Forsyth Herald - April 18, 2024

‘Finishing touches’ on McGinnis Ferry in county’s sights

► PAGE 3

House fire inspires advocacy

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County resident and animal advocate Sue Bova suffered a major loss Feb. 14 when a suspected short in an electrical panel resulted in a fire at her home.

But, Bova wants to use her experience to send a message of safety about the dangers of electrical fires to others in the community.

While on her way home from church on Ash Wednesday, Bova said she received a call: Her home security company had alerted a nearby station, Station 6, to a fire in her house.

“And the only thing I could do in that moment was say, ‘My dog, my dog, my dog. Is Tuxie okay?’” Bova said. “That's the only thing I could get out of my mouth while I'm driving, trying to get home.”

Firefighters at Station 6 were able to rescue Tuxie and stop the fire from spreading to the rest of Bova’s house. However, the fire and smoke damage to her kitchen and keeping room was significant, and during the following four to five months of reconstruction, Bova and Tuxie have relocated to a rental home.

See FIRE, Page 15

Before and after shots show Sue Bova’s kitchen following a Feb. 14 fire that resulted in a major loss. Initial investigation showed the fire was likely caused by a spark in an electrical panel behind her can opener or toaster oven.

Schools record growth in English learning population

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — With a student population of some 55,000, the Forsyth County School District is ranking beside its larger Metro Atlanta neighbors for its growing percentage of English learning students.

At a Board of Education work session April 9, Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Lee Anne Rice shared an update about how the district supports its English learning students.

“We currently have students who come from 118 different countries of birth, speak 68 different primary home languages, and we have more than 2,000 immigrant students,” Rice said.

See SCHOOLS, Page 7

Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Lee Anne Rice shares an update about how Forsyth County Schools supports its English learning students at a Board of Education work session April 9.

PHOTOS BY SUE BOVA/PROVIDED Forsyth County resident Sue Bova, left, and her dog Tuxie thank the team at Fire Station 6 March 30. Bova presented the team with a gratitude photo collage, lunch and an invocation for saving Tuxie and her home following a fire Feb. 14.

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Cumming cyclist killed on Castleberry Road

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County deputies arrested a 48-year-old Cumming man April 13 who allegedly struck and killed a bicyclist while driving under the influence.

Officials said the Sheriff’s Office received calls about a bicyclist being hit at Castleberry Road and Kings Common Way around 4:20 p.m.

Initial investigation showed the suspect was driving a pickup truck northbound on Castleberry when the victim, a 71-year-old Cumming man, entered the intersection traveling westbound on Kings Common.

The suspect reportedly struck the victim as he crossed the inside lane of Castleberry Road, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies reported conducting sobriety tests that showed the suspect was under the influence of drugs.

He was charged with felony homicide by vehicle in the first degree and misdemeanor DUI drugs.

Deputies cite Atlanta man for alleged forgery, fraud

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County deputies arrested a 61-year-old Atlanta man April 3 who allegedly attempted to cash a fraudulent check at a bank on McGinnis Ferry Road.

A teller at the bank reported the suspect had tried to cash a $5,670 check from a Florida man’s account.

The teller reported the check was made payable to the suspect, but the handwriting did not match the account holder’s. The paper was also thin and cut unevenly, and the ink was faded in certain spots.

Deputies reported speaking with the victim, who said he did not write the check, and he would like to press charges.

Bank employees also told deputies another fraudulent check had been cashed using the victim’s account in Florida April 2, and two others were attempted or cashed at branches in Norcross and in Marietta.

The suspect reportedly told deputies he met a man named “Big” at a gas station in Fulton County, and Big allegedly drove him to the Forsyth County bank to deposit the check.

He also said Big told him he could keep the money, and Big allegedly had multiple checks in his possession, the report states.

The suspect was charged with felony forgery in the third degree and financial identity fraud.

He is being held at the Forsyth County Jail on a $22,260 bond.

Deputies arrest 18-year-old for alleged speeding

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County deputies arrested an 18-yearold Marietta man March 29 for allegedly driving more than 30 miles over the speed limit on Ga. 400.

Deputies reported clocking the suspect driving 103 mph in a 65-mph speed zone and passing other vehicles on southbound Ga. 400 near Buford Dam Road around 7:30 p.m.

Deputies reportedly stopped the driver near Buford Highway and spoke with him, and he said there was no reason for his speeding.

The suspect’s 16- and 19-year-old siblings were reportedly passengers in the vehicle.

He was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and speeding.

Woman suspects plumber of copping pricey jewelry

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A Johns Creek woman reported to police April 2 that three valuable pieces of jewelry, totaling more

than $76,000, were stolen from her home.

The woman told police the only person, unrelated to the family, who had been in the home is a plumber.

She said the plumber performed work in her master bathroom, connected to the closet where the jewelry was located, according to the incident report. The woman told police the plumber had been working with the door shut, which appeared to be odd behavior.

The woman provided police with the suspect’s name, and detectives found that he had recently pawned other jewelry items in the Cumming area.

