Sandy Springs Crier - January 12, 2023

‘Dine like a local’ program launches ► STORY ON PAGE 3

J a n u a r y 1 2 , 2 0 2 3 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 2 , N o . 2

Junior Theater to draw talent from across U.S.

DELANEY TARR/APPEN MEDIA

Community destination Brandt Gully stands behind the bar of The Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs on Dec. 5. Read story, page 8

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ATLANTA — The 2023 Junior Theater Festival will host 125 groups from 28 states as well as groups from Washington, D.C., Canada and Australia in Atlanta Jan. 13-15 for fellowship, singing, dancing, acting and learning.

Called a “rousing celebration of theater” by The New York Times, for the past 20 years thousands of musical theater students and their teachers have made the pilgrimage to this annual, event for young people and educators creating musical theater worldwide.

The announcement was made

by Timothy Allen McDonald, founder and CEO of iTheatrics and the Junior Theater Group, which produces the international Junior Theater Festivals.

“These students and teachers are not just the future of musical theater — they are musical theater,” McDonald said. Their positive impact is huge. They chart cast albums; they sell out shows. They introduce so many to musical theater through their own productions, and they continually evolve this art form through their storytelling. After 20 years of this festival, we’ve seen what prioritizing the arts can do for individuals, communities and

See THEATER, Page 4

2 | January 12, 2023 | Sandy Springs Crier | AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs

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Each week, Appen Media requests initial incident reports to inform residents about the safety of their community. Sandy Springs is withholding what it calls “narrative reports.” It is the only city Appen Media covers that does this. Without that information, The Crier is unable to adequately report on crime in the city.

When Appen requested recent incident reports, the city provided documents containing one to three sentences. When Appen requested year-old incident reports, the city provided additional pages titled “Reporting Officer Narrative” and “Case Supplemental Report.”

The Sandy Springs City Attorney has offered the position that “if information in the ‘supplemental/ additional report’ would jeopardize the investigation or interfere with victims or witnesses, it should not be released.”

According to “Georgia Law Enforcement and the Open Records Act,” a pamphlet offering guidance to police and journalists on open records, initial police incident reports are subject to disclosure under Georgia’s Open Records Act. That’s regardless of whether they are part of an active investigation.

The guidance also stipulates that “any report, whether entitled a ‘supplemental report,’ ‘narrative report,’ or similar document name that is produced as part of an initial incident report or can be characterized as such, is likely to be disclosed.”

The pamphlet was created in collaboration with the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Department of Law, Georgia Department of Public Safety, Georgia

MORE ARRESTS & INCIDENTS The following arrests are some of those made last week in Sandy Springs: • 2nd degree criminal damage to property on Peachtree Dunwoody Road • Armed robbery on Northwood Drive • False imprisonment • Eluding police As of press time the city had not filled Appen Media’s request for those incident reports.

Residents also reported the following incidents: • Battery on Roswell Road • Indecent exposure on Peachtree Dunwoody Road • Battery on Cimarron Parkway As of press time the city had not filled Appen Media’s request for those incident reports.

Without that information, The Crier is unable to report fully on crime in the city. The Crier continues to pursue avenues to make this information available to the public and to the taxpayers who fund their police department.

For the Fiscal Year 2023, Sandy Springs is set to spend $27 million on Police and $1.9 million for Communications.

Press Association, Georgia First Amendment Foundation, Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, Georgia Public Safety Training Center and Georgia Sheriffs’ Association.

Here are some incidents that took

place in Sandy Springs recently that Appen Media is unable to report on more fully: • On Dec. 28 a Sandy Springs officer responded to a report of a residential burglary on Monterey Parkway. There is one victim listed, a 26-year-old woman, but there is no further information about her.

The report does not list any property as damaged or stolen, and it does not state there were any injuries.

The case remains open but no other information is provided.

• Sandy Springs police filed an identity theft report at Long Island Drive NW on Dec. 27. The narrative appears to be a transcription of the victim statement, saying “an individual stole my bank account information, forged my signature and made two separate withdrawals in amounts of $4,000 and $2,000.” It also states the victim, a Sandy Springs resident, believes the individual who made the withdrawal is a vendor the victim uses. No other information is given. The case is open.

• Sandy Springs police filed two “person dead” reports on Dec. 25 and Dec. 27. The Dec. 25 report said an 87-year-old woman died at an apartment on Hightower Trail but provides no narrative. There is no other information on the death. Two other names are listed as “others involved,” but their involvement is not listed. The Dec. 27 report shows an 82-year-old man died at an apartment on Roswell Road. There is no police narrative, and two names are listed as “others involved,” with no information on their involvement. There is no other information available. Both cases are closed.

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COMMUNITY

AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs | Sandy Springs Crier | January 12, 2023 | 3

City to host ‘Dine like a local’ contest SANDY SPRINGS, Ga.—The City of Sandy Springs is holding a “Dine like a local” initiative where residents can dine at local restaurants for a chance to win different prizes.

From Jan. 2 to Mar. 31, residents can download a free dine like a local pass.

When visiting a participating business,

residents can present their phone to an employee to redeem the discounts.

Participants earn points by eating out at restaurants, which they can redeem at giveaways. Each of the prizes will cost a different number of points.

Bi-weekly, Sandy Springs will select three winners to receive a $25 gift card to

a participating restaurant. Entries will cost 100 points each. Once a month, the city will gift one person a picnic basket filled with items, with entries at 200 points each.

For the grand prize redeemed at 300 points per entry, at the end of March one winner will receive a Yeti Roadie cooler stuffed with prizes.

