Dunwoody Crier - June 20, 2024

June 20, 2024 | AppenMedia.com

Dunwoody keeps property tax rate at current levels

City’s homesteaded properties should experience no increase

DUNWOODY, Ga. — The City of Dunwoody announced June 13 its tax levy on property will remain the same as last year, 3.04 mills.

Even so, some residents and commercial property owners who cannot claim a homestead exemption may pay more in taxes this year because their properties have increased in value.

Because of overall higher values reflected in DeKalb County’s reassessments of property, state law requires the city notify residents of a 5.81 percent increase in property taxes. That’s despite the fact the city has included a 1-mill reduction in the levy for those qualifying for a homestead exemption, which essentially lowers their tax rate to 2.04 mills.

A tax rate of 1 mill represents a tax liability of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value on property.

The city will also continue to freeze assessed values for those same properties.

According to the city, when the exemptions are factored in,

See RATE, Page 9

WINEGROCERIES.COM/PROVIDED

Anita LaRaia sits ready to record the “Latin Lovers” video on her YouTube channel, Winegroceries.com, in early January. The third educational video in a six-part series dives into LaRaia’s grocery-shopping advice for patrons.

Wine expert shares fruits of experience

Industry authority keys buyers to value

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — When students at Anita LaRaia’s Wine School wrap up their first class, they’re likely struck with the extensive knowledge and infectious energy of their instructor.

Whether they took her series of 2-hour inperson classes decades ago or stumbled across her

new videos on YouTube, LaRaia’s students remember her empowering personality and wine expertise.

In her 33 years, LaRaia has graduated more than 2,000 people from her classes – young adults in the hospitality industry, trade professionals and anyone interested in

See LARAIA, Page 7

I’m

just trying to do right by the customer. That’s why I was always successful, not just as a wine educator but successful as a salesperson.”

ANITA

LARAIA

Founder,

Anita LaRaia Wine School/Winegroceries.com

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POLICE BLOTTER

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Police cite Decatur man suspected of shoplifting

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police arrested a 37-year-old Decatur man June 4 after the manager of the Hobby Lobby on Ashford Dunwoody Road reported him for shoplifting.

The manager told police dispatch that the suspect stole art supplies and walked toward the Walmart adjacent to the store.

Police found the suspect outside of Walmart and detained him.

One responding officer said he tackled the suspect after the man pushed another officer and resisted arrest.

Eventually, officers said the suspect surrendered after a struggle in the parking lot.

One officer suffered lacerations on his arms and legs during the arrest.

After detaining the suspect in a patrol car, officers spoke with the Hobby Lobby manager who said the suspect is a habitual shoplifter at locations around Metro Atlanta.

The manager also detailed how the man concealed merchandise, totaling less than $10.

Officers said they confirmed the suspect had stolen merchandise in his backpack, belonging to the Hobby Lobby and Michael’s across the street.

The Michael’s manager identified the suspect and confirmed he was in the store earlier that day, officers said.

Loss prevention employees at Michael’s said they did not wish to press charges.

During a search of the suspect’s belongings, officers found a check

belonging to a Roswell man.

The owner said his check went missing May 28.

Officers also found a black Glock 42 semi-automatic pistol and a small amount of marijuana on the suspect.

A background check revealed the Fulton County State Court has convicted the suspect of misdemeanor shoplifting at least three times going back to 2005.

The suspect’s felony convictions through DeKalb and Gwinnett counties include attempted burglary, shoplifting and criminal attempt.

Officers said they obtained warrants for felony shoplifting with three prior convictions, possession of a firearm by a felon, two counts of obstructing an officer, possession of marijuana and theft of mislaid property.

The suspect is being held at DeKalb County Jail

Man reports car break-in and theft at Campus 244

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police responded to 244 Campus Way June 7 after a man reported his car was burglarized and his laptop was stolen.

An officer met with the victim at the mixed-use development.

The victim, a 56-year-old Marietta man, said he parked his Toyota Tundra at the site around 3 p.m.

When he returned to his car 20 minutes later, he said he found the front passenger window shattered and his backpack missing.

The backpack contained the man’s laptop, valued at $1,000.

There is no surveillance footage available.

Officers did not identify a suspect.

Man says kayak stolen from roof of his vehicle

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police are investigating the theft of kayak June 6 after a 24-year-old Dunwoody

man reported it had been stolen from his car’s roof.

An officer said he went to The Hatley apartments on Madison Drive around 10 a.m. to speak with the victim.

The man said he left his Cadillac CTS on the second floor of the complex’s parking lot around 10 p.m. the night before.

When he returned to his car around 9:30 a.m. the next morning, the kayak with a fishing net, gloves, speaker and two paddles were gone.

The victim said the belongings were worth $300 and reported no other stolen items or damage.

Officers said the victim did not have a serial number but provided a description and photographs.

The leasing office said it did not have security cameras where the crime occurred.

Woman reports theft of jewelry, $300 in cash

ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell Police are investigating a non-forced burglary at an apartment on Hemingway Lane June 6 after a woman reported stolen jewelry and cash.

Officers said the victim, a 38-yearold female, said she last saw the items June 3 and didn’t notice them missing until that day. She said she suspects someone took her key, which she accidentally left in the lock when she returned from vacation May 30.

The officer said there were no signs of forced entry or damage to the residence.

The victim’s stolen jewelry includes six rings, five chains, six bracelets and eight watches, valued around $15,000. The stolen cash totals $300.

The victim said most items are 18 karat gold.

Officers said there are no security cameras near the woman’s apartment.