Driver flees from police after stop for busted light

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Police arrested a 38-year-old Duluth man April 6 after he fled from a traffic stop for a nonfunctional brake light.

Police first made contact with the suspect, parked in a driveway on Oakmont Hill, and asked the suspect to step out of the vehicle due to a suspected odor of marijuana.

The suspect exited the car and then took off running toward Abbotts Bridge Road, according to the incident report.

While fleeing, police said the suspect was reaching for his pockets and ordered him to stop. The suspect ran about 20 meters before going through some bushes that lead into a backyard of a residence on Abbotts Station Drive, the report says.

Police kept the suspect at gunpoint, as he continued to search his pockets, then knelt on his back to place him in handcuffs, according to the report.

After a search, police found an empty plastic bag on the suspect and around 4 grams of marijuana in the car, the report says. Police also discovered the suspect was on probation.

Police charged the suspect with possession of marijuana less than 1 ounce, brake light/turn signal violation and willful obstruction of law enforcement officer. The suspect was transported to the North Fulton Detention Center.

Forsyth putting ‘finishing touches’ on McGinnis Ferry Road redesign

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County is working to finalize its two-part redesign of the McGinnis Ferry Road widening to advertise and rebid construction of the major infrastructure project.

The east-west artery connecting traffic from Cobb and Gwinnett counties to and through Fulton and Forsyth counties currently sees some 20,000 vehicles daily, 55 percent over its designed capacity.

Forsyth County, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and the Georgia Department of Transportation have agreed to widen the road for nearly a decade, but a $79 million construction cost late last year temporarily halted the effort.

At a work session April 9, the Forsyth County Commission unanimously approved an update to its agreement with Jacobs Engineering Group for construction, engineering and inspection services for the road widening from Douglas Road to Hospital Parkway in Johns Creek.

The services agreement was originally approved in August 2022 when plans called for a complete widening of McGinnis Ferry from Ronald Reagan Boulevard to Sargent Road.

The services for phase one from Doug-

las Road to Hospital Parkway total $2.5 million.

In October, construction firm Vertical Earth presented a $79.4 million construction bid for the widening, the lowest of the four bids received. The County Commission voted to reject all offers, citing the high cost.

A 2020 agreement between Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Forsyth County and GDOT outlined a total commitment of some $50.8 million, falling more than $20 million short of the October estimate.

After reassessing options, the Board of Commissioners approved a $101,209 redesign of the widening Dec. 12, which is still underway.

The county is now pursuing the project in two segments to manage costs: one from Douglas Road to Hospital Parkway in Johns Creek, and another from Douglas back to the Union Hill Road and Ronald Reagan Boulevard intersection in Forsyth County.

“We’re trying really hard to get the finishing touches on the adjusted plans, which basically splits them in half, so we can get them advertised and rebid,” Capital Projects Director John Jefferson said.

Jefferson said the county plans to

See McGINNIS, Page 15

MAP BY JACOB TOMBERLIN/APPEN MEDIA

This map shows the first phase of the McGinnis Ferry Road widening from Douglas Road to Hospital Parkway in Johns Creek. Officials said the county is working to finish its redesign of the widening, which will then be advertised and rebid for construction.

Mother transforms loss into beneficial mission

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

MILTON, Ga. — When a tragedy befalls you, hope that your response is as life-affirming as Kate Luevano’s effort to spread awareness about a rare, yet preventable, disease.

A couple weeks after World Alloimmunization and Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn Day March 12, Luevano held her second blood drive with LifeSouth.

Last summer, Luevano gave birth to her daughter, Josephine Anne. Because of an undiagnosed case of alloimmunization and HDFN, Luevano’s pregnancy resulted in a stillbirth and the loss of her daughter.

In rare cases, a woman will develop maternal alloimmunization or a red cell antibody when exposed to a different blood type. The exposure to an unknown blood type, during pregnancy, childbirth or a blood transfusion, can cause a mother’s antibodies to attack the unborn child’s red blood cells. If left untreated, hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn — the baby’s condition — can have devastating consequences ranging from anemia to death.

“Just in my own research trying to figure out what happened, I stumbled across the Allo Hope Foundation,” Luevano said. “They’re an amazing foundation.”

The Allo Hope Foundation, with its mission to prevent harm, stillbirth and infant death caused by alloimmunization and HDFN, helped Luevano with individual support, connection to a community, life-saving education, up-to-date research and expert medical professionals.

KATE LUEVANO/PROVIDED

Pictured center, Kate and Dewayne Luevano hold up a picture of their daughter, Josephine Anne , alongside friends and family November 19 at their first blood drive. Last June, the Luevanos’ daughter was stillborn after a missed diagnosis of a rare pregnancy condition.

“That became my connection to wanting to do a blood drive in the first place,” Luevano said. “I needed something to do at a time when I felt so powerless.”

She said she formed a special connection with the founder of the

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nonprofit, who also lost a daughter to the disease.

The first drive Nov. 19 saw dozens of people turn out and donate 60 pints of blood.

City of Milton Communications Director Greg Botelho helped Luevano spread the word and generate some awareness in the community.