President signs law to protect Chattahoochee River

By REBECCA GRAPEVINE Capitol Beat ATLANTA — President Joe Biden has signed legislation aimed at protecting the Chattahoochee River.

The first-of-its-kind measure authorizes $90 million in federal funds for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work with local partners on water projects throughout the Chattahoochee River system.

Biden signed the bill recently as part of congressional reauthorization of the Water Resources and Development Act. “This exciting new program will improve water quality, protect essential public works, and restore ecosystems along the river, which supplies much of our state’s

drinking water,” said U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who introduced the bill into the Senate along with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. “Clean water is essential for healthy and thriving communities,” Warnock said.

“While the Chattahoochee River’s water quality has improved in recent years, hundreds of miles of Chattahoochee watershed waterways still do not meet water-quality standards. I’m proud to have worked with Senator Ossoff to ensure this provision that will invest in improving, protecting, and preserving the Chattahoochee River gets signed into law.”

According to the Georgia River Network, the Chattahoochee supplies 70 percent of Metro Atlanta’s drinking water.

The river is also a key source of water for farmers and an important source of power generation through hydroelectric dams.

However, more than 1,000 miles of waterway within the Chattahoochee watershed do not meet water quality standards, creating potential health risks to humans and wildlife.

In 2019, the National Park Service reported visitors to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area added more than $200 million to the metro region’s economy, supporting more than 2,000 local jobs.

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

PALS PERIMETER ADULT LEARNING & SERVICES

PALS is pleased to announced its Winer 2023 Program lineup. Classes will run on Mondays from January 9 – March 6 at the Dunwoody United Methodist Church, 1548 Mt Vernon Rd. Dunwoody, GA 30338. Registration is online at www.palsinline.info.

The class line up is as follows: MONDAYS: From 10:00 am - 11:00 am Spies, Saboteurs and Rescuers During World War II Dan O’Lone will present a fascinating look at double and even triple agents who played key roles in saving thousands of Allied lives during World War II. He will also continue with his unique take on those who rescued Jews during the War, including sewer cleaners, zookeepers, circus performers and German soldiers, as well as the man who stopped the trains to Auschwitz, a diplomat from a country that he had never been to.

From 10:00 am - 11:00 am Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars Tom McElhinny will continue his series on Native Americans, this time dealing with Andrew Jackson’s presidency and his Indian wars from his first battles with the Cherokee and Creek nations until the establishment of the Indian Territory in Oklahoma. The most infamous outcome of Jackson’s relentless exploits at Indian removal culminated with one of the greatest forced migrations in history-the Trail of Tears. It is a sobering reminder of a violent and dark episode in our nation’s history.

From 10:00 am - 1:45 pm Mah Jongg Bring your own Mah Jongg card and come play. There is no instructor for the session- just fun and self-evaluation.

From 10:00 am - 1:45 pm Open Bridge for Experienced Players There is no instructor for this weekly session – just fun and self-evaluation.

From 11:15 am - 12:15 pm A History of the Space Race John Baumbusch will take us through the history of how we got to the Moon more than 50 years ago. He will discuss moon lore, the Cold War, Russians and the Right Stuff!

Through this series, we will re-live the heady days of the Space Race from the 1950s to the 1970s.

From 11:15 am - 12:15 pm The Economic Implications of Immigration Shai Robkin will discuss how immigration is a misunderstood topic in America’s social discourse, with much of what we believe is based largely on myth. He will compare the experiences of immigrants from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to those of immigrants today, and how immigrants and their children compare educationally, professionally and economically with US born citizens and discuss the policy implications of what we find.

4 | January 12, 2023 | Sandy Springs Crier | AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs

NEWS

DUNWOODY, Ga.— Dunwoody residents are butting heads with the city over construction of a path that connects Heritage at Dunwoody and Village Mill to the proposed park at Vermack Road.

In 2021 the Dunwoody City Council purchased 9 acres on Vermack Road, with a plan to develop the property into a park. The project will cost an estimated $4 million.

Drawing from community input, the city has developed a master plan for the park, but the addition of a previously undiscussed connecting trail upset residents who live next to the park.

The path was a surprise to many, especially after some residents met with city officials and felt their concerns were heard.

The residents said the path appeared in the plan without any input from the public. The proposed path would fit in a 50-foot-wide strip of land butted up against the back of homes in Heritage and Village Mill.

One Heritage neighborhood resident, Keith Biumi, said that while he’s not pushing back against the public park, he’s frustrated that the space behind his home could be so public.

“We paid a premium for our lots against the forest,” Biumi said. “They said the only thing they would add is a cellular tower.”

The narrow space and location raised concerns from residents about privacy and safety.

“If I’m a thief, I’d park my car at the park and cut through the backlot,” Biumi said. “Then I could burglarize the subdivision.”

At the Oct. 10 City Council meeting, a decision on the final master plan was tabled for two weeks due to the conflict over the changes.

Mayor Lynn Deutsch said she spoke with residents about the path and understood their frustration.

“They met with us, they’ve advocated, they’ve seen it and now we’re showing them something they haven’t seen,” Deutsch said at the meeting.

Two weeks later, at the Oct. 24 City Council meeting, homeowners from the two neighborhoods presented a petition with around 160 signatures asking for

Theater: Continued from Page 1 musical theater itself, and we understand the importance of giving theater kids the opportunity to be in the company of thousands of other

URNALIS

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

LOCAL

SUPPORT

Dunwoody clashes with community over proposed paths

R.J. TURNER/APPEN MEDIA

The City of Dunwoody has been fielding public comment on whether to locate a new multi-use trail on the east or west side of Tilly Mill Road. The start of the shared-use path is planned to begin here, at Womack Road. the removal of the proposed path from any final plans.