Officers did not identify a suspect.

Dunwoody misses transportation pedestrian solutions opportunities

To The Crier:

Dunwoody City Council misses opportunities for transportation/ bike/ped solutions, which is our highest priority. The $60 million, non-binding bond ($100 million with interest) attempt was mis-targeted planning and execution.

The bond would have put future councils and citizens of the next 20 years on the hook for this council’s short-sighted, non-designated spending. Spending $60 million to maybe get $25 million in top priority transportation/bike/ped improvements is preposterous.

The city Ponzi scheme commits tens of millions of dollars on Astroturf and hardscape for rent. Former Dunwoody Finance Director Chris Pike warned of our precarious ability maintaining all these new facilities. Building facilities to rent does not represent constituents and is not financially sustainable.

You eventually run out of money. We just did.

The city rents to leagues, events and schools outside our city, county and state. This makes OUR park unavailable to OUR community. There is more traffic and less safety. Brook Run Park is misused as a parking lot for baseball, soccer and other rented events. Baseball parking was designed to be at the school.

The two baseball field and two soccer field facilities ties up $30 million in Dunwoody resources to rent which could have been used for the community.

A CPA or I can explain the book value.

Talk Back to the Crier

Council has two “statistically valid surveys” over the years. But invalid surveys are used and have claimed, “this is what citizens want.”

Mismanagement (eg. baseball expenses, turf replacement escrow, park damage, light and sound pollution, over-scheduling, communication, follow-up) is concerning.

In one year, this council increased taxes twice and tried a third:

1. Maxed out the existing millage rate which was unchanged for 15 years.

2. Raised the millage rate to the legislative maximum, and increased again.

3. Thirdly tried for another $60 million, via the bond.

It is not surprising the bond failed. I could have told them that.

We don’t want park Improvements (council calls concrete, Astroturf and rentals).

We want council improvements.

Seniors, retirees, singles, empty nesters, DINKs, etc. live here, too. Council could be creative and consider public/private assets (eg. Marcus’ new pickleball facility etc, HOA facilities), statistically valid surveys, and using professional engineers, planners and designers in city planning.

Youths aged 10-17 years are only 11% of Dunwoody. It seems spending should be proportional.

What about the 40% of residents and taxpayers over 45?

Paul Lowry Dunwoody

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OPINION

395th Signal Company reunited for gathering at Newsom home

The headline on the front page of the Sept. 29, 1994, Dunwoody Crier read, “Veterans of Normandy Invasion Remember Their Duty and Their Friends at National Social Gatherings.”

Men from the 395th Signal Company, U.S. Army Air Corps began meeting every two years, usually in one of the veteran’s hometowns in 1984. The 1994 reunion was held at the home of Erle “Buck” and LaVerne Newsom in Fontainebleau Forest, which had a Doraville address at the time.

(Dunwoody Crier newspaper archives, Dunwoody Preservation Trust)

Twenty-three members of the 395th gathered to remember their part in the Normandy invasion and the end of World War II. They came from all parts of the U.S. In addition to sharing memories, the group usually included light-hearted activities, such as golf, dancing and dinners.

Erle Newsom was first sergeant of the communications unit. Fay Hart, who initiated the reunions, came to the Newsom home for the 1994 gathering. Bob Lommatzschi came from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and James F. Scholes was also at the reunion. He was the unit’s captain and commanding officer.

When the 395th Signal Company was activated in Fresno, California, in 1943, there were 200 men on the roster. The 395th Signal Company

supplied communication services to units of the 9th Air Force.

When the World War II memorial opened in 2004, Erle and LaVerne Newsom’s daughters, Liz Green and Laurie Fishel, took their parents to Washington, D.C.

“It was so important to him to be there,” recalls Green. “It was a wonderful experience, an honor to be there.”

Erle’s friend Fay Hart from the 395th joined them for the event.

Erle Newsom was born in 1915 in Camilla, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in forestry. He worked with Inland Container and later Georgia Kraft Company. Then, after retirement he continued to work another 15 years for Sherwin Williams Company. LaVerne was from Tifton, Georgia.

The couple was married 65 years and had two children. Their daughters are Laurie Fishel of Winchester, Virginia and Liz Green of Dunwoody. Green has worked at Dunwoody Baptist Preschool 36 years and is their weekday preschool associate director.

Erle and LaVerne Newsom’s family now includes three grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

In 1970, the couple moved to their Fleur de Lis Court home in Fontainebleau Forest. When the tornado hit Dunwoody in 1998, Erle and LaVerne lost 56 trees. One fell on their house. They remained in their home through the cleanup,

SPECIAL FROM 1994 DUNWOODY CRIER.

Erle Newsom and Fay Hart of the 395th Signal Company share memories in 1994.

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State tax revenues continue to decline

By DAVE WILLIAMS Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections continued to fall last month, dropping 1.1% compared to May of last year, the state Department of Revenue reported.

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With just one month remaining in the current fiscal year, tax revenues are down by 1.2% compared to the first 11 months of fiscal 2023. However, that doesn’t account for the fact the state wasn’t collecting sales taxes on gasoline and other motor fuels during the first half of the last fiscal year.

As a result, the 11 months that ended May 31 saw a net decrease in tax revenues of 4.3% from fiscal 2023.

Individual income tax receipts for May were down 3.3% compared to the

same month last year, driven largely by a 32.9% decline in individual tax return payments.

Net sales tax collections rose slightly last month, increasing by 0.4% compared to May a year ago.

