Alpharetta-Roswell Herald - November 27, 2025

By HANNAH YAHNE hannah@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — The Roswell City Council approved a $1.7 million construction contract Nov. 24 to add a playground and a host of other amenities at Liberty Square Park.

Alpharetta residents raise issues with proposed mixed-use project

By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Residents have concerns that a mixed-use project at one of Alpharetta’s busiest intersections could add traffic and harm longstanding businesses.

Alpharetta District Places, proposed just southwest of downtown’s City Center, would include 120 for-sale units and 30,000 square feet of

ground-level retail space. It also would incorporate up to 18,000 square feet of outdoor amenity space and potentially 25,000 square feet of offices. Its buildings could reach a height of four stories.

The project would be built on 3 acres bounded by Old Milton Parkway, Marietta Street and South Main Street.

The site is now occupied by a strip mall that includes an Italian restaurant, salon, dry cleaner, exercise studio and

other businesses.

Its design would feature historically inspired architecture and mimic a project that grows over time rather than one that springs as a large new urban development.

The Alpharetta City Council will consider a rezoning request, conditional use permit and variances for the project at its Dec. 8 meeting.

The contract with Lagniappe Development was proposed during the Committees of Council meeting held earlier in the evening. Roswell received the Improving Neighborhood Outcomes in Disproportionately Impacted Communities grant from the state in 2023, allowing for a total budget of $2.2 million to transform the undeveloped 21.4-acre park into a community gathering spot. Designated dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act will partially fund the project as well. Upon completion, the redesigned Liberty Square Park will include a playground, walking trail, pavilion facility and restrooms. The park will be designed to offer greater connectivity to the surrounding communities and to link with the Big Creek Greenway trail system. Construction will include safety improvements such as a Code Blue station, cameras and safety lighting.

JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA

A strip mall with assorted businesses occupies a site near downtown where the Alpharetta District Places project is planned.

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Judge withdraws from Sandy Springs open records suit

By CARL APPEN carl@appenmedia.com

ATLANTA — Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer recused himself from a lawsuit Nov. 20 involving the City of Sandy Springs and its handling of public records.

Farmer said he stepped away from the case because he lives in Sandy Springs and regularly reads the Sandy Springs Crier, the Appen Media-published newspaper which brought the suit.

The decision further delays a resolution in a case that began 30 months ago.

Appen Media brought suit May 2023, claiming the city is violating the Open Records Act by denying the newspaper access to police incident reports.

After a Fulton County judge ruled in favor of the city in December 2023, Appen appealed the decision to the higher state court. The Court of Appeals then rejected the lower court ruling, stating, “the trial court’s grant of summary judgment was premature. Genuine issues of material fact remain based on this record and thus the trial court erred by granting summary judgment to the City.”

That decision sent the case back to Fulton County Superior Court.

During the initial phase of the suit, Appen Media requested the city provide copies of complete incident reports so the court could compare them with those the city gave the newspaper.

The city did not complete that request. Its justification largely mirrored the city’s defense for not handing them over in the first place. Sandy Springs said the underlying cases involve open investigations and therefore, it claims, are exempt from release.

Following the appellate ruling and ahead of upcoming trial proceedings, Appen filed a motion requesting the court order the city to provide those outstanding documents.

It argued the materials will help cure deficiencies identified by the appeals court.

“We cannot say as a matter of law that a narrative report is not part of the initial

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incident report subject to disclosure … Based upon the record before us which was simply not fully developed as to that issue,” the appellate court stated.

Citing that ruling, Appen’s motion argued the newspaper “is entitled to these reports to fully develop the record as to whether these reports should have been initially produced as Appen alleges in its Complaint.”

Thursday’s hearing was meant to adjudicate the request, deciding whether the city must provide the requested reports before the court.

It was also the first time Farmer weighed in on the case.

The Fulton County Superior Court judge who first oversaw the suit, and who ruled in the city’s favor – Kimberly Adams – had since been transferred to family court. When the Appeals Court overturned Adams’ verdict and ordered the case back to Fulton County, Farmer became the newly assigned judge.

It was a short-lived assignment.

Judge Farmer opened the downtown hearing by asking the courtroom to guess where he lived.

Sandy Springs was the correct answer.

Attorneys for the city and the newspaper, representatives from Appen Media including this author, and two Sandy Springs Police officers were in attendance.

The judge remarked how it would be the Sandy Springs Police who may respond to a safety incident near his home, and how he was familiar with the case based on reading regular coverage in the newspaper delivered there.

As a result, he said he would recuse himself from the case.

Farmer gave thanks to both sides, saying he supported the freedom of the press and those who keep him safe, before finalizing his ruling.

Appen Media now awaits a new judge assignment as the case rambles on.

Background on the case

State law mandates public records be open to public inspection but allows certain exceptions. Agencies may with-

Editor’s note: Carl Appen is a representative of Appen Media, which publishes the Sandy Springs Crier. He is also a deposed witness in the case. This article attempts to offer an unbiased update on the status of the lawsuit.

hold police records that involve ongoing investigations.

However, the initial incident and crime reports must always be released even if the case is open.

At the center of the Appen lawsuit is the question of what constitutes an “initial incident report.”

For years, the city has published documents with one-sentence narratives stating when and where police are dispatched. Unlike incident reports provided by police agencies in surrounding jurisdictions, the Sandy Springs reports typically lack details on the nature of the crime, an accounting of property damage, injuries associated with a crime, whether there were any victims or any arrests were made, and whether any suspects have been identified.

Sandy Springs admits that officers generally write more detailed reports in a second document, often written the same day. The city claims in its legal defense that this second report is not part of the initial incident report, and therefore can be withheld.

In its complaint, Appen cited examples of Sandy Springs reports in which both documents were created at the same time on the same day. When the newspaper filed open records requests for the reports associated with these incidents, the city only provided the first, one-sentence page. This behavior runs counter to that of surrounding agencies and statewide practices.

Appen noted in its complaint guidance from the state Attorney General’s Office that, “A common-sense interpretation of ‘initial incident report’ is that anything written at the same time as the first part of the report is part of the initial incident report.”

Crews clear path for express lanes along Ga. 400

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Tree clearing in advance of the construction of the Ga. 400 Express Lanes project, widening the state route four additional lanes, has caught the attention of commuters and residents this fall.

Thousands of trees have been felled along the corridor, typically near exits that will be expanded and reconfigured as a part of the project.

