, in 2014, the Federal Highway Administration audited the grant for compliance with its terms. According to a written statement from the city, the audit found “non-compliance” in the project’s paperwork, including “lack of information in the files related to materials and testing information; missing sediment and erosion control reports; and failure to include Buy America requirements [a mandate to use American-made products] in the Project contract.” The federal government demanded its nearly $2.8 million in grant money back and sought reimbursement from GDOT, which in turn demanded the money from the city. Rather than hitting the city with one huge bill, GDOT agreed to deduct the money from the city’s annual allotment of state road-paving funds. Former City Attorney Wendell Willard previously said there was no dispute that the paperwork errors happened, but there were arguments about who to blame. After negotiations with the PCIDs failed, the city in June sued that organization as well as two corporations, CH2M Hill and AECOM, that supervised public works during the project under Sandy Springs’ largely outsourced model of government. According to a city press release, Lowe Engineers also became a defendant in the lawsuit. To settle the suit, the PCIDs is paying back the full $2.8 million, with the corporations not paying anything, Lee said. Of that amount, the city will directly receive $698,773.83 as reimbursement for the paving fund deductions to date, and the balance will be paid to GDOT, according to city officials.

johnruch@reporternewspapers.net

The Perimeter Community Improvement Districts will pay $2.8 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the city of Sandy Springs over costly paperwork errors on a streetscape project. The settlement agreement was signed Dec. 19 and involves no admission of wrongdoing from the PCIDs and private contractors that the city had also sued, according to City Attorney Dan Lee. Ann Hanlon, the PCIDs’ new executive director, declined to discuss the settlement in detail, but repeated her comments in an interview earlier this month that settling the lawsuit was a priority. She previous said it was the subject of her “first phone call” on taking the job. She said the PCIDs was “proud” to get the lawsuit settled and is looking forward to a new master plan of transportation-related projects in the new year, which will involve collaboration with Perimeter Center cities. “Our focus, moving forward, is to build innovative transportation projects to improve the area for everyone,” she said. About two weeks after the city threatened to sue, in August 2016, former PCIDs leader Yvonne Williams made a surprise resignation, that was not announced until weeks later. Williams cited personal and family reasons for leaving and said the PCIDs boards did not force her out. Hanlon said the PCIDs staff is reviewing files on all similar projects and had completed the review on projects on the Fulton County side of Perimeter Center, while still working on the DeKalb side. She said the PCIDs are “reviewing anything,” with “nothing found so far.” “That’s gratifying,” Mayor Rusty Paul said at the Dec. 19 City Council meeting, where the settlement was announced. He called the lawsuit a “family dispute” and added, “With the change in leadership and new direction [at the PCIDs], I’m enthusiastic.” The paperwork dispute also concerned officials in Dunwoody, another Perimeter Center city and frequent PCIDs project partner. Dunwoody officials previously said they spent $4,000 on a special audit of similar joint projects with the PCIDs, finding no errors. New Restaurant

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State Rep. Hanson to introduce hate crimes legislation BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

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State Rep. Meagan Hanson (R-Brookhaven) will carry a hate crimes bill in the General Assembly this session following a succession of failed attempts by Democrats trying to do the same. Hanson, who is beginning her second year in office and faces re-election in November, held a press conference Jan. 3 alongside members of law enforcement and members of the Anti-Defamation League and The Coalition for a Hate Free Georgia to announce her new bill. The proposed law would add enhanced punishments for crimes committed against protected classes of people based on race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, mental disability and physical disability, Hanson said in an interview. Those are the same classes protected under the federal hate crimes law passed in 2010, she said. “It is an interesting political time right now … in the midst of what happened in Charlottesville,” Hanson said in an interview on why she decided to sponsor the bill. In August, white supremacists marched in the streets of Charlottesville, Va., and waved Nazi flags while chanting against Jews and other minorities. A woman protesting the white supremacists was killed. Hanson said she was convinced it was time to sponsor a bill after meeting and working with local leaders of the Anti-Defamation League, a national advocacy group pushing for state hate crimes legislation. She said she has also talked to prosecutors and to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan who supports such a bill. “It’s shocking that Georgia doesn’t have this [hate crimes legislation] on the books,” she said. Shelley Rose, deputy regional director for the Atlanta-based ADL, said the ADL has been in talks with Hanson since last spring but work on having a hate crimes bill passed in Georgia has been a years-long effort. After Dylan Roof shot and killed nine African Americans at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, the ADL made an even bigger nationwide push to have hate crimes legislation passed in states that did not have it as well as to strengthen other state bills, Rose said. Last year, former Democrat state Rep. Keisha Waites introduced hate crimes legislation, but it went nowhere. Waites resigned her seat in an unsuccessful bid for Fulton County Commission chair. The FBI defines a hate crime as one committed with the “added element of bias” against someone because of who they are who someone thinks they are. For example, if someone spray paints a racial slur on a black church, that could be considered a hate crime, or if someone beats up someone because they are gay, that could also be considered a hate crime. A person convicted of a hate crime typically has added punishment, such as a longer prison sentence, known as “penalty enhancements.” At one time, Georgia had a hate crimes law. In 2000, the General Assembly passed a bill calling for enhanced punishment for crimes committed due to “bias or prejudice.” The state Supreme Court in 2004 threw the law out, however, calling it “unconstitutionally vague” for not specifying biases, such as a crime committed against

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someone because of their religion or sexual orientation. poses “religious liberty” bills. Hate crimes legislation has been raised in the General Assembly every year since “My record speaks for itself,” she said. 2004 by Democrats, but it has never gained serious traction. Bryan Ramos, a Democrat seeking to unseat Hanson in November, said it was an “We have really tried to identify someone [to carry the bill] and we really want bi“insult” for Hanson to carry the hate crimes bill. partisan legislation,” Rose said. “Democrats have been lead“Meagan Hanson must have graduated from the Donald ing the way on this legislation for many years ... and Meagan Trump School of Politics,” Ramos said. “After self-publishing really stepped up this year.” serial anti-LGBTQ hate speech GOP statements on Twitter, Hanson said she understands passage of such a bill is an Meagan Hanson doubles down and attempts to exploit the seuphill battle. rious issue of hate crimes to try and save her failing campaign. “I am not unaware of the struggles this bill faces,” she Georgia simply deserves better.” said. “We are taking it one step at a time.” Matthew Wilson, an openly gay Democrat also opposing Those struggles basically fall along party lines, she said. Hanson in November, said her words and record do speak for Republicans tend to oppose such a bill while Democrats supthemselves, and they should sound “loud alarm bells.” port hate crimes legislation. “I fully support the ADL and their efforts to pass this bill “I believe both sides of the aisle find this to be a partisan and I think it is inexcusable we are one of five states without a issue,” Hanson said. “To me, it’s good policy and should be hate crimes bill when we have Georgians being murdered for nonpartisan. It saddens me a little bit that this is a partisan being who they are,” Wilson said. issue.” She said state Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs) “But let’s call this for what it is — a standard Republican has said he will sign on to her bill. ruse. She was hand-picked by Republican leadership to introLast year, when Hanson faced Taylor Bennett for House duce this bill because she is the most vulnerable Republican District 80, which includes Brookhaven, some of Sandy incumbent and she is facing an openly gay opponent,” he said. Springs and Chamblee, she came under fire by some activHe said Hanson did not come out in support of Waites’ bill ists for what they called anti-transgender tweets. FILE last session and noted what he said were her past anti-transWith gender identity included as a protected class in her State Rep. Meagan Hanson. gender comments. bill, how does Hanson plan to respond to potential criticism And, he said, he does not appreciate his friends and loved ones being used as for her past statements? a “political football” during an election year. He also said Hanson did not have “I used the word ‘tranny’ in 2011. I didn’t know it was a bad word then. I don’t use the right motivation to fight for the bill or the personal connections in the Senate it today,” she said. “All I can say is sorry.” where support for the bill is crucial. Wilson said he feared this was more of a politThe other tweet called out an AJC tweet for a story about two transgender teens ical stunt rather than a push to get the bill passed. who fell in love. “I’m gay and I welcome her newfound support ... but it would have been helpful “[The story] was just about a normal, everyday thing that happens. They were to have her support last session,” he said. “It’s very difficult to see her concern as trying to sensationalize something that is normal,” she said. sincere. If you want to authentically carry the flag for human rights, you have to She said she was never contacted about the tweets and was not given the “benefit of the doubt” by her detractors. She said she is supportive of LGBT issues and opshow up in non-election years, too.”

