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By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Commission is considering whether homeowners should be allowed to own streams on their property.
At their Oct. 2 meeting, commissioners heard a proposal to change the Unified Development Code to prohibit future residential properties from including stream buffers and require signage and fencing around them. Clearing, build-
ing and grading are regulated and often prohibited within 50 feet of a stream’s bank.
Commissioners took no action on the proposal and decided to review it at a later meeting.
The county protects streams to preserve wildlife habitats, maintain water quality and reduce erosion.
The changes proposed to the commission are part of a months-long effort to revamp the Unified Development Code in tandem with a zoning pause for residential developments.
See STREAMS, Page 21 County
By TY TAGAMI Capitol Beat
ATLANTA — A half dozen state lawmakers are now running for Georgia lieutenant governor, as another Republican senator joins the race, hoping to outflank his opposition on the right.
State Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, a conservative from the northern Atlanta suburbs, joins a cast of fellow conservative senators, all from outside the biggest metro area — plus an Atlanta Senate Democrat and a GOP state representative from Buford.
Dolezal will campaign to succeed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the Trump-backed Republican running for governor.
Dolezal’s campaign announcement on YouTube Tuesday focused on his right wing credentials as the chief sponsor of the Riley Gaines Act, a new law that bans students born male from participating on female athletic teams in schools and colleges.
Dolezal also said he would crack down on extremists who riot and burn cities, as well as illegal immigration, diversity equity and inclusion programs, and “soft on crime” prosecutors.
“I’m running for lieutenant governor because we’re at a turning point as the radical left continues to threaten our public safety,” Dolezal’s advertisement says, as a siren wails in the background.
The chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and vice chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee is up against political powerhouses.
Sen. John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, stepped aside as president pro tempore of the Senate — the highest office in that chamber below lieutenant governor — to run for lieutenant governor. Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, stepped down as majority leader — the next highest office — to run for lieutenant governor. And
See DOLEZAL, Page 20
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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A 41-yearold Cumming man was reportedly bitten in the face by a dog Sept. 23.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched to an Ivy Summit Court apartment complex in the southern part of the county about 8:15 p.m.
The man was treated by emergency medical personnel at the location. He said he was bitten after crouching to pet a tan and white pit bull mix walked beside a man, the sheriff’s report said.
The man, who was taken to a local hospital for treatment, said he was unfamiliar with the dog’s owner.
Deputies checked the area and spoke to several residents. All were unfamiliar with the dog and owner.
— Jon Wilcox
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A $3,000 dolphin statue was reported stolen from the yard of a south Forsyth County home Sept. 24.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said a 24-year-old woman reported the statue was stolen from a Huntington Drive home she shares with her father.
The family noticed the bronze statue, which depicts three dolphins, was missing about 10:30 a.m.
They recalled hearing their dog barking outside sometime between midnight and 2 a.m.
There were no cameras in the area.
The incident was classified as a felony theft by taking.
— Jon Wilcox
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Deputies investigated the alleged assault of a 19-year-old Alpharetta man who was reportedly struck and shot by a BB gun Sept. 22.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched to a White Pines Drive home about 9 p.m.
The man said his coworker, a 22-year-old Alpharetta man, assaulted him during a disagreement about money.
The older man allegedly shot the younger man in the foot and thigh and struck him with a BB gun, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies observed BBs lodged in the man’s body. They also located the air rifle in the home.
The suspect was apprehended at a Ga. 9 gas station and arrested on aggravated assault and battery charges. — Jon Wilcox
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Police investigated a report of a child stealing a car from an apartment complex Sept. 20.
Alpharetta police said officers were dispatched to a Huntington Place apartment about 2 p.m after a vehicle theft was reported.
While on their way, dispatchers told officers that a caller reported seeing a child driving a Toyota Corolla matching the description of the stolen vehicle. The caller said the child, who appeared about 8 years old, parked the car on Misty Lane before fleeing the area.
The witness said he saw the car swerving on the road and the child could not see above the steering wheel.
The car’s owner, a 52-year-old Roswell woman, said she had started the car, gone inside for five minutes and then discovered it was missing. No items inside the vehicle were reported missing.
Officers canvassed the apartment complex but failed to locate the child. — Jon Wilcox
ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell Police arrested a 27-year-old man living off Forrest Walk Sept. 26 after the Atlanta Police Department discovered terroristic threats he made on social media.
The specific threat was left out of the Roswell Police Department’s report and the officer’s narrative. The charge of terroristic threats can be a misdemeanor or felony offense. A Roswell officer said Atlanta Police notified a sergeant about a Sept. 26 warrant for the man’s arrest. The officer did not say how Atlanta Police became aware of the social media threat.
After dispatch ran a threat assessment on the wanted man, officers said they determined him to be “low risk” based on his criminal history. When they arrived at the residence, the suspect was immediately detained without incident.
Officers said the man initially told them he did not know why he was being arrested. When officers informed him of the Atlanta warrant and social media threats, he allegedly said it was meant as a joke.
Officers said they did not find any contraband or weapons on the man during a search of his person and transported him to Fulton County Jail.
According to records, the man paid a $10,000 surety bond Sept. 28 and was released from the Rice Street jail.
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is receiving $136,903 in state grant funds to promote road safety.
The sheriff’s office said its Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic Unit will use the money from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to develop and implement strategies to reduce traffic crashes due to aggressive and dangerous driving behaviors.
The program’s purpose is to reduce crashes, injuries and deaths caused by impaired driving and speeding. It also aims to increase seat belt use and provide education about traffic safety and the dangers of intoxicated driving.
Forsyth County is one of 26 law enforcement agencies in Georgia to receive the grant.
Allen Poole, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said crash data shows enforcement and education are two of the most effective means in promoting road safety.