In mid-November, most of the tree clearing has occurred at Mansell and Holcomb Bridge roads in Roswell, just before the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Springs and around Union Hill Road in Forsyth County.

Next July, the Georgia Department of Transportation expects to begin heavy construction on 16 miles of optional, tolled express lanes between the North Springs MARTA station and McFarland Parkway in southern Forsyth County.

The project will include two express lanes in each direction up to McGinnis Ferry Road at the Fulton County border and one in each direction from there to McFarland Parkway.

Completion of the estimated $4.6 billion express lanes project is expected in 2031.

The project is designed to reduce congestion, improve travel times and expand transit options. Dynamic pricing is slated to manage toll rates in real time to keep traffic flowing, while transit vehicles and vanpools will be able to use them at no cost. The project also includes MARTA’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), giving buses dedicated access points along the Ga. 400 corridor.

This fall, contractors began finalizing design plans, completing environmental review, securing necessary permits, utility relocations and geotechnical investigations.

However, mounds of felled trees next to the state highway have the attention of residents and commuters.

HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

A look at two sections of Ga. 400 shows tree-clearing work south of McFarland Parkway in Forsyth County and at the Mansell Road exit in Roswell.

GDOT P3 Project Manager Kyle Collins said all tree-clearing work will pause at the end of November, but crews will continue removing and hauling remaining debris throughout the corridor as part of normal cleanup operations.

“Trees are cleared for several reasons including creating sufficient space for the new express lanes, establishing safe work zones, relocating utilities and preparing for future drainage and grading needs,” Collins said. “Certain areas were cleared first, including the Chattahoochee River, because those locations fall in the project areas where construction will begin soonest.”

Collins said next phase of tree clearing is expected to resume in spring.

The Ga. 400 Express Lanes project is being delivered through a public-

private partnership, or P3, with SR 400 Peach State Partners, a union of local, national and international experts.

SR 400 Peach Partners is responsible for design, building, financing and operating the express lanes for 50 years with oversight from GDOT and the State Roadway Toll Authority.

The approach is thought to reduce the amount of public funding needed, while encouraging private-sector innovation to improve the customer experience.

Collins said temporary lane closures will continue during off-peak hours to minimize traffic disruptions.

“No lane closures are planned to occur during major holidays or during designated high-traffic periods, and

any necessary closures are coordinated to avoid significant disruptions,” he said. “Weekly traffic updates are posted on the project website.”

To check project updates, visit 0001757-gdot.hub.arcgis.com.

To subscribe to traffic alerts, visit mailchi.mp/f15cdcb7bf72/riidzbzo8a.

Collins said the lanes will be predominately at-grade throughout the corridor and generally located at the interior of the existing mainline lanes.

“Some portions will be built to the outside,” Collins said. “Most elevated sections are planned to tie into the interchanges.”

The idea is to have the Ga. 400 Express Lanes project tie into the planned I-285 Top End Express Lanes, which will be elevated on the outside of the existing corridor and extend north along Ga. 400 to the North Springs MARTA station.

Sandy Springs City Manager Eden Freeman said she has been trying to schedule GDOT and its contractor to present an update to the public on the Ga. 400 Express lanes project for two months.

Freeman said she was told they could not come out and give any updates until after Jan. 1.

City Councilman John Paulson, a member of the Perimeter CIDs Board of Directors, said there was a high-level presentation to the group in October.

Paulsons said he wants the project team to introduce itself so the city and its residents can know what the construction schedule is and stay informed about the progress.

“They’re in Sandy Springs now cutting down trees,” Paulson said. “The contractor left a little door hanger on some of the houses on the streets right alongside of 400, but there really has not been much fanfare, much notice about it … I’d rather be told ahead of time what’s happening, rather than find out from a neighbor that got a door knocker.”

Fulton County extends Reparations Task Force two years

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

ATLANTA — The Fulton County Commission extended the Reparations Task Force for another two years at its Nov. 19 meeting after accepting a report from the advisory group, now in its fourth year.

The Reparations Task Force presented a summary of its nearly 650-page Harm Report, a $250,000 study commissioned in 2021.

Rodney Littles, representing Fulton County’s sixth district on the task force, said the framework of the study focuses on the county’s role, examining property taxes, courts, records, jails, voting, libraries, health and human services, parks and schools.

The 21 chapters of the report fall under six themes: profiteers of slavery; convict labor, jails and chain gangs; property taxes; social, political and economic domination; racial terror; and segregated and inferior county services.

Property taxes and slavery

When the state created ad valorem taxes in 1852, counties like Fulton were allowed to begin collecting property taxes from residents the next year, including those owning enslaved people.

Using tax records from 1854-1864, Task Force Chair Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, Ph.D., found the county collected $75,000 in taxes on enslaved people.

“Slave holders were allowed to evade paying nearly $9 million in wages,” SimsAlvarado said. “So, what is due to the enslaved? That seed money of $75,000 with a conservative interest rate of 7 percent, is now valued at nearly $675 million. For the state, it’s $1.3 billion.”

Another Task Force member Elon Butts Osby said her grandfather’s land in Forsyth County was stolen through terror in 1912. She said her family’s next home within what is now Buckhead’s Bagley Park was taken away by eminent domain or for pennies on dollar.

Osby said the land was taken for “rich white residents of the adjacent newly built subdivision of Garden Hills,” estimating the property value to be $60 million today.

“Fulton County was responsible for the generational loss of wealth for my family and others,” she said. “It’s time for the Fulton County government to right the wrongs of its former fellow commissioners.”

Immediately after the presentation, County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said the Reparations Task Force was presenting “just the findings, not recommendation.”

County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr., who sponsored the legislation creating the panel, said he wanted to apologize to speakers for Pitts’ rushing them through the presentation.

Arrington Jr. and Pitts are both Black men. Pitts’ legislation to extend the Reparations Task Force another 12 months failed.

“We do you know that our chair, on the day he voted to approve the $250,000 said to the news … that he fundamentally disagrees with reparations,” Arrington Jr. said, who filed a resolution that passed extending the task force 24 months.

As commissioners discussed the report and how to move forward, it was not clear how continued work will be funded.

Some $40,000 remains, and the Reparations Task Force plans to return to the County Commission next year when they have more information about the funding required.

Agenda protocol squabble

The Fulton County’s seven elected officials continue to spend most of their time arguing about commissioners’ action items introduced to the meeting agenda.

