Empty Nest - February 2026

Appen Media Group

February Special Section

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The unexpected hospital stay Brought to you by – Senior Source Medicare Solutions If you are on Medicare, are you prepared financially for the cost of an unexpected hospital stay?

According to a study published on KFF.org, 1 in every 5 Medicare beneficiaries experience at least one inpatient hospital stay in a given year.

If I had to guess, I bet many of those visits were unplanned.

Do you have traditional Medicare paired with a Medicare Supplement?

Or do you have the all-in-one Medicare Advantage plan? Typically with a Medicare Supplement (depending on the plan type), your cost is relatively low for a hospital stay.

But with Medicare Advantage, a hospital stay could be hundreds of dollars per day for a set of days (ex. $350 per day, days 1-7). If this was your hospital stay benefit, and you stayed 7 days in the hospital, are you prepared to pay out $2,450 ($350 x 7 days)?

If you have that amount in savings, that’s great! I tell my clients on Medicare Advantage to try their best to earmark part of their savings as a “copay fund” for any unexpected healthcare

costs that may pop up.

The second option would be to purchase a low monthly cost insurance plan to cover hospital stay copays. This coverage is called Hospital Indemnity coverage. There are varying levels of coverage, but for as low as $25 per month you can insure against the potential exposure of a high cost hospital stay. This coverage will pay you (or the hospital) a per day amount.

Factors that can affect cost and acceptability are the “per day” benefit amount, age and health status. We work with Hospital Indemnity plans because it fills in the holes of the high cost of hospital copays on Medicare Advantage.

I receive so much positive feedback from my clients that purchased a Hospital Indemnity; no one really regrets this purchase!

Call us today to get your quote on a Hospital Indemnity plan. Even if you have traditional Medicare paired with a Medicare Supplement, you can still benefit from the Hospital Indemnity coverage.

Call us today to find out more at (770) 913-6464 or contact us on our website at SeniorSourceMedicare. com/contact-seniorsource.

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Is Lidocaine a secret weapon against cancer?

Brought to you by – Dr. Brent Taylor, Premier Dermatology and Mohs Surgery of Atlanta We always worry about the negative side-effects that a medicine might have. At the end of a pharmaceutical company’s commercials, an auctioneer very quickly states the twenty terrible things that might happen if you take the advertised medicine. Side effects range from your ear falling off when you sneeze to the belief that you are Elvis. Side-effects make almost any medicine sound scary. But occasionally, a positive side effect emerges. Sometimes, we discover something wonderful about a medicine that is wholly unexpected.

Examples of positive side-effects are not hard to find. The medicine finasteride was first being used to help decrease the size of the prostate in men who were having difficulty urinating.

An unexpected positive side-effect was discovered when it was noticed that many of the men were re-growing their scalp hair. With finasteride, male pattern baldness was often partially reversed or stopped in its tracks.

One of the most recent medications discovered to have a possible positive side effect is lidocaine, which has been around since 1943. Lidocaine is an injectable anesthetic. We use lidocaine for skin biopsies, excisions, Mohs surgeries and countless other procedures every day in the dermatology office. Amazingly, lidocaine may be more than an anesthetic. It may also have anti-cancer effects.

A team of surgeons in India operating on breast cancer divided patients into two groups. One group had standard breast cancer surgery.

The other group received a lidocaine injection around the tumor 7-10 minutes prior to surgery. During the 5 years after surgery, the group that received the lidocaine injection had an 8.5% rate of the cancer recurring (popping up again) at a distant site versus an 11.6% rate of distant recurrence in the surgeryonly (no lidocaine) group. The study has some limitations including not being a double-blind trial and being a single-center study, but it is intriguing enough to warrant further investigation. The authors reported that injecting lidocaine around breast cancer before removing it increased survival in their study.

What made the surgeons perform this study in the first place? Why lidocaine? Over the last few years,

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Insist on the BEST researchers have discovered that electrical gradients maintained across the membranes of cancer cells are important to their ability to metastasize or spread. Our cells have pumps in them called “ion channels.” They allow certain ions to pass across the cell membrane. The resulting ion concentration gradient creates an electrical charge across a cell. This gradient affects the way other proteins in the cell function. Importantly, some of the proteins affected by the charge across a cell membrane are important for healthy cells’ growth and development as well as for cancers’ ability to grow and spread.