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8 | Out & About

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MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY DUNWOODY MLK JR. DAY OF SERVICE

Voted AJC’s #1 “Best of Atlanta” art gallery!

Monday, Jan. 15, 9 a.m. to noon.

The city of Dunwoody invites the community to volunteer in this second annual event at Brook Run Park hosted in partnership with local nonprofit organizations. Volunteers check in at 8:30 a.m. at the park’s pavilion and then either work in the park or drive to other selected volunteer locations. All ages. Free. Registration ends Sunday, Jan. 14 at 11:59 p.m. 4770 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody. Info: dunwoodyga.gov.

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FREE ADMISSION DAY AT ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER Monday, Jan. 15, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Admission is free on MLK Day at the Atlanta History Center. Special programming will include a film screening and conversation about “A Trek to the River’s Edge” with the filmmaker and student leaders of the 1960s Atlanta Student Movement at 1 and 3 p.m. 130 W. Paces Ferry Road NW, Buckhead. Info: atlantahistorycenter.com.

SANDY SPRINGS’ TRIBUTE TO MLK Monday, Jan. 15, 10 a.m.

This 12th annual event will spotlight volunteers at the Sandy Springs Mission, an organization dedicated to helping needy students from the Sandy Springs community. Event attendees are encouraged to bring a children’s book which will be donated to the mission. Free. Heritage Sandy Springs,6110 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs. .Info: sandyspringsga.gov.

BROOKHAVEN MLK DAY Monday, Jan. 15, 5:30 p.m.

Brookhaven will observe MLK Day with a dinner and program at the Lynwood Community Center. DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond will be keynote speaker for the annual event which honors the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the “Lynwood Integrators.” All ages invited. $10. Tickets can be purchased at the community center. 3360 Osborne Road, Brookhaven. Info: 404-637-0542.

STATE OF LATINOS BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION.

2018 State of Latinos Conference

January 29 - 30, 2018

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Alexander Acosta

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Carlos Osegueda

Alejandra Ceja

Executive Director, Panasonic Foundation Former Executive Director, White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics

Hyatt Regency Atlanta

United States Secretary of Labor Ali Noorani

Executive Director, National Immigration Forum

Regional Director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Representative, Rafael Anchia

Janet Murguía

David Lubell

Brent Wilkes

Texas House of Representatives District 103, Texas

Founder and Executive Director Welcoming America

State of Latinos Networking Reception 2018 STATE OF LATINOS IN GEORGIA CONFERENCE

Tickets Still Available! To register online, visit www.thelaa.org/2018StateofLatinos

President, Unidos US (Formerly National Council of La Raza)

CEO, League of United Latin American Citizen (LULAC)

Latino Housing Summit Latino Education Summit HOSTED BY THE LATIN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION

MLK DAY CAMPS BLUE HERON NATURE PRESERVE Monday, Jan. 15, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

SPRUILL CENTER FOR THE ARTS Monday, Jan. 15, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Campers will explore art through a variety of mixed media such as drawing, painting, collage or clay projects as they create artistic keepsakes. Extended hours available. 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Fees and other info: spruillarts. org/youthSUBMIT YOUR EVENT LISTING WITH US AT classesandcalendar@ReporterNewspapers.net camps.

Two camps, for ages 2 to 4 and 5 to 13, will give children outdoor experiences. Halfday and extended hours available. 4055 Roswell Road N.E., Buckhead. Fees and registration info: bhnp.org/school-breakcamps.

JANUARY 5 - 18, 2018

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Out & About | 9

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GET ACTIVE TAI CHI

Mondays, 7 to 8 p.m.

Breathe and gently stretch for fitness, meditation and movement with Taian Wang at the Sandy Springs Library. Free. 395 Mt. Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs. Info: 404-303-6130.

YOGA WITH MARIANNE Thursdays, 10 to 11 a.m.

Learn simple steps to help ease stress and muscle tension. Yoga mat required. Free. Sandy Springs Library, 395 Mt. Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs. Info: 404-303-6130.

LEARN SOMETHING

the Whole30 program and author of “The Whole30 Fast and Easy Cookbook.” Free with RSVP for MJCCA members and the community. MJCCA Zaban Park, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. RSVP: atlantajcc. org/bookfestival.

Located in Brookhaven Station!

ATIONAL SPORTS P ERN UB INT

SUSHI & SAKI COOKING CLASS Thursday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Learn how to select fish and hand roll your own sushi at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. Advance registration requested. $65 community; $50 members. MJCCA Kuniansky Family Center, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Registration: atlantajcc.org. (Type “sushi” in search bar.) Info: Howard Schreiber at 678-8123993 or howard.schreiber@atlantajcc.org.

MARIST EVENING SERIES

Monday nights Jan. 22, Jan. 29, and Feb. 5, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Register online by Sunday, Jan. 21.)

MAX PIXEL

DUNWOODY GARDEN CLUB

Hudson FC

Three evenings of courses for adults taught by Marist School’s faculty and staff include topics such as religion and spirituality, photography and self-discovery. $95 by Jan. 12; $110 after Jan. 12. Onsite registration Monday, Jan. 22, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Marist School cafeteria. 3790 Ashford-Dunwoody Road NE, Brookhaven. Info: marist.com/eveningseries.

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Wednesday, Jan. 10, 9:30 a.m.

Featuring guest speaker Johnnie Berry, who will discuss beautiful container gardens. The club meets monthly on second Wednesdays from September through May. North DeKalb Cultural Center, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Room 4, Dunwoody. Info: dunwoodygardenclub.com.

MASTER GARDENER TALKS Saturday, Jan. 13, 11 a.m.

Richard Oosterholtz will explain the Dunwoody Community Garden & Orchard’s “Urban Double Crop Project,” at the DCGO greenhouse barn at Brook Run Park, opposite the skate park. Learn about UGA research at the garden and tests for the feasibility of raising cool-season crops such as lettuce, broccoli and spinach in dormant Bermuda grass lawns. Free. Refreshments served. 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody. Info: dcgo.org.

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10 | Commentary

Reporter Newspapers

Our mission is to provide our readers with fresh and engaging information about life in their communities. Published by Springs Publishing LLC 6065 Roswell Road, Suite 225 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 Phone: 404-917-2200 • Fax: 404-917-2201 Brookhaven Reporter | Buckhead Reporter Dunwoody Reporter | Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net Atlanta INtown www.AtlantaINtownPaper.com Atlanta Senior Life www.AtlantaSeniorLife.com

C O NTA C T US Founder & Publisher Steve Levene stevelevene@reporternewspapers.net Editorial Managing Editor John Ruch johnruch@reporternewspapers.net INtown Editor: Collin Kelley Editor-at-Large Joe Earle Staff Writers Dyana Bagby, Evelyn Andrews Copy Editor: Donna Williams Lewis Creative and Production Creative Director Rico Figliolini rico@reporternewspapers.net Graphic Designer: Soojin Yang Advertising Director of Sales Development Amy Arno amyarno@reporternewspapers.net Sales Executives Julie Davis, Jeff Kremer, Janet Porter, Jim Speakman, Janet Tassitano Office Manager Deborah Davis deborahdavis@reporternewspapers.net Contributors Robin Conte

Free Home Delivery 60,000 copies of Reporter Newspapers are delivered by carriers to homes in ZIP codes 30305, 30319, 30326, 30327, 30328, 30338, 30342 and 30350 and to more than 500 business/retail locations. For locations, check “Where To Find Us” at www.ReporterNewspapers.net For delivery requests, please email delivery@reporternewspapers.net.