To allow for more community input, Dunwoody held an open house Dec. 10 where people could walk around the envisioned park and path.

“Having a path, you’re just calling for trouble,” Biumi said.

Biumi said the lack of communication makes him and other residents feel like the City Council “says one thing, then does something else.” It’s his biggest frustration with the situation.

Currently, the 2023 parks budget does not include any funding for the Park at Vermack. The City Council considered funding the park with a $30 million parks bond but decided against it.

As for future park plans, Dunwoody’s website says “future decisions will be led by community input.” people who care just as much about this art form as they do.”

At the festival, each group will perform 15 minutes of a Broadway Junior musical for adjudicators.

In addition to mainstage performances featuring powerhouse Broadway and West End guests, the groups will enjoy a keynote address

There were also tensions over the planned construction of a path on Tilly Mill Road for pedestrians and cyclists.

The original plan for the parks called for a path on the west side of the road.

Earlier this year, the city moved the trail to the east side at the behest of some residents.

Community members cited issues with people crossing one of Dunwoody’s busy intersections, as well as a lack of desire for even having a new wide trail built in the area.

Some residents asked the city to consider a resident-proposed plan for keeping the Tilly Mill trail on the west side if there needs to be one at all.

The city said they are open to input and created an online public comment link to allow residents an opportunity to weigh in.

by Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, a “Mean Girls” panel featuring conversations with and performances by the original Broadway cast and a “New Works Showcase” of performance selections from upcoming Broadway Junior musicals.

dy Crier 1/12/23 Crossword Across 1 5 10 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 25 28 30 31 32 33 36 37 39 40 41 42 44 46 47 50 51 52 54 55 61 62 63 64 65

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62 61 Jacuzzi Genesis garden 65 64 Free-for-all Copyright ©2023 PuzzleJunction.com Collar type 13 Hitching place 38 Gymnast’s goal 66 Cut and paste 18 “Peer Gynt” 39 Disobedient dramatist 43 Japanese floor Down 21 Forest denizen 44 covering 1 Used to be 22 Battery terminal 45 Stylish 23 Poe bird 2 Bolt down 46 Promises 24 The Last Emperor 47 3 Generation Type of stock actress Joan 4 Honeybun 48 Poses 26 Riviera city 5 Ice sheet 49 Infestation 27 Some musical 6 Hit-or-miss 51 Isinglass groups 7 Corpulent plus Hombre’s home 28 Work without ___ 53 8 ___’easter Mediator (be daring) 9 Like some humor 55 Unique person 10 Sir Walter Scott 29 Like most sonnets 56 Implored character 32 Antiquated 57 Stack 11 Somewhere ___ 33 Commence 58 Container the way 34 Apples, e.g.

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1101 Alpharetta St • Historic Roswell • 770-518-8518 OPEN: Tu-Sat 10-5:30, Sun 1-5, closed Monday.

Now celebrating our 30th year—thank you for shopping local!

6 | January 12, 2023 | Sandy Springs Crier | AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs

CALENDAR

What: Complete a Bob Ross painting in just one class — even if you’ve never painted before. That’s the magic of the techniques used by Bob Ross in his popular TV series, the “Joy of Painting.” Bob Ross Certified Instructor Jeremy Rogers walks you through step by step how to paint a beautiful Ross landscape, complete with “happy trees.” This is a light-hearted painting class totally focused on creating beauty and having fun. Please bring a roll of paper towels and a cardboard box to carry your piece of art home with you. The box needs to be big enough to hold a 12x16-inch canvas. Register online.

When: Saturday, Jan. 21, 10 a.m.

Where: Hammond Park, 5909 Glenridge Dr, Sandy Springs Cost: $70 More info: sandyspringsga.gov

JUST FOR FUN: TRIVIA NIGHT

NEWS

LOCAL

PAINT LIKE BOB ROSS

What: Whether you’re the whiz of the group or the dunce, a trivia outing is about so much more than the questions themselves. Bring your friends and test your knowledge while you drink a pint at the King George Tavern.

When: Thursday, Jan. 12, 8 p.m.

Where: King George Tavern, 4511 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody More info: kinggeorgetavern.com

FROSTY MINI GOLF TOURNAMENT AT THE FRINGE What: Putters League Atlanta is hosting a Mini Golf Tournament at The Fringe Miniature Golf. There will be three rounds, where players can play to win a $1,000 purse. The Frosty tournament will have a purse for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place overall, 1st place Women’s Division, Most Aces and Lowest Round.

When: Saturday, Jan. 14, 11 a.m.

Where: Area 51: Aurora Cineplex and The Fringe Miniature Golf, 5100 Commerce Parkway, Roswell Cost: $35 More info: Sign up at PuttersLeague. com

LEARN AND LEAD: BIRD WALK

What: Morgan Falls Overlook Park boasts several habitats, and thus a large variety of birds over the course of the year: mudflats (shorebirds, including Avocets in 2017), lake (winter ducks, nesting bald eagles), river, woodland, and field (sparrows). The walk will involve possibly wet grass, stairs, gently sloped pavement and unpaved trails. A scope and loaner binoculars will be available.

The walk will begin at the overlook, past the playground. Register online.

When: Sunday, Jan. 15, 8 a.m.

Read Local, Shop Local Read at appenmedia.com/business

Where: Morgan Fall Overlook Park & Dam, 200 Morgan Falls Road, Sandy Springs More info: sandyspringsga.gov

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ART & FILM CELEBRATION What: The Sandy Springs annual tribute will feature interactive art projects and a film designed to celebrate, educate, and share the teachings of Dr. King.