“Each life saved on our roads is one less family that will have to live with the pain of losing a loved one whose life was taken from them in a traffic crash that was completely preventable,” Poole said.
The grants fund specialized traffic enforcement units in counties throughout the state. The program was designed to assist Georgia jurisdictions with the highest rates of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities with grants awarded based on impaired driving and speeding data.
Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said traffic safety remains a top priority.
“Keeping our citizens safe on our roadways is an incredibly important job for the FCSO,” Freeman said. “Grants such as this H.E.A.T. grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety helps us do just that, keep our citizens safe, by helping us take dangerous drivers off our roads.”
The sheriff’s office also will conduct mobilizations throughout the year in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety year-round waves of high visibility patrols, multi-jurisdictional road checks and sobriety checkpoints.
— Jon Wilcox
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is receiving $136,903 in grant money to promote road safety.
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Residents are invited to an open-house meeting about the renovation of Forsyth County’s Polo Fields Park from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 15.
The drop-in-style meeting will be held at the Polo Fields Homeowners Association Clubhouse, 6300 Polo Club Drive.
The county acquired the 39-acre Polo Fields Park property in 2022. It hosted polo matches in the 1980s and is currently used for a youth soccer program, serving thousands of players.
Lose Design has been contracted to lead the development of the master plan design.
County Commissioner Todd Levent said the property is one of the county’s most promising recreation assets. He said the public has expressed an interest in renovating soccer fields, adding turf and creating adequate parking.
Potential features include a small
amphitheater, tennis and pickleball courts, dog park, additional multipurpose athletic field, event pavilion and meandering trail with trees.
“Having heard from the public at many town hall and homeowners association meetings over the years, I know there’s interest in maintaining (it),” Levent said.
Director of Parks & Recreation Kirk Franz said he agrees the park has great potential, but improving it will require hearing from the public.
“Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and join us at the public meeting,” Franz said. “Your ideas will help us create a park that makes us all proud."
Residents may complete the online survey about the park at losedesignengage.mysocialpinpoint.com/polo-fieldspark.
— Jon Wilcox
By JAMIE GODIN newsroom@appenmedia.com
MILTON, Ga. — Some 200 people experienced the fusion of old-time farm life and Native American culture Sept. 28 at the 5th annual Autumn Shindig at Wildberry Creek Farm in Milton.
Sponsored by the Milton Historical Society, the event provided visitors a hands-on look at farm life and Milton’s history, including hayrides, exhibits in the barn, antique farm equipment and cars. Bluegrass band The Heard provided music from a gazebo, adding to the festive atmosphere. On the hayrides, cows trailed behind wagons, occasionally tugging at the hay, while a newborn calf could be seen resting in the pasture.
John Ousley and his wife Lisa opened the Shindig with a performance that blended Native American flute and harmonica. Ousley, who spent five years living on the Navajo reservation as a teacher, said he wanted to create a mixture of cultures through music.
“I just turned 69 years old,” he said.
“My friend gave me these Native American arrowheads for my birthday. When I look at them, I know there were other people here long before us.”
Lisa played a Native American drum while John performed on flute and harmonica, creating a sound he described as a meeting of traditions.
The Shindig began with a ceremonial musket volley by the Sons of the American Revolution.
“Our mission is to educate and honor our patriot ancestors,” SAR member Emil Decker said. “We’re excited to connect with students, showing what Continental life was like and the importance of our patriotic history.”
Education and engaging the next generation remain central to the Milton Historical Society’s mission.
“The Milton Historical Society’s preservation and educational programs help safeguard our town’s soul for future generations so they will inherit more than just shopping centers and traffic lights,” President Jeff Dufresne said.
See SHINDIG, Page 20
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By ANNABELLE REITER annabelle@appenmedia.com
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga — Georgia kicked off the flag football season Sept. 29 with the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic, four high-level games held at West Forsyth High School.
The Milton Eagles won the first game of the night 12-6 over Harris County in overtime. Then Blessed Trinity struck down defending champs Greenbrier 24-13. McEachern then shut out Pace Academy 13-0
Reigning Division 3 champion Pope closed out the night by beating the home team West Forsyth 15-8.
Milton wide receiver/free safety Alana Calhoun ended the first game by catching the game-winner in overtime. She also logged two pass break ups and grabbed the Eagles’ only interception.
Calhoun is a two-sport athlete, qualifying for the state track meet in long jump and triple jump. She holds the school record for triple jump.
Calhoun competed with Team Georgia in international flag football competition in California this summer and has received full ride scholarship offers to play flag football in college.
Dominant on both sides of the ball, she led the state last season in catches with 111 and interceptions with 20. She recorded 29 total touchdowns and 1,598 receiving yards, both were third in Georgia.
Calhoun won MRJ Sports Consulting Robbie Hunter MVP of the game and told Appen Media that she is excited to see what her last season of high school flag football holds.
“Our team chemistry is amazing,” she said. “Even in our scrimmage last week, our second string did amazing. The game tonight really set the tone for this season, and I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Milton wide out Alliyah Holmes led the Eagles with 47 receiving yards and also notched four flag pulls on defense. Holmes was second on the team last year with 57 flag pulls and joined Calhoun on Team Georgia this summer.
Holmes has also grabbed recruiting attention and secured multiple offers to play flag football in college. She scored the first touchdown of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic.
Harris County quarterback Madalynn
“Cricket” Cauley also played for Team Georgia this summer with Holmes and Calhoun. Cauley was a finalist for the Score Atlanta Ms. Georgia award last year alongside Milton wide receiver Caroline Marshall, who was runner-up.
Eagles head coach Clark Nixon said he was pleased with how his team overcame adversity and stopped one of the best quarterbacks in the state.
“We’ve got a great group of athletes,” Nixon said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how well they played, especially those that are new this year. We’re process driven,
and this is just game one.”
