05-12-17 Buckhead Reporter

MAY 12 - 25, 2017• VOL. 11 — NO. 9

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► Eyed for trails, pipeline routes are serious business PAGE 4 ► Buckhead company keeps ‘quirky’ old-school sodas fizzing PAGE 6

New sculpture unveiled at Loudermilk Park

Park dispute triggers talk of revised tree ordinance

BY EVELYN ANDREWS evelyn@reporternewspapers.net

PHIL MOSIER

A new 12-foot-tall abstract sculpture designed by John Portman was unveiled Tuesday, May 9, at the renovated Charlie Loudermilk Park. Standing with the sculpture, titled “Aspiration,” are, from left, Charlie Loudermilk, founder of Aaron’s, Inc.; Jim Durrett, executive director of the Buckhead Community Distict, which commissioned the sculpture; and John Portman, the architect and developer known for designing the Westin Peachtree Plaza and the Hyatt Regency. More pictures, page 24.►

EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATOR Teaching literature through life Page 20

OUT & ABOUT Storyteller ‘Rosie the Riveter’ comes to town Page 19 I want to see a competition that celebrates our everyday Home Kitchen challenges. ...

The Chairman would be the Original Iron Chef’s Mother-in-Law. Prizes are a month’s supply of lasagna and a spa weekend. A chef wins if her kids eat her food.

Robin’s Nest, page 15

Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance May 1 that will allow a developer to route a storm water drainpipe through Peachtree Hills Park, cutting down trees in the process. The nonprofit Trees Atlanta says the development is one example of why Atlanta’s tree ordinance needs to be rewritten.

“In the end, Trees Atlanta, the City Arborist Division, the Tree Conservation Commission and community have to work with the existing tree ordinance and it is often not enough to save trees,” Trees Atlanta, which is dedicated to preserving Atlanta’s trees, said in a statement.

The developer, Ashton Woods, will install a four-foot storm water drainpipe in Peachtree Hills Park, emptying into Peachtree Creek and requiring the removal of seven park trees, a small part See PEACHTREE on page 12

‘Tiny houses’ could help Buckhead affordability

BY EVELYN ANDREWS evelyn@reporternewspapers.net

“Tiny houses” allowed under a new zoning rule could provide Buckhead with much-needed affordable housing, some neighborhood leaders say, though there also concerns about potential use as short-term rentals.

The Atlanta City Council took a step toward embracing “tiny houses” – an affordable housing tactic — at its May 1 meeting by approving an ordinance that See TINY on page 13

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Officials hail early reopening of I-85

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move up the date. The bridge will open a full month ahead of the original date of June 15 given immediately after the collapse.

“This is a day of celebration,” Deal said.

The interstate has been closed near Piedmont Road in Buckhead since a fire collapsed a section of the overpass March 30, causing significant traffic delays and costing up to $16.6 million to rebuild the bridge. That estimate includes up to $3.1 million in incentives for the contractor if crews finish reconstruction before May 21.

I-85 will reopen no later than the morning of May 15, Gov. Nathan Deal announced.

Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said at a May 10 press conference that crews still need to install side barriers and do electrical work. Resurfacing of roads inside of the closed area, which was initially planned as a summer project, will also be completed when I-85 opens, he said.

McMurry reiterated that the bridge will be completely safe and has been inspected thoroughly.

GDOT previously announced May 1 that I-85 would reopen by Memorial Day weekend, but has PHIL MOSIER been able to The early stage of the I-85 overpass reconstruction.

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Mansion owner seeks to restore historic rooster-topped wall

• Divorce • Child Custody, Visitation and Support • Alimony and Spousal Support • Pre-Nuptial and Post Nuptial Agreements • Modification of Child Support, Custody and Alimony • Legitimation and Paternity

The original, hand-drawn sketch for the Thornton House’s entrance gate as found and copied by Dr. Robin Fowler in the Atlanta History Center files.

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• Restraining and Protective Orders • Grandparents and Third-Party Custody/Visitation • Child support and alimony enforcement • Complex family law cases • LGBT law • Mediation

Dennis G. Collard, Attorney Midtown resident

BY EVELYN ANDREWS evelyn@reporternewspapers.net

The owner of a mansion at 205 West Paces Ferry Road is restoring the historic house, but must receive permission from the city of Atlanta before he can rebuild the original wall and gate topped with a pair of rooster statues.

Robin Fowler, the owner of the mansion designed by Philip Trammell Shutze, an Atlanta architect best known for the Atlanta History Center’s Swan House, discovered the two rooster statues half-buried behind his house.

Determined to save the statues and restore other historic features, such as a cobblestone starburst design in the driveway, Fowler found the original blueprints for the property and learned the rooster statues sat atop a gate at the entrance to the house, known as the Thornton House.