© 2018 with all rights reserved Publisher reserves the right to refuse editorial or advertising for any reason. Publisher assumes no responsibility for information contained in advertising. Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Reporter Newspapers or Springs Publishing, LLC.

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Commentary / Looking into 2018’s political crystal ball 2017 is fading into history; 2018 stands before us. What’s in this year’s political crystal ball? Reporter Newspapers asked local community officials what they think the new year will bring. Here’s what they see coming. Sen. Elena Parent (D-DeKalb County) I am hoping we will have productive conversations regarding expansion of healthcare coverage in Georgia through Medicaid dollars and regarding the creation of a regional transit authority to pave the way for state investment and increased transit in metro Atlanta. I am sure we will also see some Republican-primary-friendly proposals related to guns and “religious liberty.” The state is on firm fiscal footing and I am hoping that we can expand access to early childhood education and postsecondary education, as well as make reforms to K-12 such as ensuring every child can read by third grade. Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody) I believe the major issues we will deal with include a personal income tax cut, regional transit governance, a “clean” adoption update bill, and an expansion of healthcare options. I expect no legislation will pass as respects casinos or new cities and hope we will expand the proceeds that go from the lottery to HOPE and pre-K. In Fulton County, I am the second signature on assessment cap bills, including the school tax portion. Gwinnett County continues to look at transit options and, hopefully, DeKalb will develop a comprehensive transportation solution. Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul The Georgia Department of Transportation programs along I-285 and Ga. 400 will influence our residents short-term through the construction phases, and long-term will impact the region in our ability to maneuver throughout the metro area. We are looking at how we can improve safety through efficiencies in clearing trees and downed power lines. We also will continue our efforts to improve the speed at which waterline repairs are made. We will continue to press for recognition among the postal service as our own, unique city, deserving of an independent designation. Finally, the City Springs project ignited redevelopment along the Roswell Road corridor south to our Atlanta border. We plan to work with developers and the community to create positive change along the north quadrant.

Buckhead Coalition President and former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell A half a century since we introduced mass transit, which we nurtured to reasonable heights based on local funding, we are fortunate now to recognize state and area governments are considering partnerships. Now, with our city’s nonpartisan elections for mayor, city councilpersons, board of education members and municipal judges completed — some contests ending with 50 percent versus 50 percent, with just a handful separating winner from loser — our challenge will be to bring these opposing factions together, which we shall do to the benefit of all. Rep. Deborah Silcox (R-Sandy Springs) I will be working with my colleagues in the Senate to pass fireworks legislation that passed the House of Representatives last year and will give local control back to city and county officials as to the times of day that fireworks may be used. I will also be working with the Senate to pass my “child hearsay” statute that will clarify the effective date as to when evidence in child abuse cases may be admitted in court. A number of judges across the state have inquired about this bill, and I am not giving up on it. Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick (R-Marietta/Sandy Springs) I am new to the state Senate and am looking forward to my first session. To prepare, I have been working with Attorney General Chris Carr’s Taskforce on making progress on the opioid crisis. I am working on improving competition in the individual health marketplace and improving communication between the agencies and private sector stakeholders. I have been working to make Georgia a more militaryfriendly state. I have been working to improve our disaster preparedness. I am also working to improve training for our law enforcement officers. Sandy Springs City Councilmember Chris Burnett Significant work has been done this year in reshaping the future direction of our community, starting with the Next10 Plan and the evolution of City Springs, which opens in a few

short months. The city and the City Springs Foundation will work hard to assure that the Performing Arts Center provides highquality programing for our citizens. Transportation needs are always a crucial initiative and TSPLOST-funded projects should begin in earnest in 2018. We will also explore opportunities to redevelop the northern end of Sandy Springs with a focus on affordable housing for empty-nesters and for our first responders, teachers, and medical personnel. Finally, we will continue work on infrastructure projects to further enhance the quality of life in our great city. Fulton County Commissioner Lee Morris A major challenge in Fulton County for 2018 will be the reassessment of residential properties by Fulton County’s Board of Assessors. The 2017 proposed valuations resulted in huge increases and many apparent errors. The Board of Commissioners stepped in to use the 2016 values for 2017 taxation, but as property values continue to increase, we should expect large proposed valuation increases for 2018. Among many other steps, Fulton’s proposed 2018 budget includes $3.4 million for additional staff for more review and analysis of properties and for software upgrades. Also, the commissioners are asking the General Assembly to enact relief by extending a “floating” homestead exemption (which already applies to Fulton County’s general fund and Sandy Springs taxes) to the other 14 Fulton cities (including Atlanta), and the two school systems. A floating exemption rises with valuation increases. Brookhaven City Councilmember Linley Jones The city of Brookhaven has great plans for 2018 (and beyond) for our parks, roads, sidewalks and community planning. Our greatest challenge will be funding and continued implementation of these plans, as well as addressing the issue of steady growth in the metro area that creates traffic and housing problems. It is critical that we address the issues created by metro area population growth in a way that preserves and enhances the livability of our city for its citizens. Sandy Springs City Councilman Andy Bauman For Sandy Springs, 2018 offers the unique challenge — and opportunity — to establish a spirit-

JANUARY 5 - 18, 2018

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ed sense of community with the opening of our new City Springs City Center. After years of planning and construction, the vision becomes reality as we come together in the new park and in the performing arts venues. Just imagine: Saturday mornings strolling through the farmers market while children play in the interactive fountains; or, attending a concert in the “Byers Theater,” sure to be recognized as one of the finest performing arts venues in our region; or walking from your neighborhood for brunch or dinner at one of the many new restaurants that have opened in the revitalized City Springs district. Dunwoody City Councilmember Terry Nall DeKalb County SPLOST funding begins April 1, providing increased funding for transportation projects. In 2018, we will see left turn lanes added with sidewalks extended at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Vermack roads, as well as sidewalks added and sidewalk gaps filled on major roads and school routes. Design work will begin on two additional intersections, as well as continued paving of deteriorated roads. The Brook Run/Pernoshal Park Trail will connect to the Perimeter Center East Park through the area behind the new townhomes now under construction. We will complete the baseball complex in the expanded area of Brook Run Park behind Peachtree Charter Middle School. Design and construction work for Brook Run Park’s Great Lawn will get underway.

projects, including a brand new Skyland Park, and make significant improvements at Murphey Candler and Georgian Hills parks. We will have some exciting announcements about the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, coming up in March — it will be bigger and better than ever. And with the Atlanta Hawks in full swing at their new training facility here, Brookhaven will surely be the place to “be”! Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-DeKalb County) We need to invest in education and ensure that our citizens are prepared for the 21st century. Specifically, in addition to our efforts at K-12 and high education, we also need to be thinking about how we can provide paths for lifelong learning. We need to invest in transportation and transit, and we may finally see some movement on the latter this legislative session. We need to work on our healthcare system, which remains inaccessible for too many. I’ll be involved with all of these issues. I will also be pushing legislation that will allow victims of domestic violence to break their leases. It is a common-sense measure that can help someone get out of a very bad situation. I will also be working on bipartisan legislation to update our state’s outdated and insecure voting system.

