Johns Creek Herald - February 9, 2023

Conscience of a society

Black residents push for Juneteenth holiday

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Fly fishing enthusiast buys the company

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County updates costs for municipal elections

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Senate committee to examine funding for public education

By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@appenmedia.com

ATLANTA — The formula for funding public schools in Georgia dates back to 1985 when the Legislature passed Quality Based Education. It was considered landmark legislation at a time when schools were funded primarily by local taxes.

QBE determines the cost to educate a full-time, public school student. It uses that figure to calculate how much a district “earns” each year in state funding.

With nearly $11 billion of state revenue budgeted for public schools this year through QBE, getting the formula fully funded and fair is important.

“It’s a plurality of the state budget,” said Stephen Owens, education director at the Georgia Policy and Budget Institute. “But it’s in the [Georgia] constitution as a primary obligation to provide an adequate public education free of charge.”

In developing the “per pupil” cost each year, QBE considers a variety of factors including grade level, teacher staffing and experience, class size, special services, like special education or gifted classes, student-teacher ratio and other direct and indirect costs of education.

While QBE determines how much a school earns in state funding each year, the state’s economy and budget determine how much the school systems actually receive. Since 1985, the QBE has rarely been fully funded,

See FUNDING, Page 5

Gerald Burch is one of two artists in the “Souls Grown Deep” exhibition on display at the Johns Creek Arts Center until Feb. 25. While Burch’s mixed media work tends to illustrate visceral images about Black oppression, sculptor Ronald Sullivan’s polished sculptured work is more subdued. Read story, Page 4.

GERALD BURCH/PROVIDED

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Pair uses fake $50 bills for store transactions

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Multiple people came into the Walgreens on East Johns Crossing Jan. 22 using counterfeit $50 bills.

An employee said a man came in to reload a gift card at 4 p.m. but was unable to do so because he did not have his license, the police report said. She said he then went out of the store and came back in with a heavyset woman, who showed her license and used $303.95 of counterfeit $50 bills to reload the card for $300.

Around the same time, the employee said another woman entered the store. Video footage shows her going to the ATM before heading to the counter.

The employee said the woman asked for change in the amount of $800 and gave the cashier $800 in counterfeit $50 bills. The employee said the serial numbers of the bills from both women were the same.

Johns Creek Police submitted a USB drive with the video footage, along with the fraudulent bills, as evidence.

Wrong ‘technician’ gets paid for work

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A woman hired a company on her Doublegate community Facebook page to clean her air ducts, but she ended up paying an imposter, police said.

The woman hired Georgia Air Duct, according to the Jan. 25 police report, and spoke to a technician who said he would arrive at 10 a.m. About 20 minutes later, she received a call from another man who said he would clean

the air ducts.

The second man arrived and, armed with a shop vac, appeared to do work inside the basement and attic. When the worker finished one hour later, the woman paid $438.50 with her credit card. The man provided her with a receipt, which had another business name, Home Service Air Duct Cleaning, printed in the top right corner. Handwritten in the top right corner in the company name box was “DV. Air Duct.”

The woman said as the man was packing his van, the first technician arrived. The woman said the second technician said his company must have made a mistake dispatching two technicians. The woman learned that the first man did not work for the company she hired, but that the second technician did. The second technician said it takes more than a shop vacuum to clean air ducts.

The woman contacted the first technician’s company, which claimed they got her address from the DoubleGate Facebook page, which she stated she doesn’t have posted. The dispatcher also said the company didn’t send a technician to her residence.

Identity theft victim reports new credit line

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A man told Johns Creek Police Jan. 26 someone opened a line of credit at Macy’s using his identity.

He received a text Jan. 18 asking him to register his new Macy’s credit card and received another text two days later with the same message.

Suspicious, the man went to the Macy’s website and chatted with someone, who informed him he had a balance of $700 pending on his Macy’s credit card. He told the person he never had a Macy’s credit card. But the person said he opened a credit line of $1,600 Jan. 18 at the Lennox Mall store and that $700 of bedding was purchased that same day.

The man was then referred to the fraud department.

The man also learned that someone opened an Experian account Jan. 12. He told police he doesn’t know how someone would have come by his information.

Man accuses rapper of reneging on deal

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A man informed Johns Creek Police Jan. 28 that a minor rapper promised to feature him in a song in exchange for $700.

He sent the money to the rapper through Apple Cash Jan. 27 and has not received any further communication. The man said he believes he is being scammed because when he searched for the rapper on social media, he saw posts that said the rapper had swindled other people.

crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.

Artist pulls from days in Jim Crow South for mixed media exhibit

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Gerald Burch, an actualized renaissance man, is compelled to create art. It’s a gift from God, he said, that he sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night with visions of what to create next. One time, Burch said he woke up, took the shirt off his back and used it for a painting.

“My work is not for everybody because it’s not pretty,” Burch said. “Some of the stuff that I do, I don’t even like, but I’m compelled to do it.”

Burch’s tagline, “the Artist is the conscience of a society,” speaks to his overall objective to create a dialogue through art, seeking to ask questions and propose answers on equality and social justice.

His pieces, on display in the Johns Creek Arts Center “Souls Grown Deep” exhibition, have a cohesive theme in how they speak to his experience as a person of color, witnessing a world constructed in oppressive ways.

Born in Albany in 1955, Burch knows the Jim Crow South. He remembers standing in front of two fountains, puzzled. His experience led him to create “Why,” a large mixedmedia painting of a girl in a ’50s style dress looking at a “White Only” water fountain in dismay.

“Does it taste different?” a young Burch asked himself.

‘Souls Grown Deep’

Althea Foster, program director and curator at the Johns Creek Arts Center, said the title for the exhibition comes from a Langston Hughes poem.

“My soul has grown deep like the rivers,” Hughes writes in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”

Burch is one of two artists in the exhibition, on display until Feb. 25. Accompanying Burch’s less refined folk style are Ronald Sullivan’s sleek, polished, sophisticated sculptures made of wood and stone.

Sullivan is keen on incorporating themes like spirituality, family,

nurture, completeness and balance in his work, according to his artist biography. He believes there to be a “natural warmth and beauty” to carved raw materials.

Foster thinks the two artists complement one another well and speak to two different Black experiences.

On one hand, Burch’s family had worked in the cotton fields and on another, Sullivan immigrated to the United States by way of Guyana and

England. Burch went to art school, while Sullivan started creating after a career in engineering.

“I think it’s a tendency among all people to lump people together and say, ‘the Black experience,’” Foster said. “But the Black experience for people is very, very different … Not all Black people think alike …”

‘Bits and pieces’

Burch’s work, often visceral, spans different periods of time — from the era

of cotton fields, where viewers might see a weary woman in the foreground carrying a satchel of white fluff, to police brutality in the modern day.

In “Suffocating Walls, Closed Windows and Silent Cries” Burch painted the words “I can’t breathe” on a mouth covered by the American flag, harkening back to the 2014 death of Eric Garner at the hands of a New York City Police officer who used a prohibited chokehold. The utterance became a slogan for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The background is busy with 3D white crosses marked “Unknown,” but still, there are many named victims listed across the piece. A miniature Skittles box was created that references Trayvon Martin’s murder in 2012.

Most of Burch’s work is mixed media and incorporates found objects. He’ll go for a walk, look for bottle caps, or cans flattened by cars, pieces of wire, tree bark, leaves, “some of everything.” Burch went to art school, where he was taught a more traditional style. But as he got older, he began to see life as “bits and pieces,” familiar things that everyone can associate with.

“These are the things life is composed of,” Burch said.

In “A Not So Random Act of Violence,” caution tape is strewn across the body of a man that lay sprawled on the ground in a bird’s eye view. His body is covered in script reminiscent of the U.S. Constitution. An old razor cell phone jets out from the painting in the bottom right corner, indicating that the subject may have called loved ones with his last breath. Bullets are scattered about.

Burch described a piece that he was working on, which had little bits and pieces of stuff all over it. He couldn’t find a name for it.

“Eventually, the artwork itself will tell me what it wants to do, or what it wants to be. It’s almost like a little child. And I’m looking at it now, and I ask, ‘What do you want from me?’” Burch said. “Eventually, it’ll tell me. Forgive me for being cryptic, I’m sorry…”

Wellstar North Fulton certified as comprehensive stroke center

ROSWELL, Ga. — Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center in Roswell received comprehensive stroke center certification from national health nonprofit the Joint Commission on Jan. 31.

As a comprehensive stroke center, Wellstar North Fulton offers advanced diagnostic and therapy tools to treat

highly complex stroke cases. The tools include neuro intensive care units, minimally invasive treatments, hightech imaging and around-the-clock care done with artificial intelligence.

Georgia is part of the “stroke belt,” a group of 11 states in the Southeast where the mortality rate is 10 percent above the national average.

“When you have a stroke, every second counts,” said Jon-Paul Croom, president of Wellstar North Fulton. “Getting fast, expert stroke care can mean the difference between life, death or lasting brain damage.”

Croom said the certification informs the community that they “don’t have to go far to receive the best treatment

possible.”