Milton’s defense kept Harris County out of the end zone until the fourth quarter when Kaydence Jenkins scored 6 points for her team. Braelyn Swanick, a Notre Dame lacrosse commit, led the Eagles with seven flag pulls and notched one pass break up.
Another outstanding lacrosse defender who joined the flag football team this year with Swanick, Jessie DeGroot serves as the Eagles’ punter and plays linebacker.
The game remained knotted at 6 points apiece through Harris County’s overtime
drive, until Calhoun caught the game winner on fourth down. The Eagles survived a nail biter, 12-6.
In the second match, two-time defending champions Greenbrier High struggled to get its offense moving against the Blessed Trinity Titans.
The Titans had no issue finding their footing, with junior Chelsea Lewis making it to the end zone before the halfway point of the first quarter. Playing on both sides of the ball, she also broke up three passes.
Lewis is a three-sport athlete in softball and basketball, smashing a home run as the first at-bat of the tri-match just two days before the flag football season kicked off. Lewis and quarterback/shortstop Addie Spak were named to the all-region team in basketball.
Spak is committed to UNC-Charlotte for softball and has been named to the Score Atlanta Ms. Georgia Watch List this year.
The senior had a standout game against Greenbrier, throwing 16-24 for 164 yards and four touchdowns.
Blessed Trinity put 24 points on the scoreboard before Greenbrier was able to make it to the end zone. They found a bit of rhythm and had a successful rush for an extra point but weren’t able to get enough momentum to overcome the deficit.
Wide receiver Maggie Sullivan pulled in eight catches for 45 yards and two touchdowns. Sullivan is committed to Rollins College for lacrosse.
Another two-sport athlete in lacrosse, Hannah Daley, who is committed to play for the Naval Academy, grabbed the last touchdown to go with her 54 receiving yards and one interception.
The Titans’ season last year ended in the semifinals at the hands of Lithia Springs. They are preparing for a high level of competition in the postseason by stacking their strength of schedule, with a game against the Central Red Devils of Phenix City, Alabama.
Head coach Brandon Harwell said the win was encouraging in terms of looking ahead for the rest of the season.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these girls, the passion that they bring for one another,” he said. “[Spak] is so instinctual, and she gave people like Chelsea an opportunity to make plays with the ball in the air. We’re just going to keep hunting, keep trying to get better, and hopefully every single day we’re going to grind.”
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By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Every dish Andrew Traub creates is crafted with care.
“We see all the quality that goes into it,” said Traub, owner of A&S Culinary Concepts. “It’s not done by machines. It’s done by people. There’s care and love in it.”
For the past 10 years, A&S Culinary Concepts has made a point of preparing every dish from scratch, calling on an impressive reservoir of culinary expertise to create inspired menus. The Johns Creek culinary studio caters events, hosts cooking classes and holds team-building exercises that allow groups to prepare a gourmet meal together.
Traub’s journey into the world of cooking started at age 15 when he began working for a neighborhood Italian steakhouse in Long Island.
“My mother said go out and get a job,” Traub said.
As a salad cook and busboy, he fell in love with the fast-paced kitchen environment and decided to continue his education at a culinary school in the Catskill Mountains. Immediately after graduation, Marriott recruited him to help open the flagship New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square.
“I ended up learning from the best of the best,” he said.
Sue Traub and husband Andrew Traub. A&S Culinary Concepts was named after the couple’s first names.
As a manager trainee, he worked alongside 200 hotel cooks in six different kitchens, preparing food for banquets that routinely attracted several thousand guests. The role was so demanding that he sometimes worked 20-hour days, which often required him to sleep at the hotel.
See CHEF, Page 9
Citrus-stuffed chickens are cooked at A&S Culinary Concepts’ Johns Creek location in 2025.
Continued from Page 8
“They would put a bunch of us all in one room to sleep because we were working so much,” he said.
After leaving Marriott, Traub opened Love at First Bite Catering in Manhattan with a college friend. Their clients included Radio City Music Hall, the Luxembourg Consulate, Pace Collection and Fordham University.
Traub made his way to Atlanta when he was again recruited by Marriott to serve as the executive sous chef at the Marriott Marquis. He continued working with Marriott as an executive chef at various other hotels, including the Memphis Marriott Downtown Hotel & Conference Center and Atlanta Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort in Stone Mountain.
Traub now works for himself, cooking for his own business. He said he loves applying his 40 years of cooking experience to meet the unique demands of every client.
With the help of 20 staff members, A&S Culinary Concepts starts by brainstorming creative menus that feature all sorts of techniques from smoking to grilling and cuisines from Tex-Mex to Mediterranean. Everything is made from scratch and tastetested multiple times before being served.
Some notable creations include a pumpkin pie bar with muffin crust and cheesecake, goat cheese and grape hors d'oeuvre with caramelized pecans and pimento cheese wonton.
Clients often express their delight at the creative dishes, but Traub said he also receives immense satisfaction from the work.
Each dish is an exercise in the art of making food and a joy to partake in.
“It's not boring to come to work,” he said.
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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.
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.
October 31st might bring you children dressed as superheroes, vampires or werewolves seeking sweets or creating mischief. Although trick-ortreating has been part of American tradition since the 1920s, the legends behind some of the most popular costumes are far older. Tales of vampires and werewolves appear throughout the Middle Ages and perhaps as far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 1800 BCE). What inspired these frightening figures? Surprisingly, medicine offers intriguing clues. And oddly enough, the same science that helped fuel vampire and werewolf lore is now helping dermatologists fight sun damage and skin cancer.
A group of rare diseases known as porphyrias may have shaped these legends. Porphyrias disrupt the body’s ability to make heme, the molecule that gives blood its red color and carries oxygen. Heme production is an eight-step biochemical process beginning with aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Each step requires a different enzyme. When one enzyme fails, its substrate accumulates—like chocolates piling up in the famous “I Love Lucy” assembly line scene. These buildups, called porphyrins, damage the body.
