Sandy Springs Crier - April 13, 2023

Camp Run-A-Mutt prevails in lawsuit with Dunwoody

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Leadership Perimeter schedules Better Sandy Springs Impact Day

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Leadership

Perimeter will host its 21st annual Volunteer for a Better Sandy Springs Community Impact Day from 9 a.m.-noon April 22.

The free event focuses on providing community service to enhance the city’s

public sites and projects, such as nonprofit community gardens, public school playgrounds, parks and trails.

Remaining volunteer sites as of press time include the Abernathy Arts Center, Island Ford, Keep North Fulton Beautiful, Lost Corner Preserve, North Greenway

City, schools police herald partnership for students’ safety

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Police chiefs from Sandy Springs and Fulton County Schools stood at the podium together April 4, a show of unity to the Sandy Springs City Council.

Following the school shooting in Nashville March 27, where an assailant fatally shot six people, Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone said he and Fulton County Schools Police Chief Mark Sulborski have a “great working relationship.”

“We’re constantly doing things together, training, a lot of communication,” DeSimone

said during the council work session.

DeSimone referenced an incident just weeks before when a large fight broke out at a local school that triggered an active shooter alarm.

“It’s stressful for police chiefs. It’s stressful for the officers on the scene. And, we handled it very quickly,” DeSimone said.

FCS Police Chief Sulborski said the department presents age-appropriate educational pieces along with standard school drills. There are four types of drills: evacuation, shelter-in-place, soft lockdown and hard lockdown.

POLICE, Page 12

Park, North Springs High School, Ridgeview Middle School, Ridgeview Park, Sandy Springs Charter Middle School, Sandy Springs Tennis Center, Solidarity Pantry and South Greenway Park.

Leadership Perimeter, a nonprofit that provides leadership development

and civic engagement in Metro Atlanta, founded the annual service day in 2003. It is held the Saturday closest to Earth Day.

Volunteers can sign up for a site of their choice at vbss2023.eventbrite.com.

AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA

From left, Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone and Fulton County Schools Police Chief Mark Sulborski stand before the Sandy Springs City Council at its April 4 work session, reinforcing their partnership. See

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2022

Each week Appen Media requests police incident reports to inform residents about the safety of their community. Sandy Springs continues to withhold what it calls the "narrative reports." It is the only city Appen Media covers that follows this practice, which goes against guidance from the Attorney General, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Sheriff's Association, Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia and Georgia Press Association. Appen Media will continue pursuing the release of documents that belong to the public in order to inform residents how safe - or unsafe - the city is keeping it.

Group focused on eating disorders schedules walk at Alpharetta park

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Atlanta’s annual NEDA Walk will take place April 16 at Webb Bridge Park.

The event is intended to raise awareness about eating disorders and help fund programs provided by the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), the country’s largest nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders.

The organization offers a number of services, including screenings, a helpline and connecting individuals with treatment. So far, Atlanta has raised more than $8,600 toward a goal of more than $18,500.

“People can come out and have a safe place to either celebrate the fact that they’re in recovery or if they know someone, or if they themselves kind of feel like they might be experiencing symptoms,” said Lyla Mills, a counselor at Johns Creek and Alpharetta Counseling.

Mills, who has helped coordinate the Atlanta NEDA Walk since 2017, specializes in eating disorders. She also worked at an eating disorder facility before entering private practice.

NEDA Walks are an educational opportunity, Mills said. They often have dieticians and therapists who speak, and this year, Mills said the event will feature more outpatient providers.

Eating disorders are common, she said, and it’s common for them to go undiagnosed.

“Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes,” Mills said. “It's more so about the patterns and behaviors and thought processes behind the eating than it is about how much you weigh in numbers.”

Check-in is at 9 a.m., and the walk will begin an hour later. Registration is free, but walkers who pay the suggested donation of $25 will receive a T-shirt.

For more information, email nedaatlanta@gmail.com.

Jewish Family and Career Services launches ‘Be Well’ Atlanta initiative

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Jewish Family and Career Services received a $500,000 matching grant from the Zalik Foundation to help address the growing teen mental health needs through a new Jewish Atlanta mental health and wellness program.

The national “Be Well” initiative was developed through a collaboration of the Network of Jewish Human Services Agencies and Jewish Federation of North America. A roadmap was created to develop the program in select cities, and the HorwitzZusman Child & Family Center of Jewish Family and Career Services was selected to lead the initiative in Atlanta.