When: Monday, Jan. 16, 1 p.m.

Where: Studio Theatre, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs Cost: Admission is free, reservations encouraged More info: sandyspringsga.gov

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY OF SERVICE

What: Register online to join the City of Dunwoody’s annual day of giving back.

Available projects include tree planting with Trees Atlanta, daffodil planting with the Daffodil Project, Cleanup at Brook Run Community Garden, plantings at Dunwoody Nature Center, and New Year prep at the Spruill Center for the Arts, as well as a blood drive at Brook Run Park and an ongoing food drive through the Souper Bowl of Caring.

When: Monday, Jan. 16 Where: Locations vary More info: dunwoodyga.gov

COMMUNITY:

ROSWELL RESTAURANT WEEKS

What: It’s time for Roswell Restaurant Weeks. This year, more than 45 restaurants are participating with a variety of cuisine and experiences. Check out RoswellRW.com for a list of all the participating restaurants and make your reservations for a delicious meal.

When: Jan. 19-Feb. 5 Where: Location varies More info: roswellrw.com

A Place for ALL Jews Ashkenazi Orthodox Rabbi Yitzchok Werbin 5075 Roswell Rd 1 mile inside I-285 Sandy Springs

www.KesherTorahAtlanta.org

AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs | Sandy Springs Crier | January 12, 2023 | 7

NEWS

8 | January 12, 2023 | Sandy Springs Crier | AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs

COMMUNITY

DELANEY TARR/ APPEN MEDIA

The Springs Cinema & Taphouse has a full kitchen and bar with craft cocktails and draft beer, alongside typical movie concessions.

Springs Cinema & Taphouse curates a community destination

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Brandt Gully never planned to own an independent movie theater.

But when his daughter fell seriously ill six years ago, Gully bought the Lefont Sandy Springs to plant his roots deeper into the community.

Gully’s Springs Cinema & Taphouse is a neighborhood movie theater at Parkside Shopping Center with a full kitchen and bar that shows new, old and independent movies.

Gully’s background is in finance, where he worked with movie theaters and entertainment companies on the financial side. He had been around the industry for years, but when his eldest daughter was diagnosed with cancer, Gully’s perspective changed.

“I had the question: What is the point of what I do?” Gully said.

Gully spent most of his time in the hospital, around nurses and doctors he watched serve the community. His daughter is fine now, and so is Gully, but the experience made him realize he wanted to get more “plugged in” to the community.

It was then that George Lefont told Gully he wanted to sell his business— a local movie theater.

“That’s when it just clicked that maybe this is my way to get plugged into the community, through my profession,” Gully said.

The theater had been untouched since the 1980s. Gully said it had a beloved arthouse following, but it needed a revamp to bring in bigger crowds. It was a task Gully was ready to take on.

“I had no idea how hard it was going to be, and if it was, I probably wouldn’t have done it,” Gully said.

“I’m very pleased that I was naïve, as

I’ve loved every minute of it.”

The revamp Gully had in mind was a top-to-tail renovation. Gully had no renovating experience, but he had a vision. He wanted recliner seats and big screens, a full kitchen and bar.

He also wanted the theater to have a distinctly local feel.

“I had been to a thousand movie theaters, but I had never really walked through them thinking this is the way I want it,” Gully said.

He brought in multiple movie theater architects, but none of their designs matched his vision. They felt like theaters, but they were lacking any distinct community feel.

Gully wanted a different approach.

Because the bar would take up about 75 percent of the theater lobby, Gully brought in a bar architect. His vision came to life, and the Spring Cinema &

See CINEMA Page 9

Cinema:

COMMUNITY

AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs | Sandy Springs Crier | January 12, 2023 | 9

Continued from Page 8 Taphouse was born.

The bar sprawls across the lobby, taking up the space where concessions would typically dominate. The lights on the ceiling look like film reels, a motif that carries through to the design of the walls. The space is decorated with movie posters and art prints. The bar boasts 18 beers on draft, a variety of wines and different craft cocktails. The cocktails range from espresso martinis to themed drinks, like the blue beer and frozen margarita to promote the newest Avatar movie.

The Springs also has a full kitchen, with offerings from hummus to hot dogs. Gully wanted a little bit of everything for his Sandy Springs clientele.

The food and drinks were one thing. The content was another challenge. When Gully took over the theater, the previously named LeFont showed mostly art house films.

“I knew art house and indie would be a piece of what we did,” Gully said.

The Springs theater does play some arthouse films, but it also plays major studio films, which draw bigger audiences and more money.

The issue with those major films, Gully said, is that movie theaters typically function at the whim of Hollywood. Whatever films trickle into theaters get shown, but at the peak of COVID-19 Hollywood had no content to send to movie theaters.

That left Gully with a staffed theater and no content to screen. The theater, renovated in February 2019, was only a year into its new start before the pandemic shut everything down.

Gully wanted to keep his team busy and find a way to stay afloat, but he had nothing to show onscreen and knew audiences were unlikely to risk going into theaters.

“We’re like, why don’t we show drive-in movies in our parking lot?

And our first one was ‘Back to the Future,’” Gully said.

After that, he showed “Indiana Jones,” then “Jurassic Park” and “Jaws.” Each showing was a smash success. The drive-in was one of the few things open at the time, so audiences came in droves to sit inside and outside their cars to watch the old films.

“It helped us do things we didn’t know we were capable of and helped us find aspects of our business we didn’t know existed,” Gully said.

The retro films became a permanent fixture, even as people began to venture back inside the theater.