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DeKalb County Commissioner Nancy Jester The main challenges facing DeKalb County include: meeting the requirements of the federal consent decree regarding the sewer system; improving the public safety portfolio for fire and police; improving code enforcement to eliminate blight and negative business activities; and reducing waste, particularly within the General Fund. DeKalb County has a maturing relationship with the cities within the county, particularly those newly formed in District 1. The cities should take an assertive posture in enforcing their codes, particularly regarding their codes on school district property. The results of these service and enforcement activities will ultimately determine the success or failure of the county and its cities. Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst 2018 will be a signature year for Brookhaven as the city will break ground on the Peachtree Creek Greenway, which is sure to become a signature destination for residents and visitors alike. We’ll also cut the ribbon on some exciting parks

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12 | Commentary

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SANDY SPRINGS OFFICE Learning to age politely

IT IS OUR GREAT PLEASURE TO WELCOME MARY CARPENTER JACK DERRICKSON SCOTT FELTON BANT MILLICHAP THEODORE PORTER SABRENA SANDERS

TO THE SANDY SPRINGS OFFICE

It is also our pleasure to extend to YOU excellent Real Estate service in the coming year.

Happy New Year!

Robin’s Nest

We all know that we Robin Conte is a writer should age and mother of four who gracefully. lives in Dunwoody. She But here in can be contacted at the South, we robinjm@earthlink.net. age politely. Sometime between graduation and grandmother, a Southern woman becomes a “ma’am.” That’s when we know that we have become a “woman of a certain age.” I don’t remember what age I was when I morphed from “girl” to “ma’am,” but somewhere in the thick of ma’amhood, I became a “young lady” again. And I must say that being referred to as a “young lady” when you’re in your fifties is about as jarring as being called “ma’am” when you’re in your twenties. I was in a grocery store when I became a “young lady” once more; I was stocking up for my household full of kids, and I’m sure that the employee who used the term was trying extra hard to be un-offensive, but I didn’t like the term at all. Really, that’s not a term anybody likes. Young ladies don’t even like to be called young ladies. Maybe 3-year olds do, but I think the address loses its appeal once they pass the age of 5. What really bothered me about the term is that it felt like the fellow who used it was going a bit too far in the opposite direction. Because the thing is, I know I’m not a young lady. I know I’m not tripping through the streets of Paris with Gigi and Madeline. I find it just a wee bit patronizing. I pondered this a while longer, as I loaded and unloaded my groceries, and wondered, when a middle-aged gentleman steps up to the register, does that employee call him a “young man”? I think not. What about “young laddie”? No, that would not

fly, not even in Scotland. Maybe men don’t get as bristled at “sir,” anyway. “Sir” has a certain grandeur, a royal connotation that carries it beyond the scope of age-inference. Maybe “ma’am” is a problem because it’s an abbreviation; maybe if people went around using the full-throttled “madam,” the term would connote something loftier than mere middle age. Even though “ma’am,” according to Sir Mister Webster, is “used to speak to the queen or woman of high rank,” in this country, at least, it is not a term that evokes refined appreciation; rather, it generates a huffy “How do you know I’m a ma’am?” type of response. It’s kind of a shame, in that aging politely is becoming harder to do. Somewhere, somehow, good manners have become distasteful. People shy away from being respectful because they’re afraid of being offensive. We teach our kids manners, but they are regarded as insults. And the root of the problem is that none of us wants to be perceived as “old,” so we pretend like we’ve discovered the fountain of youth by tossing out a moniker. The fact is, we don’t know how to address each other anymore. What do you call your parents’ friends, once you’ve grown up and moved out of the house and have children of your own? How do you address the couple you used to babysit for, once you’re employing a babysitter yourself? There are some monikers that will never change. My former Girl Scout leader, for instance, will always and forever be “Mrs. C” to all of us fully grown Girl Scouts. My parents’ friends will remain “Mr.” or “Mrs.” unless and until they implore me to address them otherwise. Teachers, no matter what their ages, will be addressed using their surnames, by moi. And when someone, especially a young lady or a young man, addresses me as “ma’am,” I will need to smile graciously and give thanks to the vigilant parents who raised their children with good manners — manners enough to help me age politely.

Marist Evening Series Captivating courses taught by Marist School faculty and staff. Classes in spirituality, arts, photography, college planning, technology, history, and more.

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Community | 13

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Sworn in at the Jan. 2 City Council meeting are, from left, Pam Tallmadge, Jim Riticher and Tom Lambert.

Council members sworn in at new City Hall Continued from page 1 who serves as an administrative judge at the U.S. Social Security Administration, swore in the council members. Following the swearing in, the council voted to elect Councilmember Lynn Deutsch to serve as mayor pro tempore, meaning she will fill the duties of Mayor Denis Shortal when he is not available. Some final cosmetic touches were being completed in the council chambers right up to the minute the meeting started in the new City Hall at 4800 Ashford-Dunwoody Road. Shortal told those who gathered for the short meeting that the new City Hall belonged to the residents. He added that the City Hall cost just over $12 million and the move and renovations were completed “on time and under budget.” All departments were moved into the new City Hall by Jan. 1. Some unpacking is still taking place, but the computers and phone systems have been working without interruption, said city spokesperson Bob Mullen. Municipal Court is up and running and the police department made its complete move into City Hall before the New Year. The 45,000 square-foot building is the city’s first wholly owned City Hall complex and was purchased for $8.05 million. Another $4 million was added for renovations. The city was leasing approximately the same amount of square feet at 41 Perimeter Center East to use as City Hall. The site of the former City Hall is being proposed for a massive mixed-use development to include six residential towers standing between 12 to 14 stories high and a new 19-story office tower.

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The council begins each meeting with an invocation.

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■ The story “PCIDs emerges with ‘next generation’ master plan” in the Dec. 15 issue gave an incorrect name for Linda Johnson, government relations director at the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts. ■ The story “New Christian school promises limits to traffic and growth” in the Dec. 15 issue gave an incorrect report of the school’s informal traffic count at Mount Vernon Road and Dunwoody Club and Brooke Farm drives. The study found that traffic got through the light there in one light cycle in 33 out of 35 times. DUN

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Education | 15

JANUARY 5 - 18, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

ith publication this month of our “20 Under 20” list, Reporter Newspapers again showcases local students doing extraordinary things

to better our communities. We asked public and private schools, service organizations and members of the general public to

HONORING

nominate students who have been active volunteers in their communities. As in past years, we are astounded at how much time and effort these students have put into their volunteer work. And,

as in past years, we found selecting just 20 honor-

TS EN UD

ees to be an incredibly difficult decision. HO

The students you meet here have collectively doGI VE

nated hundreds of hours of their young lives to help BAC K

mma Kate says she first volunteered with Los Niños Primero simply in an effort to improve her Spanish. But her work with the program for immigrant students in Sandy Springs has grown into much, much more. Over the past four years, she’s put in hundreds of volunteer hours with the organization. She helps teachers in the classrooms and works with students on their English, spelling, math and other subjects. She also connected Los Niños Primero to her micro-philanthropy class project, which contributed $2,000 to the organization. For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, she created an afterschool program and curriculum to help pre-kindergarten students at Los Niños Primero reach their academic goals. EMMA KATE SELLERS, 17 “By volunteering at Los Niños Atlanta Girls’ School Primero, I have learned that immigrants, especially nonnative speakers, have difficulty navigating the American education system and other systems here in the U.S.,” Emma Kate said. “What started as a way to practice Spanish has grown into 350 hours of service, a $2,000 donation, a Girl Scout Gold Award project and a newfound passion for helping the immigrant community.”

DUN

others. We hope these uplifting stories will inspire you to give back to the community.

ndrew shows passion for politics and the law. He’s worked as a page at the U.S. Senate and an intern in the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office and also volunteers with DeKalb County’s Teen Court. The court, a community-based alternative to the formal court process, allows first-time teen offenders accused of misdemeanors to present their cases to a court composed of their peers. Teens selected for the court review police reports and written testimonies, interview offenders and their parents, consult with officials and then debate what sort of sanctions should be imposed in a case, Andrew said. Sanctions can range from requiring letters of apology to requiring community service to referrals to court programs ANDREW ZACH, 17 or counseling, he said. “It’s Marist School always very satisfying to help these kids and give them the guidance necessary to succeed in the future,” Andrew said. And Andrew hopes that’s just the beginning of his work in politics or law. “I hope that I can impact people’s lives in a positive way and work through government structures to pass policies that will benefit people all across the country,” he said.