The funds, secured through the Atlanta Jewish Funder Collaborative led by the Atlanta Jewish Foundation, will be used to support Jewish youth facing mental health challenges as well as those that care for them.

The initiative will focus on the needs of young adults ages 12 to 26, to help them thrive through training, consulting and mobilizing networks of care for positive youth development and overall well-being.

Funding will provide for two professionals and will support connecting the com-

munity to services. In addition, strategies will be developed to best address wait lists and increase capacity, such as expanding therapeutic models, resiliency-building programs and payment options.

For more information on how to support the “Be Well” initiative, contact Atlanta Jewish Foundation Chief Foundation Officer Jori Mendel at jmendel@jewishatlanta. org.

ASHLEY DONAHUE/PROVIDED

Four individuals hold the NEDA Walk banner in 2018 at Piedmont Park. This year’s event is scheduled for April 16 at Webb Bridge Park. Registration is at 9 am. The walk begins at 10 a.m.

Theater loses contract with Roswell, moves operation to Marietta

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — For now, the website for the Roswell Cultural Arts Center says it is “proud to have the Georgia Ensemble Theatre as its resident artist company,” but that relationship is changing.

After more than 30 years of residency in Roswell, the professional mainstage plays at Georgia Ensemble Theatre (GET) will have a new home at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre in Marietta.

Its contract was canceled at a Roswell Recreation Commission meeting in early March with a recommendation that the theater enter the Roswell Cultural Art Center’s Partnership Production contract model.

Since its founding in 1992, the Georgia Ensemble Theatre has operated under a Resident Theatre contract which allowed the company to handle all things related to production.

But in Fiscal Year 2022, the theater presented only three of the five agreedupon productions. There were 47 “dark days” with no programmed activities. The city also cited a high turnover in production managers at GET, four managers in two years.

Production has a high price tag. GET co-founder Anita Allen-Farley said a play is about $60,000 to produce and musicals are well over $100,000.

“It’s expensive, and when you don’t have the money, you have to go … ‘how can we adjust to satisfy our patrons?’” AllenFarley said. “By moving things around, by postponing different shows.”

Allen-Farley and Mary Saville, GET communications director, sat inside the theater’s studio on Hembree Parkway April 4, discussing the Georgia Theater Ensemble’s big move.

City partnership

The new partnership model would have allowed Roswell to help the Georgia Ensemble Theatre with production and marketing, run its box office and patron services, then collect the revenue. David Crowe, Roswell Cultural Arts coordinator, said the city would have found an “equitable split” once paying technical fees.

Many local arts organizations had been struggling with money post-COVID, Crowe said. The city has fostered successful partnerships using a similar model over the past couple of years, he said, like with the Atlanta Balalaika Society, the Atlanta Vocal Project, the Song of Atlanta chorus and the Atlanta Dance Theatre.

Theatre:

Continued from Page 5

“We were trying to find ways to partner with [GET] so that they wouldn’t have to worry about rent anymore,” Crowe said.

The Georgia Ensemble Theatre had been behind on around $30,000 in rent for its space at the Cultural Arts Center. The City of Roswell offered reduced rent to the theater, but Allen-Farley said GET will pay half the cost at the Anderson.

Considering GET’s season isn’t quite over in Roswell, Crowe hasn’t actively sought other theater companies. But he intends to make those connections.

Crowe had been with the city’s Cultural Arts Center since 2015 but has known the founders of Georgia Ensemble Theatre much longer. He said Bob Farley, the late co-founder of the theater, gave him his “first big break” after graduate school to direct at GET. As a young person, Crowe also performed in “Of Mice and Men” in the 2004-2005 season.

“Georgia Ensemble Theatre has been an enormous asset to the city on and off for many years, and it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t find a way to continue working together,” Crowe said. “But the way that I see this is: everything is an opportunity. I think this is a great opportunity for them and for us to find something different, maybe.”

Community connection

Despite city efforts to retain the theater company, Allen-Farley said she couldn’t afford the partnership.

“The biggest issue was the model has [the city] selling all of the tickets, keeping all of the money until after the show is over,” Allen-Farley said. “And I have people that I have to pay, months before we open the show.”

The agreement would have also cut the theater’s 20-week season in half. Saville said producing two shows, rather than four or five, would generate far less income. The cut also would have meant the theater wouldn’t have been able to produce the same variety of shows, Saville said.

The Georgia Ensemble Theatre struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Allen-Farley said it’s been fun to watch more and more patrons fill the seats. She said around 25 percent of the house was filled for the first two shows, which had gone up to 35 percent.