The March 30 blood drive over Easter weekend drew a smaller crowd, which donated 29 pints.

At the second drive, the Luevanos also collected a few hundred dollars in donations for the Allo Hope Foundation.

Luevano said the Allo Hope Foundation was a stepping stone to a connection at Northside Hospital.

“The foundation has a handful of specialists that provide excellent care and the latest evidence-based treatments,” Luevano said. “One of the best people in the whole country that they recommended is in Atlanta.”

Dr. Thomas Trevett, a maternalfetal medicine specialist and a managing partner at Georgia Perinatal Consultants, manages high-risk pregnancies at hospitals around Metro Atlanta.

“I met with the doctor, and he

helped walk us through everything that happened with Josie and moving forward for us,” Luevano said. “Fast forward and I am pregnant again, it’s an extremely high-risk pregnancy and there’s a lot going on in the hospital… minimum 20 hours a week.”

At the Luevanos blood drive over Easter weekend, Trevett showed up for his patient’s event to chip in some blood.

“He’s really great,” Luevano said. “Dr. Trevett is on the medical advisory board of the foundation.”

Because blood incompatibility is so rare, specialists like Trevett are an invaluable resource for pregnant women with maternal alloimmunization.

Luevano gave a shoutout to plasma donors, whose contribution enabled her to replace harmful antibodies and lessen her body’s antibody response during her current pregnancy.

Plasma from over 1,000 donors, called intravenous immunoglobulin, is used to delay the onset of fetal anemia.

After becoming pregnant in December, Luevano has had 54 appointments with doctors and more than 25 procedures involving plasma.

“All of these thousands of donors are contributing to keeping one baby alive right now,” Luevano said.

In January, the American Red Cross announced a nationwide blood shortage with the number of donors at a 20-year low.

Through the partnership with LifeSouth, all donated blood goes to local Metro Atlanta hospitals.

Luevano encouraged all first-time mothers to get their first trimester blood work done, so doctors can implement life-saving treatments before and after pregnancy in the rare case of maternal alloimmunization.

With close monitoring and timely treatment, babies with HDFN have a very high survival rate, according to the Allo Hope Foundation.

For her third blood drive in June, Luevano said she has about 90 percent of the details worked out. She said the plan is to host the event at the Cumming City Center off Ga. 20 with a tentative date of June 21.

Collaboration with the Allo Hope Foundation and Northside Hospital is still in the works, Luevano said.

“For our upcoming drive, we have Josie’s Pledge-Per-Pint,” Luevano said. “People or business can donate a certain amount of money for every pint given.”

For more information about her next blood drive, contact kateluevano21@gmail.com.

Schools:

Continued from Page 1

Rice said roughly 5 percent of the Forsyth County student body are considered immigrant students, which the district classifies as those who have been enrolled in U.S. schools for less than 36 months.

While immigrant students in Forsyth County Schools have traditionally been from Mexico or India, Rice said the district is seeing significant growth in students hailing from Southeast Asia, South America and southern Europe near Turkey, Ukraine and Russia.

From 2018 to 2023, Rice said the school district’s English learning population grew from 9.4 to 13.1 percent.

“Elementary schools had the largest growth of English learners because they come in, they learn the language very young, and they exit as they get to middle school and high school,” she said.

But, Rice said there are now “huge populations” of students aged 16 to 19 who are enrolling with no educational experience in the past five to seven years.

“When we go to state-level meetings, we actually fall into the category with English learners with DeKalb, Hall, Gwinnett, Cobb,” Rice said. “Even though we’re much smaller than they are, our demographic population of English learners puts us in a different category.”

The DeKalb County School District serves more than 16,000 English learning students with a total student population of some 92,000. As of May 2023, 25 percent of Gwinnett County Public Schools’ students were English learners. Gwinnett enrolls more than 182,000 students.

In 2023, there were 7,280 English learning students in Forsyth County Schools, which has an enrollment of more than 55,000.

To support the growing population, the district offers an international summer academy for credits, and it partners with the University of North Georgia for its Steps to College program, which offers summer courses to multilingual students.

The school system also offers professional learning opportunities and ESOL endorsement to teachers. Over the past five years, 73 teachers have become ESOL certified.

The district also partners with OLA Languages School to offer English classes to parents and families.

With the School Board’s recent approval of four additional English learner coaches, Rice said there are seven coaches serving the district’s English learning population of more than 7,000.

“THIS

I feel your living space does have a lot to do with how you feel, emotionally, physically, how healthy you really are, how well you really are.

Interior designer spreads wellness through Metro Atlanta homes

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — Lanada Duncan had come to know the importance of creating a personal sanctuary, feeling the burnout of a 20-year career in healthcare management.

The work took a toll, both mentally and physically. So, the Roswell resident began changing her home to create a more holistic environment.

“I feel your living space does have a lot to do with how you feel, emotionally, physically, how healthy you really are, how well you really are,” she said.

But, Duncan realized that she wasn’t fully in the space she wanted to be, which was to help others do the same, and founded her business b.e. decors Interiors in 2015.