North Fulton is the second Wellstar medical center to receive a comprehensive stroke center certification in Georgia. There are eight comprehensive stroke centers across the state. Wellstar Kennestone Regional medical Center in Marietta is also certified by the Joint Commission.

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Gerald Burch’s paintings hang along the wall at the Johns Creek Arts Center “Souls Grown Deep” exhibition, on display until Feb. 25. The exhibition title comes from the Langston Hughes’ poem titled, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”

Funding:

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or appropriately adjusted to the current education environment.

Four decades ago when QBE was implemented, technology in classrooms was limited. Students used typewriters to submit papers, phones were still wired to walls, and there were fewer options available for students with unique learning needs.

Georgia’s last three governors have made fully funding QBE a priority, but it will take the will of the General Assembly to see it through.

“I look forward to working with the Georgia General Assembly and other partners to strengthen supports and opportunities for students [and] support for public education,” said State School Superintendent Richard Woods, who has made funding the QBE a 2023 priority for the Georgia Department of Education.

“We have an enormous opportunity as we move beyond the pandemic to build a public education system that is truly centered on the needs of Georgia students.”

In an amended 2023 budget, Gov. Brian Kemp has requested an additional $745 million for schools and proposed

more than $1.1 billion to fully fund the QBE formula.

Committee to review QBE

Last year, the Georgia Senate approved a resolution to form the “Senate Study Committee to Review Educational Funding Mechanisms.” Meetings were held across the state last fall to gather input from the public as it looks to address shortfalls in QBE this session.

The five-member committee is tasked with reviewing the “efficacy and sufficiency” of school funding, primarily the QBE, to determine if it is meeting the needs of Georgia’s 1.7 million public school students and 2,300 public schools.

Owens said the QBE formula is working for the most part, but in serious need of review and updates.

“Georgia has one of the fairer funding systems in the nation,” Owens said during a recent media symposium hosted by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. “But it is getting less fair year after year.”

He noted in the recent past Georgia was among the top 10 states in the country for how much money was directed to public schools with high numbers of economically disadvantaged students. Georgia has now dropped to 16, and is one of only six states that does not have targeted funding for students in poverty.

Owens also pointed to the state’s $6.6

billion in surplus revenue above the “rainy day” fund that sits at the discretion of the governor and Legislature.

“So we will all be watching with bated breath on how that money is spent this year [to see if it is used] to increase services for the people of Georgia,” Owens said.

Local districts pay ‘fair share’

QBE is considered a funding partnership between state and local school boards. Local school districts are expected to contribute revenues equal to five mills on the property tax digest to the school system – whether they actually assess it or not. This is referred to as the Local Five Mill Share.

This local share is calculated for each county, then subtracted from the QBE formula before state dollars are allocated. According to the Georgia Department of Education, the Local Five Mill Share in FY2021 equaled $2 billion of funds deducted from QBE. This is the equivalent of $1,176 per student earned but not provided by state funds.

For less wealthy districts with low property values and limited tax revenues, the state provides most of the school funding, and offers “equalization grants” to cover some of the gaps. For wealthier counties with high property values, local taxes still fund the majority of public education.

Johns Creek to host Juneteenth celebration

Black residents wary of a diluted history

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Plans for a Juneteenth celebration in Johns Creek are underway, following comments from Black residents who pushed for observing the historic event.

The idea of a freedom festival, which would wrap Fourth of July and Juneteenth together in a weekslong celebration, had been floated at a previous Arts, Entertainment and Culture (ACE) Committee meeting. Mayor John Bradberry reintroduced the idea at the Johns Creek City Council planning retreat in late January.

But at its Feb. 2 meeting, the ACE committee opted to create a separate event for Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of the country’s enslaved African Americans.

Many ideas were thrown into the mix. Pending City Council approval, the event is scheduled for June 17 at Newtown Park.

Committee members suggested a gospel choir, a DJ with secular music, a barbecue cookoff as well as a ceremony honoring Black families buried at Macedonia Cemetery and other historical cemeteries in the city, like Little-Terry.

The committee also recommended that Juneteenth be recognized on the city’s calendar. In 2021, President Joe Biden established Juneteenth – a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” – as a federal holiday. But Johns Creek currently shows a blank slate for June 19, whereas other North Fulton cities

Devon Dabney, co-chair of the Johns Creek Arts, Entertainment and Culture (ACE) Committee, describes her ideal Juneteenth celebration at the Feb. 2 ACE meeting. The committee recommended creating a Juneteenth event and adopting Juneteenth as a city holiday.

like Dunwoody and Sandy Springs have adopted the holiday.

Adding Juneteenth to the calendar as a city holiday requires City Council approval, Johns Creek Communications Director Bob Mullen said.

Marking historic events is important, ACE Committee Co-Chair Devon Dabney said in a phone interview.

“I don’t understand why we’re treating [Juneteenth] like it’s something political,” Dabney said. “To me, it is so beautiful because it represents the completion of a work … It’s something that we should always remember, lest we repeat the same thing.”

Nicole Washington, Impact Johns Creek founder, speaks during public comment at the Feb. 2 Arts, Entertainment and Culture Committee meeting. With knowledge of a plan to combine Juneteenth and Fourth of July, Washington advised the committee to make Juneteenth its own celebration with the help of Black constituents.

Diluted history

The ACE Committee meeting saw several public comments from Black residents, urging the city to recognize its Black community, which accounts for 10 percent of the city’s population. Some criticized the idea of lumping Juneteenth with Independence Day.

“I guess I’m so exhausted that everything is always watered down when it comes to African Americans,” one resident said. “...All we’re asking for is one day, one day, and that can’t be done.”

The problem of diluting Black history has been raised in other contexts. Some have criticized the Student Leadership Johns Creek documentaries about Macedonia Cemetery, which premiered early last year.

“Anybody watching that documentary would look at that thing and say something’s missing here,” said Kirk Canaday, member of the Johns Creek Historical Society, who has led Macedonia project efforts.

Dabney has been working on a separate documentary that seeks to paint the full picture of Macedonia Cemetery’s history, one that isn’t “sanitized.” One descendant noticed that portions of his interview had been redacted for the documentaries, she said.

With Canaday leading the charge, Dabney is framing her documentary around the tradition of ancestral veneration and ceremony in the Black community. The documentary starts with the history of the Macedonia Cemetery project.

Macedonia Cemetery, which the city took ownership of in 2021, is an ongoing project that has seen some progress. The

City Council elected to form a nonprofit that would oversee project requests. And, last month, cemetery stakeholders discussed plans for ground penetrating radar.

Dabney said the documentary, scheduled to be released on Juneteenth, is going to provide an opportunity for people to go on the record and say what the plans are.

Involving Black voices

Nicole Washington, founder of Impact Johns Creek, also asked that Juneteenth have its own event. Members of her organization weren’t made aware of any ACE planning, she said. The mission of Impact Johns Creek is to “establish and increase the charitable and civic footprint of Black Diasporans living and working in Johns Creek.”

“To be colloquial, did nobody know nothing about nothing,” said Washington, who intended to host a Juneteenth event through Impact Johns Creek if the city didn’t move forward with its own.

Impact Johns Creek will host an open house Feb. 16, which will allow residents to join planning committees for Jazz in the Park, Macedonia Cemetery and Juneteenth. Around 500 people attended Jazz in the Park, a live music concert, last year.

Washington recommended that a city Juneteenth celebration be organized in collaboration with an organization that is “about the people that Juneteenth represents,” a sentiment reiterated throughout the committee’s discussion.

Juneteenth will be planned the same as other cultural special events, Johns Creek Volunteer Coordinator Stacey Gross said. Like the Diwali festival and Lunar New Year, Juneteenth will see an event planning committee made up of residents who want to be involved.

The catalyst for Impact Johns Creek was the lack of visibility and “activation” of Black Johns Creek residents, Washington said. There’s no Black church, and before her organization, there was no fellowship of any kind for “Black folks with a kindred spirit” in the city.

“I’m living here in Johns Creek, running an organization that is very dissimilar from the public opinion of what Johns Creek is supposed to look like, and what Johns Creek represents,” Washington said.

Her roots run deep in advocacy work, tracing back to her grandfather, who was a doctor and member of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which was bombed in 1963. When the bomb exploded, her grandfather was blown off the church steps but immediately grabbed his medical bag to aid injured victims.

“I know who I am. I know my history. I know my legacy. I know my family. I know what I represent,” Washington said. “And I know what I’m supposed to be about.”

PHOTOS BY AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

Fly fishing shop recasts image under new ownership

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Jeff Wright worked at Alpharetta Outfitters for more than 10 years before he bought the business in December. He began work there in 2010 as a new college graduate and worked his way up until he decided to purchase the shop from its founder.

The ownership has changed, but Wright wants customers to know “the spirit of the shop remains.”

Today, Alpharetta Outfitters on Main Street is a full-service fly fishing destination. The retail store offers a variety of gear from Yeti cups to fishing rods. It also hosts fly fishing excursions, guided trips and community events.