“And now, we’ve had some really nice houses with ‘Bright Star,’” AllenFarley said. For the foreseeable future, “Bright Star” will be GET’s last mainstage production in Roswell.

Many patrons have told Allen-Farley they’ll ride along with her to Marietta and have bought subscriptions, or a package deal. While the move is

only 13 miles away, she knows some won’t be able to follow her. The theater sees an older demographic, and many can’t drive at night.

“What I’ll miss most is that connection that we’ve had,” Allen-Farley said. “We’ve had some people that have had the same seats for 30 years.”

But she’s exploring a shuttle option for those who can’t make the drive themselves.

A new space

The Georgia Ensemble Theatre released a statement, saying staff will continue to be in conversation with Roswell officials about the future and are open to return if an opportunity arose. The theatre also said it would continue its investment into Roswell’s growth and well-being, considering its studio will remain on Hembree Parkway.

The studio hosts the theater’s administrative offices, its conservatory and the GET Travel Team, which takes professional productions to schools and senior communities at their locations. The studio also serves as the rehearsal space for mainstage plays.

The Jennie T. Anderson Theatre has around the same number of seats as the Roswell Cultural Arts Center with 606 seats. It does not include a balcony, but handicap-accessible seating is on the front row.

Saville shared that the Anderson was once home to the Atlanta Lyric Theatre, which recently closed due to a collection of pandemic-related issues, like rising costs, reduced revenue and donations, and audiences’ reluctance to return quickly.

“Being able to regain our footing after our entire industry was closed for over a year has been a very slow process— much slower than anyone anticipated— and we all need patience, understanding and grace while we’re still in the ‘rebuilding’ phase,” Saville said.

While GET is raising prices of premium seating, it has made more “budgetfriendly” seats available at the Anderson Theatre. Preview plays will be $15 a ticket, and regular performances will range from $25 to $70. Discounts will be offered to seniors, students, educators, military/veterans and first responders.

The Georgia Ensemble Theatre is set to produce three plays at the Anderson, in October, February and April, though the titles have yet to be announced. GET will also co-produce two musicals in the Overture Series with the Anderson Theatre, “The Light in the Piazza” in December and “Ragtime” in June of 2024.

“I think people will enjoy the experience of watching a play [at the Anderson Theatre]. It is a change. But that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad thing,” Saville said. “Change is just inevitable.”

Frank Paras

Tara Tucker

Installation Services Local Team Leader

Building a Parkinson’s support team

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

This is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Join us on April 22nd as we help sponsor the Parkinson’s Optimism Walk. You’ll feel the hope and support provided for this progressive disease by the Georgia Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association. (Visit their website at apdaparkinson.org/GA for details.)

Recent studies show Parkinson’s affects over 1,000,000 Americans, with over 90,000 new cases diagnosed annually. While there are early onset cases, the main risk factor is age - with over 90% occurring after age 60. It can be hard to diagnose and comes on slowly. When the brain cells that make the chemical dopamine stop working it impacts movement, thinking and behavior. There’s no definitive cause but aging, repeated head injuries and exposure to environmental toxins are factors. Men are twice as likely to be diagnosed, and while there may be some genetic issues it’s rare to run in families.

Tremors are a major symptom but not everyone has this. Slowness of movement, stiffness or tight muscles, balance instability, walking or gait difficulties, a decrease in arm swinging when walking, loss of smell (often months or years earlier), gastrointestinal issues, loss of facial expression,

monotone or decreasing vocal strength, fatigue, insomnia, cognitive changes and depression or anxiety are all symptoms. With two or more of these, it’s time to consult your doctor about a visit to a neurologist with Parkinson’s training or a Movement Disorder Specialist.

With a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, it’s important to build a support system. While there is no cure, there are a number of treatments that can maximize your potential with this disease and not let it overwhelm your life and outlook. This includes highly individualized medications like carbidopa and levodopa, physical, occupational and speech therapy for daily lifestyle changes to maintain fitness, balance and strength building, stress reduction, good sleep habits and maintaining a healthy diet high in fruits, vegetables and unprocessed foods. To help manage this you need a team of professionals that includes your Primary Care Physician, Neurologist, a Movement Disorder Specialist, Nutritionist, Therapy providers and Psychologist.

Being a Care Partner for a loved one with Parkinson’s is a critical role. As an advocate, educating yourself, managing the daily care process and coordinating with the care team is crucial. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease and can take years to progress, so it’s just as important to care for yourself. To keep up your stamina you have to take time and get some respite and additional support.

