In the Community
COMMUNITY Police Officers Receive Awards at MADD Georgia Banquet Five Roswell police officers were honored at the 7th Annual Golden Shield Honors, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) of Georgia’s way of saying “thank you” for all officers do to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. Left to right: Officer Erin Awards were given to recognize Johnson, Officer Scott Lappin, Officer Joshua Ott, Officer James law enforcement agencies, Spivey, and Officer Kyle Ratliff. officers and individuals in the community who make a difference. Honorees were able to dedicate their award to a victim of drunk driving that has touched their lives (family, friend, co-worker, or other) in a special way. Roswell police officers honored include: Officer Erin Johnson – Bronze Pin for 31 DUI arrests; Officer Scott Lappin – Silver Pin for 51 DUI arrest; Officer Joshua Ott – Gold Pin for 121 DUI arrests; Officer James Spivey – Bronze Pin for 33 DUI arrests; and Officer Kyle Ratliff – Silver Pin for 83 DUI arrests. Speakers at the event included Governor Nathan Deal speaking on the importance of law enforcement in combating drunk driving, as well as MADD president Laura Dean Mooney who shared how she got involved with MADD and how she is working with volunteers and legislatures across the country to strengthen drunken driving laws and help save lives unnecessarily lost to alcohol crashes.
The Drake Walk and Festival The festival will be held on Saturday, May 14 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and is free to the community. There’s a stroller family-friendly 1-mile walk down Canton Street in Historic Roswell and an easy 5K or 10K for longer walks through Historic Roswell. All walks take place on the sidewalks and are considered gentle with some rolling terrain. Proceeds benefit the The Drake House in Roswell who provides short-term crisis housing, assessment, Congressman Tom Price and wife Roswell council support and empowerment programs member Betty Price with (job readiness, health and wellness, Drake attendee from last parenting skills and personal finances) to over 177 homeless mothers and year’s event. their 321 children since 2006 in the North Fulton area. Walker registration is $15 for individuals and $30 for a family. To register go to http://www.active.com/ walking/roswell-ga/the-drake-walk-2011 or at the event. 6
AroundAbout North Fulton | may 2011
News Private Circus Pre-Show For the second year, Feld Entertainment, which owns and operates the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, has teamed with local natural gas marketer Gas South and the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association to provide circus tickets and a special preshow experience for Atlanta-area children with special needs. More than 500 children and their families attended pre-show events at Philips Arena and the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
Left to right: Ringling Bros. circus performer, Sadie Boggs and dad Luke of Alpharetta, and Alpharetta Mayor Arthur Letchas.
Left to right: Alpharetta resident Adam Laarhoven and Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker.
Pilot Relives Shoot-Down Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Mike Ross, now a resident of Milton, recently told the Cumming Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America about his numerous experiences as a fighter and bomber pilot and relived the painful experience of being shot-down over the Mediterranean Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Mike Ross in what turned out to spoke to the Cumming Chapter of the be a case of friendlyVietnam Veterans of America. fire. The shoot-down happened September 22, 1987 as Ross, flying an RF-4C Phantom and participating in a large Joint-NATO exercise involving American Forces and allies from Britain, Germany and Italy. A board of inquiry determined the Naval Aviator fired an air-to-air missile which struck Ross’s airplane, but never determined what caused it to occur. He shared with the Cumming Vietnam Veterans a video of the incident as recorded by the in-flight camera aboard the navy jet that fired the missile. After leaving the Air Force, Ross spent some time as a pilot in corporate jets. Ross and his wife Cecile, also more on an Air Force retiree reside in Milton. page 8