Lidocaine works by blocking sodium channels in cell membranes. Disrupting the electric charge across a cancer cell membrane was suspected to have the potential to weaken the cancer itself. Pre-clinical studies supported this hypothesis, and the breast cancer surgeons took the next step of performing a trial with breast cancer patients and peritumoral lidocaine injections.

I don’t know if breast cancer surgeons in the United States consider these results valid, are awaiting confirmatory studies or are already injecting lidocaine. However, in dermatology, these results are exciting because, for now, we do not need to change anything that we are already doing. Every day that I perform Mohs surgery, we inject the area around a tumor with lidocaine prior to surgically removing the cancer. If lidocaine is more than an anesthetic, then our patients are likely already benefiting from any anti-cancer properties that lidocaine has.

Mohs surgery is the gold standard for treating most skin cancers and has a cure rate that is usually at or above 99%. Perhaps lidocaine is one of the secrets to this success.

Dr. Brent Taylor is a Board-Certified Dermatologist, a Fellowship-Trained Mohs Surgeon, and is certified by the Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine in the field of Vein Care.

He is an expert in skin cancer and melanoma treatment, endovenous laser ablation, minimally invasive vein procedures and cosmetics procedures such as Botox and injectables.

Kathryn is a certified physician assistant with over 23 years experience as a Dermatology PA and cosmetic dermatology.

Dr. Brent Taylor

Her specialties include general dermatology such as acne, eczema, rashes, hair loss, full body skin exams, abnormal growths etc. Kathryn also specializes in cosmetic dermatology including lasers, injectables, micro-needling, PRP, facial peels, sclerotherapy for spider veins and at home skin care.

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Protecting your skin in February Brought to you by - Dr. Lola Sode, Epiphany Dermatology February is the season of love, but it also brings some of the toughest challenges for your skin. It may feel as though winter is over once the holidays pass, but the season continues well into March! The cooler and drier weather causes skin dryness and is one of the most common complaints I see in my patients. Without the right care, this can progress beyond tightness and flaking to painful cracking, itching, and irritation.

For individuals with chronic skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, winter often means more frequent flare-ups. Cold, dry air and indoor heating can strip the skin barrier, making it harder to control symptoms and leaving skin inflamed or uncomfortable. In addition, texture concerns such as keratosis pilaris—those small, rough bumps on the arms

or thighs—tend to be more noticeable this time of year.

The good news is that with the right approach, you can manage and even prevent many of these issues. Partnering with a board-certified dermatologist is the best way to develop a customized plan that addresses your skin’s unique needs in winter. This may include targeted prescription treatments, barrier-repairing moisturizers, or specialized therapies to calm flare-ups and smooth texture.

February is also an excellent time to prioritize professional treatments that support overall skin health.

Options like gentle exfoliating procedures, light therapy, or customized skincare routines can make a noticeable difference in how your skin looks and feels.

Don’t let winter take a toll on your skin. With expert guidance, you can keep it comfortable, healthy, and radiant all season long.

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The unexpected hospital stay Brought to you by – Senior Source Medicare Solutions If you are on Medicare, are you prepared financially for the cost of an unexpected hospital stay?

According to a study published on KFF.org, 1 in every 5 Medicare beneficiaries experience at least one inpatient hospital stay in a given year.

If I had to guess, I bet many of those visits were unplanned.

Do you have traditional Medicare paired with a Medicare Supplement?

Or do you have the all-in-one Medicare Advantage plan? Typically with a Medicare Supplement (depending on the plan type), your cost is relatively low for a hospital stay.

But with Medicare Advantage, a hospital stay could be hundreds of dollars per day for a set of days (ex. $350 per day, days 1-7). If this was your hospital stay benefit, and you stayed 7 days in the hospital, are you prepared to pay out $2,450 ($350 x 7 days)?

If you have that amount in savings, that’s great! I tell my clients on Medicare Advantage to try their best to earmark part of their savings as a “copay fund” for any unexpected healthcare

costs that may pop up.

The second option would be to purchase a low monthly cost insurance plan to cover hospital stay copays. This coverage is called Hospital Indemnity coverage. There are varying levels of coverage, but for as low as $25 per month you can insure against the potential exposure of a high cost hospital stay. This coverage will pay you (or the hospital) a per day amount.

Factors that can affect cost and acceptability are the “per day” benefit amount, age and health status. We work with Hospital Indemnity plans because it fills in the holes of the high cost of hospital copays on Medicare Advantage.