16 | Education

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amantha is working towards her Girl Scout Gold Award on a project that would provide an educational curriculum regarding testing for sexually transmitted diseases to teen girls in lowincome communities. She has partnered with Spelman College, the Hope Education Project, and the Westside and Peoplestown communities to get the project off the ground. Her goal is to create a sustainable program that would provide “health equity” throughout Atlanta. She was inspired to launch the initiative as a result of her work tutoring and mentoring at the Rick McDevitt Community Center in the Peoplestown neighborhood. In her role, Sam recruits students to participate SAMANTHA DELMAN, 17 in the program and tutors Pace Academy three afternoons per week throughout the school year. She also serves as a tutor and counselor for Keeping Pace, an academic summer program at Pace for underserved youth from Peoplestown and other neighborhoods. Among other organizations, Samantha also helped launch The Universal Language, a group that collects equipment for Kick4Life, which uses soccer as a forum for HIV/AIDs education. “Working at Keeping Pace led me to become engaged and passionate about the issues in the Peoplestown community, and I am so thankful for the opportunity.”

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s part of her internship with the Center for Civil and Human Rights last summer, Kaylan became engaged with work of Back on My Feet and still regularly meets at the Inman Park MARTA station at 5:45 a.m. to run with local area homeless residents. She has continued to stay engaged in her work from the internship, singlehandedly initiating and leading a human rights program at Atlanta International School last fall. In December, she returned to the Center to plan a program for elementary students in the Atlanta area. Kaylan’s memorable moment as a volunteer came while organizing a cheering section during a recent Back on My Feet race. “While cheering, I started talking with an alum of KAYLAN JONES, 18 the Back on My Feet program Atlanta International School who, not too long before the event, was recovering from being struck by a car on the sidewalk. His story humbled me because the least I could do was be there to support Back on My Feet by waking up early, while he was there shortly after a shocking incident. His story encouraged me to give back and not allow any excuse to hinder me from volunteering in the future.”

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JANUARY 5 - 18, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

atthew is a current member of the Teen Leaders program at the Carl E. Sanders Family YMCA where he volunteers weekly in the childcare department interacting and engaging with the children. Matthew helped to spearhead a teen-led clothing drive and is currently working on a survey project to gather feedback that will help provide a consistent way to measure the growth, progress and impact of the YMCA’s programs. “One of the most memorable moments I have had while volunteering was my first day in the playcenter at the YMCA. When I first decided to help, I had no clue what to do or how the children would react to having me in their room. Upon MATTHEW CELECIA, 16 walking in, the staff directed North Atlanta High School me to ‘go play with the kids,’ so I chose to sit at a large table towards the back of the room. Amazingly, several of the children began to surround me, asking me questions and giving me toys to play with. When I was asked to read, they sat quietly and gave me their full attention. Now they are excited to see me. Overall, this has taught me how to relate and understand younger children.”

THE SCALISE SISTERS: LAUREN, 15; EMILIE, 13; SAMANTHA, 17 The Galloway School

fter their mother battled with breast cancer, the sisters decided to organize a fundraising walk called Strides for Survivors. The event supported TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation, where their mother received treatment. Nearly 150 people participated in a fundraising walk last year, which raised over $6,000. Another walk is planned for February. “Spending this tremendous amount of time with my family to support something that hits so close to home was the best feeling that you could imagine,” Emilie said of organizing the walk. “Knowing that the donations of the participants of the Strides for Survivors walk helps more women rebuild their strength during their battle with breast cancer drives my sisters and me to want to grow our organization and to raise more money for Turning Point,” Samantha said. “Other kids just like me could look into their mother’s eyes and see them as the strong confident woman that they are and it would be because of our donations,” Lauren said.

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18 | Education

nationally recognized competitive table tennis player, Albert created the Student Table Tennis Activists Foundation (STTAF) to address health and educational issues in the community through ping pong. With the help of friends and family, Albert raised more than $2,000 and attracted 66 players to a recent tournament. Along with mission trips, tutoring, taking part in Relay For Life and creating public art, Albert has won a raft of awards including a Congressional Gold Medal and the Teen Ink Service Award. He likens the success of STTAF, which he hopes to take national, to creating a work of art. “Like clockwork, we register entrants, collect donations, arrange matches. ALBERT ZHANG, 17 I never thought it possible The Westminster Schools until drawing it out,” Albert said. “STTAF, our elaborate conception, generates $2,200 we use to buy tables and 150 paddles for the children’s center. Composition becomes a way of creatively modeling visions into reality.”

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n 2015, Courtney created the nonprofit “Supply Circle” after visiting her mother’s family home in Jamaica and seeing how difficult it is for children there to learn without school supplies. She organized a drive to collect supplies for the Heartsease Primary School in Mandeville, Jamaica such as pencils, notebooks, backpacks and pencil sharpeners, and they were delivered last September. Courtney was inspired to help underprivileged children in Jamaica because she says, “education is important and the key to success. We have to focus on the youth of the future and realize that every community is affected by another. I believe when those students feel confident, then they will succeed in and out of the classroom.” In addition, Courtney is a 2018 GivingPoint fellow, and she is COURTNEY COPELAND, 17 participating in entrepreneurial The Galloway School training that teaches students about launching community projects and nonprofit organizations.

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remarkable OUTCOMES Students of deep faith. Scores that rocket past the national averages. When our graduates enter their colleges or universities of choice across the world, they are faith-filled, magnanimous young men and women poised for a lifetime of happiness.

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KATHLEEN PAHL, 17 Mount Vernon Presbyterian School

tarting her freshmen year, Kathleen completed a yearlong project called Happiness in a Bag where she collected donated necessities like toiletries, gloves and granola bars for homeless people in Atlanta. During her sophomore year, she started an anti-bullying club at the high school called No Place For Hate. Last year Kathleen helped created and promote the Hurricane Harvey Relief fund, which raised more than $3,000. Kathleen is also working on a year-long project where she volunteers her time every Thursday at the Mount Vernon Towers assisted living home. “My most memorable moment occurred during my sophomore year collecting donated items from the community to be given to the homeless. For me the most gratifying part of the experience was meeting with individuals and hearing their stories as they thanked us for the bags full of necessities that we shared.”

DUN

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JAMIL ATKINSON, 17 The Lovett School

J Registering now for 2017

> Ages 12 mos. through Kindergarten >>Ages 12 9:00 mos.–through Kindergarten Hours: 12:30; Kindergarten enrichment 2 days until 2:30pm > Hours: 9:00 – 12:30; Kindergarten 2 days 2:30pm > enrichment Early Bird Drop offuntil at 8:30am >>Early Bird Drop at 8:30am Discovery Daysoff After School Program until 2:30pm for students > Discovery Days After School enrolled in 3-yr old class or older Program until 2:30pm for students 3-yrSchool old class or 4-11, older >enrolled ASPIRE in After ages Until 6pm > Accredited by AdvancEd SACS) >(formerly Accredited by AdvancEd (formerly SACS) > Certified School of Excellence by >N. Certified School of Excellence by GA UMC Preschool Association N. GA UMC Preschool Association > Developmentally Appropriate >Curriculum Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum > Community Registration for >2017-18 Community Registration in January 2017; for 2018-19 in January; tours begin in October! Tours available!

amil visited Lovett’s 825-acre cloud forest property in Ecuador, called Siempre Verde, for the first time two years ago. Struck by the beauty and challenges facing the people of the region, he gathered a group of Lovett students, organized a trip to Siempre Verde last summer, and met with local residents to talk about their successes and failures in selling their products. The goal was to figure out a way to sell their goods at Lovett on a long-term basis. During the trip, Jamil and his group made a documentary to market the products the local farmers and artisans grow and make. They brought back enough of the products to make 50 gift baskets containing coffee, raw sugar, honey, soap and aloe moisturizer. The baskets sold out and all monies will go back to the local famers and artisans in Ecuador. More baskets will be made in 2018 with new items collected by students who visit Siempre Verde. “It was interesting to see how labor intensive it is to produce the goods that are so commonplace to me. In our everyday lives, we don’t really think about how something on our dinner table got there, and it was fascinating to see the process.”