Depending on which enzyme malfunctions, porphyrins may harm the nervous system or the skin. Neurologic damage can cause pain, seizures, or psychosis. But it is porphyria’s effects on the skin, hair, and teeth that echo most loudly in folklore.
Some porphyrias cause extreme sun sensitivity: a patient’s skin may blister after just minutes in sunlight. Over time, repeated exposure can lead to scarring, thickening, and dark pigmentation. Excess hair may also develop in sun-damaged areas. Teeth can even turn reddish—a condition known as erythrodontia. And in severe cases, victims might literally cry out in pain and flee the daylight. Add paranoia or hallucinations, and you can almost hear the medieval villager whisper: “He only comes out at night… with red teeth and wild hair.”
While no single disease explains the vampire or werewolf archetype in full, the combination of symptoms across different porphyrias could easily have fueled the central features of these myths.
Other medical conditions likely played a role as well. In hypertrichosis, individuals grow hair uncontrollably across the face and body, lending a wolf-like appearance. Rabies can cause aggression and biting, resembling the transmission of vampirism through a bite. Psychiatric conditions may have added their part, too—cases of hemomania, a compulsion involving blood, have been associated with multiple mental illnesses.
Medical historians still debate the exact diseases that inspired vampire and werewolf lore, but legends often arise from a blend of real observations and poetic license including the fisherman’s tendency to exaggerate the one that got away.
Remarkably, the same biochemical pathway that gives rise to porphyria also powers one of modern dermatology’s most effective skin cancer prevention tools. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), often called blue light therapy, deliberately induces a brief, controlled version of porphyria in unhealthy cells. During PDT, a dermatologist applies aminolevulinic acid (ALA) to sun-damaged skin. Abnormal cells absorb the ALA and become highly sensitive to light. When exposed to blue light, these cells are selectively damaged and destroyed—like Dracula at a beach party.
By exploiting this weakness, PDT reduces precancerous growths known as actinic keratoses and lowers the risk of future skin cancers. It is one of several non-surgical options in dermatology, alongside topical treatments like 5-fluorouracil and imiquimod, which also target precancers and some early cancers. For most patients, these therapies provide a safe and effective means of halting sun damage before it progresses.
The connection between folklore and medicine highlights how ancient fears sometimes foreshadow scientific discovery. What once seemed supernatural—avoiding daylight, growing thick hair, or exhibiting red teeth—can now be explained biochemically. And today, modern dermatology harnesses the very same pathways to save lives.
So, when a tiny vampire or werewolf comes begging for candy this October, you might smile at the candy bowl and think not only of myths, but also of medicine and of the curious ways that science and legend intertwine.
BOB MEYERS Columnist
Hunting for snapping turtles used to be a popular pastime, particularly in the rural Southeast.
Snapping turtle meat was good eating and it made excellent soup, but hunting for it was not for everyone. The methods used to capture snapping turtles could cost inexperienced hunters a finger. In today’s column we will describe the history of the sport in this area.
There are two kinds of snapping turtles in Georgia. In North Georgia streams, ponds and creeks, you will encounter the Common Snapping Turtle which is widespread throughout the state. They weigh10-35 pounds and measure up to 18 inches long. They are often seen crossing roads. The Alligator Snapping Turtle with its heavily ridged shell that is spiked like an alligator can weigh well over 100 pounds and measures up to 2 feet long. They are almost never seen locally.
If you do see a snapping turtle do not touch it because its neck can quickly reach around its shell to remove a finger. It would be best to call animal control.
Crabapple was known as turtle hunting territory. Local historian Connie Mashburn’s book “Alpharetta, Milton County – the Early Years” contains a photograph of 10 residents celebrating a successful turtle hunt in 1955. The catch that day was 107 turtles.
Earl Mansell, a well-known farmer in Roswell, used to hunt for snapping turtles with his friends, according to his son Barry. They hunted in different creeks including Foe Killer Creek and called the sport turtle grappling.
“It was a good way to cool off in the summer,” says Barry.
The Atlanta Journal carried many articles dating back to the late 1800s about turtle hunting as a social activity. On July 27, 1955, the newspaper promoted an article that would appear the following Sunday. The promo said “When you go hunting for hard-shell loggerheads, you may lose a hand or just a few fingers. But turtle hunters from Crabapple, Ga., a few miles from Roswell, have a lot of fun catching the loggerheads in north Georgia streams. This interesting article…tells how they have a fried turtle feast after they catch them.” Note: in this area of Georgia, the terms “loggerhead” or “hard-shell loggerhead” were used to describe snapping turtles. Gradually, the terms came to refer only to loggerhead sea turtles.
Here are a few choice quotes from the Sunday article. “Just about everybody in Crabapple, GA., goes hunting for hardshell turtles every Fourth of July…. When
LINDA TUCKER MARTIN FROM
BOOK
“ALPHARETTA, MILTON COUNTY – THE EARLY YEARS” BY CONNIE MASHBURN
A group of friends from North Fulton relax after a day of turtle hunting in September 1955. They caught 107 snapping turtles. Front row, from left, Luke Collett, Walter Tucker, Elip Spence, Joe Smith and Tillman Collett. Back row, Woodrow Blackwell, Pierce Reece, Clyde Collett, Clarence Collett and Paul Westbrook. Clarence Collett’s grandson and Walter Tucker’s daughter were interviewed for this column.
a man catches a hard-shell loggerhead, he starts singing ‘Amazing Grace,’ and everybody in the creek rallies around and joins in the old hymn.”