Wright has been with the business from nearly the start. The store opened in 2009, and he hired on a year later. He majored in biology in college, but originally planned to pursue a career in dentistry or nursing. At Alpharetta Outfitters, Wright realized a desk job wasn’t for him.

“I needed to kind of be able to move around and talk with people,” Wright said.

He loved fly fishing, a hobby he practiced with his father. Wright also cared deeply about water health and natural resources. Together, his interests created a “perfect storm,” and Wright knew he would be at Alpharetta Outfitters for the long haul.

The business looked different when it began. Chuck Palmer, the founder and original owner, sold all kinds of

outdoor equipment, like backpacking gear, hammocks and fly fishing supplies.

As similar businesses popped up around Alpharetta, the store shifted focus.

“We decided to go ahead and specialize with larger businesses coming in town, like REI,” Wright said. “We needed to branch away from that

kind of (shop).”

The store doubled down on fly fishing, becoming a one-stop shop offering trips, equipment and events like “Bugs and Suds,” a fly-tying night when the store serves pizza and beer. Wright said the decision made sense, because Alpharetta had an interested and affluent customer base.

“People that are going fly fishing

typically have some disposable income,” Wright said. “Its not a cheap hobby.”

In Alpharetta, where the store has most of its customers, the average household income is about $119,000, according to U.S. census data.

Wright said a beginner can buy

See FISHING, Page 9

People that are going fly fishing typically have some disposable income. Its not a cheap hobby.

JEFF WRIGHT, owner, Alpharetta Outfitters

DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA

From left, Ross Tew, e-commerce specialist; Jeff Wright, shop owner; and Brent Goodman, marketing magician, stand at the counter of Alpharetta Outfitters on Feb 1. The store is a fly fishing retail and guided trip destination on Main Street.

Fishing:

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the necessary equipment for a few hundred dollars, but the higher-end pieces and additional gear can add up to the thousands. A single fishing rod can range from $200-$1,000.

“A lot of guys get into it and love getting gear, and they’re fine spending money on higher-end stuff,” Wright said.

The costs increase with things like guided trips and excursions. Alpharetta Outfitters offers trips to Idaho, Alaska, Patagonia, Argentina and Belize. Wright said the trips can cost anywhere from $4,500 to $9,000, depending on the destination.

Alpharetta Outfitters spent 12 years in business operating on a different business model than most shops of its kind. Palmer founded the store as a “not-for-profit” business.

After expenses were covered, any additional income the store brought in was donated to organizations and individuals. One year, the store gave $1,000 to an organization or person in need every day of December.

When Wright bought the store, he knew the model would change.

“I don’t have pockets as deep as Chuck,” Wright joked.

The store moved to a for-profit model at the start of 2023, but Wright said he will continue to donate to charitable organizations at a smaller level.

A key focus for Wright is the preservation of the “natural treasures” in the environment around Alpharetta Outfitters. The store

sponsors organizations in the area, including Upper Chattahoochee Trout Unlimited.

Wright said the store also donates to specific environmental projects the organization does, like its work on Crayfish Creek, the first feeder stream on the Chattahoochee River.

Alpharetta Outfitters donated

$5,000 help reduce silt that comes into the streams from nearby development. The silt coats the rocks on the creek floor, which trout need to spawn.

The contributions are about protecting natural resources, but water health also helps the business. The better shape the streams and rivers are in, the easier it is to catch a prize trout.

“Trout don’t survive well in warm, stagnant water and polluted water, so they’re a pretty good indicator of general water health,” Wright said.

The store owner hopes his work on natural resources will raise awareness, especially for his customer base. Wright said when people get out in the field, they notice their environment more, and ask questions about its condition.

“They start to kind of understand their resources, what’s at stake and how to get involved,” Wright said.

In the future, Wright hopes to expand the store to create a dedicated community space for events, where people can hang out and share their love for fishing.

“Those bonds that are created at those events and on those trips, they’re so fun,” Wright said. “You see these guards drop, and you see these men and women really ultimately having fun and enjoying each other.”

DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA

Alpharetta Outfitters on Main Street sells a host of fly fishing equipment, like lightweight lures that mimic the appearance of flies. The store’s team also lead guided fly fishing trips in Georgia and across the world.

Fulton County revises municipal election charges

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ATLANTA — Fulton County has revised its estimated charge to cities for operating municipal elections this fall, complicating a move by some cities to consider running their own polling.

In a split vote, the County Commission passed a resolution Feb. 1 to budget the same amount of money for municipal elections as it did in 2021, $5.2 million, plus an extra 10 percent for contingencies.

To ensure the county is not subsidizing cities the costs for running the election, the resolution calls for charging them a percentage of the total estimated cost the county anticipates spending to manage the November polling. The new formula, adopted by the County Commission in a split vote, replaces the old system used in 2019 and 2021 in which cities were charged a fixed rate of $2.96 per registered voter.

It means that while the cities will likely pay more than they did in 2021 for county-operated elections, they won’t pay as much as county election officials had proposed earlier this year.

The $5.2 million budget cap, proposed by Commissioner Bob Ellis, received pushback from other commissioners and County Manager Dick Anderson, who noted rising inflation over the past couple years.

But Ellis’ proposal was based on the grounds of a “good faith effort” to present cities a more accurate cost, “as opposed to something new, which appears to be, for lack of a better term, a little bit of a, ‘Go away, go do it yourself.’”

The Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections recently encouraged cities to conduct their own municipal elections. The board estimated the charge the county would impose for running the polling would be more than triple its bill for running the 2021 elections.

The preference for a percentage-based cost system stems from the 2021 elections cycle, when Fulton County went

Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis makes the contentious recommendation to cap 2023 municipal election costs at the same price of 2021 municipal elections at the Board of Commissioner’s Feb. 1 meeting. In a split vote, the board passed the proposal with a 10 percent overage in addition to tossing out the fixed rate for cost per registered voter.

in the hole $2.77 million by subsidizing city elections because of a county-wide referendum on the ballot.

It cost the county $6.39 per registered voter to run the 2021 election. The cities paid $2.96 per registered voter, leaving the county to pay the difference.

With the newly adopted resolution, cities that choose to stick with the county will pay a percentage of each year’s election budget and use the number of registered voters to calculate cost.

This year, cities face a price based on $5.2 million the county has budgeted for general municipal elections, plus the 10 percent contingency.

The cost per registered voter the county wants to charge cities has fluctuated in recent months. In December, Fulton County estimated $11.48. And in January, the cost was lowered to $9.38. Interim Elections Director Nadine Williams said the department will continue to evaluate processes for more cost reduction.

Because the county does not profit from municipal elections, any excess charged to cities would be refunded, Ellis said.

New considerations

Following the lead of Milton, which decided to break away from Fulton County election control in December, other North Fulton cities have begun to forge their own path to self-administer elections in recent weeks.

In December, the Milton City Council elected to move forward with self-operated elections after its elections committee, tasked with studying the feasibility of the project, estimated tens of thousands of dollars in savings. The same committee recommended exclusively using paper ballots, different from the state-regulated voting machines Fulton County is required to use.

While Johns Creek and Roswell have yet to take official action, the Alpharetta City Council approved a city elections

OPINION Election decisions made in vacuum

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superintendent at its Jan. 23 meeting in anticipation of setting up its own municipal election apparatus.

An intergovernmental agreement, drafted over the past couple of weeks, would set up a regional elections superintendent to oversee municipal elections in several North Fulton County cities, including Milton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Johns Creek and Mountain Park. It outlines that the cost for the elections superintendent would be split among the cities and paid to Milton. However, it does not impose details of how elections will be conducted, leaving each city to adopt its own process.

With the Feb. 1 County Commission vote, the cities will need to calculate their own expenses to determine whether local control is worth pursuing.

One city official, who has been following the topic closely, did her own estimate based on the county’s latest proposal. Using the 8 percent allocated to its city, Johns Creek Councilwoman Erin Elwood said election cost would be around $414,000. Cost per registered voter would be around $6.78, excluding the 10 percent overage that was approved.

County Commissioner Dana Barrett said municipalities should be aware that Fulton County is required to run municipal elections when there’s a county-wide referendum on the ballot.

“They may do it, doing all that planning, and taking on all of that cost to only use their own process once every four, six, eight years,” Barret said. “You never know, depending on referendums.”

Originally given a March 1 deadline, the cities now have until March 31 to either sign on with the county or go it on their own.

Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra sets ‘Symphonic Tapas’ concert

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Grant Gilman, will present “Symphonic Tapas” Feb. 24.

Held at Alpharetta First United Methodist Church, the concert offers a wide selection of musical tapas, all with a Hispanic flair.

Music from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” one of the most beloved operas in history, will envelope listeners in the classic, yet tragic, love story between a

gypsy and a corporal.

“Capriccio Espagnol” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a work inspired by Spanish folk songs and dances, takes the listener on a journey through the fields and mountains of Spain and brings to life ancient dances that celebrate the rising of the sun, the deep thrumming of Spanish guitarras and the freedom of the gypsy life exploring the open road.