Corporate incomes taxes fell by 35.1% percent in May due to the combination of a 23.1% decline in payments and a huge increase of 497.5% in refunds issued by the revenue agency.

With the state likely to show tax revenues down at the end of fiscal 2024 June 30, Gov. Brian Kemp has been warning of leaner times ahead. However, the $16 billion budget surplus the state has built up during the last three years should provide ample cushion to avoid major spending cuts.

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Name of Business: Dunwoody Gallery

Owner(s): Dawn Tresh and Linda Pozzobon

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LaRaia:

Continued from Page 1

understanding the process of selecting a quality wine.

So, what did students walk out the door with? LaRaia says they carried confidence and a bottle of wine with some of five noble grapes of Bordeaux: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.

If the mention of Red Bordeaux and blended wine makes your head spin, LaRaia’s new venture in 2024 can get you up to speed in no time.

LaRaia, a 30-year resident of Dunwoody, kicked off 2024 with the rollout of her YouTube channel, Winegroceries.com, including six videos around 10 minutes each.

She said her goal is to give viewers the information they need to be able to walk into a grocery store or distributor and select a cost-effective wine that pairs with an occasion and its food.

Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for six two-hour classes with the wine expert, you can access them for free on YouTube. Viewers won’t get a nice bottle of wine, but they will be able to find one on their own.

In her six videos available on YouTube, viewers are first introduced to the different processes used to make Champagne in France and different varieties of sparkling wine from around the world.

One video explores Australian wines, which LaRaia helped popularize in the United States. Other topics include South American and Latin wines, “Big Spenders,” or expensive bottles and which American wines give you the best bang for your buck.

LaRaia says her decision to roll out her wine classes online was sparked when her channel’s producers, Nancy and Murph Ivey from South Carolina, began sending her photos of wine bottles on grocery store shelves.

“I was sitting there thinking, well my goodness, I’m back in the business,” LaRaia said.

The 77-year-old wine expert, unafraid to discuss her recent foot surgery and time in a wheelchair, told the Iveys to drive down to Dunwoody and film some videos at her dining room table.

“I set it all up and decided to think long and hard, what could I cover in these short videos?” LaRaia said. “I did write scripts, although people think I do this extemporaneously; Yes, I do because it’s real, more exciting and I have that personality.”

Winegroceries.com on You Tube combines LaRaia’s six years studying in London, her time answering questions posed from around the

WINEGROCERIES.COM/PROVIDED

Anita LaRaia, expert and educator, discusses Australian wines in her last of six videos on her YouTube channel, Winegroceries.com. The channel, available for free, features best practices learned during LaRaia’s 50-year career in the wine industry.

world for CNN.com and 33 years of teaching in Atlanta – all in an easily digestible one-hour series.

“I wanted to do this as a service to grocery shoppers,” LaRaia said.

WineGroceries.com creates videos designed to make viewers savvy buyers of wine in their local grocery store wine department, with entertaining instruction from one of America’s top independent wine educators.

Pairing the correct wine bottle with a meal, occasion or partner is what it’s all about. If complicated grape varieties, sommeliers and “wine snobs” have soured your wine education, LaRaia’s sweet and energetic personality make the process more palatable.

The daughter of Italian immigrants to New York City after World War I, LaRaia’s story is an inspiration.

After earning the valedictorian title at her high school, LaRaia received two degrees from Cornell University before heading to London for her wine education.

If the American Dream is a myth, try telling LaRaia.

She still carries the first payment her father received in the United States, a 1908 Golden Eagle coin.

“My Osage friend from Oklahoma worked on the necklace for a year,” LaRaia said. “I wear it sometimes with that gold coin.”

Equality among all Americans is important to LaRaia, and her decision to start her YouTube channel represents that philosophy.

LaRaia’s resume also includes 10 years at the retail, wholesale and importer levels, including as Banfi Vintner’s sales manager in Georgia.

Her deluxe tours have taken her everywhere from the vineyards of

More information

Anita LaRaia’s Wine School established Feb. 1978

• WineGroceries.com

• @WineGroceries on YouTube

• “Pick a Perfect Wine in No Time” on Amazon

Tuscany, Italy and France to Jack Nicklaus Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Florida.

Despite her luxurious experiences in the wine industry, LaRaia remains down-to-earth.

Her inspiring story as the daughter of American immigrants approaches legendary status as the wine expert now wants to make her lifetime of knowledge available to the public.

If someone picks up a wine bottle in the grocery store and checks out the label, odds are they won’t recognize the region of origin and grape varieties.

One of LaRaia’s goals with her YouTube channel is to give patrons the knowledge to select the cheaper bottle with the same grapes grown in the same region as the bottle worth hundreds of dollars on the top shelf.

“I’m just trying to do right by the customer,” she said. “That’s why I was always successful, not just as a wine educator but successful as a salesperson.”

LaRaia’s next series, shot from the Kroger off Dunwoody Club Drive in Sandy Springs, will be available shortly on the Winegroceries channel.

LaRaia said trips to other local stores, like Costco, may be in the cards for future installments.

PALS

PERIMETER ADULT LEARNING & SERVICES

SUMMER 2024 PROGRAM

Dunwoody Baptist Church 1445 Mt. Vernon Rd., Dunwoody, GA 30338. Registration will be available on the PALS website: www.palsonline.info

The class line up is as follows:

MONDAYS:

From 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Local Authors – We will continue our commitment to presenting local authors to discuss their books, their backgrounds and their genres. This year we will have such best selling authors as Ann Hite, a Jimmy Carter biographer (Dot Padgett, and authors who wrote books on sports personalities, more novelists, murder mystery writers and more.