Camp Run-A-Mutt prevails in dog barking litigation

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — A local doggy day care ended a lengthy legal dispute with the City of Dunwoody after the business won a March 7 decision that dismissed residential noise complaints.

The Dunwoody Municipal Court ruled against a City of Dunwoody public nuisance lawsuit against Camp Run-AMutt. The petition to “abate a public nuisance” is the latest issue in an ongoing legal battle between the business and the city.

Dawn Sperry opened Camp Run-AMutt with her now deceased husband in 2018. Sperry said the business received no noise complaints until June 2021, when the city issued the doggy day care an animal noise nuisance citation.

The residents had complained about consistent barking and other noises from the dogs while they were outside. Sperry said the noise issues likely started with the onset of COVID-19, when people began working from home in larger numbers.

“Nothing changed, we were just getting complaints,” Sperry said.

To mitigate noise issues, Sperry said the business spent over $10,000 on various efforts, including speakers outdoors to play music that drowns out the barking noises.

The noise mitigation efforts played into a plea deal that Camp Run-AMutt struck with the city in November 2021. Under the plea agreement, the nuisance citation fee would be waived because of the $10,000 spent on noise reduction. The plea also stated that the doggie daycare was permitted to exist within the city’s zoning ordinance.

Sperry’s attorney Gray Brantley said the noises that come from the doggy day care are exempt from noise ordinances. He said the sounds are “a normal part of operations” allowed within the city’s zoning code.

The plea was accepted, and Sperry thought her legal dispute was over. Then the city hit Camp Run-A-Mutt with a civil “public nuisance abatement” in January 2022.

“Basically, it was the same suit (as before), but the city just changed the name and took it to a different court,” Sperry said.

Rather than go to court, Sperry tried to resolve things with the city through a temporary consent order, in which the business voluntarily agreed to changes to help deal with the noise complaints.

The temporary consent order was established in March 2022. Under the

order, Sperry had to restrict the dogs to outdoor time between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, the dogs were not allowed outside except for a single, non-barking supervised dog taken out to use the bathroom.

Camp Run-A-Mutt followed the agreement until September, but Sperry said it wasn’t sustainable for the dogs or the employees.

“We told the city, it’s not working for us,” Sperry said.

The small space was not built to accommodate all the dogs for long periods, Sperry said. She asked the city to adjust the order to allow dogs outside from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. but the city refused. The business then sought a legal remedy.

Attorney Brantley said the public nuisance abatement was a “breach of

the plea” from November 2021.

“If my client agreed to a plea agreement, the city is bound by it,” Brantley said.

The attorney said the suit was a matter of “plea remorse” and moved to dismiss it. After the dismissal was rejected, they went to trial.

Brantley said Camp Run-A-Mutt supplied evidence of all their sound mitigation measures in court. Business owner Sperry said they even conducted a sound study to prove the sound levels were normal for the area.

On March 7, Brantley and Camp Run-A-Mutt won the case.

“We’re pleased with the court’s decision,” Brantley said.

Dunwoody Communications Director Jennifer Boettcher provided a comment about the case on behalf of the city.

“We pursued the case to address persistent nuisance complaints from neighbors,” Boettcher said. “We respect the judge’s decision and appreciate the process.”

After spending over $10,000 on noise mitigation and nearly $30,000 on legal fees, Sperry says she is relieved that the business can return to normal operations.

“We have a weight lifted off of our shoulders,” Sperry said.

Sperry has her sights set on other goals for the business, like expanding and updating the outdoor areas. She plans to keep sound mitigation in mind for the benefit of nearby residents. The dogs will be allowed outside from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Sunday, but Sperry said she will keep them indoors until after Sunday church services.

DELANEY TARR / APPEN MEDIA

Camp Run-A-Mutt is celebrating a favorable decision in a legal battle with the City of Dunwoody over noise complaints lodged against the business.

WW II soldiers welcomed into local homes

When the United States entered World War II and Lawson General Hospital for wounded soldiers opened in nearby Chamblee, Effie McGaughey began thinking of ways to help recovering soldiers. McGaughey’s summer home was on what was Spruill Road and later became Meadow Lane. The home was a social gathering spot to a place for injured soldiers to rest and relax, known as Serviceman’s Shelter.

In “The Story of Dunwoody,” by Ethel Spruill and Elizabeth Davis, the authors describe the McGaughey home.

“Using a rustic building on the McGaughey property and colorful festive lanterns, church groups, community clubs, and Atlanta groups took turns at entertaining the boys and furnishing food and dance partners.”