Popularly used in films and television shows like “Mozart in the Jungle”,

“Danzon No. 2” by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez takes rhythms and tempos from the dance style danzón, which is Cuban in origin but is popular in Mexico. Making use of a wide range of percussion instruments to keep the smooth and flowing theme of the music, “Danzon No. 2” ignites the senses — you can almost smell the citrus in the air, feel the warm breeze floating through the trees and hear dancing shoes clapping against the floor.

Adding a grandiose element is Bedrich Smetana’s epic “Die Moldau,” which evokes aspects of the composer’s home country, the Czech Republic, by using folk music and dances to his advantage.

Beginning with the small trickle of the Vlatava River, embodied by two solo flutes whose playing intertwines to create what seems like a single musical flow, this piece works its way to a grand pinnacle.

SCREENSHOT

Murder victim honored by those who knew her

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Megan Frix loved watching music videos and coffee.

“Megan was so funny,” said Lisa Bennett, manager of the Forsyth and Dawson campuses of Creative Enterprises, a nonprofit community rehabilitation program that teaches life and social skills to adults with disabilities. “And so, she loved Conway Twitty, and she loved looking at Kohl’s ads and, you know, showing you what she wanted to buy.”

On Jan. 8, Megan, 26, was found dead in her Cumming home, the victim of an apparent murdersuicide. While the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and the State Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating the official cause of death, Sheriff Ron Freeman announced Jan. 11 that Megan was apparently killed by her father, Jerry, 58, who then killed himself.

Bennett, who had known Megan since she was 3 years old, said she was on the autism spectrum. Bennett and Coordinator Abby Otwell said Megan was nonverbal and struggled to communicate her wants and needs.

“She also was just very easily put into sensory overload, like tags on her shirts and things like that bothered her,” Otwell said. “And if we couldn’t figure that out quick enough, you know, that would be a problem.”

Megan began attending Creative Enterprises in January 2019, but

she left six months later due to behavioral issues.

Under Medicaid funding, Bennett said Creative Enterprises must maintain a ratio of one instructor to 10 clients. Otwell said Megan could not have one staff member assigned to her like she needed.

“So, it weighs on us very heavily, I think, with Megan, especially because we couldn’t serve her,”

Organization for aging parents offers Metro Atlanta programs

ATLANTA — Adult Children of Aging Parents, known as ACAP, has established a Metro Atlanta chapter of the educational nonprofit aimed at educating adult children about how best to care for their aging parents.

The Metro Atlanta chapter will be led by 16 professionals from different services areas that impact senior citizens. Professionals will hold community programs starting Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. at Town Square Sandy Springs Adult Day Care on Dunwoody Place.

“One in six Americans are caregivers for someone over the age of 50,” Atlanta chapter coordinator Mary

Remmes said. “Most adult children don’t think about caring for an aging parent until there’s a crisis and they’re called on to manage someone else’s needs.”

Programs will be held inperson and virtually on the second Wednesday of every month, with a focus on teaching strategies, insights and skills to the adult children who care for their elderly parents.

Adult Children of Aging Parents was established in 2012 in North Carolina. The Atlanta chapter will mark the organization’s expansion to a third state, along with its chapters in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Bennett said. She continued communicating with Megan’s father after Megan left the program, she said, but one day he stopped calling.

Bennett said Megan’s primary caretaker was her mother, who died three years ago. Despite receiving support, Megan’s father couldn’t see any way out, she said.

“Her dad had a lot of help,” Bennett said. “I don’t really blame

the state for this one because they were doing everything they could to get her services.”

Clients at Creative Enterprises are supported by the Medicaid Waiver Program. Clients are also referred to the program by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency.

While she was able to receive at-home care under state waivers, Megan was ineligible to receive care in a residential facility. Bennett said there are also host homes, individuals who volunteer to take in adults with disabilities, but there are none in Forsyth County.

If Megan’s father had the opportunity to place Megan in a residential care facility, Otwell said she believes he would have accepted.

Megan’s situation is not unique to the Forsyth program. Bennett said a client with Down syndrome was killed while receiving at-home care. Bennett found another client alone in the hotel room he and his sister were staying in. His sister had died, she said, and he did not know what to do.

Bennett said Megan’s death and those before hers made Creative Enterprises act to inform others about the reality of caring for an adult with special needs.

“The community has really stepped up, too, and I’m sure a lot of them are wishing that they had helped Jerry when he kept asking for help,” Bennett said. A GoFundMe created for Megan’s funeral expenses raised over $10,000.

SHELBY ISRAEL/APPEN MEDIA

Staff at Creative Enterprises Forsyth in Cumming say they have fond memories of Megan Frix, the victim in a murder-suicide Jan. 8. Megan spent six months at the nonprofit organization that teaches life and social skills to special needs adults.

NEW BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Northern Ridge lists January Eagle Scouts

Business: Ardent Loans

Owner: Max Kallos

Description: Ardent Loans is founded and operated by a family with over 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry. The company offers a wide range of mortgage options, including conventional, FHA, VA, and Jumbo loans.

They also have access to a network of lenders, which allows them to find the best rates and terms for their clients.

Opened: January 2023

Address: 8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 100 in Alpharetta, GA 30009

Phone: 404-277-5884

Website: www.ardentloans.com

The Northern Ridge Boy Scout District, which includes the cities of Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Milton, is proud to announce its newest Eagle Scouts, who completed their Eagle Board of Review on January 26, 2023, at Johns Creek Presbyterian Church. Top Row, from left:

Josh Arneson , of Troop 1134, sponsored by St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church, whose project was the design and creation 40 fleece blankets for CURE childhood cancer.

William Giesler , of Troop 431, sponsored by Roswell United Methodist Church, whose project was the design and construction of three picnic tables for Fulton Academy of Science and Technology

Edgar Adrian Martinez Morales , of Troop 10, sponsored by St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, whose project was the design and construction of four benches for the Soccer Fields at Friendship Christian School.

Alan Albert , of Troop 10, sponsored by St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, whose project was the collection of over 1,200 food and household items (such as cooking oil, dishwashing detergent, toilet paper, kitchen paper napkins, laundry detergent, rice, salt, sugar, dry beans, cereals, toothpaste and hand soap) to give to the Missionaries of Charity in Atlanta.

Yudhajith Murugan , of Troop 27, sponsored by the Johns Creek Christian Church, whose project was the design and construction of three picnic tables for the Sri Shiva Durga Temple.

Bottom row, from left:

Joshua Gaus , of Troop 1134, sponsored by St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church, whose project was the design and construction activity boards for

special needs individuals. Joshua built 12 boards of manipulable objects and another set of 12 boards of tactile materials that provide sensory feedback for adults with dementia, for the St. George Village Retirement Community. Joshua also constructed three activity boards of fun manipulable objects, and another set of three boards will consist of tactile materials that provide sensory feedback for youth with special needs disabilities, at St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church. Joshua also built wooden rolling carts to house all these activity boards.

Roumika Patil , of Troop 432, sponsored by Roswell United Methodist Church, whose project was the design and construction of wooden ramp, two metal shelves, and a raised pollinator bed for the Mabry Community Garden.

David Breen , of Troop 1486, sponsored by North River Baptist Church, whose project was the design and construction of six benches for the outdoor meeting area, at North River Baptist Church

Mason Myhand , of Troop 629, sponsored by Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church, whose project was two parts; first, he collected over 33 feed and supply items that feed and aid in care of the animals such as ducks, chickens, rabbits and goats, at the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center. Myles also led volunteers in a total cleaning of all the animal pens and shelters at Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center

Brian Jeffries , of Troop 3000, sponsored by Birmingham United Methodist Church whose project was design and construction of a firewood shed for Birmingham United Methodist Church.

Delivering Readers Award-Winning Newspapers

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Stand-Alone Gloss

AUTHOR TALK WITH BIRDEL JACKSON

What: Author and storyteller Birdel Jackson will discuss his autobiography, “Growing Up Donnie & Kaki: the First 18 years,” which follows the journey of Birdel and his sister, Carol Ann, through their first 18 years growing up in segregated Memphis, Tennessee, through the 1940s and ’50s. The event is free, but registration is encouraged.

When: Thursday, Feb. 9, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Mimosa Hall, 127 Bulloch Avenue, Roswell More info: roswellgov.com

LEARN AND LEAD:

OPEN-HEARTH COOKING WITH CLARISSA CLIFTON

What: Living history interpreter and cook Clarissa Clifton demonstrates open-hearth cooking using recipes from both African traditions and known Black female cooks, including Abigail Fisher, Flora Mae Hunter and Mashama Bailey. Clarissa explains the methods of cooking over an open fire using traditional cast iron cookware. Please note that this is for educational demonstration purposes only. Visitors may not participate or taste food due to safety concerns. Demonstrations are offered free to the public and will be in the Cookhouse behind the historic house museum.

When: Saturday, Feb. 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Where: Smith Plantation, 935 Alpharetta Street, Roswell More info: roswellgov.com

BLACK HISTORY BRAIN BOWL

What: Middle school students are invited to engage in a lively and challenging head-to-head trivia of Black History. Bowl questions will be Black History related and cover topics such as science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM). The event is free, but registration is required.