I receive so much positive feedback from my clients that purchased a Hospital Indemnity; no one really regrets this purchase!

Call us today to get your quote on a Hospital Indemnity plan. Even if you have traditional Medicare paired with a Medicare Supplement, you can still benefit from the Hospital Indemnity coverage.

Call us today to find out more at (770) 315-8145 or contact us on our website at SeniorSourceMedicare. com/contact-seniorsource.

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www.SeniorSourceMedicare.com We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.

*Decaturish Ink currently publishes on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays of every month. All other publications publish every Thursday.

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Wills Park brims with area visitors on Fourth of July

By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com

A girl waves an American flag as she dances to music by Davis and the Love at Roswell Area Park July 4.

PHOTOS BY: SARAH COYNE/APPEN MEDIA

Kendall, from left, John, Brooks and Reid Hill sit on a picnic blanket at Roswell Area Park to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Roswell crowd celebrates America’s 249th birthday

By SARAH COYNE sarah@appenmedia.com ROSWELL, Ga. — Food trucks, live music and fireworks were on the menu for America’s birthday in Roswell.

A crowd of over 1,000 piled into Roswell Area Park July 4 to celebrate America’s 249th birthday.

Kendall and John Hill travelled from East Cobb to bring their two little ones to the show.

“The kids love it,” John Hill said.

Baseball fields and multi-use fields were filled with families and friends awaiting the firework show at dusk.

See FOURTH, Page 23

OPINION

See FIREWORKS, Page 24

Two-year-old Cameron holds a beach ball at the City of Roswell Fourth of July celebration at Roswell Area Park.

Business owner crafts calm in the chaos

JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA

From left, Traci Foreman, Chris Foreman and John Hanley watch fireworks in Wills Park July 4.

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JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — The heart of the holiday was shining through the music, food and fun of Creek’s Juneteenth celebration.

As the sun set on a warm Saturday evening, Midway grandmother Matilda Riles sat in a lawnchair, watching her grandchildren play on the park lawn amid the sound of booming live music and mouthwatering aroma of food trucks.

Before the fun started, Riles, who attended with three generations of family, educated the kids about the reason for Juneteenth.

“It's a point in time when enslaved people no longer had to be enslaved, and certain places did not relay the message at the time that it should have been relayed,” Riles said. “And, therefore this is a celebration as to when the final group of people were told you no longer had to be enslaved.”

Several thousand visitors descended on the city’s annual celebration at Newtown Park, 3150 Old Alabama Road, doubling last year’s attendance. The celebration resembled a giant block party with live music performances, chatting neighbors, plenty of food and rows of arts and craft vendors.

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The perfect biscuit is like a warm hug, said Brandy White, owner of Sawnee Mountain Biscuit Company.

“It kind of warms your soul,” White said. “It feels like home to me.”

Since 2001, the Sawnee Mountain Biscuit has operated out of a renovated mobile home at 104 13th St., serving perfect pillowy biscuits wrapped around eggs, cheese, bacon and other breakfast staples. With dozens of items on the menu, the restaurant features other tasty offerings from French toast to a house-made pimento cheese.

Tucked into a sleepy neighborhood on the edge of Cumming, Sawnee Mountain Biscuit might easily be taken as another house, but locals say the squat, blue-clapboard building is one of the town’s best breakfast spots.

Over the decades, the restaurant has earned a cult following in Cumming and the north Atlanta area, serving as many as 400 orders some mornings.

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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is working to complete converting an old elementary school into a law enforcement training center.

Since October, the training center has hosted a public safety academy as part of a partnership between the sheriff’s office and University of North Georgia. The academy, funded by the

ROI

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County restores original funding to cultural arts

Children play in the lawn at Newtown Park during a Juneteenth celebration in Johns Creek June 21.

JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

By JON WILCOX | jon@appenmedia.com

JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA

Brandy White holds her 1-year-old daughter, Lennon, at the entrance to her Sawnee Mountain Biscuit Company on 13th Street just outside Cumming.

sheriff’s office, provides training for law enforcement officers in Forsyth County and surrounding jurisdictions, Capt.

Rob Heagerty said.

At an April 22 work session, the County Board of Commissioners discussed a proposal to allocate $47,993 for design services with ar chitectural firm Wiley Wilson to create plans, conduct inspections and

make changes to water heaters.