From 10:00 am - 11:00 am

A View Into Western Civilization Through Its Architecture – Architect Jerry Cooper will lead us in an exploration of how societies down through the ages have reflected their values through the buildings that were built to serve them beginning with Ancient Egypt through Ancient Greece to the Roman Empire up to the present day with a view of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Modern structures. Discussion willcenter on how the evolution of technology, the various societies’ changing values, governing structures and religious perspectives impacted their architecture. The class will conclude with a discussion of what buildings might look like today and why.

From 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Libraries – with Betsy Jones – From the ancient library of Alexandria to the Library of Congress, scores of libraries have been the repository of the written word. Among others, the class will look at several Presidential libraries and explore the 2509 Carnegie libraries which formed the backbone of our public library system.

From 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

A Perspective on Jimmy Carter – Professor Bob Short will discuss the life of Jimmy Carter from his life in Plains, GA to Governor of Georgia to President of the United States and his legacy post-presidency.

From 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

A History of America Through Life Magazine Covers –Besty Jones started collecting old LIFE magazines almost 50 years ago and at one time had a collection of more than 1400 issues. LIFE was launched as a weekly magazine in 1936 by Henry Luce, publisher LIFE covered topics and ceased weekly publication in 1972. LIFE touched every fabric of our lives - war (and peace), royalty, sports, presidents and other politicians, celebrities, science, space, medical triumphs (and tragedies), civil rights, art, music and fashion - to name but a few. Each week will cover a specific topic to see how it was covered over the years.

Sponsored Section June 20, 2024 | Dunwoody Crier | 8

Questions after you pop the question

Brought to you by – Estates

Law Center USA

Whether you’re getting married or entering a new partnership, it’s important for you to lay down some ground rules to make sure there are no misunderstandings going forward. Although the conversation may be difficult, it’s best to have the talk early with your new spouse or partner to make sure you are on the same page. The goal of any type of estate planning is to avoid probate and here are several important questions you should ask when setting up your estate plan:

Are the estates of both parties equal? If not, a prenuptial/ postnuptial agreement or an agreement to keep your estates separate should be considered. Whose name is on the deed to the house? Rights of survivorship

aren’t always automatic depending on the state, so you must specify what will happen in case of death if the surviving partner’s name is not on the deed. You may want to consider giving your partner or new spouse the right to occupy your property. In addition, after the death of surviving partner or spouse, do you want the property or asset to be split among your children?

Do you have powers of attorney and healthcare directives? POA gives the person you name legal and financial authority to act on your behalf if you become incapacitated or incompetent. Healthcare Directive appoints an agent for medical and life support decisions in the event you are incapacitated or incompetent. Depending onyour situation, each of you need separate financial and Healthcare Directives. You should also consider if you want your

children involved in these decisions with your partner or new spouse. Will beneficiary designations on your accounts change upon remarriage or new partner? Make sure the beneficiary designations on your bank, investment, life insurance and retirement accounts are updated so the proceeds are handled according to your new relationship and prevent disinheriting your children accidentally. If you’re entering a new relationship with a home, assets, and family members, creating a new estate plan is essential to balance the expectations of your new spouse/ partner with the needs of the loved ones who have been with you for years. Consult a local estate planning attorney familiar with the inheritance laws in your state to make the best estate plan as you start the next phase of your journey.

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Forecasting experts evaluate prospects for housing market

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

ATLANTA — More than 1,200 professionals from the housing industry tuned into a two-hour zoom call June 13 from John Hunt, chief analyst, principal and cofounder of MarketNsights.

Hunt’s presentation, “Higher for Longer May Be Here to Stay,” covered markets from Dallas to Richmond, and he spoke from a vantage point of someone with more than 30 years of experience and a track record of accurate modeling to the discussion.

In 2006, Hunt was on the team that first predicted the Great Recession.

Hunt briefly mentioned the U.S. is still recovering from the “irrational exuberance” in the housing market.

Quoting former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s famed comment about market bubbles, he traces the current housing availability crisis back to December 2007.

Hunt said housing starts had reflected increases in population before the crash, but they have not recovered since.

During a discussion with the North Fulton Improvement Network in February, Hunt said housing attainability or affordability is the defining issue of our time.

Hunt reaffirmed the significance of

Rate:

Continued from Page 1

homesteaded properties should see no municipal tax bill increase this year.

The Georgia Department of Revenue requires the city to issue a notice of a tax increase this year because revenues from the same property tax

housing June 13. He said the barriers to “missing middle housing” stem from the emergence of zoning regulations 100 years ago from politicians during Jim Crow.

“Their goal for doing zoning was to circumvent Civil Rights laws and to keep neighborhoods White,” Hunt said. “Don’t trust me, look it up and read the book, ‘The Color of Law.’”

Georgia State University economist Rajeev Dhawan also spoke in the June 13 presentation.

Georgians can expect “practical” cuts from the Federal Reserve totaling 175 basis points by the end of 2025, he said.

Dhawan is the holder of the Zwerner Chair of Economic Forecasting and director at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at GSU.

The questions are whether interest rate cuts will help bring down mortgage rates, and whether homebuyers should wait on the cuts, Dhawan said.

For the week of June 9-15, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. is 7.33 percent.

The Federal Reserve voted to hold rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting June 12, pushing back the start of rate cuts and relief from high borrowing costs.

Dhawan’s prediction came during an explanation for what spurred the

rate are expected to climb 5.81 percent from 2023. The increase may come from new construction and higher assessments on commercial property.