Mrs. McGaughey also donated money for a new mobile emergency kitchen, capable of feeding 2,000 people. The truck could be driven around to different parts of Atlanta as part of the canteen corps of the Atlanta Red Cross. (Atlanta Constitution, June 7, 1942, “Canteen Corps Given Mobile Kitchen Here”)

Effie McGaughey and other Atlanta women organized a committee to plan parties for recovering soldiers around Atlanta. At the home of Carroll and Effie McGaughey, soldiers were entertained and treated with a barbeque supper and swimming, while listening to music by the Georgia Tech band, and a movie shown on an outdoor screen. (Atlanta Constitution, July 12, 1944, “Many parties are planned for convalescent officers”)

Mr. and Mrs. Ryburn Clay were on the list of homes opened to officers stationed in and around Atlanta. Their summer home was along the Chattahoochee River off Spalding Drive, and it included a swimming pool, tennis court, barn, horses and riding rings.

In August of 1944, the president of the Girls Battalion Club, Mary Parham Woolfolk, announced a swimming party and picnic at the Clay home, known as Lazy River Farm. The party was held for the officers of the armed forces stationed in and around Atlanta. (Atlanta Constitution, August 10, 1944, “Girls’ battalion gives picnic Sunday”)

The Girl’s Battalion Club was a group of 100 young women, usually from the “society” of 1940s Atlanta, who were organized to furnish hospitality to the armed forces stationed in and around Atlanta. Every Friday, the group sent members

THE INK PENN Swing into spring with the Dunwoody Garden Club

The first day of spring, or the vernal equinox, fell on Monday, March 20 this year. Until I Googled the date, I’d forgotten that the vernal equinox is one of two days in the year when day and night are of equal length. Thank you Encyclopedia Britannica. Whatever the official meaning, in the South, that also means azaleas will be blooming and the neverending dusting of pollen will be in full swing.

to Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee to play Bingo with the patients. (Atlanta Constitution, August 2, 1942, “And nowhospitality for the officers in service”)

Ida Akers and her husband William owned a summer home known as Idalakers along Spalding Drive. She was a member of the Iris Garden Club, named for her favorite flower. In 1942, she was asked by a friend who lived far away to visit a patient at Lawson General Hospital. She gathered 100 gardenia blossoms from Idalakers and delivered them to the hospital for all the patients to enjoy. (Atlanta Constitution, July 1, 1942)

The Anderson family entertained injured soldiers at their home on the corner of Tilly Mill Road and Mount Vernon Road with Sunday dinner, often following services at the Baptist church. Jane and Carolyn Anderson took their visitors around to see the sights of Dunwoody. Other families who entertained soldiers and patients of Lawson General Hospital were the Burell, Martin, and Kirby families.

Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media and the Sandy Springs Crier. She lives in Sandy Springs. You can email Valerie at pasttensega@gmail.com or visit her website at pasttensega.com.

It’s also the time of year when Dunwoody residents most appreciate the work of the Dunwoody Garden Club. Look around our community, and you will see the club’s output. The flowers at the entrance to Brook Run Park and the memorial benches for relaxation are thanks to the DGC. When you visit the Dunwoody Library and enjoy the landscaping at the entrance and the atrium planter, picture DGC members hard at work

Visit the North Woods Pavilion at Dunwoody Nature Center on Roberts Drive and Windwood Hollow Park on Lakeside Drive for other examples of their work. Do you have business at Dunwoody City Hall? The flagpole, flag and plantings out front are compliments of the DGC.

The Dunwoody Garden Club also contributes to and works with other Dunwoody, Atlanta-area, and Georgia organizations to beautify, maintain and grow our surroundings. Organizing and conducting community outreach projects in support of seniors, veterans, those in need, and the Georgia Regional Hospital – Atlanta keeps them busy, too.

I think of the members of this amazing club as a group of Energizer bunnies with a passion for digging in the dirt and bringing joy to the residents of Dunwoody. But it takes more than unending energy and passion. It takes the support of the community.

Whether you’re like me and sport two brown thumbs, or you’ve got a bit of gardening talent, you can show your support by attending the club’s annual fundraiser.

See PENN, Page 12

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist

PHOTO COURTESY OF “THE STORY OF DUNWOODY” During World War II, Effie and Carroll McGaughey entertained injured soldiers from Lawon General Hospital.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JANE ANDERSON AUTRY Jane Anderson spends the afternoon with a soldier from Lawson General Hospital.