Individual commissioners are allowed to sponsor their own legislation and bring it to the floor for a vote.

The current voting blocs on the County Commission, referenced repeatedly at the Nov. 19 meeting, are three Democratic commissioners against Chairman Robb Pitts (D) and commissioners Khadijah Abdur-Rahman, Bob Ellis and Bridget Thorne.

The chairman’s voting bloc has the two Republican commissioners in North Fulton and Abdur-Rahman on the west side.

County Commissioners Dana Barrett and Marvin Arrington Jr., who have both announced their 2026 campaigns for chair, are typically joined by County Commissioner Mo Ivory.

While topics like the county’s legally binding agreement with the federal government to improve conditions at the main Rice Street jail and efforts toward building a hospital in South Fulton remain unresolved, commissioners spend most meetings shouting at one another over procedural measures and competing resolutions.

After the Fulton County Ethics Board dismissed Barrett’s complaint against Thorne for her comments about members of the Registration and Elections Board in October, Thorne brought forward an ordinance requiring commissioners to talk with one another before submitting one.

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County officials tour new northside Human Services center

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — In just a few months, North Fulton residents will have a new county facility off Ga. 400 in Alpharetta, expanding access to health and human services.

Local leaders gathered at 4770 North Point Parkway Nov. 18 for a hard-hat tour of the nearly completed Fulton County Health and Human Services North facility.

With renovations of both floors substantially completed, the facility will focus on senior health services when it opens in early 2026.

The Fulton County Health and Human Services Center North will centralize and expand existing services while making room for new ones, like specialized services for independent seniors and an adult day care for those in assisted living or with caregivers.

Officials last met for a sledgehammer ceremony to kick off renovations in February.

County Commissioner Bridget Thorne said she hopes the Health and Human Services Center becomes a community building, where residents can come enjoy the cafeteria that looks

out onto a lake. Thorne said she’s most excited about the facility’s new services for seniors.

“I just see that as a need for seniors to have facilities close by,” she said.

County Manager Dick Anderson said the renovation of 4770 North Point Parkway was fortuitous.

“The mission fundamentally … was to make a statement for North Fulton,” Anderson said.

“We provide a number of services … one of them is public health, which is on Royal Drive [just a couple blocks away].”

The other county-provided service relocating is behavioral health at the North Fulton Service Center along Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.

“Those are the two primary ones moving,” Anderson said. “Behavioral health and some of the additional Board of Health services, like women, infants and children (WIC)) are new.”

Getting the word out

Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin observed that many residents in his city are unaware of the services the county makes available to them. He said he is grateful for Fulton County investment in Alpharetta.

“I’m excited about having events and activities here for them to bring our seniors together, mainly to engage with them and understand what their needs are.”

The building will also house departments addressing adult behavioral health, developmental disabilities, DUI-related services and real estate and asset management.

The upstairs includes access to vital records, supplemental programming for women, infants and children (WIC), emergency preparedness, nursing and wrap-around services for children and adolescents.

Designed for easy navigation

With multiple departments and dozens of services packed into one building, the project management team with Atlanta-based construction firm Beck designed the renovation to fit the specific services slated for each room.

Jason Smith, project manager and architect at Beck, said each department’s lobby is color-coded to help people navigate the winding hallways. Corresponding signage and wayfinding are still down the road.

The county purchased the roughly 24-acre site, containing an existing 180,000-square-foot commercial office building, surface parking lot and lake, in fall 2019.

When the pandemic hit months later, the county used the building to store personal protective equipment before turning it into the one of largest COVID-19 testing and vaccination centers in the area, second only to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“We have a lot of requests for these types of services that are more convenient for residents, but it’s difficult for individual cities to provide those services individually,” Gilvin said. “This is a game changer for Fulton County, for North Fulton specifically, and our residents.”

County Commissioner Bob Ellis, representing the western half of North Fulton in District 2, said the facility will have a meaningful impact on the lives of local residents who take advantage of county services.

While the site is in District 1 on the east side of North Fulton, Ellis said the site was chosen because of its proximity to Ga. 400 and central location in North Fulton.

“When we get this thing close to being active, help us to publicize the services so people are aware of them and come in here and take advantage of them,” Ellis said.

The county is moving forward with plans for a sister facility in South Fulton.

Anderson said staff is recommending the County Commission to select a 40acre site across from the South Fulton Service Center off Stonewall Tell Road in College Park.

The site was formerly used to house roadway paving equipment before the City of South Fulton incorporated and took over the routine maintenance.

“It’s a great place, and feasibility studies showed that’s where a large part of the population is concentrated,” Anderson said. “The land is already owned, and it’s collocated with another government facility.”

HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

Fulton County Commissioner Bridget Thorne discusses expanded senior services moving to the new Health and Human Services Center North early next year. County officials attended a hard hat tour of the facility off North Point Parkway Nov. 18.

By HANNAH YAHNE hannah@appenmedia.com

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Five eighth graders from across Fulton County will receive $10,000 upon graduation from high school to help them access postsecondary education at any Georgia HOPE-eligible university.

Fulton County Schools hosted a signing ceremony Nov. 14 where the middle school students reaffirmed their commitment to education, and parents promised to support their students through the state’s Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen (REACH) program.

The students are:

• Christyionn Matthews, Holcomb Bridge Middle School

• Damien Valencia, Bear Creek Middle School

• Dashawn Williams, Renaissance Middle School

• Eyoel Solomon, Taylor Road Middle School

• Jhoselin Carmona-Santana, Ridgeview Middle School

REACH was launched in 2012 to encourage low-income students with academic potential to continue their education. In addition to financial support, REACH scholars receive academic help and a mentor who helps them overcome

challenges and lends extra support for the student and family.

Shamona Harrell, the director of college, career and student supports, said it’s the goal of the program to get these scholars across the stage at high school graduation and give them the wholistic support they need throughout their academic journey. All scholars will meet with their designated mentor twice a month to build academic skills, plans for college and potential career paths.

“We know that providing these kinds of support remove barriers so that nothing stands in the way of your success,” President of the Fulton County School Board Kristin McCabe said to the 2025 REACH scholarship recipients.

All five scholars will be first-generation college students, something the REACH scholar interview panel looks for throughout the application process.

“We understand the importance of college access for all students and the

complaint process are significantly flawed.

impact that has on students and the trajectory of the entire family,” Harrell said.