Each year, the DeKalb County Board of Assessors is required to review the assessed value for taxable property in the county. A reassessment occurs when the trend of recently sold properties indicates there has been an increase in fair market

growth of the national economy in the second half of last year.

Dhawan pointed to pent up travel demand, changes with consumer spending, a government hiring spree and a superb stock market rally.

Another factor stimulating the economy is the lack of mortgage rate shocks, as seen in other countries like the United Kingdom and Canada.

“Fed rate cuts are going to happen, the speed is different and it’s going to come in,” Dhawan said. “The issue is what is going to happen after that.”

Hunt said the shortage of affordable homes in the region is here to stay, keeping many younger buyers from owning while pushing others farther from downtown Atlanta.

Dhawan and Hunt were clear about the role homeownership plays in building wealth for Americans.

Hunt is skeptical about the effect of decreasing mortgage rates on housing attainability, but he also doesn’t think it should dissuade new buyers.

Pointing to data from the second half of the 20th century, Hunt showed waiting for rates may hurt prospective buyers.

One of the topics debated between the two forecasters is whether mortgage rates will fall when the Fed cuts rates on a ratio of 1-to-1.

Dhawan said increasingly restrictive trade policies, which take

value.

Georgia law says a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same amount of revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.

While the budget tentatively adopted by the city requires the same millage rate as last year, it is still

DINNER & BINGO!

JUNE 27

dollars chasing Treasury bonds out of the market, prevents rates from dropping together.

MarketNsights also brought along some of its clients and sponsors to discuss how they view the housing industry.

Lori Lane, director of Berkshire Hathaway’s New Homes Division, discussed the new regulations surrounding real estate commissions and their effect on sellers, buyers and agents. The rules take effect in July. The changes remove the assumption that sellers will pay the buyer’s agent and require buyers’ agents to secure written agreements with clients. Up till now, the average real estate commission in the United States is around 5.5 percent, divided between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. The new law eliminates that arrangement.

Representatives from Jackson EMC and BankSouth Mortgage discussed the mortgage industry, affordability and their companies’ initiatives.

Mac Kregger, senior vice president at BankSouth, promoted the Georgia Dream Homeownership program, which provides affordable financing options, down payment assistance and education to first-time and low-income buyers.

More information is available on the Georgia Community Affairs Department’s website, dca.ga.gov.

higher than the computed rollback millage rate.

Before Dunwoody can finalize the budget and set a final millage rate, Georgia law requires three public hearings allowing the public an opportunity to express their opinions. The public hearings at Dunwoody City Hall at 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road are scheduled for June 26 at 6 p.m., June 27 at 8 a.m. and July 8 at 6 p.m.

BINGO starts promptly at 7:30pm Doors Open at

drawings.

All Saints Social Hall, 2443 Mt. Vernon Rd, Dunwoody, doors open at 6:30pm.

Limited to the first 175 people. Next BINGO following June event: July 25.

So many hills, so many views to block

I drive this stretch of road every day, usually multiple times a day. It is the road I take leaving or heading to my home in Crabapple just inside the Alpharetta city limits. Every day when I travel this road, it is the same. I pass the same buildings, the same school, the same lawns and trees; it rarely changes. I know, because I look; I am always looking.

This past week when I was driving the road, Milton Avenue, however, I noticed something I have never seen before. This happens to me when I reread a book; I notice things I missed the first time through – details, names, plot twists, descriptions. My rereads of any of JD

THE INK PENN

Salinger’s books are notorious for this. Those I have reread at least a half dozen times each, and still, I spot things I missed the previous five times.

So, I spotted a sign on Milton Avenue that I had never noticed. Part of me wants to believe it is a new sign, but another part of me suspects it has been there all along, and I just wasn’t watching close enough to see it. When you are traveling east on Milton Avenue almost in front of the old Milton High School – now called Innovation Academy – you go up a hill. Just before the crest of the hill, on the right, is that yellow regulatory sign I just noticed. The sign says, “Hill blocks view.”

And it does – somewhat.

I am sure I have never seen quite that specific message on a street sign before. It struck me as odd. On one hand, the hill really doesn’t obstruct your vision, not really. On the other hand, a “view” as I think of “views” does not really exist

there; it is just a street a couple blocks from downtown Alpharetta that runs past a cemetery and a school at the top of a very slight grade, barely what one might call a “hill.” It certainly wasn’t as linear a message, such as “blind curve use caution” that immediately precedes a dangerous curve on the side of a mountain or something. That is, the sign just didn’t seem very necessary to me or have that much utility. But, I have a hunch as to why it is really there.

Anyway, the sign struck some kind of nerve in me. I have stewed about it – a lot. Yea, I know that sounds weird, a little bit off. I just started thinking about the idea, about things blocking views. Lots of things block our views these days besides hills. And there are lots of “views” that really aren’t “views.”

Right now, the most obvious “hill” that is “obstructing” many “views” is that trial we have all just watched for the past month

or so – the so-called “hush-money” trial. The “hill” is one’s belief about what that was all about. The “view” is how our beliefs determine what we think we just witnessed – our interpretation. The “street” is both the trial itself and the sum total of all our past experiences, values and beliefs.

While there is great divergence among us in our views, the one aspect that we all hold in common is how our bias determines what we think – or say – we witnessed. This is in spite of the fact that there is an actual objective, straight-forward reality here, a paved asphalt street that slopes upward perhaps 5 degrees – enough to partially obstruct a driver’s vision of the street ahead – an objective reality not subject to opinion, no matter how much one desires to see something different.