KATHY MANOS PENN Columnist

Police:

Continued from Page 1

“An active shooter piece? I think by state law, we’re going to have to,” Sulborski said. “I think that’s something that we’re looking at addressing and probably reaffirming in some of the training that we do.”

While not explicitly active-shooter training, Sulborski said hard lockdown pertains to the similar protocol.

When City Councilwoman Melody Kelley asked what the community can do to help keep people safe, DeSimone said parents should ask the schools questions about their security plan, drills and officer presence. Sulborski added parents should also talk to their children about potential traumatic incidents.

“No one knows your kids better than you do,” Sulborski said.

School campuses

Excluding the City of Atlanta, Sul-

borski said FCS Police work with over a dozen jurisdictional partners to cover 108 school sites that span 400 square miles, allocating two officers to each high school and one to each middle school. He said elementary schools are covered by a “patrol function,” a free-floating unit unattached to specific schools.

License plate readers are on all Fulton County School campuses, Sulborski said.

“If those plate readers identify somebody who’s a known problem, then we’re alerted before 911 gets the call,” Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said. “And those seconds, in those situations, are literally life and death.”

Some agencies also have speed detection devices, Sulborski said, but they must go through a permitting process that requires the signature of the Fulton County Schools superintendent, he said.

Mayor Paul, who lives near a local school, said he observes high traffic and speeding daily.

“Anything we can do, any tools that we can have available for all of our sake, to mitigate that speeding issue through

the school zones, is something that we’re very interested in,” Paul said. “It’s not about revenue for us, never has been about revenue for us. It’s about deterrence.”

Community forest

In other action April 4, the City Council adopted the Community Forest Master Plan at its regular meeting, contributing five points to the city’s Green Communities Certification.

The master plan combines two documents. The first is the 2021 Canopy Study, which provides a snapshot of

Penn:

Continued from Page 10

You are invited to the Dunwoody Garden Club's 45th annual card party, luncheon, fashion show, and silent auction on Tuesday, April 25.

It will be held at the same location as in recent years, the spacious Fellowship Hall at Dunwoody United Methodist Church, 1548 Mount Vernon Road, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 each. Reserve yours now and bring your friends, too. Sit down for a light breakfast with unlimited coffee. Play games and take a break to peruse and bid on the silent auction items. Top that off with a delicious lunch and a Chico's spring fashion show.

Come at 10 a.m. to play cards, Mah Jong, or another game of your

the city’s tree coverage based on data collected in 2019. Catherine MercierBaggett, Sandy Springs sustainability manager, said the study will be updated this year.

The second piece of the master plan is the Community Trees Management Plan, which includes an analysis of city-owned trees and recommendations for maintaining a healthy urban forest. The survey inspected 11,400 cityowned trees and found that they capture 359,000 pounds of CO2 annually, remove 12,000 pounds in air pollutants and intercept 3,345,000 gallons in stormwater runoff.

The city plants 200 trees every year, Mercier-Baggett said.

“I believe next year is going to be a really big year for tree planting because we have such a large number of big public works projects,” she said.

The City Council also voted to acquire three properties through eminent domain for improvements at the Johnson Ferry Road and Mount Vernon Highway intersection. Councilmembers also voted to purchase one property for the same project for $185,000.

“I want you to know that a lot of hard work has gone into the design by the Public Works staff,” City Attorney Dan Lee said. “And, the Land Acquisition Department has done a robust job of trying to settle with the property owners to make this as easy on them as possible.”

choice. Not into games? Arrive a bit later to socialize, bid on the silent auction items, and enjoy the luncheon and fashion show.

The silent auction items are donated by local merchants and friends, who, year after year, generously support this event. Among the tempting items, you’ll find restaurant gift certificates, passes to area attractions, fine art and jewelry, gift baskets, beauty, hair, nail & spa packages, a bounty of live plants and flowers, and more. I’m still enjoying the necklace I bid on several years ago.

The DGC invites you to join the party. It’s an opportunity to play games, spend time with friends, and enjoy food, fashion, and shopping. Tickets can be purchased on the DGC website or by calling Bonnie at 770-639-3510. The ticket purchase deadline is Sunday, April 16. Get your tickets early and Swing into Spring with the Garden Club! I hope to see you there.

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/.

“Anything we can do, any tools that we can have available for all of our sake, to mitigate that speeding issue through the school zones, is something that we're very interested in. It's not about revenue for us, never has been about revenue for us. It's about deterrence.”

RUSTY PAUL Sandy Springs Mayor