Althea Byers, guardian of Holcomb Bridge Middle School REACH scholar Christyionn Matthews, described the program as a blessing. She said Matthews has so much devotion to what she does, whether it be her education or trash valet business.

“I find myself being kind of average,” Matthews said. “Of the whole eighth grade, they chose me out of a bunch of other people … I was very excited.”

Another 2025 scholar, Eyoel Solomon, spoke before the crowd of parents and educators. He said he wants to become a professional soccer player on Atlanta United. Through this program, Solomon wants to enhance his knowledge to eventually create a personal brand.

“I’d like to thank my family,” Solomon said, “for pushing me beyond my limits and believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

He also thanked himself for staying consistent, determined and resilient, even in his toughest times. Solomon said he feels sheer relief and joy knowing that all his hard work has finally paid off.

“You never know what your life has in store for you,” Solomon said. “So always be your best because your effort today could change your tomorrow.”

Commission: Program helps 8th graders to reach for greater heights

Continued from Page 4

The discussion of Thorne’s resolution rehashed the original ethics complaint.

The Nov. 19 resolution, which was eventually held, calls Barrett’s ethics

complaint “frivolous” and “baseless,” which caused tempers to flare and repeated interruptions.

A ‘flawed process’

After her voting bloc failed to pass its preferred ordinance designating a presiding officer when the chair and vice chair are absent, said the changes to the ethics

“This legislation says that if I as an individual commissioner want to file a complaint, then I have to first talk to the person who I think may have done something wrong,” Barrett said. “Then they bring it to the chair and vice chair who are in the same voting bloc.”

Thorne said she does not think

filing ethics complaints against political opponents is how a governing body should operate.

“We fall in different political lines, but we shouldn’t be so divided,” Thorne said. “We should have common sense procedures. We should be able to talk to each other. Personally, I know I need to do a better job.”

HANNAH YAHNE/APPEN MEDIA

REACH scholars stand with Fulton County staff at the signing ceremony Nov. 14 hosted at the county’s South Learning Center.

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Chamber luncheon explores future of hiring in Perimeter

By JAMIE GODIN newsroom@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga — Nearly 100 hiring professionals gathered at City Springs in Sandy Springs Nov. 19 for the Greater Perimeter Chamber’s Signature Luncheon, sponsored by Atlanta International School.

The discussion focused on how shifts in skills, technology and worker expectations are changing hiring strategies for major employers in the Perimeter market.

The panel featured Cathy Manginelli, chief talent officer at TriNet; Teal Edmeade, who leads talent acquisition and HR operations at Northside Hospital; and Nancy Whatley, senior director of global talent acquisition and learning at Veritiv Corporation. Greater Perimeter Chamber CEO Adam Forrand moderated.

Across sectors, the panelists said employers are placing greater emphasis on human-centered abilities that cannot be automated. Manginelli, whose company provides HR services and support to small and mid-sized businesses, described TriNet’s focus on adaptability and confidence in uncertain situations.

“You have to be agile, a problem solver, someone who is going to lean in when there are challenges,” she said. She added that the company looks for what it calls self-efficacy, “believing in yourself when you do not know the road ahead.”

Edmeade, whose organization is one of the region’s largest hospital systems,

uses automation in parts of its recruitment process, but views AI as a tool rather than a replacement.

“Is it going to replace certain parts of jobs? Yes,” she said. “Is it going to help certain tasks be automated so that you can focus on other stuff? Yes. And we are already seeing that.”

Flexibility continues to shape employee expectations. Manginelli said TriNet has adopted a core-hours model in its Atlanta office, creating a 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. overlap while allowing employees to shift their schedules. The company also provides six remote days each month. Whatley said Veritiv’s flexibility varies by role, with warehouse workers and drivers required on site while sales and corporate positions have more options.

Development programs are becoming a major retention tool. Edmeade said Northside offers scholarships, residencies and structured career-pathing for employees seeking new specialties. “We take about 1,200 nurses every year and put them through those programs,” she said.

said Northside prioritizes people who bring values-driven decision-making to patient care. She pointed to the commitment shown during Atlanta snowstorms, when workers stayed at the hospital for days to care for patients.

“The same way they are committed to taking care of those who need care, we need as an organization to provide the care to them,” she said.

Whatley, whose company designs and

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manufactures digital infrastructure and industrial solutions, noted that data literacy has become essential across Veritiv’s workforce, from warehouse employees to sales teams.

“It does not matter what kind of job you are in,” she said. “It is all about the data you are collecting and how you choose to use it.”

Technology is also changing how companies hire. Manginelli said TriNet

TriNet is building out a 150,000-square-foot office in Dunwoody’s High Street, planning to add 750 jobs over five years. Veritiv is also growing following recent acquisitions, and demand across the region’s healthcare systems remains strong.

Despite differences in industry, the panelists agreed that investing in people, through culture, training and flexibility remains the most reliable strategy.

JAMIE GODIN/APPEN MEDIA

From left, Greater Perimeter Chamber CEO Adam Forrand, Teal Edmeade of Northside Hospital, Cathy Manginelli of TriNet and Nancy Whatley of Veritiv appear Nov. 19 at Sandy Springs City Hall during a workforce panel which highlighted in-demand skills, employee flexibility and technology-driven hiring strategies.

Roswell advances to third round of 5A state football tournament

By ANNABELLE REITER annabelle@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — The Roswell Hornets advance to the third round of the GHSA 5A State Football Tournament with a 50-7 win over Clarke Central High Nov. 21.

It was Clarke Central that ended the Hornets’ season in 1996, but Roswell redeemed themselves to tie the series 1-1.

It’s the first time since 2023 that Roswell has made it to the third round. The Hornets are intent on pushing for the program’s fourth state title.

The Hornets were dominant, scoring on offense and defense. They nearly scored on special teams when junior Tyler Pressnall blocked a punt and Hayes Kenerly, scooped it up and advanced it to the 2-yard line.

Senior Alex Lucas connected for his career first pick-six to lengthen the Hornets’ lead going into the break.

The offensive starters were pulled at halftime with the Hornets up 43-0. Quarterback Trey Smith had enough time to rack up 137 passing yards for three touchdowns and no interceptions and added another 53 yards on the ground.

Junior Dre Cousey, sophomore Sean Smith and seniors Nick Peal and Chase Shaffer each brought in one touchdown.

Hornets head coach Jonathan Thompson said he continues to be impressed by his team’s resilience.