DELANEY TARR/ APPEN MEDIA

Gully hired a bar architect to design the space to give The Springs Cinema & Taphouse a more distinctive and local feel than chain movie theaters.

Now, the theater hosts film series like Fright Nights or Movie Party, classic scary movies and retro film showings.

The theater also hosts private events, from birthday parties to memorial services and private corporate events.

Gully finds that screening old and new films, and hosting special events, have built the theater into a real community destination.

“I’m around every day, and most of our regular customers see me here at some point, so that’s important,” Gully said.

Now, he finds the theater has reached a level where the customers trust his taste.

“We give people what we want, but we also curate what they want and help them understand their tastes and broaden their horizons,” Gully said.

To Gully, the greatest sign of success is that customers show up to the theater without even knowing what they plan to see.

“It’s more about the complete experience than just the movie,” Gully said.

They may not have the largest screens in the industry, but Gully hopes the community feeling, culi-

nary offerings and local feel will keep people coming back.

Most of all, he hopes to show people “really good movies, really good movies people haven’t even heard of.”

As for the future of the theater, Gully guarantees he’ll “always be

tinkering.” He said the movie theater industry is always doing just enough to stay relevant, and he plans on doing the same.

“I’ll do whatever continues to make this a relevant gathering place,” Gully said.

10 | January 12, 2023 | Sandy Springs Crier | AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs

HEALTH & WELLNESS • Sponsored Section

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Your policy has daily benefit amounts, maximums and terms you need to know. There is typically an elimination period of 30, 60 or 90 days depending on your policy. This may be waived for in-home care and reimbursement could start immediately. It’s important to stay current with your premiums but remember, when you start using your policy for care you won’t pay premiums.

Call your provider if you have questions about these details.

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Sarah Stonecypher hugs Tom Burgess, the owner of Christian Brothers Auto in Cumming, after he presented her with the refurbished car.

Community rallies around family after tragedy

By LUKE GARDNER newsroom@appenmedia.com CUMMING, Ga. — After losing her husband to cancer in November, a Cumming woman was presented a car, $10,000 and Christmas gifts for her three kids.

Friends, family and community members gathered for an annual Christmas breakfast Dec. 13 aimed at helping those struggling in the community. This year, dozens of people pitched in to help the Stonecypher family who had just lost a beloved husband and father.

Around two months earlier, Sarah and Ryan Stonecypher received horrible news when Ryan, in his mid-30s, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Despite being expected to live another six months to a year, Ryan passed away six weeks after

the diagnosis, just one month before Christmas.

“It’s my job to keep Ryan’s memory alive, to remember the purest love I’ve ever known, and to remind myself that the love he gave me wasn’t in vain,” Sarah wrote in a statement.

Working through her grief, Sarah, who is pregnant, holds down three jobs while being a homemaker and mother to three kids. On weekdays, Sarah gets up at 6 a.m. to take her kids to school, then heads to work until around 8 or 9 p.m. She has a friend who helps with the kids while she’s working.

Amid the turmoil of surviving her husband’s death, Sarah’s car died, forcing her to rely on Uber, L yft and her feet. As a last resort, a friend posted on the social network Nextdoor asking for help on Sarah’s behalf.

Kristin McAfee, who hosts a

Christmas breakfast every year in which community members gather to give gifts to children from families in need. She saw the post and reached out to help with the Stonecypher’s Christmas.

“I found this amazing lady Kristin who is helping me with my kids’ Christmas and I couldn’t be more grateful,” Sarah said. “She has truly brought light to our family in these trying times and is truly an amazing blessing. I must say I have a pretty amazing community on my side though. If nothing else, we ask for prayer.”

Typically, children’s gifts given to families at the breakfast are tagged as from the parents or from Santa, but Sarah requested the name tags bear the names of the donors. This way,

See COMMUNITY Page 12

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Kristin McAfee’s daughter-in-law Emily presents Sarah with the check.

Community: Continued from Page 11 she said, her kids can learn about the importance of stepping up to help others in need.

Aware that the Stonecyphers helped out a family in need last year, McAfee wanted to go above and beyond to return that support. She reached out to Christian Brothers Auto, knowing they repair donated cars to re-donate to people in need.

McAfee also learned from a friend who works for the Patterson Barclay Memorial Foundation that the organization had $10,000 in leftover funds to donate. After discussing the Stonecyphers’ case, the foundation

PROVIDED PHOTO

decided to donate to Holy Spirit Ranch Ministries, an organization that could accept the money on Sarah’s behalf.

All the work came to fruition at the breakfast, when Sarah was presented with the car and donations, which she used to pay bills. The Southern Porch, the venue hosting the breakfast, also donated $1,000 to the Stonecyphers.

Also present at the breakfast was the original owner of the donated car who knew nothing of her story. McAfee noted that this was special because most people never know what became of their donated vehicle.

“After hearing this story, people want to help,” McAfee said. “I think it’s so brave of people to ask for help.

For Sarah’s 16-year-old daughter to see this outpouring of support was really neat.”

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OPINION

14 | January 12, 2023 | Sandy Springs Crier | AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs

Sandy Springs #1 Kitchen

THE INVESTMENT COACH

Happy New Year and a happy life “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”

That nugget of motivational wisdom was gifted to me early in life by a coach and mentor. It isn’t rugged LEWIS J. WALKER, CFP about individualism or selfcenteredness, as that may seem selfish. True, personal and financial self-sufficiency largely is a doit–yourself project, but all of us depend on others for some aspect of our varying needs and ultimate success. Parents, spouses, loved ones, teachers, coaches, mentors, friends, business associates, doctors and nurses, military and police, and countless others, whether truck drivers, store clerks, farmers, repair specialists, etc., play a vital role in our daily rounds and life.