And the reason for that sign? I think it might have something to do with law enforcement, radar guns, and tickets for speeding. But what do I know?

Branching out beyond mystery books

My TBR list is filled with mystery titles as is my Kindle. If you were to glance at my hold list or the books that fill my “For Later” shelf at the East Roswell Library, that’s pretty much all you would see. Still, from time to time, I branch out. I see a novel described in the paper or online and think, “that’s one I need to read.” The selections for this week are two that I stumbled across. Both were absorbing reads.

“The Soulmate” by Sally Hepworth

After reading this book, I understand why its reviews label it so many different things. Is it a crime novel, a thriller, a novel of domestic suspense, or a psychological study? Whatever it is, it packs a punch. Each time I thought I had it figured out, the author threw a new twist my way. The

story is told in first person by two women in alternating chapters and in alternating time frames. The time frames are now, before, after, and then. Chapter one is Pippa (now) and we meet the other woman in chapter 4, Amanda (after).

It opens in a seaside town in Australia in a cottage on a cliff. What’s special about this cliff is that it is a popular spot for people to end their lives. Since the current family has lived there, Gabe, the husband, has successfully talked every despondent soul out of jumping off the cliff. “Until one day he doesn’t.” Therein lies the story. Why was he unsuccessful? Was it inevitable there would be a first time?

Unputdownable is a common descriptor for books these days. Add page-turner, and you’ve described “The Soulmate,” a book I highly recommend.

“The Seven Year Slip” by Ashley Poston

This book was not only named a New York Public Library Best Book of 2023, but also a most anticipated book by

“Entertainment Weekly,” “Harper’s Bazaar,” and “Real Simple” magazines. Could it possibly be that good? Trust me. It is.

It’s a story of grief, of love, of loss, and friendship. Clementine is dealing with the death of her beloved aunt, the charming adventurer who took her on trips to faraway lands and enriched her life in so many ways.

Bit by bit, we learn about Clementine’s relationship with her aunt, who lived every moment to its fullest. When she died suddenly, a devastated Clementine inherited her NYC apartment and attempted to pack away her grief along with her aunt’s belongings.

Despite the changes, she pictures her every time she walks in the door after a long day at her publishing job. An overachieving career woman, she has long-time friends, but no romantic partner. Those come and go.

Until, one day, she “finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies.”

The problem is that he exists seven years in the past in an apartment filled with her aunt’s belongings, as though she never left.

Yes, this book is a romance with a bit of fantasy thrown in. It’s whimsical yet serious and portrays Clementine’s grief in a way that makes you feel it. Dealing with romance and grief makes her reflect on her life and question what she wants from it.

What she learns about herself and the decisions she makes are at the heart of this book. Pick it up. I predict you won’t be able to put it down.

Happy reading.

Award-winning author Kathy Manos Penn is a two-time Georgia Author of the Year nominee and a Sandy Springs resident. Find her cozy mysteries on Amazon or locally at The Enchanted Forest, Bookmiser, and Johns Creek Books. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com, and follow her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ KathyManosPennAuthor/.

KATHY MANOS PENN Columnist

RAY APPEN Publisher Emeritus ray@appenmedia.com

OPINION

Women took up baseball well before World War II

In the 1992 blockbuster film “A League of Their Own,” the top grossing baseball movie ever made, an exasperated team manager played by Tom Hanks says to his Rockford Peaches all-women team

“there’s no crying in baseball.” Loosely based on a true story, the film takes place during WWII when many professional male players went off to war, and an all-female baseball league was established in the Midwest.

The film shows just how skilled female players are and how they can draw large crowds to games. Sixty-five original members of the league played various parts in the movie.

Attendance peaked at more than 900,000 spectators in 1948. The league closed in 1954.

The inspiration for this column comes from Sheila Rucker Pennebaker who shared with me a treasured photo of The Crabapple Women’s Baseball Team taken in 1934. Baseball has always been important in Crabapple, home of the immortal Nap Rucker who pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1900s. According to Sheila, the Crabapple team played on Sunday afternoons.

In the photo, one girl is wearing high heels since she came directly from church. Sheila says, “Most players used their sons’ or husbands’ equipment, and most were related to each other. They played against other local women’s teams.”

In this era when female college basketball tournament finals can attract audiences as large as the men’s can, and when female tennis stars are household names, it is curious that comparatively few women play baseball professionally or at the high school or college level.

Efforts are being made in many places to provide opportunities for more girls to play baseball. One example is the Georgia Peaches girls baseball program which offer some 60 girls the opportunity to learn and play baseball. Established in 2021, the organization consists of five teams organized by age from 7 to 14 who play competitively from September to July.

According to head coach J.P. Borod, players represent all areas of Georgia with a concentration in North Georgia and Atlanta. A few players come from neighboring states.

“Since they are the only all-girls teams in Georgia, during the school year they play mainly against all-boys teams and they do very well,” says J.P. “Unfortunately, opportunities for girls are

THE MCLOUGHLIN FAMILY/PROVIDED Ellie Grace McLoughlin, age 12, plays first base and pitches for the all-girls Georgia Peaches baseball program which gives girls ages 7 to 14 an opportunity to learn and play baseball. The organization consists of five teams based on age. Some of the girls also play with all boys teams to increase the time devoted to the sport.

few at the high school and college levels, and many switch to softball so they can play regularly.”