Limited spaces spaces available Limited available inin the the current current year year

For more more information For information call call 404-250-9455 404-250-9455 85 Mt. Vernon Highway, Atlanta 30328 6150 Sandy Springs Circle, Atlanta 30328| www.ssumc.org | www.ssumc.org| email: | email:nnadolski@ssumc.org nnadolski@ssumc.org

aha! The moment when it all comes together.

Educating students with language-based learning disabilities and differences 5 years old thru 12th grade.

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WILL MILLING, 17 Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School

ather than have their usual senior orientation meeting, Will Milling proposed something dramatically — and philanthropically — different for his class. He developed and raised money for a team-building program called Build-A-Hand, which resulted in the senior class building 35 prosthetic hands that are now being delivered to landmine victims around the world. “After the class had learned about the project and been working on assembling the hands in teams, I had each person place a koozie over their dominant hand. This resulted in each student only being able to construct a prosthetic hand with one hand – simulating the physical situation of someone who has lost a hand. Although this can be viewed as a serious teaching moment, it also created some awkward moments, even leading to some laughs. It was difficult for some of the students and some struggled with a few of the smaller pieces, but they all seemed to learn about something bigger than themselves. We were all very proud of helping those victims around the world in such a life-changing way.”

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Ask about our $3,500 “Little Learners” grant for the Mechina: Kindergarten Prep program.

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By the Year Before Kindergarten. Mechina: Kindergarten Prep is a full-day academic experience that serves four and young five-year-olds in a nurturing and encouraging environment. Simply put, Mechina offers more: • More innovative learning • More enriching field trips • More individualized education • More creative exploration

Come see for yourself!

JEREMY “REM” HELLMANN, 17 The Weber School

Join us for a Mechina Parent Information Session: Wednesday, January 17, 2018 10:00 – 11:30 am

s early as his bar mitzvah, Rem chose to have guests buy One World Futbols (indestructible balls made for any kind of surface) rather than get him gifts, and partnered with Atlanta’s Soccer in the Streets to distribute the dozens of balls to refugee kids in Clarkston. He was chosen by the National Center for Civil & Human Rights and the Museum of History & Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University to participate in a four-part dialogue titled “Changing Landscapes: Conversations on Human Rights.” Rem was also selected to be on the Fulton County Youth Commission, the Morehouse College Coca Cola Pre-College Leadership Program and The Great Jewish Books summer program at the Yiddish Book Center in Massachusetts. He said his time on the youth commission has been life-changing. “I remember the first time being in a van with my fellow youth commissioners, driving from place to place for the sole purpose of connecting with the homeless, providing them with the basics for their holidays, and inviting them to our Thanksgiving meal. Despite their obvious hardships, the gratitude we received was palpable. This taught me that although it’s important to give charity, just reaching out and interacting with others is often equally appreciated.”

Visit davisacademy.org/events to register or call 678-527-3300 to schedule a private tour.

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TALLULAH GRACE SCHLEY-RITCHIE, 18 Atlanta Girls’ School

allulah has been an active member of Scouting Bridges: Uganda, an affiliation of co-ed Venturing Crew 370 of the Boy Scouts of America. She has been to Uganda three times to learn much about medicine and mental health. She is particularly interested in women’s health, and has assumed an active role in the Menstruation Matters initiative, which educates young Ugandan women on the importance of safe monthly hygiene. She has participated in educational clinics in Uganda, and has helped with the distribution of re-useable sanitary kits to women who have little or no access to appropriate supplies. “As a person interested in scientific disciplines as well as women’s education and health globally, participating in a project that so directly helps girls my age has been rewarding to such an extent I find it hard to fully articulate.”

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Saint Francis High School | 13440 Cogburn Road | Milton, GA 30004 Saint Francis Elementary and Middle Schools | 9375 Willeo Road | Roswell, GA 30075 www.saintfrancisschools.com

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laine balances two widely divergent interests: technology and fencing. She co-founded the Women in Technology Club at North Springs to help get other girls interested in science, engineering and technology, and, in November, she was named 2017 Women in Technology Girl of the Year. At the same time, she has fenced for more than six years, cocaptains her school fencing team and competes in national and regional tournaments. She was the Georgia High School Fencing League Women’s Epee Individual Champion in 2017. She says fencing has taught her perseverance and the power of teamwork while the technology club has allowed her “a journey of self-discovery” as she learns about careers in science, engineering and technology.

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ELAINE WEN, 16 North Springs Charter High School

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atrick started studying Latin in the seventh grade and ancient Greek in the eighth grade, and learned to love them both. In high school, he joined the school’s Classics Club, which met weekly with younger students to teach them about classical civilizations. He had planned to take over the club, but he ran into a conflict between the timing of Classics Club meetings and football practice. “They were both incredibly important to me,” Patrick said, “so one day when I was helping construct shelves in our parish’s local Hispanic mission, Centro Catolico, I had the idea of starting my own club at the mission on Sundays. This way, I could get the club’s schedule to work with my own and I would be teaching children who otherwise would PATRICK SCHULMAN, 18 not be receiving any education Holy Spirit Preparatory School in the classics in their public schools. The idea of being able to make a bigger difference in the community was very important to me, and so I started the program at the beginning of my junior year.” The club still is going strong, and Patrick says he plans to turn control of it over to his younger brother next year. Running the club didn’t interfere with Patrick’s campus activities, either. This year, he was captain of the football team and named Holy Spirit’s Head Boy.

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s a photographer, Lauren feels drawn to the refugee communities around the city of Clarkston in DeKalb County. She says she wants “to document the incredible stories of immense strength that these families have to tell about their plight and flight from Africa to America to give those around me a better understanding of what these refugees go through for the hope of new life.” She sets up her portable studio at apartment complexes, churches or pre-schools and organizes family photo shoots. She created a charity called the People Not Projects Foundation to provide refugee families with framed family photos and has delivered more than 150. “We often forget how fortunate we are to have easy and constant access to photography by means of our cellphones and cameras,” she writes on her website, LaurenHutson.com. “The photographs of our families that we consider part of our day-to-day being are often unfathomable luxuries to those coming to America who have none. My goal is to provide these families, too, with photographs of their loved ones.”

Join us for an Open House Saturday, January 20, 2018 1:00 - 3:00 pm Preschool - 8th Grade

LAUREN HUTSON, 17 St. Pius X Catholic School

2000 Holcomb Woods Pkwy. (located behind the PGA TOUR Superstore) Roswell, GA 30076 www.atlantaacademy.com

READY. SET. GOddard!

ate is focused on drawing attention to the experiences of resettled refugees in Clarkston, Ga. She works to teach Holy Innocents’ students and faculty about local refugee-led social enterprise initiatives and has worked on behalf of Soul Hope, Children Inspiring Hope and UNICEF Kids Power Band programs. This year, as a member of the school’s Program for Global Citizenship, Cate is proposing to create an organization enabling Atlanta students to collaborate on community engagement projects.