She got her feet wet by hunting for unique pieces that she would refurbish and sell at street markets, also picking up small jobs from her friends, and when her son went to college, Duncan transformed his bedroom into her “she-cave,” which has since become one of her specialties.

“That’s a good way of making sure they don’t come back,” Duncan said, laughing.

The she-cave is the oft-overlooked space for women and for mothers that allows them to relieve stress amid a packed schedule, to let their hair down, to make themselves a priority.

Meanwhile, “man caves” are a longstanding concept, widely cited and portrayed in the media. Duncan said her husband’s is the garage in her

For more information about b.e. decors Interiors or to schedule a consultation, visit www.bedecors.com.

Roswell home, where all his childhood toys are stored.

“I thought, well, you know, I need a space like that,” Duncan said.

Duncan said her she-cave, denoted with a sign on the door, features a big, comfy cream-colored chair and ottoman, an electric fireplace with an assortment of teas, honeys and mugs on its mantle, a drink cart holding a refrigerator, wines, glasses and a teapot, and a Bose speaker she uses to sound off her favorite artists like Márcio Faraco or a playlist of Zen music.

The sanctum has plenty of candles, Duncan said, made by her sister which she sells through b.e. decors Interiors. Duncan’s website also features handcrafted body butter and decorative pillows, marked with phrases like “She-Cave” and “Girl Boss.”

The room has evolved over time, and soon, she said it will get a redesign to incorporate fresh color and her love of birds.

“I tell people that you have to invest in yourself first, so that you can be there for your children, so that you can be there for your employer,” Duncan said. “This is just one of the important ways to do it.”

Duncan devoted herself full-time to interior design around three years ago after being laid off from her role

See WELLNESS, Page 9

LANADA DUNCAN/PROVIDED

Lanada Duncan, a Roswell-based interior designer, sits in her original “she-cave” at her home. The concept, a relaxing space for women, has become her specialty since she founded b.e. decors Interiors in 2015.

LANADA DUNCAN, founder, b.e. decors Interiors

Lanada Duncan’s she-cave design in an Alpharetta home office features dark green walls, a cowhide rug and elegant lighting. Two large clear desks, a fireplace credenza and cozy seating completed the space, inspired by a female figurative artwork for a warm and chic vibe.

Wellness: Business

Continued from Page 8

in patient relations, driven by the need to understand what makes for a peaceful living space.

“It’s great to make a space look beautiful, and that’s good,” Duncan said. “But, it’s really, to me, more important to make it feel like home for you … There are so many things in the world that can affect us in the day-to-day, but when you come home, that should be your safe space.”

Regardless of scope, Duncan said each consultation is individualized and involves asking clients what constitutes “home” — she said maybe it’s the color yellow that reminds a client of a favorite house they lived in, splashed over the kitchen, a reminder of the smell of cookies.

While other interior designers might look in client’s closet to get an understanding of their style, Duncan said it’s important to really get to know the subject first.

But, she noted a few guidelines she likes to talk through, which may not be at the forefront of a client’s mind,

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Do you have an idea for a future profile? Send tips and story leads to newsroom@appenmedia.com.

like light sources, pops of color and biophilic features — plants, natural stones, photographs of landscapes.

Some of the work for Duncan is education.

“While they may not be thinking of this particular item, we need to talk about it because I want to blow your mind by not just meeting your expectations but exceeding them,” she said.

LANADA DUNCAN/PROVIDED

Protect your assets

It’s a tale as old as time. A widow remarries and her new husband and stepchildren steal her house and money away from her children. While it’s our hope that these tales are fantasy, such was reality for Mr. Q. After his mother remarried, Mr. Q, his brothers, and their stepsiblings lived together in his mother’s house. Mr. Q’s mother and his stepfather signed a prenup and the mother also assigned the stepfather as power of attorney and healthcare proxy. Unfortunately, the stepfather used these powers to place her in a dementia-care facility –despite her still being competent. As she had given the stepfather the power to make choices for her, Mr. Q and his brothers could do nothing.

When the stepfather passed, Mr. Q made a horrifying discovery. Prior to his death, the stepfather had used

his position as the mother’s power of attorney to sign her house to himself and pass it to his children. Even worse, although the prenup stated that his estate worth over 10 million would be split among the children and the mother - the stepsiblings refused to honor the agreement.

While it’s common for spouses to give each other power over each other’s financial and medical decisions, the documents could have been written so that Mr. Q and his brother shared the power of attorney with their stepfather, giving them some way to stop him. In addition, Mr. Q’s mother should have been more careful about the documents she signed - many power of attorney documents can be written so they only take effect after incapacitation.

Finally, while the prenup is valid, the uncertainty of whether the stepfather had a will puts things in jeopardy. The prenup and the will’s ability to

supersede each other is dependent on how each document is written and the state it is executed in, and whether the will and prenup contradict each other. Improper estate planning opened a way for the stepfather to make his move. You always want to fully understand the implications of the documents

you sign and cover for many probable scenarios. To make sure you don’t let predatory spouses, heirs, or children take your assets from those you love, consult an estate planning attorney in your local area – and always be informed on the consequences of the decisions you make.