When: Saturday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Where: Virtual

More info: roswellgov.com

DJOLI KELEN’S REVOLUTIONS IN RHYTHMS AND MOVEMENTS

What: There will be two “revolving” consecutive classes happening. Dance/History and Music/Song. In each of the sessions, students will learn various components centered around Continental African, Diasporic, and Contemporary/ Black dance, music, song and history. Registrants will be broken up between the two rooms and revolve to

the next as each session ends. There will be essay reading and guided discussions. Bring a bag lunch.

When: Sunday, Feb. 12, 12-4 p.m.

Where: East Roswell Recreation Center, 9000 Fouts Road, Roswell More info: roswellgov.com

JUST FOR FUN:

VALENTINE’S PRINCESS PARTY

What: Princesses and the prince of their choice will learn step-by-step dance moves, then enjoy free pictures and Valentine’s treats. Princesses must be accompanied by a prince 18 years of age or older.

When: Thursday, Feb. 9, 5-7 p.m.

Where: North Shallowford Annex, 4470 N. Shallowford Road, Dunwoody

Cost: $35 per couple

More info: dunwoodyga.gov

ATLANTA JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

What: Sixty world-class films, narrative and documentary features alongside two handpicked shorts programs, the 23rd annual festival brings Atlanta Jewish Film Festival’s mission to life, inspiring diverse communities with cross-cultural understanding.

When: Feb. 8-21, times vary

Where: City Springs, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs

Cost: Prices vary by date and film

More info: ajff.org

WOMEN IN JEOPARDY

What: Liz, Mary and Jo are three mutually supportive, single-againafter-40 friends who have a lot of thoughts about Liz’s new boyfriend. Is he a dentist with an odd hobby, a celebrity look-alike, or a serial killer… or maybe all three? It’s “Sex and the City” meets “Murder, She Wrote” in a modern comedy.

When: Feb. 16-March 5, times vary

Where: Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest Street, Roswell Cost: $34-37

More info: get.org

ENCHANTED WOODLAND TRAIL

What: The fairies and gnomes have been busy building whimsical houses along Chattahoochee Nature Center’s forested trails. Slow down as you search for houses made from tiny natural objects. Take notice of the beautiful and enchanting features of the winter woods.

When: Up to Feb. 28, open daily except for December 24-26 and January 1-3

Where: Chattahoochee Nature Center, 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell

Cost: $15 for adults

More info: chattnaturecenter.org

‘COMPLETENESS’ AT STAGE DOOR THEATRE

What: How does a computer scientist hook up with a molecular biologist? He blinds her with science, of course. When Elliot builds a computer program to help Molly with her research project, the variables in their evolving relationship shift as rapidly as the terms of their experiment. This deft and imaginative new ROM-comedy shows that even the most sophisticated algorithm may freeze in the face of love’s infinite possibilities.

When: Jan. 27- Feb. 12, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Where: Stage Door Theatre, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody

Cost: $35 for adults, $20 for students, $15 for children

More info: stagedoortheatrega.org

BLACK HISTORY MONTH MURALS EXHIBIT

What: Large scale murals have been commissioned by local artists and displayed along the Brook Run Park Skate Park perimeter fence.

When: Through February

Where: Brook Run Skate Park, 4770 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody

More info: dunwoodyga.gov

GARDEN BUZZ

Check out gardening classes in Milton

Is a bee an insect, or just an irritant, or a benefit to your garden?

How much water do my trees need? Why does this plant smell good, but that one is stinkweed?

I have $100 to buy tools for my garden, but what should I buy first?

These and other gardening questions will be answered at Milton’s Free Gardening Classes.

In collaboration with the City of Milton’s Plant! Milton Initiative, the North Fulton Master Gardeners are offering a series of gardening classes for the beginning gardener, to be held on Wednesday evenings at the Milton City Park and Preserve located at 1785 Dinsmore Road.

The classes are free, but you must register at PlantMiltonSpring2023GardeningClasses.eventbrite.com

The doors open at 6:30 p.m. We entertain questions and garden topics until 7 p.m. when the classes start. Each class consists of two topics and concludes by 8:30. Questions and comments from the audience are encouraged. We hope to have you join us!

Feb. 15

Attracting and supporting pollinators in your garden.

Milton resident Marcia O’Shaughnessy will tell us how to attract and include the valuable pollinators which are the catalysts of flowering plants. Following her suggestions will lead you to a more colorful garden.

Bees as you please. Beekeeper extraordinaire Stan Key, a member of the Milton Bee Club, will discuss the intricate life cycle of bees and their benefits to us. Stan is a local resource that we are grateful to

About the Author

be able to include in this series of classes.

Feb. 22

How to keep the tree in the ground. City of Milton Arborist, Sandra Dewitt, will talk about species choice, placement of trees in your yard, and general tree maintenance. If you want trees in your garden and are unsure of what to plant, this is the talk for you.

Fragrant garden. Instructing again is Milton resident Carole McMullan, who will guide us in the choice of those plants which provide an olfactory paradise! This talk will focus on plant selection, plant location, and maintenance of these plants.

March 1

Tool Talk. Milton resident Michael Snow will provide an overview of the tools typically used for the garden, with an emphasis on the important initial tools. He will also discuss features to consider in selecting and using garden tools.

Getting your plants home. Milton resident Marlysa Raye-Jacobus will offer instructions for getting the plants from the nursery (big box store) to your home and into the ground. She will give tips on making your plants look attractive, placing them in the garden, and maintaining them.

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.

This week’s “Garden Buzz” guest columnist is Michael Snow, a master gardener since 2021. Michael has always been active in “yard work” and growing plants and shrubs. Upon retiring from a career in real estate property finance, he sought to benefit from an organized source of garden information and became a master gardener. He lives in Milton and plays golf as often as possible.

MICHAEL SNOW

Guest Columnist

Brought to You by Home Helpers of Alpharetta and North Atlanta Suburbs

While February brings thoughts of those we love and Valentine’s Day cards, the best gift of all is to remember it’s also American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of hospitalization for those over age 65 and is still the leading cause of death in this country. Over 800,000 deaths a year are due to cardiovascular disease. The good news is it’s largely preventable, so let’s review how to improve and maintain your heart health.

Monitoring your blood pressure is a key indicator of where you stand with your heart health. Yet only 48 per cent of people age 50 to 80 who take medication or have a health condition affected by high blood pressure (or hypertension) monitor it on a regular basis. Preventing hypertension lowers your risk of heart disease and stroke. So setting a regular schedule and getting a blood pressure monitor you can learn to use at home is the start of knowing the numbers for your heart health journey.

Eating a healthy diet with a variety of food with potassium, fiber, protein, and importantly is lower in salt is critical. Flavor your food using more spices, eat salads and steamed vegetables. Select grilled poultry or fish and avoid heavy sauces, salad dressings and fats. This will help you get to or keep a healthy weight.

Staying physically active and reducing stress comes next. Moderate walking or other forms of physical exercise can do wonders. While 150 minutes of moderate activity a week is recommended, be sure to check with your doctor about

forming a personalized plan of action and regular visits that are right for your current health status. Social isolation can also impact your stress levels, so staying in touch with friends, community groups and family is an important part of the picture.

Sleep is emerging as an ever increasing factor in heart health. It keeps your blood vessels healthy, and not getting enough sleep on a regular basis correlates to increased rates of stroke, high blood pressure and heart disease. Aim for a regular schedule and seven to eight hours of sleep.

Stop smoking and be careful about alcohol consumption for a healthy heart. So if this is an issue, monitor your use and start a plan to cut back.

At Home Helpers, we know how important a skilled and well matched Caregiver is to helping an older loved one maintain their heart health. Whether it’s making sure a moderate walk can be done without fear of a fall risk, regularly monitoring blood pressure and vital signs, following a nutritious diet, keeping a regular sleep schedule, or creating social bonds to battle loneliness, we strive to make each day the best it can be.

Our heart centered Caregivers can assist with all personal care, help around the house, safely speed up recovery from surgery, or provide specialized care for Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s, etc.

We’re here to help - from six hours a day, several days a week to 24/7 and live-in care. For a free consultation contact Home Helpers of Alpharetta and North Atlanta Suburbs today at (770) 681- 0323.

It’s time to focus on heart health

PROVIDED

Sunshine on healing skin — one step forward, two steps back?

Brought to you by - Brent Taylor, MD,

Premiere Dermatology and Mohs Surgery of Atlanta

The most common pre-cancerous lesion dermatologists treat is the actinic keratosis or “AK.” These rough growths are often frozen with liquid nitrogen and gone in a zap. Sometimes, however, a patch of skin is covered with precancerous lesions. One almost doesn’t know where to start. For such a patient, the correct treatment is often not to spray twenty or thirty AKs with liquid nitrogen. If the whole patch of skin is affected with precancerous lesions, then spot treatments like liquid nitrogen zaps will just result in a game of whack-a-mole. One AK is beaten down only to have one or two more pop up by the next visit.