The sheriff’s office wants to install showers and locker rooms at the building at 4805 Atlanta Highway, Heagerty said. The improvements are important because exercise and physical conditioning are essential in maintaining capable deputies, he said.

The building already houses classrooms, meeting rooms, a cafeteria,

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gym, simulator room and an empty wing where deputies can conduct building-clearing and other training exercises.

The work is part of a second phase to transform former Midway Elementary School into a law enforcement training center.

See SHERIFF, Page 12

ATLANTA — The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to restore funding for a program within the Arts & Culture Department to $3 million a year Sept.

17.

While the unanimous vote reflects unity and bipartisanship, some commissioners criticized colleagues for the delay.

The item, sponsored by Democratic commissioners Khadijah AbdurRahman and Marvin Arrington Jr. and Republican commissioners Bob Ellis and Bridget Thorne, includes an increase of $1.7 million for a previously requested program and its full $3 million in funding set aside in the 2026 budget.

See JUNETEENTH, Page 10

See FULTON, Page 20

Fulton jail staff faces civil rights indictments

By DAVE WILLIAMS Capitol Beat ATLANTA — Fulton County Jail employee has been indicted in federal court for allegedly using excessive force against prisoners.

The 47-year-old sergeant is accused of repeatedly using tasers on compliant, nonresisting pre-trial detainees on three occa-

sions last January and writing false reports about each of the incidents.

“The (Justice Department’s) Civil Rights Division has zero tolerance for law enforcement officers who abuse public trust through excessive force and concealing their misconduct,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “We will vigorously safeguard the constitutional

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rights of all individuals, including those in custody.”

“Abuses of power of this kind are unconstitutional, erode our community’s trust, and will be prosecuted,” added Theodore S. Hertzberg, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Solomon faces up to 10 years in prison for each federal civil rights violation and 20

years behind bars for each false report.

The FBI’s Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case based on a referral from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.

Doggie-paddle Pets enjoy cool, pool party at Last Splash Puppy Bash

► PAGE 5

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April 10, 2025 | AppenMedia.com | An Appen Media Group Publication | Ser ving the community since 1976

Dunwoody opens doors to refine future land-use

By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com

PHOTOS BY: HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

Front center, Ann Hanlon, executive director of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts, holds the ribbon for phase one of the Ashford Dunwoody Road path April 3 while City Councilman Tom Lambert, front right, gets ready to cut it. The Perimeter CIDs and Dunwoody split the project’s $1.5 million construction cost.

Commercial partners and city celebrate new path

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

A look down the completed phase one of the Ashford Dunwoody Road path April 3 shows the two-way cycle track parallel to the revamped sidewalk.

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody elected officials, city staff and Perimeter Community Improvement Districts Executive Director Ann Hanlon cut the ribbon April 3 on phase one of the Ashford Dunwoody Road path.

“We’re super proud to partner with the city of Dunwoody on building this trail project,” Hanlon

said. “And we’ll look forward to many more phases to come.”

A little over two years ago, the group gathered at the same spot near the corner of Ashford Dunwoody Road and Hammond Drive for phase one’s groundbreaking.

Phase one of the corridor’s path includes a two-way raised cycle track separated from traffic by a wide landscape buffer

See PATH, Page 17

DUNWOODY, Ga. — The City of Dunwoody is streamlining development rules and updating its vision for the city’s future as part of a state-mandated overhaul.

City officials and representatives from consulting firm TSW Design, which was tasked with creating a plan, gave a two-hour presentation about the changes April 1 during a special meeting at Vintage Pizzeria on Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

Residents received and discussed the creation of a unified development ordinance and changes to the city’s comprehensive plan.

Dunwoody is updating its comprehensive plan as part of a state mandate that requires an overhaul every five years, said Allison Stewart-Harris, an associate principal and planner at TSW. Stewart-Harris presented the changes to about 30 residents who attended the meeting.

JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs announced that the Billboard Music Award-winning band Lit is headlining Friday night Sept.

26 at the third annual Blue Stone Arts & Music Festival.

The festival will take place in the heart of Sandy Springs Friday, Sept.

26, from 4-10 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 27, from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Lit is an American rock band from Orange County,

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HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

Motorists line up at the Boylston Drive signal to turn left onto Hammond Drive Aug. 14. Sandy Springs will begin work in September to realign Boylston to the east and eliminate a nearby traffic light.

Realignment construction begins on Hammond-Boylston intersection

CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS/PROVIDED

Sandy Springs said Billboard Music Award-winning band, Lit, is headlining this year’s festival Sept. 26-27 at City Springs.