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is expensive, but how bad could it be?

Wilson Legal, PC

If the average stay in assisted living and/ or memory care facilities is seven years and the average stay in skilled nursing is three years. That means that we will need help at some level for the last ten years of our lives. Whether you choose to stay home or seek facility style care, the cost can be very high. Many assisted living homes in our area of the world are about $4,500 monthly to start and then additional fees apply as you need more help. Memory care starts at around $5,500 per month up to $8,000 per month depending on the facility. The cost of skilled nursing homes on a private basis will be around $12,000 per month. When you multiply the cost by the average stay in assisted living or memory care and add in the skilled nursing period of time, you end up with $810,000 to $900,000 as the total cost of care. And the cost is always increasing each year.

When you choose to stay home, it’s even more expensive because the cost of caregivers is not split between multiple residents – the caregiver comes just to see you. When folks come to see us, we look to see whether they are prepared for the high cost of long-term care. People plan to cover that cost in many ways. Maybe your income is high enough that you really only need to worry about the cost of skilled nursing care. Some people have long term care insurance to cover part of this cost. Maybe the family will be providing some or all of your care for free for a time. However you plan, the important thing here is to plan. If you’d like to meet with an attorney for help in planning, please give us a call.

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Mother’s Message Writing Workshop –$75 fee includes lunch, writing prompts and coaching on writing letters to loved ones.

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OPINION

Farm House − where Alpharetta was born

BOB MEYERS

Two developments predated the establishment of Alpharetta. New Prospect Campground was located just north of today’s downtown Alpharetta. Because the site was favored with several natural springs, it was popular for overnight stays by travelers in the 1830s. Travelers stayed in tents until the area was expanded to accommodate houses and eventually a school and church. Milton County was created in 1857 and the city of Alpharetta was established the following year and became the county seat. In 2008, the City of Alpharetta erected a historical marker on the New Prospect site with a circa 1835 date. Less well documented is the development of another area called Farm House, a commercial center from 1834 to 1858 that according to some historians may have predated New Prospect Campground. Connie Mashburn in his book Alpharetta, Milton County-the Early Years notes that “at various times a gristmill, sawmill, cotton gin, post office and general store” operated at Farm House.

Local historian Ed Malowney says that the area was not well defined

Aiding local news is helping yourself

I attended a recent Appen Press Club community meeting, March 21, at a local Italian restaurant SUGO (highly recommend) on Medlock Bridge in Johns Creek. The Appen Press Club is something that Publisher Hans Appen and Director of Content and Development Carl Appen started about a year ago. Ideally, once a month, Carl, Hans and the newsroom staff hold a Press Club meeting - free and open to anyone and everyone - at a local venue - usually local restaurantand talk about the news stories they are working on and field questions from the audience about anything and everything the audience wants to bring up. The events usually include food and beverages – free to members. People seem to enjoy them.

The next Appen Press Club event is April 18 at 4 PM at Cherry Street Brewing in Cumming. RSVP for free at appenmedia.com/join.

the temptation for rules and laws to be bent, broken, or manipulated. It’s only human nature. The collective annual budget of the 7 cities and 3 counties we serve is in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We watch that money, as best our resources allow us to watch it.

geographically but was where farmers went to purchase grain and dry goods to run their farm or plantation. An authority on early post offices, Malowney says that the establishment of a post office in Farm House literally put Farm House on early maps.

The settlement is located by the QuikTrip where Old Milton Parkway crosses State Route 400. It occupied Land Lot #855. Little remains of the property today, except portions of a stone dam.

Hiram Trammell, millwright, and his older brother John moved with John’s family to the area from Abbeville. South Carolina and settled near what is now known as Teasley’s Creek. John was a multitalented farmer, carpenter, blacksmith, tanner and shoemaker. He died in 1864.

According to Billy Bates, beloved historian, now deceased, Hiram obtained the land lot where Farm House was established in the mid-1830s. He built a log cabin for himself and began construction of a stone dam across a 30-foot wide vigorous stream to create waterfalls to power a gristmill and other projects he planned to build. Unfortunately, he died in 1840 before completing the projects and was buried near his cabin.

Records show that Isham Teasley (1807-1883) purchased the partially built

Attendance at these get-togethers typically ranges from 20 to 40 folks and lasts about an hour. I have found them to be fun, engaging, and entertaining enough to want to keep attending.

The purpose of the Appen Press Club is two-fold: The first is to try to stay as connected as possible with our customers - you - and to have the best idea possible about what we are doing right and what we can do better. The second purpose is to raise money to help keep our community news business going. That is, to help keep your local newspaper covering your events, your government, your law enforcement, your city council, and how your taxes are being spent. In general, and this is something that most people know intuitively, but do not necessarily lose sleep over, if we - your local press - don’t do those things, no one else will. Period. It is a very real thing. That is not just hyperbole; it is cold fact.