“We challenged our kids to start fast, to be physical from the jump, and they did a great job of that tonight and set the tone,” he said. “We’d love to be back and play another game here at Ray Manus Stadium.”

Senior receiver Wills Campbell reflected on last year’s second-round matchup where Langston Hughes ended their season and how much the Hornets have grown since.

“We’re not taking any plays off, we’re not playing down to any competition, we’re playing our standard of Roswell football, and that’s what’s carrying us right now,” he said. “Our mindset is getting 1 percent better on every single drive, every play. [If you] get a big play, let’s get a bigger one.”

Campbell, a four-year letterman and two-sport athlete in basketball, scored both of the Hornets’ touchdowns last year against eventual runner-up

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Hornets wide receiver Wills Campbell awaits the snap at Roswell High School Nov. 21. The Hornets beat Clarke Central 50-7 to advance to the third round of the GHSA 5A State Tournament.

Langston Hughes. He tallied another pair in the first half against Clarke Central for 116 total receiving yards. Campbell’s 1,102 receiving yards this season is No. 12 in the state. Next season, he will suit up for Cornell University.

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The girls soccer and boys lacrosse teams were honored at halftime with ring ceremonies after both won a state title last year. The girls were ranked No. 1 in the country, and the boys made Georgia history by winning the first three-peat.

Boys lacrosse head coach Bryan Wallace said he is looking forward to another year of high-level competition, and the team has been working hard in the offseason.

“Sheer excitement for next season,” he said.

The football team hopes to join their lacrosse classmates as state champions.

With the exception of Gainesville, who defeated No. 1 Brunswick Nov. 21, all remaining teams in the 5A bracket are first seeds. “The Brawl at Brunswick” – a sideline-clearing altercation in the third quarter of Gainesville’s rout – may keep the Red Elephants out of the third round. Decisions from GHSA are pending. Roswell will face off against Sequoyah in the third round Nov. 28. The Chiefs also have just one loss on their record, to River Ridge who finished 7-3.

Park:

Continued from Page 1

Construction is set to begin February 2026 and take eight months.

Roswell resident Jose Gonzalez thanked council members for making progress on the park. He coaches soccer at Liberty Square Park and serves on the city’s Administration, Finance and Recreation and Parks Committee.

“You don’t know the impact that this park is going to bring to the children,” Gonzalez said. “I see a lot of joy going on over there … I think this project is a good job being done by the city.”

In other matters at the Nov. 24 meeting, the City Council approved the first loan financed through Roswell’s Development Finance Program that was established in August. The $14.7 million loan for DTR Hospitality will fund the Chambray Hotel project at 1075 Alpharetta St., which will offer 125 rooms, a restaurant and rooftop bar upon completion.

The finance program was developed as a tool to advance economic development in Roswell, with a focus on new hotel projects. Through the Roswell Development Finance Program, a developer can receive

Resident Jose Gonzalez thanks the Roswell City Council for its support in redesigning Liberty Square Park at a Nov. 24 meeting in City Hall.

lower interest rates on loans since repayment is guaranteed through a special assessment placed on the property.

A special assessment is a lien that ensures any debts will be repaid similar to unpaid property taxes.

Roswell’s role is purely administrative, posing no financial risk to the city as it facilitates payments between

Luxury, Redefined

the developer and bank, Economic Development Director Darryl Connelly said.

“Our role … is simply just arranging the program and helping them form the capital necessary,” City Councilman Allen Sells said. “This lowers the cost of that outside money and makes the project viable and come out of the ground.”

Economic Development Director Darryl Connelly explains the role of the Roswell Development Finance Program in financing a $14.7 million loan for construction of a boutique hotel in downtown Roswell during the Nov. 24 City Council meeting.

For facilitating the loan, Roswell will receive $173,100 in program fees and a 1 percent annual servicing fee, which Sells said will cover the costs of administration.

Pending approval, construction is expected for completion by the end of 2027.

PHOTOS BY: HANNAH YAHNE/APPEN MEDIA

Project:

Continued from Page 1

The project’s application also says any failure to deny its requests would be “unconstitutional” and “illegal.”

In a letter to the Planning Commission, Steven Rowe, vice president of land development firm AEC, said the project promotes quality architecture, connectivity and active street-level uses. It proposes improving the area’s walkability by providing connectivity with the Alpha Loop and downtown.

“We believe this proposal reflects a thoughtful, urban-minded approach to infill development and aligns with the city’s strategic goals for downtown Alpharetta,” he said.

Some residents say they worry the project could have a detrimental effect on the area.

Francene Taylor, who has lived in the city since 1992, said she worries the development could contribute to traffic, detracting from the city’s mission of becoming a more walkable and bikeable place. Taylor said she particularly worries about the effect on smaller nearby roadways.

“Marietta Street and Roswell Street will become even more dangerous than they are currently,” she said.

Georgia Department of Transportation data shows about 46,000 vehicles pass daily on a nearby

stretch of Old Milton Parkway.

Taylor, who lives nearby, also said she thinks the project’s businesses could result in noise, especially during late hours.

“The sheer size of Alpharetta District Places will ramp up the noise level considerably,” Taylor said.

“I’m not just talking about random restaurant music, but … there could be 4 a.m. grease trap cleanouts and 5 a.m. dumpster pickups.”

Finally, Taylor said she and other community members are concerned the businesses already at the property could be displaced by the construction. It’s a concern that is made worse by the city’s rising property values, she said.

“I don’t want to lose the restaurants and retail that I patronize, and I am concerned because I don’t believe they will find any place in the Alpharetta area that’s affordable,” she said. “We are concerned about what’s next for them.”

Alpharetta resident Teresa Volk agrees.

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During a recent visit to one of the existing businesses, she said she was greeted by the owner who was crying because of fears they might be displaced. Volk said she envisions Alpharetta as a community that makes room for small business owners instead of casting them aside for newer development.

“It’s a shame. This is their livelihood,” Volk said. “They work really, really hard.”

CITY OF ALPHARETTA/PROVIDED Alpharetta District Places is a proposed mixed-use project to be located on a block bound by Old Milton Parkway, Marietta Street and South Main Street.

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The Brilliance of Poison Ivy

If you are one of the 85% of the population allergic to poison ivy, you might feel some resentment, indignation or even dare I say animosity toward this plant. However, the scientist in you might take a moment to marvel at just how effectively it has managed to discourage us from touching it – let alone eating it.