To build the wall and gate according to the original design and top it with the statues, Fowler must first receive a zoning adjustment from the city. The original blueprints call for the walls to be 11 feet, 6 inches tall, while zoning allows for 6 feet.

Fowler’s request was planned to be ruled on at the May 4 meeting of the Zoning Adjustment Board, but a wrong measurement caused his request to be deferred until June 1.

Both Department of City Planning staff and NPU-B have recommended approving the request, but one neighbor is against the plan, Fowler said.

Fowler has received letters of support from 12 of 13 of his South Tuxedo Park neighbors, but one is against the walls being built, showing up to the zoning adjustment board meeting to speak against the plan. The neighbor, whose house is across from Fowler’s and down a hill, fears the wall would block sunlight from her property, Fowler said.

However, the staff report from the planning department said the walls won’t “unduly prevent passage of light and air to adjoining properties.”

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Dr. Robin Fowler, showing one of the rooster statues he hopes to sit atop a gate at the entrance to his house.

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A pipeline warning sign in Sandy Springs.

Eyed for trails, pipeline routes are serious business

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A ribbon of green space crosses High Point Road in Sandy Springs, with manicured shrubbery on one side and a church’s community garden on the other. Only a close look at warning signs reveals that beneath it, jet fuel and gasoline flow in an underground pipe.

Operated by Alpharetta-based Colonial, it’s part of the same pipeline that had a major leak and fatal explosion in Alabama last fall. In March, Colonial dug up that section of High Point Road to repair what a spokesperson calls a “slight manufacturing defect” in the pipe that had not yet caused any leak.

Colonial and another company, Plantation, have three petroleum pipelines running through neighborhoods and along waterways in Brookhaven, Buckhead, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.

Those Alabama disasters are among the reasons pipelines are increasingly controversial nationwide. On the other hand, that High Point Road preventative maintenance is an example of why the industry touts a “99.999 percent” rate of delivery without accidents.

And that community garden is the kind of public use of the little-noticed pipeline rights of way that have Sandy Springs parks advocates eyeing them as potential routes for a multiuse trail network.

Local routes

The local pipelines are segments of much larger routes. Plantation’s, built in the early 1940s, runs between Louisiana and Washington, D.C. Colonial’s, built in the 1960s and ’70s, runs between Texas and the New York City area. Both carry refined petroleum products, such as jet fuel, gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel and bio-diesel or ethanol.

The pipelines are little-noticed on purpose. The federal government and the companies keep the exact route maps secret from the general public, citing security concerns. However, the government

provides a general map, and the right of way is dotted with small, round warning signs to anyone who might dig and get a nasty surprise.

In Reporter Newspapers communities, the pipelines generally run along the Chattahoochee River, then head east on three routes largely shared by both companies. One route – through Buckhead, Sandy Springs and Brookhaven – loosely follows Long Island and Nancy creeks, running under Roswell Road and Ga. 400.

Another pipeline branches into Sandy Springs neighborhoods south of Dalrymple Road and runs east into Dunwoody’s Wynterhall area, just north of Dunwoody Village.

The third route runs through northern Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, largely following Georgia Power Co.’s 200-foot-wide high-voltage transmission line easement.

Safety and spills

In a nation that loves low-cost oil power but hates pollution and eminent domain, petroleum pipelines are in high demand and increasingly controversial.

The Midwest’s Dakota Access pipeline has drawn huge protests over property rights and leak risks. In March, lawsuits and legislation froze plans by Kinder Morgan, Plantation’s parent company, for its proposed Palmetto petroleum pipeline in east Georgia.

When Colonial’s Alabama leak happened, most metro Atlanta reaction focused on the spike in gas prices, not the possibility of a similar disaster here. Just months earlier, Colonial had repaired a potential flaw in the Sandy Springs pipeline near Dalrymple Road, which is adjacent to the Lost Corner Preserve park and Spalding Drive Elementary School.

Leaks are inevitable in the liquid transport industry, officials agree, and safety estimates are relative matters of degree. Christopher Jones, an Arizona State University professor who studies pipelines, wrote in a recent article that the “99.999 percent” leak-free pipeline re-

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cord still amounts to an average of a significant leak per day somewhere in the country, and the leaks are largely self-reported. Pipeline industry groups say that most leaks that do happen are small.

The alternatives -- railroads and tanker trucks – carry their own obvious risks.

In a 2015 incident that gave local officials a serious, still-discussed scare, a diesel tanker crashed off an I-285 overpass onto Ga. 400. That truck didn’t leak or burn, but if it had, officials have said, there could have been mass casualties and a traffic disaster that would dwarf the recent I-85 collapse.