The holy season of Advent, Hanukkah and Christmas, and thoughts about New Year’s resolutions, had me thinking about how I relate to others, spurred, too, by a new book by acclaimed author and speaker, Matthew Kelly. The powerful but short 116-page tome, “Holy Moments: A Handbook for the Rest of Your Life,” was a Christmas gift from St. Brigid Catholic Church in Johns Creek. The book is not for sale, but you can order six free copies by visiting HolyMomentsBook. com. The message is needed in these turbulent and challenging times.

This past Thanksgiving, I was staying in a hotel along the Cristina River in downtown Wilmington, Delaware. I was in town to spend the holiday with my son and his family.

I was feeling a bit blue and down as it was the first Thanksgiving that I was without my wife and best friend, as Helen had passed away in July following a tough year of needing 24/7 care and, finally, hospice at home. Missing her, it was easy to feel sorry for myself.

There was a large self-serve breakfast room, but the coffee service was outside of the dining room in the lobby some distance away, a bit inconvenient. An elderly gentleman with a cane came in, walking with difficulty and looking like he was having a challenging day.

He got annoyed when he could not find the coffee. I approached him and asked, “Sir, the coffee is out in the lobby. May I get you some?

How would you like it?” He agreed and seemed pleased. As I returned with his coffee, creamer and sugar packets, a lady at a table nearby gave me a smiling nod of approval.

I remembered that incident when reading Kelly’s book. It seemed at the time to be a trivial and easy thing to do, but it was a “Holy Moment.”

Kelly defines a Holy Moment as “a single moment in which you open yourself to God. You set aside personal preference and self-interest, and for one moment you do what you prayerfully believe God is calling you to do.”

In that instant I could have ignored the man, seeing him as irascible as I continued to eat my breakfast, but for some reason I jumped in to help him with an act of kindness. Outside along the river it was cold, foggy and raining, a gray day conducive to the funk I was in.

But helping that man, as simple as it was, gave me a lift as I began to focus not on what I’d lost, but on what I had, including the gift of my son and family with whom I was to spend the day. Helen was in my life for 56 years, one year of courtship and 55 years married. Her children and grandchildren are her lasting gift to me.

This past year I lost my wife, sister, and two dear friends, but it helps to recognize, not what is gone, but what is yet to be, appreciating the gift of love and friendship that sustains uplifting memories. Kelly advises that “the principle of Holy Moments teaches us to focus on the good we can do.”

In a recent workshop he asked participants to list the 10 aspects of life that mattered most. Cited were “health, marriage, family, spirituality, home life, finances, friendships, recreation, community, and personal growth.”

That’s an excellent list for Godcentered, “Holy Moment-powered” New Year resolutions as a foundation for serious, life-changing, and purpose-affirming planning and actions. How do your goals for 2023 and beyond relate to the list of 10?

See FORMULA, Page 14

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OPINION

Regarding ‘Around and around we continue to go’ I would like to comment on Pat Fox’s article of December 8, 2022 regarding roundabouts.

As the Transportation Director for the City of Roswell during that time I have intimate knowledge of all the details of the Grimes Bridge at Norcross roundabout project.

First, like many others, I am amazed that a decade has passed since we constructed this milestone project. Second, I am grateful to Mr. Fox for highlighting the significance of this project not only for Roswell, but for the surrounding communities as well.

Mr. Fox did not contact me in advance of publishing this article.

But he didn’t need to. As usual, Mr. Fox did his homework. I can verify his article is accurate in every detail, except for one small one.

The intersection of Grimes Bridge at Norcross was in fact a signalized intersection, not stop controlled.

Regardless, it was consistently one of the highest accident locations in Roswell at the time. The need for improvement at this fivelegged intersection was obvious.

But the idea of improving it at the time using a roundabout was controversial to say the least. Mr. Fox is correct in the fact that the

Formula: Continued from Page 16

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How do finances play into the other nine? Financial self-sufficiency bolsters your ability to aid others, but you don’t have to be wealthy to help.

Read history books and the Old and New Testaments in the Bible.

The world is a mess and always has been, plagued by “unholy moments” that won’t change. But we can change. We can spur Holy Moments in our family, community, country.

There are countless charities locally that we can support with volunteer efforts and giving. Community food banks, North Fulton Community Charities, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Atlanta Mission and the outreach efforts of your house of worship, as examples. Global charities such as Doctors Without Borders and Samaritan’s Purse depend on Holy Moments support.

accident rate declined dramatically after the construction of the roundabout.

This article brought back memories for me that are still vivid today. Ms. Smith, Mr. Burroughs, the large trees, contentious public meetings, the struggle to combat fear and emotion with facts and sound engineering. I also remember how we spent a great deal of time and energy educating the public on how roundabouts worked since this was the first one many drivers had ever experienced. In the end, the citizens put their trust in us and the rest is history. I remain grateful to the Mayor, the City Council, the City staff, and all the residents and stakeholders who supported this groundbreaking project.

Finally, given the recent controversies surrounding the media, including misinformation and disinformation, I am encouraged that there are still professionals like Mr. Fox who take the time to “journal” significant events in our lives in a balanced, accurate and thought provoking manner.

Steve Acenbrak, Former Director, Roswell Department of T ransportation Some Holy Moments may require great personal sacrifice, as in caring for an ailing loved one. But Holy Moments also liberate you from an energy-eroding sense of helplessness.

As Kelly notes, they move us from a passive state (waiting for something good to happen), to an active state (making something good happen).

Holy Moments offer a gift of energy, purpose, and focus.