This does not mean that your elected or appointed city officers are not trustworthy. By and large, they all are. However, as anyone one who has ever managed a group of people knows, without oversight, without someone there actually hands-on enforcing the rules or seeing that they are being enforced, people can be tempted to cut corners - bend the rules - tell white lies - and sometimes break the rules. It’s like having traffic laws with no law traffic cops enforcing them. That dog, as we say in the south, just don’t hunt.

Another very relevant fact that we are dealing with here is that the more money that is involved in the process, the greater

For example, right now the Alpharetta City Council, in conjunction with the Alpharetta City Manager and the City Parks & Recreation Director have more than $22,000,000 to spend from the bond that you taxpayers approved in 2021 for parks and recreation funding - your tax dollars. And you taxpayers were told how the money would be spent if you approved it. Among the things you were told was that improvements ($5,000,000) to the Will Park Equestrian Center were contingent upon a private foundation putting up matching funding. How many of you - dear readers - are keeping track of that fine print in the bond - the amount of money the foundation has put up? Well, we are. For you. In a sense we are your active institutional memory.

In 2021 Appen news staff initiated an ongoing story about road construction in Roswell. At the end of the day, Appen discovered that the roads that were supposed to cost $7 million had ballooned to over $18,000,000 and one of the property purchases that the City had made had to be purchased a second time because the city had failed to fulfill some of the contract commitments from the original land purchase. Maleficence? Probably not. Incompetence? Probably, but who would have known? It’s your tax dollars we guard.

In 2021 Appen sued the city of Roswell for failing to comply with the Georgia Open Records Act - information you have a right to access. We won, but it cost us $15,000 until we were partially reimbursed in settlement. In 2023, Appen sued the city of Sandy Springs - specifically their law enforcement - for the same thing - but much worse. We lost that decision but are appealing the ruling with higher courts. It has cost us over $40,000 so far.

In the past three years we have probably filed over 500 freedom of information requests - each costing from thirty to sometimes many hundreds of dollars each. Why? To get source material for reporting that sometimes contradicts

Columnist

RENDERING BY JOHN NELSON/PROVIDED Artist rendering of what a building at Farm House might have looked like.

Everything you need to know about the 2024 Garden Faire

For the 23rd year, the North Fulton Master Gardeners will host our time-honored Garden Faire at The Grove at Wills Park.

Garden Faire 2024 will be held Saturday, April 20 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever. New this year, the event will feature plant sales from Alpharetta’s Community Agriculture Program and the North Metro Atlanta Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society.

Garden Faire 2024 will provide one-stop shopping for gardeners – a large selection of annuals and perennials, native plants and edible seedlings. The North Fulton Master Gardeners will have for sale the ornamental annuals they grow at the Fulton County Schools Teaching Museum Greenhouse, featuring coleus, hanging ferns, geraniums, begonias, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, and a large variety of other annuals, along with flowering perennials from the Master Gardeners own precious pass-along plants. These plants typically include ground covers, flowering perennials, hostas, iris, daylilies and many other perennial plants, along with some select shrubs and trees. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions.

We are very excited about the North Metro Atlanta Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society joining us for Garden Faire. They will feature a selection of native perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees. Approximately 2000 plants will be available for pollinator gardens and residential landscapes.

The Alpharetta Community Agriculture Program will have unique varieties of organic, heirloom, and non-GMO plants, grown from seed at Old Rucker Farm. Approximately 5000

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how officials describe what’s going on. That is what we do. We represent you. If we’re not doing it, who will?

You elect your city councils and your mayors. They hire the city administration. So, to a degree, you only get to “approve” or “disapprove” the folks who administer your tax dollars about once every 4 years. And then, you only know how they are doing, in general, by the local press that gives you

vegetable, herb and flower seedlings will be available for home gardens.

The North Fulton Master Gardener volunteers collect vintage treasures and pass them on to visitors at our everpopular Fleatique market. Peruse the Fleatique sale to find that interesting pot, gadget or garden tool for your home or garden.

If you bring little sprouts to the Faire, look for the Children’s Corner sign. Children can have fun potting a tomato plant, making a seed necklace, coloring pictures of flowers or even learning about worm composting from one of our partners. This free activity is available from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

This year’s Garden Faire will have educational speakers and demonstrations from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, including some well-known gardening experts.

• 10:00 am - Henning von Schmeling, Chattahoochee Nature Center

• 11:00 am - Rick Smith, the

the information. Of course, you can attend Council meetings but that often does not tell the entire story. What happens in-between those four years? A lot. We are there every week, every month, every year acting on your behalf.

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear someone casting disparaging generalizations about “the press.“ As if all the press were the same. “Fake news” they say. My response to those - including at least one local Mayor and several city council folks in the towns we cover, is “what do you have

About the Author

This week’s “Garden Buzz” guest columnist is Sandra Shave, a master gardener since 2018. Sandra grew up on a dairy farm in northern Wisconsin and learned to garden at her mother’s knee. She is a recent transplant to Roswell, Georgia, moving from Wisconsin in 2014 after retirement to be nearer to her children and most importantly her grandchildren! Sandra was Co-President of the North Fulton Master Gardeners in 2022 and is excited to master the art of gardening in Georgia and to help teach others via the NFMG Gardening Lecture Series and the Speakers Bureau.