Field damage demands field treatment. Rather than spot-treating individual AK’s, an entire patch of skin can be treated with certain creams and therapies to reduce the number of precancers and the amount of sun damage in an entire area. Field treatments like fluorouracil cream, imiquimod cream, and photodynamic therapy (“blue light therapy”) can reduce the AK burden across an entire zone such as the entire scalp or face. These treatments reduce the number of future cancers and get the number of AK’s back down to a reasonable number.

I often recommend field treatments to my patients but with one big caveat. I tell them, “Don’t undergo a field treatment unless you can stay out of the sun during the treatment and for a week or so afterwards.” I advise patients that I am worried that sun damage on skin that is being treated or is recovering may not only cancel out the benefits but might leave them worse off.

Why the worry? Am I overcautious? I believe not. I’m concerned about more than just a little sunburn. I’m concerned about the sun hitting cells when they are at their most vulnerable: when they are replicating – such as when cells fill in tiny wounds and even micro-gaps created from the killing of precancers like AKs.

Every system has its vulnerabilities, and our DNA repair processes are no different. Our cells’ repair processes work well during the resting phases of cell life when they are happily performing their usual functions. But when a cell decides to duplicate its DNA and divide into daughter cells in a process called mitosis, some of the repair processes are temporarily shut down.

Remember in the movie Jurassic Park when getting the park back online requires temporarily turning everything off? The electricity to the fences had to be shut off, too, and some of the carnivorous dinosaurs escaped and wreaked havoc. Well, the same thing happens in our cells when they duplicate their DNA and divide from one cell into two cells. When cells synthesize new DNA, many of the DNA repair processes are temporarily turned off to allow DNA duplication and cell division to take place. If a mutation, such as from sunlight, occurs when the repair systems are off, then the mutation is often not corrected. The resulting daughter cells are permanently affected with the mutation. Such mutated cells can develop into cancer.

Field treatments like fluorouracil, imiquimod and photodynamic therapy kill bad cells. The healthy neighbor cells must then start dividing to take the place of the bad cells. More cells dividing means more cells with DNA repair processes in the “off” position. Treatments aimed at eliminating cancerous lesions temporarily create a vulnerable state.

Advice to avoid the sun during AK treatments is not just a case of preventing your usual sunburn or of healing skin being more sensitive. Healing skin is more susceptible to mutations and DNA damage from sunburns than resting skin is. Biology argues against taking a “cheat day” and getting sun exposure during or after any treatment that requires skin to heal. If you find yourself in need of field treatment such as PDT, fluoruracil or imiquimod, remember it is only a good idea if you can stay out of the sun during the entire treatment and for the time it takes afterwards for your skin to repair itself.

5 ways to revitalize your relationship routine

Brought to you by - Will Goodwin, Licensed Associate Professional Counselor at Summit Counseling Center

With the beginning of a new year well underway and the somewhat cliché mantra of “New year, new you!” still ringing in the air, many of us are starting to look around and wonder what has really changed. The problem with this phrase is that it often implies that there must be a complete and total change - whether in our habits, our work, or even in our relationships. However, you may not need a complete relationship renovation. Instead, perhaps a simple “refreshing” in some areas that have grown stagnant or mundane might be the appropriate course to take. Just like the warmth and satisfaction that can come from simply rearranging or reorganizing a space, your relationship can be revitalized as well.

Here are five ways to breathe some new life into your established routines:

1. Strive to Surprise. There is a certain satisfaction that comes from knowing one another’s habits, tendencies, and preferences. However, this capacity for anticipating what to expect from one another can also promote boredom, complacency, and indifference. Going out of your

way to gift little surprises to one another can be a way to spark those feelings you shared back when you were first discovering each other. It could be preparing their favorite dish, treating them to their favorite hot or cold beverage/snack, cleaning their car and filling up the gas tank, or arranging a date if you don’t typically plan them. Whatever you choose, choose to make it a surprise.

2. Reassess Your Roles. While knowing “who does what” can simplify and streamline the management of household chores and responsibilities in a way that sets up a relationship for success, it can also create ruts. As change enters our lives, we may grow to dread a task or become overwhelmed by it. Talk to one another about these shifts and consider switching things around. If possible, team up on tasks and responsibilities that you previously did alone. You may surprise yourselves one day by discovering that you feel eager and excited about a chore because you know it is a chance to spend time together.

3. Freshen Up Your Look. Of course, no one is saying that the way someone looks is the most important feature about them. However, there is value to be acknowledged in

See ROUTINE, Page 27

Treating and preventing heart disease

Brought to you by - Ryan Wilson, MD, interventional and structural heart cardiologist at Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center

Now that the holidays are over and people are getting back into their regular routines, it’s time to focus on Heart Month, which is observed each February. The importance of heart health cannot be understated since heart disease remains the No. 1 cause of death in the United States each year. In 2020, nearly 700,000 people died from heart-related diseases. That is more deaths than all cancers combined or COVID-19 related illnesses. Heart disease is a largely preventable problem in many circumstances. Prevention is always our primary focus when it comes to heart disease. Your risk of heart-related disease can be significantly reduced if you focus on some of these key areas in your life:

• Don’t smoke, and if you do smoke or use other tobacco products, seriously consider quitting. This is one of the most serious risk factors. If you are ready to quit, please contact your healthcare provider for assistance. There are patches, gums and medications that can help you quit.

• Maintain a healthy weight. Reducing your weight into a healthy category can significantly lower your risk of heart disease.

• Maintain a healthy blood pressure. If you already have high blood pressure, follow up with your healthcare provider regularly to make sure this is controlled. If you don’t have high blood pressure, get checked intermittently.

• Maintain healthy cholesterol levels

and a low-fat diet. If you have high cholesterol already, make sure you are getting regular blood work to ensure your treatment is working. If you don’t have high cholesterol, continue to focus on a healthy diet and lifestyle. Try to avoid fried foods with lots of butter, fat and grease, which is where a lot of cholesterol comes from.

If you already have heart disease, it’s important to follow up regularly with your cardiologist to ensure we are doing everything possible to minimize the progression of disease and prevent any major problems like a heart attack or stroke. Heart disease can often be managed with medications and lifestyle modifications. If you ever have symptoms such as ongoing chest pain/ pressure, new onset of significant shortness of breath, excessive sweating or nausea associated with chest pain or shortness of breath, severe dizziness or heart racing (palpitations), call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department immediately.

If you have more mild symptoms, you should contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible to get diagnostic testing done. If you are ever in doubt, check it out.

Dr. Ryan Wilson is a cardiovascular disease specialist with Wellstar Health System. He specializes in heart and vascular interventions and treats patients with structural heart and valve conditions. To make an appointment with Dr. Wilson at his office on the campus of Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, call (770) 410-4520. To make an appointment at his office at Wellstar Avalon Health Park, call (470) 267-0430.

WILSON

Pain relieving Laser Therapy

Having treated hundreds of patients over the past 6 years with Pain Relieving Laser Therapy, it’s not hard for me to appreciate how well it works. But if you’ve never tried it, trust me when I tell you…. you’re missing out!

Several years ago, John Deere ran a promotion on their zero turn lawn mowers. They used a fun tag line,

“It’s not how fast you mow, it’s how well you mow FAST!” I wish I could come up with a similar tag line for Pain Relieving Laser Therapy because it can deliver pain relief in just a few minutes. It’s not uncommon for patients to have their pain be reduced by 50% on the first treatment. How does it work? Pain Relieving Laser Therapy uses light energy

to promote healing and reduce pain. Laser Therapy is FDA cleared to treat pain, inflammation, arthritis, and muscle spasms and is a great alternative to medications and injections.

The most common thing we hear after someone tries it for the first time is “WOW!” I’m sure if you are just reading this article, you are probably thinking, “yeah, RIGHT??!!

Nothing works that fast!” But don’t take my word for it, call our office today and schedule your FREE TRIAL. The only thing you have to lose is your pain!

Johns Creek Physical Therapy 4060 Johns Creek Parkway, Suite H Suwanee, GA 30024 770-622-5344

PRESERVING THE PAST

When the Alpharetta Women’s Club and Sears Roebuck came together

Sears Roebuck was founded in 1886 as a seller of watches by mail order. It has undergone many changes over the ensuing decades, but one of its most ambitious undertakings was the sale of house kits by mail order catalog.

Sears claims to have sold more than 100,000 mail order homes in North America between 1908 and 1940 via their Modern Homes program. During that period. Sears designed 447 different home styles, each of which could be modified by a purchaser, thus creating an infinite number of unique homes. Depression era mortgage loan defaults and pre-World War II shortages of lumber and other building materials forced closure of the business. Some estimates are that up to 70 percent of the Sears houses are still standing, but no one knows for sure where the houses are because Sears destroyed the sales records during a corporate housekeeping. There are ways to determine if a given house is from a Sears kit, such as identifying stamps on the lumber.

Seven companies provided kit houses, but Sears Roebuck was by far the largest. As an alternative to the purchase of a complete kit, customers could buy house plans and use local lumber to build the homes.