Order the free book. It’s truly a handbook for a great 2023 and “the rest of your life.”

Lewis Walker, CFP®, is a life centered financial planning strategist with Capital Insight Group; 770-4413553; lewis@capitalinsightgrp.com.

Securities & advisory services offered through The Strategic Financial Alliance, Inc. (SFA). Lewis is a registered representative and investment adviser representative of SFA, otherwise unaffiliated with Capital Insight Group. He’s a Gallup Certified Clifton Strengths Coach and Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA).

AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs | Sandy Springs Crier | January 12, 2023 | 17

APPEN MEDIA’S FIRST EVER

Shopping Spree Giveaway Start the year off right with a chance to win a $1,000 Shopping Spree courtesy of Appen Media and the Crier Newspapers.

Each week, our newsroom will hide this shopping cart image in the newspaper. Once you find it, visit appenmedia.com/shoppingspree and enter 1) Your name 2) Your email 3) The page number you found the image That’s it!

The contest will run for 13 consecutive weeks, so submit an entry each week to maximize your chances of winning.

The winner will be randomly drawn, notified on Monday, April 3rd and announced in the April 13th Crier publications. HAPPY SHOPPING …and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

18 | January 12, 2023 | Sandy Springs Crier | AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs

PERSERVING THE PAST

OPINION

Tree stump stone markers spark grave interest If you have ever visited a cemetery and noticed a stone marker shaped like a tree stump, you experienced a fascinating bit of history. The “tree stone” markers were provided free of charge BOB MEYERS by an insurance Columnist bobmey@bellsouth.net company to its policy holders many years ago. Several of the markers are found in North Fulton cemeteries, others throughout the state. Here is the story behind them.

Joseph Cullen Root (1844-1913) was a philanthropist and businessman who as a young man in Iowa was member of many fraternal organizations. He operated several businesses, including a grain elevator, two flour mills and a store. He sold insurance and real estate, taught bookkeeping and practiced law.

In 1890 he founded Woodmen of the World in Omaha, Nebraska, a membershiponly insurance company. He wanted to create a fraternal membership organization that would look after the financial and social wellbeing of its members and would welcome Jews, Gentiles, Catholics, Protestants, agnostics, and atheists. He believed that working as a woodman cutting trees was a noble occupation, and he was aware that his last name could be associated with the order’s name and might imply an organization growing from its roots, much like a tree in the forest. He wanted to “clear away problems of financial security for its members.”

In 1913, he visited “camps” or “lodges” in the South, including Georgia. He became ill during a Southern tour and died in December 1913 at age 69.

In 1922, Woodmen of the World began its own radio station in Omaha. By 1935 it was one of the most powerful radio stations in the country with 5,000 watts of power.

In 1949 the organization launched a TV channel with local resident Johnny Carson hosting his show “The Squirrel’s Nest.”

From 1890 to 1900, the organization’s life insurance policies had a provision that provided grave markers free of charge to members. From 1900 to the 1920s, members paid as little as $100 for the markers. The cost was added to a member’s life insurance policy with the actual cost determined by how elaborate the member wanted the marker to be. Due to the increasing cost of the stones, the organization discontinued the benefit by the mid-1920s.

A single 4 to 5-foot-high stone was designed for adults and three stacked logs for children. The organization sent the pattern to a local stone carver in the deceased woodman’s hometown.

FIND A GRAVE

Joseph Cullen Root sits for a formal portrait probably in the early part of the last century. Root was a successful businessman who founded a unique membership-based insurance company in Omaha, Nebraska, that provided many social and economic benefits to its members. The Woodmen Life Insurance Society has been very successful over the years and currently has more than $39 billion in life insurance in force.

The pattern could be altered locally as desired. Woodworking tools are sometimes depicted on the stones such as axes or mauls. Doves and lilies were also popular additions. The company moto “Dum Tacet Clamet” (Though silent he speaks) on a round medallion is often carved on the stump.

Ed Malowney, local historian and president of the Alpharetta and Old Milton County Historical Society, has been intrigued by tree stones and has identified the locations of several in North Fulton cemeteries including Clear Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church in Johns Creek and Warsaw Cemetery in Johns Creek.

Todd Wiley, regional director of Woodmen of the World in North Georgia, notes that some markers are 12 to 14 feet tall and very elaborate.

“It all depended on what the policy owner wanted,” he says.

In the North Georgia mountains, there are several tree stones in almost every cemetery, according to Wiley. The cemetery at the Level Grove Baptist church in Cornelia has at least five Woodman markers, for example. Since the Woodmen of the World was a membership organization, the social aspect of affiliation was important, especially in small, isolated mountain communities.

“It provided people with something to

ED MALOWNEY/PROVIDED

In 1890, Joseph Cullen Root founded Woodmen of the World, a fraternal benefit organization, to make life insurance affordable to everyone. During its first 10 years, the company provided free tombstones in the shape of tree trunks with their policies. From 1900 to 1920, members bought a $100 rider on their policies. The tombstones were discontinued in the 1920s. Several tombstones have been found in north Fulton County cemeteries. This tombstone marks the grave of Dr. J.A. Parsons in the Warsaw Cemetery in Johns Creek. do and be involved in,” according to Wiley.

There was a summer camp for children of members in Gainesville, he added.

Woodmen of the World continues to be active in communities in numerous ways. Since 1998, the organization has partnered with the American Red Cross to provide disaster relief nationwide.

Under the program, local Woodmen lodges encourage members to volunteer with their local Red Cross chapters and provide support for Red Cross relief efforts. The company’s national cause is feed the hungry, which it supports by partnering with local soup kitchens and food pantries

throughout the United States.