“Nap Rucker, the famous Brooklyn Dodger southpaw of some 40 years ago, told me that when he was a boy, growing up in Crabapple around the turn of the century, he used to hunt turtles up and down every creek anywhere near the community.”
“Early on the morning of the Fourth, we all piled into 10 cars – there were more than 60 people in the party – and headed north from Crabapple…. Ed Chambers, an old-timer who has been hunting turtles more than 45 years, struck out upstream, and started poking around in likely looking places along the banks at water level… the old-timer was just about all the way into the water, with only his head and shoulders showing. All of a sudden, his face lighted up and his bass sounded loud and clear – “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound—” and he hauled out a turtle by the tail, the loggerhead stretching its neck and swiveling its head, its jaws snapping viciously.”
Linda Tucker Martin grew up in Alpharetta when snapping turtle hunting was part of the social fabric.
“My dad (Walter Tucke) hunted snapping turtles with the Collett brothers,” she says. “They would use big sacks to keep the turtles alive, and when finished, they emptied them in the front yard.
“My mother would fry the turtles using flower and milk. Every section of turtle meat would taste like a different kind of meat, some like chicken, some like fish. I didn’t go near the turtles when they were alive. A common saying was ‘if a snapping
wooden poles at each end. The children would play in the water. “Every July 4 we had a turtle and fish fry in our back yard, Linda recalls.”
Johnny Collett used to go turtle hunting with his grandfather, Clarance Collett, whose picture is in the photo in Connie Mashburn’s book.
“My grandmother passed away when I was 5 years old, and I lived with my grandaddy when I was growing up,” Johnny recalls. “He taught me to hunt turtles. We would go to different streams 15 or 20 times every summer for about eight years until he passed away of cancer. I still eat turtle meat every chance I get.”
Johnny says that the only thing his grandfather was afraid of was muskrats.
“He could handle snakes by grabbing them and throwing them up on a bank,” he says. “I was bitten by snapping turtles several times and still have a few scars. I was quick enough that the turtles never latched on.”
turtle bit you it wouldn’t turn loose until it thunders.’ The children all believed that.”
Turtle hunting was a family affair. The men hunted turtles, and the women went saining for catfish using a big net with
Bob is director emeritus of the Milton Historical Society and a Member of the City of Alpharetta Historic Preservation Commission. You can email him at bobmey@ bellsouth.net. Bob welcomes suggestions for future columns about local history.
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So we’re back from Montana. It was unbelievable. The landscape was spectacular. The people we met were first-class. The lodge where we stayed was perfect. And the fishing was beyond description.
Craig DeMark, owner of On DeMark Lodge, where we stayed, did a stellar job of putting us on some memorable fish. In the final analysis, a rare thing happened, and I ended up having caught the most, though by only the smallest of margins. But she hooked the biggest. It was an enormous rainbow, maybe two feet long, or longer. It hit a size 22 dry fly (that’s fly fishing talk for tiny) and stayed on the line for a good five minutes before finally, cruelly, decided to dive at the last minute and tear off under the boat.
“I couldn’t do anything,” she said, “unless I was going to jump in and go after it!”
In the end, we were stoic about it. It happens. And besides, if it gets away, it can be as big as you want it to be. But the fact is that neither of us was prepared for such as fish. Sometimes you just have to learn as you go, for there is no way on God’s green earth (or clear river) to really understand those fish until you have one on the line. If you’ve been a fly fisher as long as I have, you tend to think that you know it all, or at least that you know all of it that really matters. That may be true as long as you stay close to home. But if you venture afield, if you venture as far as the Land of the Big Sky, you learn that you really do still have a lot to learn.
I figured that out right away. Here’s how it happened.
“I think,” I said after supper on our first night there, “that I’d like to fish a little before calling it a day.”
Post-supper fishing was to prove to be remarkably easy since the gin-clear waters of the Missouri River were but a five-minute stroll from the door. It would become an addiction, but just then it was only a tantalizing promise of great things and greater fish to come.
So, I reached for the flyrod, then turned to Craig with the Big Question:
“What fly should I use?”
Craig is a remarkable fellow, a rare combination of world-class expert and aw-shucks humility. He’s unfailingly helpful, delightfully positive and sublimely skilled at what he does, which is to say he darn sure knows how to make this Bubba from the South connect with some of the most mythic trout of the western world. He didn’t hesitate.
“I’d try one of these,” he said, handing me a couple of truly tiny flies, each barely a quarter inch long.
Tiny flies, eh? I use small flies at home, though they’re not that small. Neither are they as finely executed nor as precise in every detail. Here, at home, just getting the size right is often all it takes. If it’s the right size and vaguely buggy, and if you don’t scare the fish as you approach the water, odds are that you’ll get a strike. But on the Missouri the fish have apparently been to bug school. They know what they’re looking for, and if you don’t give it to them (right down to the number of fibers in the tail, it seems) they turn up their noses and laugh and laugh and laugh as they swim back into the cold, clear depths. That’s humbling, let me tell you. But that’s the way it is.
Over the next few days, those tiny flies (they imitated some sort of mayfly) would prove to be the patterns of choice at some point on pretty much every single day.
The natural insects were everywhere, densifying the air in huge clouds that must be seen to be believed. Sometimes they got in your eyes and your mouth and your hair. Then, after mating, they’d fall to the water and drift along, drifting until they caught the eye of a big trout and the surface exploded and there was one fewer mayfly in the world.
By the end of the trip, I had several of those flies in my fly box. I carried a couple of them home with me, too, where they reappeared when I opened up the box just yesterday to choose a fly for some afternoon bream fishing on our favorite local stream.
For a moment, I considered foregoing the Montana mayflies in favor of our usual pink foam spider. Foam spiders worked. Always. But I was still in a Montana frame of mind. Tying on a Montana fly would take me west again, if only in my mind. And who knows? Maybe the Georgia fish would enjoy them too.