Pruning Guru

• 12:00 am - Sam Landes, Mushroom Club of Georgia

• 1:15 pm - North Fulton Master Gardeners Interactive Small Group Presentations featuring George Scesney, who will talk about vegetable gardening, composting and managing wildlife pests, Kelly Mogelgaard, who will present “Four Season Front Door Pops” and “Two Curb Appeal Basics,” Judy Peacock, who will talk about “How to Create a Garden in Containers of all Sizes and Shapes” and Doug Hartong, International Orchid Judge and member American Orchid Society who, will present ”Let me Solve Your Orchid Issues!”

Our Vendors will offer a unique variety of gardening-related items and plants. We still have a few vendor slots available, so vendors may complete our virtual Vendor Committment Form to apply to participate.

How do you get to this fantastic Faire? The Grove at Wills Park is located at 175 Roswell Street, Alpharetta, GA. We recommend that

to hide?” What would you prefer for us not to monitor?

I have told this little story more than once but it is worth repeating. The meeting had just ended. Two commissioners were talking. One said “why don’t we go ahead and give that bid to so and so? Who is going to know?” The commissioner he said that to, pointed over his shoulder at our reporter who was still there within earshot and said, “well, he will.” True story.

Your rights are our mission. The threats to your rights are real. It is not

you either park at the parking lot at the Alpharetta Community Center at The Grove or park at the overflow parking lot at Amana Academy (285 S Main St, Alpharetta, GA 30009) and hop on the free shuttle, which will run continuously from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm to take attendees to Garden Faire. Bring your wagons to assist in carrying away all the great plants you will find.

Once the tents are down and the vendors have gone, where does your well-spent dollar go? Proceeds from the North Fulton Master Gardeners Garden Faire go to support our demonstration gardens and many educational activities for both children and adults.

But the best part of Garden Faire is the interaction with our community members. It gives us great joy to share our gardening knowledge with you, answer all your gardening questions, make suggestions on how to best prepare your soil for planting and what growing conditions your new plants need. Right plant! Right Place! This is your opportunity to pick our brains, and we look forward to it!

For more details on Garden Faire, check out the webpage at www. nfmg.net/garden-faire.html and the Facebook event.

See you on Saturday, April 20th at Garden Faire at The Grove in Wills Park, Alpharetta! Happy gardening!

North Fulton Master Gardeners, Inc. is a Georgia nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization whose purpose is to educate its members and the public in the areas of horticulture and ecology in order to promote and foster community enrichment. Master Gardener Volunteers are trained and certified by The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Learn more at nfmg.net. Previous Garden Buzz columns are featured at https://appenmedia.com/ opinion/columnists/garden_buzz/.

just something that you can ignore, and it will “just go away.” Please consider joining the Appen Press Club. You can go to appenmedia.com/ join and click on the Press Club link for more information. We also accept one-time, monthly, and annual contributions via the Post Office. Make the check out to Appen Media Group and in the memo line put Appen Press Club. Our mailing address is 319 North Main St., Alpharetta, GA 30009. Your contribution is an investment. A really good one. For you, your children and your grandchildren.

SANDRA SHAVE Guest Columnist

CATHY RAPER/PROVIDED NF Master Gardeners educate at Farm Chastain

Sawnee EMC is seeking an Electrical Distribution System Engineer. Requires a bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, civil engineering or similar engineering discipline. Preferred experience in design, modeling and maintenance of distribution power systems. Must have strong computer, mathematical and communication skills. Applicants must complete an application prior to 5 PM, April 26, 2024. Apply online: www.sawnee.com/careers. If you require a paper application or an alternate format, please contact us at 770-887-2363 extension 7568. Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer of Females, Minorities, Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. Sawnee EMC is VEVRAA Federal Contractor. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Drug Free Workplace.

Infor (US), LLC has an opening for a Principal Development Operations Engineer in Alpharetta, GA. Position is responsible for designing and implementing scalable, reliable, and secure infrastructure solutions, as well as leading and mentoring other members of the DevOps team; and establish and maintain CI/CD pipelines, designing and implementing automated testing and release processes. Domestic (U.S.) travel required up to 10%; Telecommuting permitted up to 100%. How to apply: E-mail resume, referencing IN1019, including job history, to careers@infor.com. Infor (US), LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

PART-TIME SERVERS AND BARTENDERS

• Flexible hours

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• Inquiries to info@asculinaryconcepts.com or 678-336-9196

• Located in Johns Creek

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redo its agreement with Johns Creek, and GDOT has indicated it will contribute $20 million to the first phase. Forsyth County would be responsible for the remaining cost.

In 2023, Johns Creek indicated it would contribute an additional $3 million from TSPLOST II funds to the project, and discussions with Alpharetta are pending completion of the redesign.

County Manager David McKee said funding for the second phase is still up in the air. He said a future SPLOST, or

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Though reeling from the trauma and shock of the incident, Bova said she felt immense gratitude toward the Fire Department and for her and Tuxie’s safety, compelling her to use her story as a platform to advocate for unplugging appliances.