Urushiol is the reason you won’t find poison ivy for sale at the local grocery store or in your Caesar salad. Urushiol is an oil found within poison ivy, and it makes one’s immune system go haywire.

Many plants attack us with thorns, stinging appendages, a hail of coconuts or verbal insults. Not poison ivy. Poison ivy uses our own immune systems against us to pack a delayed but far more powerful punch. The oil of poison ivy is a relatively simple and small ringshaped molecule that can easily penetrate our skin. The oil is so small that it can slip in easily and undetected. Once in our skin, urushiol chemically reacts with and attaches to our own cell’s proteins. In so doing, the oil stealthily plants a flag on our cells that tells our immune system that our own cells are enemies.

Our bodies have a type of white blood cell called a T cell whose job is to circulate and look for viruses, bacteria and other foreign invaders. T cells have proteins on their surface that detect whether what they contact is “self” or “non-self.” In general, T cells assume that “non-self” needs to be attacked. The T-cell doesn’t recognize your own healthy cells as “self” when those cells have reacted with urushiol. Your own T cells start attacking your otherwise healthy skin. Itching, blisters and misery result.

The brilliance of poison ivy’s strategy is that the oil doesn’t depend on a certain protein or certain molecule

being present in our bodies. If that were the case, our bodies might have easily learned how to avoid a poison ivy reaction. Instead, poison ivy oil can theoretically react with just about any protein that your cells contain, and every one of these combinations is going to look different and dangerous to the T cell. It’s a strategy that has defied effective solutions. Once the oil has had time to be absorbed into your skin, your goose is cooked.

When a small molecule can attach to a larger molecule and result in a combination that elicits an immune response, the small molecule is called a “hapten.” So poison ivy oil is a “hapten.” Most examples of haptens are accidental haptens. For example, penicillin is made by certain mold species to help them fight off bacteria. When we use penicillin as an antibiotic, a small number of people will develop an allergy. Rarely, when penicillin breaks down, it reacts with some of our proteins and creates a hapten-self protein combination similar to that of urushiol and a self-protein. But this is not penicillin’s purpose.

In contrast, poison ivy oil is a hapten by design. The plant developed a chemical that flags our own cells for destruction and turns our immune system against us.

Scientists are working on a vaccine to poison ivy. A compound similar to urushiol is being studied by researchers at the University of Mississippi and by a company called “Hapten Sciences.” Perhaps one day people can frolic through poison ivy without the next day regret.

Until a vaccine comes to fruition, avoidance is your best bet. Learn to identify poison ivy and poison oak. Wash with soap and water immediately and change your clothes if you think you have accidentally had contact with these plants. And if you do develop a rash, your dermatologist is at the ready with effective treatments.

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so on. The connecting letter is outlined, giving you the correct number of letters for each answer (the answers in line 1 are 5, 5 and 4 letters). The clues are numbered 1 through 7, with each number containing 3 clues for the 3 answers on the

The clues are not in order - so the first clue in Line 1 may (or may not) actually be for the second or third answer in that line. Got it? Good luck!

“X” MARKS THE SPOT

1. Pricing word. Popular saying. Syrup type.

2. Hindu princess. Beasts of burden. Deep blue.

3. Strong adhesive. Lion family. Wine bottle info.

4. Wild dog of Australia. Beach feature. Trinity River locale.

5. African antelope with long straight horns. Coffee pot. Reverberate.

6. Shopper’s delight. Tropical vine. Kick out.

7. Small whirlpool. Unsophisicated. Female fox or temptress.

“X” Marks the Spot

1 Pricing word. Popular saying. Syrup type.

2. Hindu princess. Beasts of burden. Deep blue.

How to Solve: Each line in the puzzle above has three clues and three answers. The last letter in the first answer on each line is the first letter of the second answer, and so on. The connecting letter is outlined, giving you the correct number of letters for each answer (the answers in line 1 are 4, 5 and 5 letters). The clues are numbered 1 through 7, which each number containing 3 clues for the 3 answers on the line. But here’s the catch! The clues are not in order - so the first clue in Line 1 may (or may not) actually be for the second or third answer in that line. Got it? Good luck!

3. Strong adhesive. Lion family. Wine bottle info.

4. Wild dog of Australia. Beach feature. Trinity River locale

5. African antelope with long straight horns. Coffee pot Reverberate.

6. Shopper’s delight. Tropical vine. Kick out

7. Small whirlpool. Unsophisicated. Female fox or temptress.

It beats kissing babies in Roswell mayoral race

PAT FOX Managing Editor pat@appenmedia.com

To look at its social media pages, Roswell is on the cusp of utopia.

And there, to tell you all about it is… Mayor Kurt Wilson. His honor has stepped in front of the camera a lot of late, touting progress the city is making on a host of challenges, from downtown parking to economic development.

Oh, and he’s running for re-election. I say “running” because he faces a runoff Dec. 2.

In all, Mayor Wilson narrated, starred in and/or conducted interviews with department heads in five videos posted on YouTube from Oct. 23 through Oct. 29 – mere days before the Nov. 4 municipal election.

One video featured the mayor praising the renovations of Mimosa Hall, a historic gem the city bought in 2017.

A sizeable group of residents, close to 1,000 including former Mayor Jere Wood, have protested the city’s approach to the project – some 3 dozen trees felled and removal or adjustment of some historic landscaping.

It has been Roswell’s most torrid of hotbutton issue this year.

As members of the Facebook group Roswell Truth discovered, and Appen Media verified, the Roswell Mayor’s Office received a bill from the video production company for $6,500 for six videos. That’s public money. Five videos were posted. No sign of the sixth video yet, but all were paid for with credit card.

Interestingly, the full Mimosa Hall video was used in a Wilson campaign ad that ran on Facebook from Oct. 29-Nov. 1. So, the mayor’s campaign bought an ad to display

a city-funded video hosted by, narrated by and starring his honor.

I have followed Roswell mayors since Pug Mabry held the gavel some 30 years ago. Each had his or her own appeal to residents.

Kurt Wilson is a bit of a mystery, but he’s anything but poor.

Through Oct. 25, his re-election campaign has collected $541,000. With that kind of scratch, you could buy 121 Canon Vixia HF G70s to make your own videos.

Editor’s note: The mayor, his press secretary, his campaign and the city’s communications department were phoned, texted and emailed repeatedly for comment well in advance of publication. The mayor was offered the opportunity to respond, either in a statement or a longer op-ed of up to 500 words. There was no response.