One of the best-known homes in Alpharetta from that era is found at 112 Cumming Street. The most common and accepted version of its origin is that B.F. (Benjamin Franklin) Shirley (1879--1963) built the Queen Anne style home from a plan purchased in 1908 from a Sears Roebuck catalog. Shipping a complete kit from the factory to Marietta by train and then hauling the lumber over dirt roads to Alpharetta posed many challenges and B.F. Shirley would have used local lumber for the project.

However, according to a July 1999 article in the Atlanta Constitution, “Right out of the Sears catalog,” the cost of the home was less than $1,000 including shipping and construction of a complete Sears house. In 1911 two other possible Sears houses were built nearby. B.F. Shirley’s brother Obadiah built a house next door, and Sherman Gardner built a house across the street.

According to another version based on research and a book by Fred Shirley of Alpharetta, now deceased, the house was built by his great-great

grandfather John Franklin Shirley (1841-1906), a Civil War veteran who became a successful farmer after the war, accumulating 1,000 acres. He built several family homes on his property plus three tenant houses, a cotton gin and two sawmills. To build the house he used lumber cut from his property and processed in his sawmills. He moved his family and mother into the

Cumming Street house prior to 1905, according to Fred who noted that it later became the headquarters of the Alpharetta Women’s Club.

It is interesting to note that John Franklin Shirley’s father was named Benjamin Shirley and that John had a son named Benjamin Franklin Shirley which may be the cause of some confusion.

Past presidents of the Alpharetta Women’s Club are honored at a ceremony in June, 1986. Lonnie Young, Catherine Phillips, Edith Humphrey, Ollie Wills and Marjean Birt reviewed activities and accomplishments during their terms in office. Each was presented with a corsage. (June 15, 1986)

The Alpharetta Women’s Club, founded during World War II, purchased the Shirley home in 1962 and used it as its headquarters. It held fundraisers to pay off a bank loan signed for by three of the ladies’ husbands, Troy Carroll of Carroll Realty, Louie Jones, owner of a funeral home, and Q.A. Wills, mayor of Alpharetta and business owner. The club paid off the loan in 1969. Fulton County Bank President, William Barrett presented the club with a silver tea service from the bank. The club had about 30 members at its peak. The women had a favorite charity, Tallulah Falls School, founded in 1909 with 29 mountain children. Located in the town of Tallulah Falls, Georgia, the school serves 500 students today.

The club took an active role in 1965 to establish a permanent library in Alpharetta. Up to that time, the city was serviced by a bookmobile which came to town every other Wednesday afternoon.

The club was a social and community services organization, but over the years membership dwindled and it eventually closed. Former club Vice President Vespa B. Smith says “the Alpharetta Women’s Club was an integral part of the community for decades.”

Postscript: The house was sold in 2017 and is being restored and renovated.

Special thanks to two outstanding local historians, Ed Malowney and Connie Mashburn for their help with this column.

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 MEYERS

Columnist

THE ALPHARETTA REVIEW/PROVIDED

ATLANTA CONSTITUTION/PROVIDED

The B.F. Shirley home is one of the iconic historic structures in Alpharetta. The Shirley family gathers on the porch in the early 1900s. (July 15, 1999)

BOB MEYERS/APPEN MEDIA

The B.F. Shirley home at 112 Cumming Street in Alpharetta has been undergoing major restoration and renovation. It was home to the Alpharetta Women’s Club for many years and may have been built based on a Sears Roebuck architectural plan. (January 2023)

Observing the Sabbath after years of torture

Howard and Hilbert Margol served in the 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division during World War II. The twin brothers were born in 1924 in Jacksonville, Florida.

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist

In 1942, they began attending the University of Florida and joined the ROTC.

They joined an Army Reserve unit in October 1942 and were called to active duty on April 3, 1943, reporting to Camp Blanding, Florida. After basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, they were offered the opportunity to attend officer training, but turned it down anticipating it would mean separation.

Then, the brothers were sent to The Citadel in South Carolina to take engineering courses as part of the Army Specialized Training Program. After a few months at Syracuse University, followed by a few at the University of Illinois, the Army decided to cancel the program. This meant thousands of young soldiers could be sent to various Infantry divisions for combat training.

The brothers were separated when Hilbert was sent to Camp Gruber in Oklahoma and Howard went to the Mojave Desert in California. Their mother wrote to President Roosevelt requesting her sons be reunited and serve together.

The brothers were reunited and in January of 1945 boarded a ship for Marseilles, France. The 42nd Infantry were liberators of Dachau Concentration Camp in April 1945. Hilbert shared this history with me in February of 2021, which can be found at appenmedia.com. It was an emotional experience for the Jewish brothers; however, Howard said the following incident was more emotional for him.

Following the liberation of Dachau and after the European war ended May 8, 1945, both brothers were in Munich, Germany, close to the Austrian border. Once again, they were separated although both performing duties as part of the occupation.

Howard was part of a group that moved former Jewish prisoners of the Ebensee Concentration Camp to a Displaced Persons Camp at Bad Gastein. Some 150 vehicles were used to make the trip to the Austrian spa and ski town in the High Tauern mountains of Salzburg, Austria.

On the trip to Bad Gastein, sundown approached on a Friday evening and the former prisoners came to a stop and refused to go further. They said it was the start of the Sabbath. Although their destination was a fancy hotel where

hot food, hot baths, and clean clothes awaited, they wanted to stop along the road. After having been deprived of the ability to practice their religion for so long, they finally had freedom and wanted to observe the Sabbath.

From sunset Friday until sunset Saturday, the procession came to a stop. A camp was set up along the road, and food and supplies were brought to the location.

In the July-August 2013 issue of The Jewish Georgian, Howard Margol said, “For years, the Jews in that group of survivors were not allowed to practice their Judaism.” Their faith “gave them something to hold on to, to look forward to and a way to survive against all odds. I think it was also their way of showing that they won, and Hitler lost.”

There was a period of adjustment when they arrived at Bad Gastein. It had been a long time since they had freedom, food and a bed.

During the war, Bad Gastein was used for convalescing German soldiers. In addition to housing Jews who had been imprisoned at Ebensee, the former spa was also used for soldiers of the 42nd Infantry to rest and recover as well as for the football squad to train.

In early August, 1945, the U.S. Army decided that every division remaining in Europe would form a football team to promote morale. Hilbert Margol applied to be on the team and was accepted. He was transported to Bad Gastein to begin training.

Another detail the 42nd Infantry was assigned to guard SS prisoners in a former Austrian Army stockade. The prisoners were taken to nearby forests almost every day to chop down trees for use by civilian and military facilities.

After the last football game, Hilbert Margol returned to his gun battery near Salzburg, Austria, and reunited with Howard. They enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner at an old monastery that would be their home for a while.

The brothers returned to the U.S. on the same ship in March 1946.

Hilbert Margol will present the story of his brother Howard’s experiences following the end of World War II in Eu-

rope, as well as some of his own memories at the next Atlanta WWII Round Table meeting. The meeting takes place Feb. 18 at Dunwoody United Methodist Church. Visit atlantawwiiroundtable.org for more information, including how to reserve a place at this event.

Hilbert Margol has fittingly named his presentation “Riding To Freedom” and will share the story of his brother, Howard, who died Feb. 9, 2017.

From left, Howard Margol and his brother Hilbert, stand in front of a monastery where they lived in early 1946.

A view of the spa resort town and waterfall of Bad Gastein. Courtesy of the Reveille newsletter, 42nd Infantry.

Progress in the form of traffic woes

Oftentimes, standing too close to a painting is detrimental to appreciating the true beauty of the piece of art.

Having recently traveled via Ga. 400 to Sandy Springs’ Hammond Drive as a designated driver for an early-morning appointment, I needed a concoction that would assuage a headache-excess stomach acid parlay.

Simply put, traveling toward Atlanta at 7:30 a.m. is a ball-peen hammer to the thumb combined with smacking a dresser with your toe in a darkened, middle-of-thenight trip to the bathroom.

How do you hearty daily commuters do it?

Obviously, some handle this better than others. On the Tuesday trip, I saw a guy talking on the phone, grooming nose hairs and brushing his teeth, all at the same time.

Apparently, he didn’t get the memo that hands-free is the law. Not that it would have mattered.

The skill of deftly using a trimmer is a skill that is impossible to use without using hands. I’m pretty sure of this. Except this

guy seemed to have mastered the skill.

I only hope he’s not the guy “Crash” Clark highlights during the incessant traffic reports on local radio.

By the way, will someone please explain to me the value of having traffic reports broadcasts every 10 minutes?

After all, you’re already in traffic. Does it really matter if “400 is backed up all the way to Dahlonega?”

You’re in the soup and best find a good commercial-free blast of music to get you through the tribulations. Just ease up on the daydreaming or you’ll be a poster child for Morgan, Montlick, Foy or another lawyer salivating for personal injury paradise.

Of course, having roads torn up to look like a third-world country thoroughfare doesn’t help. In fact, no matter the road you find yourself on, it takes the skill of a Formula 1 driver to avoid the cones, barrels, and caverns, formerly known as potholes.

And don’t get me started on those steel plates that feel like, instead of being flush with the roadway, seem to stick up a few feet. You’d better slow down or it’ll be time to fork out some cash for a front-end alignment.