So, tie one on is what I did. On the first cast I had a strike, which I missed. On the second I did a better job, slowing down my hookset, and the reward was a big hand-sized sunfish. In fact, it was a giant fish for that little creek. It was a sunfish of western proportions, if there is such a thing, and if there’s not then there should be.
I should really have expected nothing less on a Montana fly, I suppose.
I caught several more fish on that Montana pattern. In fact, I had a pretty good run.
As we spread out a picnic a little later (picnics are
always best beside a stream full of fish, aren’t they?) I found myself thinking that I might even come out on top later on when we totaled up the numbers.
“How’d you do?” she asked me when we came together a half hour later for fried chicken on a creekside gravel bar. “How many?”
“Sixteen!” I proclaimed. “You?”
Uh oh. I recognized that look.
“Twenty-one,” she said. “Sometimes it’s good to be home.”
We sat there munching chicken and coleslaw, enjoying it all, and I thought about things. I thought about flies and the politics of trout.
If creatures with brains the size of a green pea can deal with that, why can’t we? GET OUTSIDE GEORGIA
Those Madison River trout, I reflected, really are different from anything I knew. They have their own way of doing things. They have their own priorities and their own opinions. They have their own outlook on life, and by God you do it their way or you don’t do it at all.
And sometimes they like to eat tiny bugs.
Well, it seems that my hometown sunfish like tiny bugs, too, the very same tiny bugs so favored by their Montana counterparts. How about that. Do they know that by doing so they’re identifying with fellow creatures who are so radically different? Do they know that, even in such a little thing, they may be much less different and much more the same?
They swim in different waters, but they swim in different waters together.
VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist
DeKalb County, Georgia, was formed in 1822 primarily from Henry County, but the formation included parts of Fayette and Gwinnett counties. Part of what became Fulton County in 1853 was included in DeKalb County. DeKalb was named for Revolutionary War hero Baron Johann de Kalb, although he never was in the area. (dekalbhistory.org)
It was not the only place to take his name. There is DeKalb County, Alabama, Missouri, Indiana and Tennessee. There is also a city of DeKalb in DeKalb County, Illinois.
He was born Johann Kalb on June 29, 1721, in Huttendorf Bavaria, Germany. The second son in the family, he was not set up to inherit from his father. He went to France and became a soldier in the French Infantry. There were bonuses being offered for tall enlistees, and Kalb was 6 foot 5 inches.
(“The History of DeKalb County, 18221900, by Vivian Price)
He eventually earned the title of baron but added the “de” to his name earlier to advance in rank. He fought in several battles before he was sent to train in the Military School of Marshal Saxe. Then, he fought in the Seven Years War. Following the end of the war, de Kalb married Emelie van Robais, the daughter of a French lace and cloth manufacturer with a sizeable dowry.
He was sent to America as a French agent to assess the strength of the American freedom movement. He went home to report on his findings, later returning along with Lafayette when fighting began.
General George Washington gave de Kalb his commission of major general on October 4, 1777. He fought with
Appen Media aims to present a variety of views in its opinion pages. Send your thoughts, questions and letters to pat@appenmedia.com.
Washington at Valley Forge, and in battles at Philadelphia, Brandywine, and Germantown. Later, he was ordered to travel south and fight against the British occupation of South Carolina and Georgia. Fighting with North Carolina troops at Camden, South Carolina, de Kalb fought hand to hand even as his horse was killed beneath him.
He died Aug. 19, 1780, three days after the battle and is buried at the Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Camden, South Carolina. His memorial was designed by Robert Mills who also designed the Washington Monument. Lafayette laid the cornerstone of the memorial.
The Camden marker reads, “He was second in command in the battle fought near Camden on the 16th of August 1780 between the British and Americans and there nobly fell covered with wounds while gallantly performing deeds of valor in rallying the friends and opposing the enemies of his adopted country.”
Baron de Kalb has been memorialized in various way across the U.S. At the old DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur, home to DeKalb History Center, a Georgia Historical Marker commemorates the namesake of the county.
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.
1 Urban blight. Mild cheese in a ball. Cattle breed
2. Let up. Stand-offish. Greek salad cheese
1. Urban blight. Mild cheese in a ball. Cattle breed.
2. Let up. Stand-offish. Greek salad cheese.
3. Mold-rippened cheese. Enrico Caruso, e.g. Kick out.
4. Family man. Roquefort cheese
aka. Young pigeon.
5. Decant. Wander. Wax-coated cheese.
6. Goat cheese. Therefore. Sir ____ Guinness.
7. Domestic. Play a guitar. Cheese with holes in it.
How to Solve: Each line in the puzzle above has three clues and three answers. The last letter in the first answer on each line is the first letter of the second answer, and so on. The connecting letter is outlined, giving you the correct number of letters for each answer (the answers in line 1 are 4, 5 and 5 letters). The clues are numbered 1 through 7, which each number containing 3 clues for the 3 answers on the line. But here’s the catch! The clues are not in order - so the first clue in Line 1 may (or may not) actually be for the second or third answer in that line. Got it? Good luck!
3. Mold-rippened cheese. Enrico Caruso, e.g. Kick out
4. Family man. Roquefort cheese aka. Young pigeon
5. Decant. Wander. Wax-coated cheese
The Heard performs bluegrass music from the gazebo during the Milton Historical Society’s annual Shindig, filling the farm with fiddle, banjo, and guitar.
Continued from Page 4
Since its founding in 2018, the society has installed 28 historical markers, restored the Double Branch Courthouse and helped preserve the McConnell-Chadwick House, built in 1840. Volunteers also partner with students on projects such as cleaning historic gravestones, which Dufresne said give young people a window
Continued from Page 1
Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, who outranks Dolezal on Appropriations as chairman of that budget-writing committee, is also running for lieutenant governor.