Colonial and Kinder Morgan say they have various safety inspection measures, including automated systems to detect unusual activity within the pipes and inspectors who walk on and fly over the routes. They also run devices called “smart pigs” down the pipes. The devices have sensors that can detect even small cracks or imperfections.

“We have robust system integrity [and] inspection and maintenance programs that meet or exceed all federal regulatory requirements,” said Colonial spokesperson Malesia Dunn.

“Nothing is perfect and nothing is perfectly risk-free, but we strive for that,” said Kinder Morgan spokesperson Melissa Ruiz, who was on her way to a largescale emergency response practice drill in Arizona. Pipelines are much safer than

Local cities have leak response plans trucking petroleum, she said. coordinated with the pipeline compaIt has been almost 20 years since a nies and say they have no particularly inmajor leak occurred on a local pipeline. creased concerns since the Alabama inciKinder Morgan said it has reported no lodent. The advocacy group Chattahoochee cal leaks since the year 2000, while ColoRiverkeeper -- which is opposing a pronial says it has reported one in that periposed natural od, a “small leak gas pipeline within our propin south Georerty fence line in gia -- also citFulton.” ed the spill reThe most response plans cent major leak when asked shows the stakes about any loand that inspeccal pipeline tions don’t alconcerns. ways work. In “We main1998, the Colotain a close dinial pipeline alogue with in the Georgia officials from Power right of Colonial Pipeway along Sanline and have dy Springs’ Morobserved gan Falls Road emergency recracked unsponse drills der the weight and preparaof landfill, spillJOHN RUCH tions in case ing more than Warning signs at a Sandy Springs community a spill was to 30,000 gallons of garden note that the Colonial and Plantation ever happen gasoline, accordpipelines run under the area. locally,” said ing to a federal Riverkeeper’s Jason Ulseth. “Of course, report. Only about 17,000 gallons could be we hope that day never comes.” cleaned up, at a cost of more than $3.2 million. The leak was noticed by a local recyPipelines as paths cling center employee, not Colonial’s deFor safety reasons, permanent structection systems, the federal report says.

tures can’t be built atop the pipeline routes. (An Atlanta Braves marketing executive said at a Sandy Springs event last year that the new SunTrust Park plan had to be reoriented around a pipeline running right through that property.) In some places, that makes them natural footpaths, such as in the Cochran Shoals area of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

The Sandy Springs Conservancy, a parks advocacy group, is eyeing pipeline and other utility rights of way for potential multiuse trails, and exploring that idea was included in that city’s new land-use plan.

Colonial and Kinder Morgan said that such trails are possible, though there may be devils in the details. In practical terms, small plantings and surface paving are OK, while large trees or buildings are not.

“Shallow gardens and nature trails are generally permissible,” said Colonial’s Dunn, adding that the company donates supplies to that High Point church garden.

“The short answer is that it depends,” said Kinder Morgan’s Ruiz, noting that Planation often has easements on property owned by others. “Easement agreements have different restrictions based on the location, what is flowing through the pipeline, and what a landowner is interested in doing.”

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Buckhead soda company bubbles up with offbeat brands

BY JACLYN TURNER Atlanta may always be equated with Coca-Cola, but a Buckhead-based soda company adds some pop to the market by keeping unusual and regional favorites alive.

Monarch Beverage Company produces such old-school brands as Kickapoo Joy Juice and Ramblin’ Root Beer for a market that includes fans of the new “craft soda” trend and people seeking a taste of nostalgia.

Founded in 1965 in Atlanta by Frank Armstrong, a former Coca-Cola executive, Monarch operates from a local office in the 3630 Peachtree Road tower and an international outpost in Paris.

The company seeks out drinks with a regional market that could capitalize on having a distinct popularity and loyal following, according to Mariam Diallo, head of marketing. Its two main brands in the U.S. are Kickapoo and Ramblin’.

More than 99 percent of Monarch’s beverages are consumed overseas, mostly in Asian, African and Latin American countries.

“It can be very hard to compete with Coke,” Diallo said, “but we differentiate ourselves with specialty drinks that

can be regionally adapted, like a horchata ... or tamarind drinks in Africa.”

Kickapoo and Ramblin’ Root Beer are bottled in Coca-Cola facilities. Monarch holds the international rights, but not the domestic rights, to other brands, such as American Cola, Bubble Up and Nesbitt’s.

Kickapoo Joy Juice was based on the newspaper comic strip “Li’l Abner,” which launched in the 1930s and

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Kickapoo Joy Juice soda in a sample retail store display.

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continued until the 1970s. The drink debuted in the United States in 1965.