Road construction is a constant, providing wonderment at the time needed to complete a project, any project. It seems like months stretch into years, no matter

what is promised by whoever won the right to improve the road.

Remember the road that got burnt to a crisp in Atlanta. In a perfect example of “money talks,” repairs were made in record time. The contractor confirmed his fire was lit under someone’s backside in the form of a bonus paid.

Nothing wrong with paying for performance. That concept would probably be a blessing for John Wills, the proprietor of Ferguson’s Meat Market, located on Matt Highway in north Forsyth.

The store has been open since 1992 and is a community fixture. That sense of community was never more apparent than what happened after a call went out on social media.

Getting access to the store, compliments of the highway improvements that have seemingly lasted for generations, is tougher than picking three correct numbers in a Powerball drawing. Heck, once you’re in the parking lot, getting out requires some courtesy from drivers, whose nerves are certainly frazzled from dodging steel plates and flagmen.

Having grown up in the grocery business, I can appreciate that the plight of a grocer is tough, especially for someone not named Kroger or Piggly Wiggly. John has always been a “go-to guy.”

Need a donation for a charity, go to

John. Raffle prizes? Go to John. Want to give away a Green Egg? Go to John.

But with a torn-up road that fronted the business, it was difficult to buy steaks for Sunday grilling.

That’s when loyal customers got busy on social media, relaying that John’s loyal friends needed to stay loyal.

And that’s what has happened.

On a Saturday visit, it was like a NASCAR track: three deep at the counter.

Wills has gotten back to his roots and is sharpening up his meat-cutting chops while cutting chops.

The community has turned out in droves to let John know they care. Sitting in his office with baseball and John Wayne photos on the wall (you just gotta love this guy!), Wills, in an emotional voice, promised: “Someday I’ll do something to let all these people know how much I appreciate them.”

As a “go-to guy” his customers keep coming back. Being appreciated is a given. That’s why they just keep coming back.

Mike Tasos has lived in Forsyth County for more than 30 years. He’s an American by birth and considers himself a Southerner by the grace of God. He can be reached at miketasos55@gmail.com.

Do you prefer to read a standalone novel or a series?

I’m an avid reader and can’t say that I have a preference, but I hear that many folks do. When I was a new cozy mystery author, I was advised that cozy fans were series addicts and wouldn’t pick up Book I unless they knew several more books were available in the series. Me? I’ll happily grab any book whose description appeals to me.

As for reading a series, when I find one I like, I don’t binge-read it. Instead, I space out the books and return to the series time and time again. Perhaps I find that easy to do because years ago, many authors only put out one book a year, so I’m accustomed to waiting. Whatever the reason, there are several series that I follow, and I’ll be hugely disappointed when they run out.

Spencer-Fleming

I discovered this series last year and

Book I, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” in the library. A reading friend lent me several more, and they sat on my bookshelf for me to pick up whenever the mood struck. I’m not sure what happened, but when I picked up Book VI a few weeks ago, I couldn’t stop there. I turned the last page and moved on to Book VII, the last on my bookshelf. Before I knew it, I’d ordered Book VIII from the library, and I’m now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the email that says, “Come by to get Book IX,” the last one in the series. I’ve got my fingers crossed that there are more coming.

Clare Ferguson is an Episcopal priest and Russ Van Alstyne is the sheriff in Millers Kill, NY, where the books take place. The mysteries are well-plotted and intriguing, but I read the novels more for the evolving relationships in small-town America than for anything else.

Though I’ll tell you that you can pick up anywhere in the series I write, this is one series I strongly recommend you start from the beginning. You just don't want to miss any of the twists and turns and witty conversations among the cast of charac-

ters. Warning: If you start somewhere in the middle, you will find yourself searching for Book One soon after!

“The Woman in the Library” by Sulari Gentill

This mystery is a standalone novel. What a fascinating story within a story. Four people are sitting at a library table in Boston when they hear a scream. What transpires from there is one story, a mystery as to who screamed and why. Is someone hurt? Was someone killed? If someone was killed, whodunit?

And then there's the other story--that of an author sharing bits of her book with a beta reader, perhaps a fan, who gives her feedback. That concerns the relationship that develops between them--long distance.

I was intrigued by both and was especially hooked on the tale of the library foursome because one of them is an aspiring writer who uses her new-found friends as characters in her book. She has a neighbor who is also a writer, and I was struck by his opinion that all stories are romances at heart--though I disagree with that premise.

To me, all stories are mysteries at heart-perhaps not about murders or crimes but instead the mystery of relationships-friends, family, and co-workers. It's always a mystery as to how those relationships will turn out.

The author built interesting backstories for the characters, and I couldn't put the book down until I knew whodunit and why. As the story unwound, I suspected all four from the library as well as the neighbor. I predict you'll be as surprised as I was.

If you’re looking for a mystery to while away the winter hours, either a series or a singleton, I suggest you try one of these.

PS. Are you in a book club? If so, I’d be happy to visit and talk about my series.

Award-winning author Kathy Manos Penn is a Sandy Springs resident. Find her cozy mysteries locally at The Enchanted Forest in Dunwoody and Bookmiser in East Cobb or on Amazon. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com, and follow her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/KathyManosPennAuthor/.

MIKE TASOS

Columnist

Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne series by Julia

KATHY MANOS PENN

Columnist

Cities may cede election decisions to six people

The process for which Alpharetta, Roswell and Johns Creek officials are changing the way nearly half a million people can cast ballots this November stinks.

The cities are relying – seemingly entirely – on a report generated by an exploratory committee sanctioned by the Milton City Council last year.

Let me tell you what we know (and don’t know) about that report, and what led to it.

In the summer of 2021, a group of Milton citizens petitioned the City Council to run its own municipal elections. It had unfounded concerns about election integrity amid the 2020 General Election and legitimate concerns about increased costs imposed by Fulton County.

At the time, city representatives said they didn’t have enough time to make any changes before that November’s elections, but promised to move forward with an exploratory committee after that.

And they did. In April of the next year, the City Council approved the committee and designated two of the its six members be filled by community members.

One was Lisa Cauley, a surrogate for several partisan Republican organizations, and the other was Mark Amick – who we now know is a “target” in a Fulton County investigation into attempts to overturn an election.

Routine:

Continued from Page 20

continuing to make an effort, no matter how long you have been in a relationship. Perhaps you could trim your beard or experiment with a new hairstyle. Maybe showcase an outfit that feels fun and playful, paint your nails, or try out a new accessory. You may feel that you have already “sealed the deal,” but that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t continue to garner your partner’s interest.

4. Spend Time Apart. Though this may seem counterproductive, it can, at certain points and for certain lengths of time, play a vital

In a city of 40,000 people, its City Council allocated a grand total of two spots for ordinary citizens to give input and then gave them both to partisans with axes to grind.

To make matters even less serious, when we asked the city who appointed, or even recommended Mr. Amick for the committee, no one knew.

I repeat, no one within the City of Milton – not the mayor, not the city manager – no one can account for how someone being investigated for crimes related to elections interference found himself on a sanctioned committee to reform elections!

But that’s not all.

Our reporters started asking more questions, and after we received a response to an August open records request, we discovered that there were about half a dozen meetings of an “informal” committee (made up of the same members) held long before the City Council formalized the panel at the April 18 City Council meeting.

No announcement or advertisement of the informal meetings, as would be standard, could be located.

When we asked about these informal meetings, the qualifications of the member panelists, or minutes, agendas or records related to any of the above, we were greeted mostly with “no comment” and “no records exist pertaining to your request.”

Eventually, the panel did finish its report. Mr. Amick, who had not resigned or been asked to resign from the committee, gave the presentation to the City Council in which he concluded that Milton should take its elections in house and use paper bal -

part in enriching your time together. By reserving some time for both of you to “do your own thing,” you can eagerly return to one another feeling recharged mentally, emotionally, and relationally – and feeling ready to reconnect.

5. Swap Out the Usual. Sometimes exchanging a common experience for an uncommon one can really do the trick when it comes to re-energizing your relationship routines. Collaborate to pick something you routinely do together and trade it out for something new. If you tend to rely heavily on watching tv shows, try exchanging that screen time for some kind of face-to-face engagement (board/ card game, reading together, go for a walk/exercise). This exchange doesn’t need to be a total or permanent removal of watching tv together, but

lots, primarily due to cost concerns.

The City Council voted unanimously to accept the recommendations laid out in the report.

Now, Milton’s sister cities want in on the action.

Using the Milton election study as a guide, an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) involving Milton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Alpharetta and Mountain Park is in the works that will propose one regional election superintendent to oversee all of the cities’ 2023 municipal elections.

All under the assumption that Milton’s exploratory panel report is both impartial and accurate.

Johns Creek has not formed its own exploratory committee.

Alpharetta has not formed its own exploratory committee.

Roswell has not formed its own exploratory committee.

So, in effect, two unelected people – one whom no one wants to take credit for empowering – have created the framework for how 400,000 people will be able to cast their votes this November and we are all supposed to just go along with it.

If you ask me, the whole thing smells.

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