Mike and Livy McLoughlin of Alpharetta are proud of their 12-year-old daughter Ellie Grace who plays first base and pitches for the Georgia Peaches. In order to play as much as possible, Ellie Grace also plays with the Georgia Jackets Gold 12U (12 and under), an all-male team that trains at the Auterson Baseball Instruction Facility in Milton. Georgia Peaches is not a recreation baseball team. It is a travel team which competes at a more advanced level. Jeff Auterson, founder of Auterson Baseball, says “we have 375 boys and one outstanding girl playing and improving their skills at our facility.”

Like Ellie Grace, J.P.’s daughter Riley also plays with an all-male team, the TG Diamonbacks that play in Ocee Park in Johns Creek. Riley plays pitcher and catcher on the 12 and under (12U) Georgia Peaches team.

“When the girls get together to play or socialize, something electric happens because they have found members of their own tribe,” J.P. says. “They only play other

all girls teams at the national level.”

If anyone knows a girl interested in playing with the Georgia Peaches, visit: georgiapeachesbaseball@gmail.com. The organization wants to grow their program.

Communities are also in the baseball business through their parks departments.

Alpharetta, for example, provides baseball opportunities in Wills Park and Web Bridge Park for some 750 players through their 57 recreation teams from 4–19 years of age. They also have 13 higher level travel teams. The youngest play T-ball where they get used to handling balls and bats with no scoring. The city advertises its programs as co-ed, and some 25 girls play in the busy spring season throughout all recreation age divisions.

The Alpharetta program is operated by the volunteer driven group Alpharetta Youth Baseball Association. Its

“Young players develop a love of baseball, and as they get older they can move to more intensive traveling clubs,” President/Commissioner Daniel Burkett says.

One organization that is working to increase opportunities for girls to play baseball is Baseball for all (BFA} which

seeks to “crack the grass ceiling” because “creating opportunities for girls and women to play baseball is a social justice issue.”

An annual Baseball for All (BFA) National Tournament in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, in July draws 500 to 600 girls from all over the U.S. and Canada. Last year, four Georgia Peaches teams went to the national tournaments, 9U, 10U, 12U and 14U. The 10U team won the national tournament, amassing 85 runs, 53 hits and 56 strikeouts while allowing opponents only 9 runs and 9 hits. The 9th annual tournament will take place July 7-11th, 2024, at the beautiful Ripken Experience in Elizabethtown which features 12 diamonds and stadium seating.

Progress for girls in baseball is slow but steady, and many girls do have the drive and skills to excel at the sport.

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.

BOB MEYERS

Columnist

SHEILA RUCKER PENNEBAKER/PROVIDED

The Crabapple Girls Baseball Team in 1934. Baseball has always been very important in Crabapple. From left to right back row: Mossy Hughes, Louise Lacky, Helen Rucker, Nancy Rucker, Velma B. Alberson, Montez Chester, Nona Broadwell Coleman. Front Row: Byrd Broadwell Rucker, Ruth Murdock, Delsie Dorris, Fuzzie Maria Westbrook, Faron Holcombe.

J.P. BOROD/PROVIDED

Group photo of the four Georgia Peaches baseball teams at the 2023 Baseball for All (BFA) National Tournament in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Ages of the players range from 7 to 14. The 10 and under team won the national tournament. This year Georgia Peaches has five teams.

GET OUTSIDE, GEORGIA!

Stone circles, wool socks and fish stew

STEVE HUDSON Columnist

If there’s one thing that’s true about exploring the great out-of-doors, it’s the fact that it’ll make you hungry. It’s hard work climbing mountains and fording creeks, even low ones and narrow ones, and one must have sustenance if one is to reach the summit or come out of the water safely on the other side.

I have learned that that’s just as true in Ireland as it is anywhere else.

One Tuesday, for instance, we get an early start with the idea of driving to the town of Kenmare to see the stone circle which sat just outside of town. It’s a well-known early Bronze-Age site within walking distance of the little town.

We know we have to see it (after first doing a little shopping for wool socks). And then we will continue the day with what had turned into a genuine quest –specifically, to find the very best fish stew in the land.

To understand the importance of this quest, you must first know that I absolutely love any kind of seafood-based soup. I make a mean crab and clam bisque, and she makes a shrimp and corn chowder that’s even better.

In Ireland, we discovered right away, they make what they all call fish stew. Rich, thick, warm, flavorful – the adjectives could go on and on, but none adequately describe it. I’d fallen into the pleasant habit of ordering fish stew everywhere we went, and I was beginning to learn to differentiate the various recipes. All were good. Which was best? Maybe the next one…and today the next one would most likely come from a pub somewhere in Kenmare.

It’s all in the name of research, and I do it all for you.

The drive over from our cottage is a little less harrowing than before (maybe we are getting the hang of it?), and we arrive with plenty of time for socks shopping. She purchased a pair a few days before and immediately pronounced them one of the crowning achievements of humankind. We need more, she says, and Kenmare seems as good a place as any to fine ‘em.

So sock shopping we go. We find some for us and for family back home too. The day is off to a grand start!

And then, socks secured, we walk up a small street and follow a sign pointing down a little lane. “Kenmare Stone Circle,” it says. We are almost there.

“Two of ye?” asks the gatekeeper. I pay the small admission and turn to follow the path to the stones. But he stops me and hands me two small pieces of

paper, each with a string attached – one for me and one for her.

I look at them, puzzled.

“For the tree,” the gatekeeper says. “For the hawthorn tree.”

Taking hers, she walks on ahead of me toward the ancient stones. But I linger for a moment. I want to know more about the hawthorn trees.

Hawthorns, I learn, are considered magical and sacred, symbolizing love and protection. They’re said to bring blessings and good luck, and so for ages they have been revered and treated with great respect by one and all. In fact, roads in Ireland have been rerouted to avoid having to take one down.