“One of the silver linings that I guess I sort of came to is, ‘Can I use this experience to help other people do something so simple and life changing?’” Bova said.

She said investigators indicated the fire was caused by a spark in an electrical panel or her toaster oven or can opener, which were both plugged in, but the exact cause remains under investigation.

Bova said she did not use either kitchen appliance leading up to the fire, which was also confirmed by investigation.

County Fire Department Technical

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dam as part of 800 acres he accumulated in and around today’s Alpharetta. Teasley completed the dam and built a gristmill, and later added a cotton gin, general store, sawmill and post office, thus completing Hiram Trammell’s vision. His efforts turned the property into a thriving commercial area. Teasley became Farm House’s first postmaster in 1853. Once Alpharetta was created the Farm House post office was moved to Alpharetta.

Pat Miller, President of the Alpharetta and Old Milton County Historical Society and authority on local cemeteries, points to Old Big Creek Cemetery where many Farm House residents are buried. The Baptist church that was adjacent to the cemetery burned down many years ago. The cemetery is located on Kimball Bridge Road a short distance from the Farm House community. Pat says “some of the

special purpose local option sales tax, or a GDOT Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant are possibilities, but it has not been decided.

The widening also seeks to handle potential traffic growth from The Gathering at South Forsyth, a planned $2 billion mixed-use development at Union Hill Road and Ronald Reagan Boulevard, which borders McGinnis Ferry.

At the April 9 work session, Commissioner Cindy Jones Mills questioned if the county asked The Gathering developers to contribute to the effort.

McKee said The Gathering is responsible for road improvements surrounding its boundaries regardless of the McGinnis Ferry widening, but a contribution to the

Services Division Chief Jason Shivers said house fires like Bova’s are not uncommon, and they can happen because of daily items that are not considered dangerous.

As electronics become increasingly mass produced, he said the department has responded to more fires caused by lithium-ion batteries overheating, a problem that fire stations across the country are also facing.

“We are regularly running house fires now, house fires and apartment fires, from lithium-ion batteries on the charge, the simplest of things that people don't think of,” Shivers said. “But it can be from a drill, or a battery powered blower, an electric toothbrush. The toys are a big risk now.”

Shivers said the Fire Department asks residents to unplug appliances and batteries from chargers, especially when away from home.

“It never fails when you're there with it,” he said. “It's always at night, or when

earliest families in Farm House such as the Mortons, Trammels and Webs are buried there.”

The City of Alpharetta plans to establish a park at Farm House. City Councilman Don Mitchell is a strong advocate for the park. Mitchell says “This will be Alpharetta’s only heritage park, where people will be able to walk in the footsteps of our earliest pioneer settlers.” He notes that Farm House was a trading post where native Americans, pioneer settlers and those heading to the Dahlonega gold rush came together. “Ground penetrating radar has revealed where buildings were, and jonquils planted by early settlers still grow and outline locations of important landmarks,” Mitchell notes. While the City does not have a firm date to start construction, Mitchell and many local citizens are anxious to move forward as quickly as possible.

Several years ago the City of Alpharetta and Alpharetta & Old Milton County Historical Society created Saving

effort specifically was not discussed.

In other action, commissioners unanimously voted to apply for $3.7 million from the state’s 2024 Local Road Assistance Administration to resurface county roads.

The $3.7 million would require no match from the county, unlike a Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant.

The funds would resurface 18 roads across the county, including Ronald Reagan Boulevard from Haw Creek to Old Atlanta roads; Windward Concourse from Windward Parkway to Union Hill Road; and Majors Road from Peachtree Parkway to Shiloh Road.

The April 9 votes will be formalized at an upcoming regular Board of Commissioners meeting.

you're out of town, or you've gone to church for the day, or you're at work. It never happens when someone's at home and sees it happen. But when a lithiumion battery fails, it is a catastrophic release of energy and will cause for a room to be on fire within just a moment of it failing.”

Shivers also recommended homeowners consider installing sprinkler systems when building new homes or doing gut renovations.

While the law requires sprinklers in multifamily homes, he said the systems are effective at mitigating damage until first responders arrive.

Bova visited Fire Station 6 March 30 to thank the team with an invocation, lunch and a photo collage of Tuxie. She said it was the efficiency of her home security alert system and the Fire Department’s best practices in managing the fire that saved Tuxie and preserved 80 percent of her home.

Farm House, a short documentary film that tells the story of Alpharetta’s origin.

Directed by Mark Maloney and written by Alpharetta author and film maker Michael Buchanan, the film premiered at Alpharetta City Hall to a standing room only audience. It featured the unique voice of Billy Bates who did extensive early research on Farm House. Buchanan reports that the film took about nine months to produce. He says “One of the most impacting things about the film is knowing that the story will survive for future generations. History matters. Films matter. It’s our duty to preserve the voices of our pioneers.”

The beautiful 12 minute film is worth viewing and can be seen by on Vimeo.

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.