We help children explore and discover their interests through play in a safe environment. We provide ample opportunities for fun learning experiences, promoting a lifelong love of learning in literacy, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

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CATE O’KELLEY, 17 Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School

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INFANT THROUGH KINDERGARTEN The Goddard Schools are operated by independent franchisees under a license agreement with Goddard Systems, Inc. Programs and ages may vary. Goddard Systems, Inc. program is AdvancED accredited. © Goddard Systems, Inc. 2017

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Inspiring students through 8th grade. The joy of looking

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forward to Mondays. A pioneering Montessori mindset guiding a child’s curiosity towards meaningful discoveries. A capstone Middle School experience where students thrive and launch into premier high schools and beyond. Extraordinary.

Open Houses Jan. 11, 4:30 Jan. 28, 2:00 MORGAN FINCH, 18 Riverwood International Charter School

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CURIOSITY. MASTERY. WISDOM. DISTINCTION.

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Celebrating the Present, Preparing for the Future Trinity School excels at early childhood and elementary education. Everything we do is designed to help children ages three through Sixth Grade flourish. Our students have the opportunity to savor their childhood while also acquiring a deep academic foundation and developing responsibility, leadership, and a strong sense of self. Trinity School is a magical place. Come see for yourself. Reserve Your Spot For Our Winter Open House: January 10, 2018 | 9:30 AM Now accepting applications! Deadline: February 1, 2018 404-231-8118 | trinityatl.org

organ splits her time between an active school life, church work and volunteering in the community. She’s a student body officer, treasurer of the National Honor Society, president of the Future Medical Professionals Club, and captain of the varsity cheerleading team, and broadcasts the morning announcements at Riverwood. Outside school, she joined a mission trip to South Africa and has volunteered at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She established her own fundraiser, called “Knock Out Poverty in the A,” to collect toiletries and raise awareness about poverty in our community. “I knew that my contribution wouldn’t exactly solve the problem, but I just had to do something to help, so I started my fundraiser,” she said. “I asked my family, my school, and people from the community to donate either money, toiletries, underwear for both men and women and their prayers in exchange for a T-shirt that I designed that advertised the cause. At the end of the fundraiser, I split the funds and donated half to a womenand-children’s shelter and used the other half to purchase more items to make care packages that I would hand out to homeless people I saw on the street. … I honestly thought that was the end of that project, but I was given the opportunity to take my project globally on my mission trip to South Africa. I started the fundraiser up for the following year and was able to ship boxes of underwear, toiletries, and sanitary napkins to an HIV/AIDS orphanage that we visited while there.”

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fter volunteering with Friendship Circle, an organization that provides companionship to children and adults with special needs, Daniel created Serve It Up Tennis Camp. He collected tennis rackets at his school and raised more than $1,200 for the camp, which was held last summer at donated courts at the Sandy Springs Tennis Center. “I was excited about organizing the tennis camp this past summer for children with special needs but what I did not realize until the camp was over was the impact the camp had on the campers’ entire families. I knew the special needs kids were having a great time, as we (the volunteers) all were, but when the parents came up to us afterwards and told us how much the camp DANIEL S. STERN, 17 meant to them seeing their kids The Weber School so happy, I realized how being involved impacts more than just the people you are working with directly.”

ver the past two summers, Gabriela has volunteered at Emory University Hospital to try to help neurosurgery patients feel more at ease. “I wanted to interact with patients and their families and make them feel as comfortable as one could in a hospital,” she said. “It was my personal goal to put a smile on every patient’s face, or at least try to brighten up their days.” In the fall, she plans to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. She wants to serve in the Army “so that I may realize my lifelong goal of changing the world one positive step at a time through leading the finest young men and women in the world in pursuits that require the selfless act of putting one’s own wants and needs aside for GABRIELA BOATRIGHT, 18 a greater purpose.” Her desire North Springs Charter High School to make things better doesn’t end there. At North Springs, Gabriela captained the girls’ varsity basketball team and also has coached middle-school students in debate.

Inspiring Innovation. Preschool-12 mountvernonschool.org

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WE ARE PIONEERS Why is Atlanta choosing Mount Vernon?

watch tomorrow’s pioneers today bit.ly/mvpioneers

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paceacademy.org/admissions

Education Briefs ATLANTA SCH O O L S TO TEA C H C I TY DES IG N

WE THINK BIG

Atlanta Public Schools announced its middle schools will begin teaching Atlanta City Design this month. Atlanta City Design is an almost 400-page book meant to guide Atlanta through projected population growth in the coming decades. It calls for increasing development in areas that can support it while limiting development and protecting the tree canopy in the rest of the city. Middle schools, including Sutton Middle School in Buckhead, will implement the project into their social studies curriculum this semester, a press release said. Ninth grade students will begin learning about the project in the 2018-2019 school year, according to the release.

CONNECTING LEARNING TO LIFE AT EVERY LEVEL.

SPECIAL

Above, Youth Leadership Sandy Springs participants used a board game to learn how to run a city. Below, Sandy Springs City Councilmember John Paulson was on hand to give the students some tips while playing the game.

Y O UTH L EA DER S HI P S TUDENT S L EA R N TO R UN A C IT Y

Participants in Youth Leadership Sandy Springs, which includes students from 10 local schools, used a board game to learn how to run a city, and received some tips from

At Saint Luke’s Li�le Saints Saints Preschool & Kindergarten At Saint Luke’s Preschool At SaintLittle Luke’s Li�le Saints Preschool&&Kindergarten Kindergarten we honor the individuality of the child we honor individuality of of thethe child we the honor the individuality child prepare each student student for school. as we prepare each student for elementary school. asasweweprepare each forelementary elementary school. * Celebrating 20through Years of early * Fully accredited through * Fully accredited childhood education AdvancEd AdvancEd * Award winning Creative * Fully accredited through AdvancEd * Award winning Creative Curriculum for Preschool Curriculum for12Preschool * Classes for months old * Classes for 12 months old * Classes for Kindergarten 12 through through K months old through K Environment * Christian * Christian Environment * Christian Environment

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Education | 27

JANUARY 5 - 18, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul and Councilmember John Paulson. The board game was developed by Youth Leadership Sandy Springs Director Polly Warren and two YLSS and Riverwood International Charter School alumnae, Madeleine Sibert and Rachel Carlson. “For six years, I had watched PowerPoint presentations on city budgeting and thought there had to be a more interactive way to learn,” Warren said. With the roll of the dice, players see how much money they receive in revenue and how much they pay in expenditures for city services. They pick capital projects and figure out whether they have funds to add the projects. If they’re broke, they must determine how to raise the money to get out of debt, according to the release. “The fate of the city is in your hands. You raise the taxes. You make the cuts. Will you go boom or go bust?” the front of the box game says. The game also has Uber drivers deliver “wild cards,” such as “Hurricane Irma hits; subtract $2 million to cover extra police, fire and roads crew costs” or “a homeless man sets fire to a mattress under a bridge; subtract $12 million for bridge repair,” according to the release.

BEYOND LEADERSHIP Congratulations to Galloway 20 Under 20 Honorees Courtney Copeland ’18 and sisters Emilie ’22, Lauren ’20, and visit gallowayschool.org Samantha Scalise ’18!

LOC A L S C H O OL S ANNO UN C E N EW L EA DERS

Several local private schools and a public school have announced leadership changes in the recent months. Lovett School, a private school in Buckhead, has announced a successor to Headmaster Billy Peebles, who will retire in June after 15 years at Lovett. Meredyth Cole, Meredyth Cole will who previousreplace longtime Lovett School Headmaster ly held leaderBilly Peebles in July. ship positions at a school in Texas, will be the next headmaster. The Galloway School, a private school in Buckhead, announced James White will serve as its new head of school, following Suzanna Jemsby, who has left for a job in Washington, D.C. White will officially begin in July. Marist School, a private Catholic school in Brookhaven, has announced that its principal, Joel Konzen, has been appointed the school’s president. The current Vice Principal and Academic Dean Kevin Mullally will be appointed to replace Konzen as principal. Continued on page 28

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Education Briefs Continued from page 27

You want the best education for your children. Don’t you want the best sitter? Juggling schedules is a lot easier with two extra hands.Today’s kids are busier than us. Soccer games, band practice, homework...and dinner somewhere in between. We can help manage your family’s tight schedule with our role model nannies and sitters. Sandy Springs | Buckhead | 404.400.5040 collegesitters.com/sandyspringsga © 2017 College Nannies + SItters + Tutors.