His opponent in the Dec. 2 runoff, Mary Robichaux, raised $48,000 during that time.

This is not a public endorsement of anyone. It’s our job to follow your tax money.

Public money was spent for a flurry of mayor-dominated public relations spots painting the best of all pictures for Roswell. These spots were posted on the city’s social media sites days before an election and while advance voting was open. One was used in an ad.

Mayors have every right to serve as cheerleaders for their city, but dragging department heads out of their office to co-star in promotional materials is a stretch right before an election.

I checked, and throughout this year, the city’s YouTube and Facebook pages show no similar concentration of mayor-hosted videos heralding the city’s accomplishments. It’s not even close.

SCREENSHOTS

Five videos posted to the City of Roswell’s social media pages in the days leading up to the election opened with salvos from Mayor Kurt Wilson.

‘Boom Boom’ – The history of local nicknames

BOB MEYERS

When Juliet said “what’s in a name” in Shakespear’s ”Romeo and Juliet,” she was saying that a person’s name is just a label. Nicknames, on the other hand, often reflect a characteristic of a person or are given for convenience such as “Liz” for Elizabeth or “Ike” for Eisenhower.

Sometimes a person may have more than one nickname. Frank Sinatra was known as, “Ol’ Blue Eyes,” “Chairman of the Board” and “The Voice.”

The word nickname is a derivative of “ekename” which means an additional name in Middle English, the language spoken in England circa 1150 to 1500.

In these parts, nicknames were likely to be based on funny incidents, odd behavior or an inside joke. Here are a few prized local nicknames that lasted and some that disappeared over time.

The “Boom Boom” nickname belonged to James Newton Dinsmore (1936-2004). His grandparents, Joe and Patsey Dinsmore lived on Redd Road in Alpharetta. Young James dammed the creek that ran behind his grandparents’ barn every summer to make a swimming hole. One day, a snapping turtle grabbed his toe and would not let go. James’ cousin Lester Samples ran to get grandfather Joe who rushed to the creek and told James the turtle would not let go until it thundered. So, James yelled Boom Boom over and over again, and a nickname was born.

Boom Boom was a star athlete at Milton High School. He was on the same baseball team as another star, Gene Estes (more about him later), when the team won the state championship in 1955. He also excelled at football and shotput. Boom Boom ran a gas station for many years after serving in the Army for two years and then worked for Coke as a truck driver. Later, he was employed by the county.

Boom Boom was a popular character. He was also very opinionated about Ford cars and meticulously wore khaki pants with pleats. He had the best flat top haircut in school, but he never outlived his nickname. In fact, “Boom-Boom” is listed as part of his name on the Find a Grave website.

Connie Mashburn, Boom Boom’s cousin and local historian told me the Boom Boom story. Connie was also a star athlete at Milton High School and had two nicknames, “Mashed Potatoes” because of his name, and “Half Pint” because when he was in the 6th grade he

ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, AUG. 27, 1953

Milton High School star all-round athlete Gene Estes had several colorful nicknames bestowed on him by sports writers. The caption of this photo says Milton’s One Man Gang Snatches Aerial.

would go to varsity basketball practice with his brother Larry, a member of the team. Coach Beavers would have Connie fill in when they were short a player for team scrimmages. The varsity players gave Connie his nickname.

Eugene Talmage Estes (1935-2025) was the greatest all-round athlete in his time at Milton High School. He was a favorite of sportswriters in the 1950s who gave him nicknames such as “Mr. Everything,” “Big Gene” and “Waterproof,” the latter because of his ability to “slip through tackles like water off a tin roof.” He excelled in baseball, football and track. Later, he turned down an offer to play pro baseball in Kansas City, choosing instead a football scholarship at the University of Georgia. His career was cut short by a broken leg and other injuries during his freshman year, but his legend endured. After leaving college he became a firefighter in Atlanta for 23 years. In 2022 he was inducted into the Milton High School Hall of Fame.

Walter Ferguson (1932-2014) had the nickname “Square” because he bought so

HAL COLEMAN/PROVIDED

Lamar “Hobo” Coleman is shown stoking the potbelly stove in his gas station in Roswell in the early 1960s. The heater was where local storytellers gathered. The famous columnist Celestine Sibley, who was a fan of Hobo, said in a column “There is always some project going around the heater.”

much chewing tobacco for his grandfather Paul Wood from the general store owned by his uncle C.M. Wood. It was near the intersection of Redd Road and Hopewell Road. In those days some chewing tobacco was sold in squares. The chewer would cut off a small piece from the square and pop it in his mouth. Square owned a TV repair shop and was Chief of the Alpharetta Volunteer Fire Department for 28 years. For 35 years, he supervised special education school bus operations in Fulton Country. He was a Korean War veteran.

Lamar “Hobo” Coleman (1906-1967) was part of a family that migrated from North Carolina and settled in the Roswell area in 1836. Hal Coleman, Hobo’s nephew, also known as Milton Crabapple on the entertainment and music circuit, says the Hobo nickname came about because, as an infant, he wore clothes that were too large. Hugh William “Happy” Coleman (1906-1959), also a local personality, said the baby looked like a hobo, and the nickname stuck.

Hobo owned a gas station in Roswell at the corner of Canton Steet and Wood-

stock Road. “It was always crowded,” says Hal Coleman. “It was just the place to be.”

The celebrated columnist Celestine Sibley wrote several articles about Hobo. In 1966 when he was in the hospital she said “half of North Fulton County is desolate….Hobo’s is sort of a masculine retreat….There is always some project going around the heater. In spring, the group makes birdhouses or fiddles around with gourds or polishes some bit of copper or brass that Hobo picked up somewhere.”

Special thanks to Don Rolader for his help with this story.

Because nicknames are so much fun, I will do a future column about other local folks blessed or cursed with clever nicknames.

Bob is director emeritus of the Milton Historical Society and a Member of the City of Alpharetta Historic Preservation Commission. You can email him at bobmey@bellsouth.net. Bob welcomes suggestions for future columns about local history.