Usually, it seems, that common knowledge is enough to keep the trees safe. But to deal with the occasional chainsaw-wielding ne’er-do-well who hasn’t gotten the word, further protection for hawthorn trees is said to come from the fairies who live under them. The fairies’ job is to protect the trees from harm, a task which they apparently embrace with gusto. The fairies don’t seem to mind if you respectfully collect hawthorn twigs and flowers, especially for a bride who might wear the blossoms in her hair or carry them in her bouquet as a symbol of love. But if your motives are not so good as that, be forewarned!

As it turns out, hawthorn trees are commonly found at ancient sites like this one.

“There are several hawthorn trees near

the stones, and visitors often leave notes with handwritten wishes attached to the trees’ branches,” our host tells me. “Maybe you’ll want to do that too.”

We chat a minute more, and then I start down the short path to the stones. She is already ahead of me, and as I round a bend in the path I see her standing by one of the hawthorns and affixing something to one of its branches.

I stroll toward her, suddenly aware of the notecard I hold in my hand. I need to leave a note too, a decide, a word or a wish or something too.

But what?

That one’s easy.

We writer types usually carry a pen in case we ever need to write something down. So, I retrieve my pen and stop mid-path and write some words on the card. Then I walk up to the biggest of the hawthorns (which is already decorated with dozens and dozens of words and wishes from others before me) and begin to look for just the right branch. Which one…that one? Yes! Then, carefully, I tie my note to the tree.

By this time, she has moved from the trees to the stones themselves. Ancient and weathered but strong and enduring, they have been there for perhaps 3,000 years, silent and solid as the earth itself. There are 15 stones arranged in a circle about 17 meters (roughly 55 feet) in diameter, plus a center stoner. The rock used to make them came from a site several miles away. Only

someone who really wanted to build this would go to the trouble of moving those stones so far.

Why are they there? No one is completely sure. Some say it was a ritual site used by Druids. Others believe it is some sort of calendar or perhaps a memorial site. The fact is that no one knows for sure.

But whatever its purpose, the stone circle is captivating. We wander there for a while, walking among the stones, touching them, wondering…

After a while, I realize, I am getting hungry.

“Fish chowder time?” I ask her, and we turn back to the path to walk back into Kenmare.

We do find a pub with fish stew, and it is good.

“Is that the best one?” she asks.

“I’m still not sure,” I answer. “Further research is in order, I think.”

She smiles at me and squeezes my hand across the table. A moment passes.

“That was a neat place,” she says at last. “The stones. And the hawthorn trees. Did you leave a note?”

“I did,” I say, and I feel the beginnings of a smile.

What did I wish for in my note on the hawthorn tree?

Did I wish for the perfect bowl of fish stew? Did I offer a word of thanks that I had already found it?

Maybe.

But maybe not.

STEVE HUDSON/APPEN MEDIA

The stone circle in Kenmare, Ireland, dates back some 3,000 years and includes a center stone surrounded by 15 others. The purpose for the arrangement remains a mystery.

OPINION

Reunion:

Continued from Page 4

demolition and repairs of their property.

Prior to the tornado, their home was scheduled to be on the Dunwoody Garden Tour. The damage to the beautiful gardens they had worked so hard to prepare meant they were not able to be part of the tour. Many of their plants originated from cuttings gathered at the home of LaVerne’s grandmother in Tifton.

Members of the 395th company were awarded five battle stars for their participation in battles at Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. They were also awarded the Meritorious Service plaque in 1945.

DEATH NOTICES

Bradley Bromelow, 54, of Alpharetta, passed away on June 9, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

The City of Dunwoody City Council will meet Monday July 8, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Dunwoody City Hall, which is located at 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338 for the purpose of due process of the following:

Text amendments to the Code of the City of Dunwoody for Chapter 27, including Sec. 27-56, Sec. 27-72, Sec. 27-104, Sec. 27-107B, Sec. 27-331, Sec. 27-334, Sec. 27-356, Sec. 27-358 and other sections, the general purpose of which is to create zoning regulations and procedures for drug rehabilitation centers, community residences, recovery communities and other facilities for treatment of drug dependency, and for other purposes.

The City of Dunwoody Planning Commission will meet Tuesday July 9, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Dunwoody City Hall, which is located at 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338 for the purpose of due process of the following:

Text amendments to the Code of the City of Dunwoody for Chapter 16 –Land Development Regulations, Article IV and other articles, the general purpose of which is to provide streetscape design standards for certain areas of the city and for other purposes.

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact the City of Dunwoody Community Development Department at 678-382-6800. Staff is available to answer questions, discuss the decision-making process, and receive comments and concerns.

At the 1994 reunion, Newsom took note of the group and their reduced number. “This is a small group. We’re losing them fast.”

As I have read about and watched video of the veterans of D-Day and World War II who returned there for the 80th reunion, there have been many emotional moments. Especially as the veterans remind us to not forget what happened. It reminded me of the 1994 article, Erle Newsom and the 395th Signal Company who participated at Normandy.

Erle Newsom died in 2007, and his beloved wife LaVerne died in 2013.

Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media and the Dunwoody Crier. She lives in Atlanta. You can email Valerie at pasttensega@gmail.com or visit her website at pasttensega.com.

Wesley Goswick, 60, of Alpharetta, passed away on June 8, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Angela Pruett, 96, of Roswell, passed away on June 3, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

NEWSOM FAMILY/PROVIDED

Laverne and World War II veteran Erle Newsom were married for 65 years.