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs contractors are set to begin work in September on realigning the intersection of Boylston and Hammond drives and removing a redundant traffic light.

The city says work will last around 15 months, and the intersection will remain open during construction, but there will be occasional lane closures so crews can get the work done safely.

Initially, city officials expected the project

to begin in mid-August. No explanation was given.

Currently, there are two separate sets of traffic lights less than 100 feet away from one another, one at the Hammond Glen Retirement Community’s driveway and another at the office building next door.

The new configuration will shift Boylston Drive to the east, aligning it with the Hammond Glen driveway and eliminating the traffic light at the driveway to the office building at 325 Hammond Drive.

Indicted superintendent resigns

Residents trying to pump brakes on I-285 express lane

404-403-6561 C | 770-394-2131 O RobinBlass.com

Early voting ends Oct. 31 for municipal elections ► PAGE 4

See story on Page 22

Wild Nest Bird Rehab finds roost at Legacy Park

► PAGE 24

See BOYLSTON, Page 8

Atlanta Perimeter Office | 4848 Ashford Dunwoody Road | Atlanta, GA 30338

Hundreds attend Intown Ace Hardware’s annual Ladies Night ► PAGE 14

DeKalb School Board faces tough questions as district finds itself at crossroads

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California, formed in 1988.

They are best known for their platinum-selling 1999 power-pop punk album “A Place in the Sun” and its massive hit single “My Own Worst Enemy.”

The band is set to headline the main stage Friday night at 8 p.m.

In addition to Lit, the family-friendly festival features music all day long across multiple stages, an artist market with more than 80 vendors and a Kids Zone.

See LIT, Page 9

October 23, 2025 | Decaturish.com | Locally Sourced News | An Appen Media Group Publication | Volume 1, No. 13

solicitation. All data believed to be accurate but not warranted.

Equal housing opportunity. If you have an existing brokerage relationship, this is not intended as a solicitation. All data believed to be accurate but not warranted.

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GEORGIA RAE HART | REALTOR® c: 678.266.8241 o: 404.480.HOME

ANSLEYRE.COM | 404.480.HOME | 3035 PEACHTREE ROAD, SUITE 202, ATLANTA, GA 30305 Equal housing opportunity. If you have an existing brokerage relationship, this is not intended as a solicitation. All data believed to be accurate but not warranted.

ANSLEYRE.COM | 404.480.HOME 3035 PEACHTREE| ROAD, SUITE 202, ATLANTA, GA 30305 ANSLEYRE.COM 404.480.HOME 3035 PEACHTREE| ROAD, SUITE 202, ATLANTA, GA 30305 ANSLEYRE.COM Equal housing opportunity. If you404.480.HOME have an existing brokerage relationship, this is not intended as a 3035housing PEACHTREE SUITE 202,relationship, ATLANTA, GA 30305 solicitation.

All opportunity. data believed to ROAD, be accurate but not warranted.

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Billboard Music Award winner to headline Sandy Springs fest

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Put Our Experience To Work For You JAN HART | REALTOR® c: 678.596.3684 o: 404.480.HOME

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About 30 residents fill a dining room at Vintage Pizzeria on Chamblee Dunwoody Road April 1 to hear a presentation by TSW Design planner Allison Stewart-Harris, who spoke on the city’s future land-use strategy.

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Ross: City should have residents pick fiscal fate

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Miniature goldendoodle Lexi cools off at the Milton city pool on Sept. 13. Canine companions gathered there to celebrate summer’s end. See the story and more photos from Sarah Donehoo on page 18.

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2024 DR. JOHN REYES

Residents celebrate, remember meaning behind Juneteenth

County considers funding for sheriff’s training facility

County delays closing Alpharetta jail site

Pitts: Raising millage rate would be mistake

► PAGE 4

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Thousands filled Wills Park to celebrate July 4 with a bang.

Hours before darkness fell, friends and families filled the park’s lawns, Equestrian Center, trails and athletic fields. Everywhere, children played, cartwheeling, running, tossing balls and waving glow sticks.

Alpharettan Lindsey Landis, her husband, two children and two dogs were part the crowd, passing the golden hour on a blanket laid out on the grass.

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Biscuit eatery rises to meet high demand

Soaring high Atlanta International School set to open new campus, marks 40th anniversary Pages 20-22

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