Tree stone monuments can be found in the West, Midwest and South. Today, Woodmen of the World is also known as Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society.

According to the company, at the end of 2021 the socially conscious organization Root founded had $11.5 billion in assets and more than $39 billion of life insurance in force.

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.

PAST TENSE

OPINION

AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs | Sandy Springs Crier | January 12, 2023 | 19

Nancy Hanks, Airline Belle, and Man o’ War trains In the last Past Tense, I told how Charlie Blackburn rode the Airline Belle from Atlanta to Chamblee, then boarded the Roswell Railroad to visit his grandparents in Dunwoody. There VALERIE are many reasons BIGGERSTAFF people traveled by train to or from Atlanta. Some came to visit family, to get to work or school, attend an event such as a football game, or shop in downtown Atlanta, especially in the days before Christmas.

The train known as Nancy Hanks first began the trip from Savannah to Atlanta in 1893. The trip took about six and a half hours. Georgia Central Railway picked the name Nancy Hanks because of the world record racehorse by that name, rather than Abraham Lincoln’s mother.

Atlanta historian Franklin Garrett describes this first version of the Nancy Hanks as “elaborate and luxurious.” The train was painted royal blue and trimmed in gold leaf with images of the racehorse logo in the frosted glass panels above each window.

The Nancy Hanks only lasted a few months because it caused many accidents. It was too fast for the time, colliding with livestock and unfortunately also with people. It was shut down before the end of 1893.

Georgia Central Railway brought the name Nancy Hanks back in 1947.

A July 10, 1947, article in the Bulloch

PROVIDED

A 1950 advertisement promotes the Central of Georgia Railway’s Nancy Hanks II, a train ride between Savannah and Atlanta. Augusta passengers could connect by way of Millen, Georgia.

Times announced, “Nancy Hanks II: Modern Stream-Liner is Latest Word in Comfort.” A round trip from Savannah to Atlanta began with departure from Savannah at 8 a.m., arrival in Atlanta at 1:40 p.m., departure from Atlanta at 6 p.m. and arrival back in Savannah at midnight.

In September of 1957, football fans could ride the Nancy Hanks to Atlanta for two games. Georgia Tech played Kentucky at 2 p.m. and Georgia played Texas at 8 p.m. Following the second game, a bus would return fans to Terminal Station to leave for Savan-

nah around 11:15 p.m.

Riding the Nancy Hanks II from Savannah or Macon to shop in Atlanta is remembered by many. Stops along the way included Wadley, Tennile, and Griffin. In 1963, the train was owned

by Southern Railway and in 1971 it shut down for good with the beginning of Amtrak.

Just as with other forms of transportation, trains were racially segregated in the South and this continued until 1965, according to the Smithsonian Institute Magazine.

Southern Railway Car Number 1200, a segregated car used on the Southern Railway in Georgia is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Cars such as Number 1200 had smaller bathrooms, no luggage racks, and no amenities.

Blacks sometimes rode in baggage cars and were denied access to dining cars.

Other trains that brought people from small towns to Atlanta include the Air-Line Belle and the Man o’ War. The Air-Line Belle from Toccoa to Atlanta ran from 1879 until 1931. Stops along the way included Duluth, Suwanee, Sugar Hill, Buford, Alto, Lula, Oakwood and Mount Airy.

Clifford M. Kuhn wrote about riding the Air-Line Belle in “Living Atlanta: An Oral History of the City, 1914-1948.” “We’d get the Airline Belle out of Toccoa, which was about three coaches, and a little steam engine.

We’d come down Mitchell Street and turn there to go to Rich’s, Bass’s and

Kress ten-cent store.”

Also named for a racehorse, the Man o’ War ran from Columbus to Atlanta beginning in 1947 and continued until the spring of 1970. Bonnie Smith Nichols and Larry Jordon remember riding the Man o’ War from Atlanta to Columbus on a Dunwoody School field trip in 1957. They visited Fort Benning while in Columbus.

Other stops for this route included Cataula, Pine Mountain, and Hamilton.

Atlanta’s Terminal Station, owned

by Southern Railway, was shut down in 1970 and demolished in 1972.

Union Station in Atlanta was also demolished in 1972.

Marc Hayes of Brookhaven remembers seeing the Nancy Hanks on many occasions when he worked in downtown Atlanta in the 1960s. He worked close to both Terminal Station and the smaller Union Station. “At least a couple of times a week, on my lunch hour, I’d walk over to either or both stations to explore the cavernous Terminal Station and the smaller Union Station.”

Over the sound system, incoming trains were announced. Passengers leaving Atlanta were notified when it was time to board their train and then the words “All Aboard” were called out.

Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media and the Dunwoody Crier.

She lives in Sandy Springs. You can email Valerie at pasttensega@gmail. com or visit her website at pasttensega.com.

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Miscellaneous

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ROOF LEAKING? Call us for roof repair or roof replacement. FREE quotes. $200 OFF Leak Repairs or 10% off New Roof. Affordable, quality roofing. Based in Roswell.

Serving North Atlanta since 1983. Call to schedule FREE Quote: 770-284-3123.

Christian Brothers Roofing

Budget Fabrics And Upholstery

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-FREE Design Consultation• Thousands of designer 770-396-6891 fabrics IN STOCK 770-396-6824 Mon-Fri 8-6 • Sat 8-3

Electricians

Belco Electric

“Family Owned Since 1972” Fast Dependable Service by Professional Uniformed Electricians

770-455-4556

Check out our new website: BelcoInc.com and follow us on:

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24 | January 12, 2023 | Sandy Springs Crier | AppenMedia.com/Sandy_Springs