Add Rep. David Clark, R-Buford, who served in Afghanistan with the Green Berets, and next year’s Republican primary is shaping up to be a rowdy contest as the candidates attempt to differentiate themselves.
Clark said in his campaign announcement that “a world on fire” needs warriors not politicians. His entry came one day after Tillery announced his candi-
into the hardships of earlier generations.
Byron Foster, a founding member of the Historical Society whose family has lived on Wildberry Creek Farm for four generations, said the Shindig is a way to connect the community with its roots.
“I grew up in this type of heritage, and I wanted people in this community to get the same feeling,” he said.
Author and photographer Robert Meyers also participated, signing copies of his book “Barns of Old Milton County: Bygone Treasures and Timeless Beauties,” which
dacy, both hitting similar notes about tax cuts, illegal immigration and transgender issues. Kennedy and Gooch are also running on platforms aimed to appeal to President Donald Trump’s MAGA base.
They would all likely appreciate an endorsement from Trump, but Dolezal was the only member of the bunch who got to speak at Jones’ gubernatorial campaign opener for governor at Indian Springs State Park in Flovilla.
That was in late August, a couple weeks after Trump had already endorsed Jones for governor.
Dolezal railed against Republicans who were silent on Trump when he was down politically.
“This is what I call political opportunism,” Dolezal said. “These politicians
was reprinted due to popular demand. Proceeds from book sales and a community auction supported the Milton Historical Society.
Other aspects of the Shindig reflected a commitment to preserving Milton’s history. Dufresne said the organization restored a courthouse last year and is working with the city to restore a building from the 1840s connected to the start of the Trail of Tears.
“It’s good and bad,” he said. “It’s history and you can’t whitewash history.”
want a ticket on the Trump train, but they never paid the price.”
At least one candidate for lieutenant governor wants nothing to do with Trump.
Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, regular ridiculed the president on the Senate floor during this past legislative session. He is the only state lawmaker campaigning for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, the office that sets the agenda for the state Senate and influences the fate of legislation in that chamber.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Continued from Page 1
Land use attorney Ethan Underwood said the code change would make homeowners associations the de facto owners of stream buffers.
“I would posit to the board that the citizens of Forsyth County can be trusted to own streams,” he said.
Allowing residents to own streams provides a source of natural beauty for them and prevents the stream from acting as a “natural thoroughfare.”
“I’m not sure most folks who are buying million-dollar-plus homes are looking to have a nature walk where anybody in the subdivision can come behind them,” Underwood said.
Commission Chairman Alfred John said the county has historically struggled to maintain the stream buffer rules. Some residents are unaware of the rules and break them, he said.
“We’re often not made aware unless a neighbor points it out to Code Enforcement,” he said.
He asked Underwood whether it would be wiser to completely avoid the potential for disrupting streams by removing them from properties.
Underwood said ceding the streams to homeowners associations, some of which may have less than eager leadership, would provide no clear solution as many may simply fail to enforce the rules.
“When they say who wants to be the president of the HOA, you hear crickets,” Underwood said.
In fact, writing a code enforcement citation to a homeowners association may prove more difficult, he said.
Commissioner Kerry Hill said she shared those concerns, adding some homeowners associations may shirk their duty in enforcing stream buffer rules.
Priya Ashok, 53, of Alpharetta, passed away on September 15, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Land use attorney Ethan Underwood tells commissioners Oct. 2 he thinks Forsyth County homeowners can be trusted to own streams.
“Not only do homeowners look at their plats, the HOA … definitely don’t look at their plats for their neighbors’ properties,” she said. “We need somebody who will be consistently aware of where these areas are. Otherwise, it’s everybody pointing fingers.”
Adrian Flack, property owner and former Planning Commission member, said he owns properties abutted by streams.
He said he is skeptical of homeowners associations’ ability to manage buffers. Often, the associations are led by less-than-willing residents with varying degrees of experience. For example, some associations forget to pay taxes on
Mary Huffinton, 94, of Roswell, passed away on September 15, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
green spaces, resulting in liens.
“I don’t believe an HOA is always a better steward than an individual owner,” Flack said, adding the associations are led by homeowners themselves.
Flack said he recognizes the issue is complex and sees no easy solution, but he thinks many homeowners like owning the land around nearby streams. They can beautify properties and provide a natural space for children to explore and play.
“As someone who does own property that does go down to a stream, I appreciate the buffer that it gives me, but I don’t need someone in charge of it for me,” he said.
Kathleen Eggert, 96, of Alpharetta, passed away on September 22, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
John Fahy, 85, of Alpharetta, passed away on September 16, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Charlie Lail, Sr., 86, of Roswell, passed away on September 20, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Richard Lindstadt, 95, of Alpharetta, passed away on September 26, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Valerie McIntyre, 71, of Alpharetta, passed away on September 22, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Linda Morris, 79, of Roswell, passed away on September 23, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Tom Ness, 77, of Roswell, passed away on September 26, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Terrell Parker, 87, of Roswell, passed away on September 28, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Catherine Popp, 64, of Roswell, passed away on September 26, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
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IT Professionals (Johns Creek, GA) Application Developers, Business Analysts, Computer Programmers, Data Engineers, Data Scientists, IT Project Managers, Network Engineers, Software Developers, Software Engineers, Software Quality Assurance Engineer And Testers, Software Test Engineers, Systems Engineers, Tech Leads. Multiple Positions. Telecommuting permitted. Mail resume to Altplus LLC, Attn: HRGC, 11024 Taconic Way Johns Creek, GA 30097.