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Summerville railroad turntable is marvel for the ages

Once upon a time, when I was just a wee lad, I wanted to be a titan of the railroad industry. And I was not alone. My vision was shared by tens of thousands of my peers, and the Sears Wishbook (remember that one?) fed my addiction with endless pages of model train sets. I pored over those pages for hours. If I was good enough, I told myself, maybe Santa would bring me one of those treasured flat boxes, loaded with dozen pieces of HO-gauge track and a tiny locomotive and maybe as many as a half dozen rail cars (boxcars and flatbeds and a tanker car, too, not to mention the prize of prizes…a red caboose!).

Cut to the chase: How good was I? Good enough, apparently, for that’s what appeared under the tree one year. Woohoo!

I remember it well, After Christmas morning chaos had settled down, I cleared out a spot and opened the box and meticulously put it all together. No NASA project was ever handled with such care and attention to detail, and soon my railroad was ready to go. It went round in an oval about 3 feet across and 4 feet long – not quite intercontinental, not yet anyway, but more than enough for an 8-year-old rail magnate-to-be.

A few days after Christmas, we even went to the local hobby shop (remember those?) where I spent my $2 in cash, a gift from Uncle Somebody-or-Other, and bought a green and gray plastic mountain with a tunnel right through the middle. Back home, I lovingly placed the mountain over the straight part of the track. My little train purred through that tunnel

TRAVIS D. GORDON/PROVIDED

Engine No 4501, a lovingly maintained steam locomotive, takes a breather on the track in Summerville.

perhaps a thousand times, though it always went round left-to-right in the same unvarying circle. Though I really had been good, I guess I hadn’t been good enough for one of the big sets with the switch tracks – unfortunate, for in railroading as in life it’s occasionally helpful to change directions.

Anyway, my miniature rail empire remained a favorite pastime for quite a while. Then other things came along to distract me. I grew older, and now I’m grown, though the call of the rails still softly echoes from some dusty corner of memory.

Anyway, the other day I had a call from a friend.

“Want to go see the trains?” he asked.

“The trains” referred to a model railroad layout of near-Biblical proportions, the creation of a mutual friend who had remained true to the Railroad Way from childhood on. As an adult, he had created a model train layout which filled his entire basement. Within that tangle of track were many, many switches, and his trains could go

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During these turbulent times, we would like

We are

in any direction you could imagine.

It was all impressive, every single bit of it, but the star of his show was what he called “the turntable.”

A railway turntable is just what the name suggests: a rotating railroad-sized table designed to turn a locomotive so it points in a new direction.

How’s that? Well, say your train has come to the end of the line. You need to turn it around and go back from whence you came – and the easiest way to do that is to build a giant turntable and simply turn that locomotive around.

Fans of railroad lore are quick to tell you that there really are such turntables. In fact, one of them is alive and well and still turning in Summerville, Ga., just up the road.

The Summerville turntable was built in 1916 in Birmingham, Ala., for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and has been described as “a marvel of its time.” The rotating portion of track, which measured some 100 feet long, could point trains in any of about three dozen different directions.

The turntable stayed busy for years, handling such legendary passenger trains as the Pan American and the Florida Arrow. Eventually, when it finally went out of service in the late 1990s, it was donated to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) and eventually relocated to J.R. “Dick” Dowdy Park just off US 27 in Summerville, where it was restored. Now owned by the City of Summerville and operated by the museum, it is one of the few operating turntables in the United States.

Many railroad history fans visit to see the old turntable. If they’re lucky and their timing is right, they

may also get to see one of a pair of lovingly maintained steam locomotives that use the track – the 114-year-old No. 4501 and the 121-year-old No. 630. Those locomotives pull steam train excursions from Chattanooga to Summerville and back during spring, summer and fall, though TVRM’s Penelope Gault points out that with 100-plus-year-old rolling stock “there will occasionally be a day or two when one or the other is not available to run.”

I ask her how the turntable works.

“When we pull into Summerville,” she says, “guests get off the train.”

Some wander into town for lunch, but many (especially the serious railroad history fans) stay to see what’s about to happen next. And that is this:

First, the locomotive is disconnected from the train itself. It pulls slowly onto the turntable, stopping at the center. Then the electrically driven turntable begins its slow rotation, gradually turning the locomotive around until it’s pointing back the way it came. The locomotive then pulls off the turntable and makes its way up a separate section of track to what becomes the front of the train. Everything is reconnected, and the train is ready to return to Chattanooga. The whole process takes just a few minutes.

To see the turntable in action, you’ll want to visit when the trips from Chattanooga are running. Those start in late spring and continue through summer with a couple of trips a month; later, come fall, trips run every weekend through early November. You can just drop by Summerville, or you can jump in with both feet and book a spot on one of the Chattanooga-toSummerville excursions. Either way, start by getting current schedule info from the museum’s website at tvrail. com.

This time of year, if you just want to get in a little train time, you might check out the popular “Summerville Santa” trips. These shorter dieselpowered excursions, which run in December, start in Summerville and take you a few miles up the track to Trion and back. They don’t involve the turntable, but they do give you a chance to take a train trip with Santa. What could be better than that? A few seats may still be available on some of these trips; again, you can find out by visiting tvrail.com

By the way, if you do happen to see Santa on the train, put in a good word for me. Tell him I’ve been good. I’ll do the same for you.

STEVE HUDSON Columnist

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THIS HOLIDAY SEASON TIP YOUR NEWSPAPER DELIVERY PERSON

Your local community newspaper lands in your driveway every week—rain or shine—bringing you the stories, events, and updates that matter most. But did you know that the person delivering it is often a dedicated individual who goes the extra mile (literally) to ensure you stay connected?

Why Tip?

• Show Appreciation: Your delivery person is out there early in the morning or late at night, navigating all kinds of weather, so you can enjoy the news with your morning coffee.

• Support Local Efforts: While the paper might be free, the effort behind it isn’t. Tipping helps reward those who keep this vital community service running smoothly.

• Brighten Their Day: A small tip can make a big difference in someone’s day, showing gratitude for their hard work and dedication.

If you enjoy receiving your free community newspaper, consider giving a small token of appreciation to the person who brings it to your driveway. A little kindness can go a long way!

Thank you for supporting your local delivery heroes!

How to give your delivery person a tip:

Give via the online portal at appenmedia.com/deliverytip or scan this QR Code

If you prefer, you can also mail a check made out to Appen Media Group and mail it to Newspaper Delivery Tip C/O Appen Media Group, 319 North Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009

100% of every dollar you contribute will be spread out evenly between the 24 newspaper delivery people that Appen Media employs. Whether you give $5 or $50, they will greatly appreciate it.