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Above, James White will serve as the new head of school at The Galloway School. Below, Priscilla Cole is now serving as the principal of Dunwoody High School.

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Both leadership changes will be effective July 1, 2018. Konzen replaces William Rowland, who was named acting president in October when former Marist School President John Harhager, stepped down to assume a new role in Rome, Italy. Priscilla Cole took over as the new principal of Dunwoody High School, a public school, on Oct. 10. Cole was most recently an assistant principal at Centennial High School in Roswell, a Fulton County public school. She succeeded Tom McFerrin, who took a different job within the DeKalb County School District.

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To relieve overcrowding at Midtown Atlanta schools, the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education has unanimously voted to shift students from two areas to Buckhead schools. Students living on parts of Cheshire Bridge Road and Armour Drive who currently attend Morningside Elementary School, Inman Middle School and Grady High School will be shifted. Future students living at an apartment complex being built at 1989 Cheshire Bridge Road in Midtown, and other new complexes near it, will be rezoned to attend Garden Hills Elementary School, Sutton Middle School and North Atlanta High School. Students living on Armour Drive, north of I-85 in Buckhead, will be rezoned to attend E. Rivers Elementary School, Sutton Middle School and North Atlanta High School. The rezoning will take effect at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, but students will complete their last years at each school before transferring to their new school.

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A rendering shows the facade of the new 900-seat Austin Elementary School.

SPECIAL

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW AUSTIN ELEMENTARY IN DUNWOODY BEGINS

Officials broke ground on the new Austin Elementary in Dunwoody on Dec. 15. The new school is scheduled to open at the start of the 2019-2020 school year and will be built near the existing facility at the former Dunwoody Senior Baseball fields, according to a press release. The new facility will feature upgraded technology and an outdoor courtyard, the release said. The school will be situated on about 10 acres and will seat 900 students, according to the release. The land was sold by the city to the school district in a 2016 land swap. The county agreed to pay the city $3.6 million and give eventual control of the current Austin Elementary School property to the city. In exchange, the city gave the Dunwoody Senior Baseball fields in Dunwoody Park to the school district to be used as the site for the new school.

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Community | 31

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Community Briefs

NATU R E CENTER PARTNER S WI T H NO R THS I DE HO S P ITA L TO EXPAND ‘ F I R S T S AT UR DAY S ’ P R O G R A M

D UN WOODY RESI DEN TS A P PO INTED TO VA RI OUS C OMMI TTEES

Dunwoody Mayor Denis Shortal and the City Council recently appointed several residents to serve on various committees as well as the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. Those appointed to three-year terms on the Audit Committee are: Barbara Jesup, Stuart McLemore, Robbie Moon and Charles Schneller. Appointed to another three-year term on the Convention and Visitors Bureau is Kathy Brandt. Reappointed to another three-year term on the Sustainability Committee are Ronald Davis and Debbie Gordon. Bev Wingate, who served for four years on the Design Review Advisory Committee, was reappointed to a three-year term.

The Dunwoody Nature Center at 5343 Roberts Drive is expanding its free “First Saturdays” program in partnership with Northside Hospital beginning Jan. 6. The staff of the Nature Center will host a free, experiential program on the first Saturday of each month throughout the year. These family-friendly programs will have a specific, seasonally-based theme each First Saturday. Visitors unable to make the teacher-led programs can participate over the course of the month by stopping by the Nature Center’s main building on any following Saturday to pick up a “Grab-and-Go Nature Activity” based on that month’s theme. The Jan. 6 program, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., will include a winter hike. Following the hike, guests are invited to gather by the campfire, write down their burdens from 2017, throw them in the fire and watch them burn away. There will also be s’mores. To register, contact Holly at holly@dunwoodynature.org or call the program office at 770-394-3322. More information can be found at dunwoodynature.org.

THE POLICE BLOTTER WILL RETURN

PER I M ETER A DULT L EA RN I N G SERVICES WI NTER C LA SSES BEGIN JAN. 8

Perimeter Adult Learning Services (PALS) will hold its Winter 2018 Monday program running for eight weeks beginning Jan. 8 and running through March 5, with no class on Jan. 15, at the Dunwoody United Methodist Church, 1548 Mt. Vernon Road. Classes will include: The Environmental Protection Agency and its Mission, The Industrial Revolution, Ellis Island and the History of Immigration, Shakespeare’s Henry V, Hamilton vs. Madison and the annual Great Decisions discussion. Games of bridge and mahjong will also be played. Classes are held from 10 to 11 a.m., 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Cost is $45 for the eight weeks. Individual day sessions are $8. Lunch, which runs from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m., can be purchased in advance for $8 or can be brought from home. Further information, including a more detailed summary of each class, can be found at www.palsonline.org or by calling the PALS office at 770-698-0801.

Due to technical problems with the Dunwoody Police Department website, the current crime incident reports were unavailable for publication. The police blotter will return in our next issue.

S Senior Life enior Life At lan Get fresh at ta

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Leng A Lifetime of Learni ss is more page 12

By Donna Williams

Lewis

Methodist Dunwoody United Gil Yates, about to begin at for his classmate Coast Indians was making a beeline A class on Pacific strode into the room, Church when a man OK.” approached. “Shuffling’sbuddy, who would not front row, center. said, as the man his “No running!” Yates is a year older than all in good fun. Yates The teasing was age: 91. Perimeter Adults but did share his this spring with classes reveal his name, taking 175 students The men are among most of whom adults,Kathy (PALS). education for senior Bythe Learning & Services start.Dean continuing from providing year of been members PALS is in its 25th need for of Dunwoody, have Wethe hear takes care of it all and his wife, Dot, and this kind of are 60-plus. Yates rings especially the time: less is more. The to help other people, phrase true for older “People our age want made lifelong friends.” adults who are empty nests and Yates said. “We have facing are4 ready to Continued on page fellowship,” Dot of their enjoy the lives. Intown and north metro second half many comforta Atlanta offer ble options for them. “Baby boomers have spent much working and of their lives building said Dawn Anderson their wealth for retiremen t,” , Realtor, Dorsey “As retiremen Alston Realtors. t becomes more of a reality, they plan their transition begin to to downsize. Ease and affordability of life, proximity are certainly the goals of most downsizing common boomers.” The trend of continues to grow, 55+ active adult commun ities Anderson said. well qualified “Baby boomers buyers and know are looking for.” exactly what they are Kim Isaacs, aged Avalon in Alpharet 58, said that her townhom e in ta gives her everything they and her husband want. “We had home in Johns lived in our previous Creek for 19 years. left for college, When our last we child and really didn’t decided that we wanted a change need a large house of us,” she said. for just the two

ACTIVE OLDER ADULTS

DOWNSIZE TO ENJOY LIFE

Continued on

Read our monthly publication for active seniors! Pick up a copy around town or read online at atlantaseniorlife.com

page 4

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Basic Risk Assessment – $49 Advanced Risk Assessment – $139 Heart Screen – $99 or $149 per couple Conveniently located at WellStar North Fulton Hospital 3000 Hospital Blvd – Roswell, GA 30076

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LIFE’S MOST PERSISTENT AND URGENT QUESTION IS “WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR OTHERS?”

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR CELEBRATION Monday, January 15, 2018 • 10 AM Heritage Sandy Springs • 6110 Blue Stone Road Please bring a children’s book for donation.

DUN