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Groksys LLC seeks multi IT positions in Alpharetta, GA 30004 & various unanticipated sites t/o the US. Software Developers (JOB 1) : Duties: Resrch, desgn, devlp, implmnt, test, & supprt apps in complx s/w solutns as per business reqrmnts. Perfrm reqrmnts gathrng. Code, debug, deploy, & reslv prodctn issues. Use var skills like JAVA/Python/. Net, J2EE, Spring MVC/Spring Core/Web Services (SOAP/REST), Angular/JavaScript, SQL/PLSQL & HTML. Salary: $127,504/yr. Quality Analysts (JOB 2): Duties: Define, devlp, & implmnt automtn test plans & test cases w/ tools like Selenium/Cucumber/ Java. Create effctv manual & automated test plans utilizng a var of toolsets. Devlp test plans, test cases, test scripts, & test reprts for multi projcts of varyng sizes. Perfrm testing on var s/w & reprtng systms. Salary: $100,984.yr. Systems Engineers (JOB 3): Duties: Install, confgr, & maintn servers. Perfrm sys adminstrt tasks such as patchng, trblshtng break/ fix incidnts, & root cause anlyss. Deploy new s/w & grant permissns to users. Profcncy in Linux/Unix/ Windows, as well as exprts in PowerShell/ Perl/shell scripting. Salary: $67,912/yr. Business Analysts (JOB 4): Duties: Anlyss, confgrtn, custmztn, & docmnttn. Gathr & anlyz sys reqrmnts. Invlvmnt in sys desgn & implmnttn. Translate comptng needs into sys specs. Use skills such as SharePoint/ JavaScript/ Angular, & famlrty w/ Agile/ Waterfall methodlgies. Salary: $69,992.00. Requirements: JOB 1, 2 & 3: Bach deg in science, Engnrng, Info Sys/ Tech, Busnss Admin or rel fld w/ 2 yrs of exp in job offrd or relatd occptn is req’d. JOB 4: Bach or equiv in science, Engnrng, Info Sys/Tech, Busnss Admin or rel fld is req’d. For all jobs: May trav & relo to var unantcptd sites t/o the US. Send resume to HR, 6110 McFarland Station Dr, Unit # 906, Alpharetta, GA 30004. Clearly ref position. EOE
Bilingual (English / Spanish) Donor Operations Supervisor
The Bilingual (English / Spanish) Donor Operations Supervisor (Full-time) manages the donation door process and delegates tasks to staff, volunteers, and community service workers. As the face of NFCC, they provide excellent customer service while greeting donors and ensuring donations are properly removed from vehicles and sorted in designated areas. They are responsible for maintaining the security of merchandise and keeping all areas clean and organized.
The Supervisor must be able to lift up to 75lb frequently and be on their feet most of their shift. They must enjoy staying busy, training and influencing others to work as a team in a professional manner. Must have the ability to work Tuesday through Saturday 9am – 5pm. An extraordinary Total Rewards Package is included with this opportunity!
If this sounds like the role for you, we’d love to hear from you! Please submit your resume to jobs@nfcchelp.org
NFCC is seeking an Evening ESL Contractor Instructor to teach English classes through our Adult Education program, serving students throughout North Fulton and surrounding counties. Our ESL Program runs three sessions annually, with comprehensive lessons covering speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, along with regular assessments to track student progress.
The Bilingual (English / Spanish) Donor Operations Supervisor (Full-time) manages the donation door process and delegates tasks to staff, volunteers, and community service workers. As the face of NFCC, they provide excellent customer service while greeting donors and ensuring donations are properly removed from vehicles and sorted in designated areas. They are responsible for maintaining the security of merchandise and keeping all areas clean and organized.
We’re looking for an instructor who is available to teach evening classes. The ideal candidate will be committed to maintaining strong enrollment of at least ten students per class and who can create an engaging learning environment that supports adult learners in achieving their English language goals.
The Supervisor must be able to lift up to 75lb frequently and be on their feet most of their shift. They must enjoy staying busy, training and influencing others to work as a team in a professional manner. Must have the ability to work Tuesday through Saturday 9am – 5pm. An extraordinary Total Rewards Package is included with this opportunity!
If you have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in TESL, TESOL, English with a TESL certificate, linguistics or applied linguistics with a TESL certificate, we’d love to hear from you! Please submit your resume to jobs@nfcchelp.org
If this sounds like the role for you, we’d love to hear from you! Please submit your resume to jobs@nfcchelp.org
Bilingual (English / Spanish) Donor Operations Supervisor
NFCC is seeking a Truck Driver (Donor Operations Services Associate II) to join our Facilities team. Our Truck Driver collects scheduled donations from businesses, residential locations, and special events while serving as a key point of contact for donors to coordinate pickup appointments. As the face of NFCC during donor interactions, this role requires maintaining a professional and a welcoming presence that reflects the organization’s values. Additionally, this position contributes to facility maintenance operations as needed.
The Bilingual (English / Spanish) Donor Operations Supervisor (Full-time) manages the donation door process and delegates tasks to staff, volunteers, and community service workers. As the face of NFCC, they provide excellent customer service while greeting donors and ensuring donations are properly removed from vehicles and sorted in designated areas. They are responsible for maintaining the security of merchandise and keeping all areas clean and organized.
The Truck Driver works Monday through Friday 9am – 2pm and periodically on Saturdays or Sundays for special events.
If you have 1-2 years of Box Truck delivery experience, maintain a valid Ga Driver’s License free of any traffic violations for the past 3 years and enjoy providing excellent customer service, we’d love to hear from you! Please submit your resume to jobs@nfcchelp.org
The Supervisor must be able to lift up to 75lb frequently and be on their feet most of their shift. They must enjoy staying busy, training and influencing others to work as a team in a professional manner. Must have the ability to work Tuesday through Saturday 9am – 5pm. An extraordinary Total Rewards Package is included with this opportunity!
If this sounds like the role for you, we’d love to hear from you! Please submit your resume to jobs@nfcchelp.org
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