Kickapoo Joy Juice was also the first brand Monarch introduced internationally, and is currently the number one citrus soda drink in Malaysia and Singapore.

The comic branded the mixture as a “volatile brew” that Al Capp, the cartoonist, described as “a liquor of such stupefying potency that the hardiest citizens of Dogpatch, after the first burning sip, rose into the air, stiff as frozen codfish.”

For fans of the comic, the drink’s recipe remained an enigma. Through the years, the comic-strip drink supposedly contained anything from live grizzly bears to panthers to kerosene, horseshoes and anvils.

That’s not the Joy Juice of today, or reality, however. The citrusy original debuted in 1965, has flavoring similar to Mountain Dew, is made with real sugar and has more caffeine than its soda counterparts.

In 2014, in efforts to revive the brand, Monarch released three cocktail-inspired varieties: Fuzzy Navel, Fruit Shine, a sangria flavor, and Maliblu, a blue piña colada soda.

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with a commercial featuring a very young Sarah Jessica Parker. The CocaCola Co. originally distributed it, until they obtained the rights to Barq’s root beer.

Monarch acquired and revamped the brand in 2008, and recently added more flavors to the line-up, with rose cream, butterscotch and maple varieties.

“Craft soda sales, which is the market we are in, are rising,” said U.S. sales manager Ted Hatcher. “It’s not that people don’t want to drink soda. It’s that they are tired of the regular, everyday [flavors]. People are wanting a different flavor, and that’s where we come in.”

Monarch aims Kickapoo Joy Juice at three target audiences: the nostalgia audience that grew up with the Li’l Abner comics; craft soda lovers who are seeking an artisanal experience; and a young population wanting something unconventional.

“Part of the customer base is nostalgia, but sodas are also a young person’s drink. Mountain Dew works with extreme sports and connecting with young people. We chose the video games and geek subculture,” said Diallo.

The goal is for these young adults to think, ‘It’s a quirky, funny brand that

speaks to me. I’ve made it my own and I share it with my friends.’”

“One of the things we struggle with as a small company is finding distribution,” said Hatcher. “We work with a lot of partners to get where we are. We’re really a niche in a hidden market that is somewhat saturated. We are having an interesting time in the U.S. getting our products out there, because Coke and Pepsi are such big players, and there are others. We want to start in Atlanta and expand outwards.”

Kickapoo Joy Juice and Ramblin’ Root Beer now can be purchased on Amazon.com and through small merchants such as Rocket Fizz in Decatur, H-Mart in Chamblee, Cracker Barrels, and many package stores. Monarch is in talks to get its products sold through large chain retailers, such as Publix grocery stores and Sam’s Club big-box stores.

Monarch has also set up tastings at local festivals and promoted its drinks at Georgia Tech games.

After realizing that Kickapoo Joy Juice mixes well with alcohol, company officials have held events at bars and are a sponsor of Dad’s Garage, an Atlanta theater company, which offers a “Dad’s Juice” cocktail of Joy Juice, vodka and cranberry juice.

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Monarch Beverage marketing director Mariam Diallo and U.S. sales manager Ted Hatcher in the company’s Buckhead office.

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Bon Ton: Kicking up Cajun flavors with Vietnamese flair

BY MEGAN VOLPERT I went to LSU (Geaux Tigers!) and the thing I miss most is the food. Good Cajun or Creole food is hard to find in Atlanta. I want a place with a laminated menu, because you don’t change what’s working – the kind of menu you hold on to and keep ordering from until everybody is full and yet everybody has leftovers to take home.

The kind of menu that doubles as a coaster for my Abita pint and a placemat for stray shrimp tails.

Enter Bon Ton, located in the Midtown space formerly occupied by Top Flr, brought to you by the folks responsible for The Lawrence and also the folks from the Crawfish Shack on Buford Highway. We can talk about real estate and brand marketing until we’re blue in the face, but look: the food has to make my mouth water and then it has to make my eyes water, both because it’s so dang spicy and because it reminds me of Baton Rouge. Can Bon Ton do that for me? Yes, indeed it can.

First we have to have drinks. They put their sazerac on tap, which is a solid strategy for quickly delivering a no frills cocktail that’s otherwise quite labor intensive. Or if you’re feeling fussy, indulge yourself in a half hour’s pontification about whether the classic French 75 is best ordered “full Hannah” style. By the time you get to the bottom of the highball, that cognac will have you forgetting what all you’re arguing.

If you prefer liquor full of ice, they have two amazing slushies – a Pimm’s Cup and a Vietnamese Irish Coffee. Heck, order one for dessert and enjoy the changing colors on your go-cup as the slushy melts. The large is $13 and you won’t need a second one.

Like all good Louisiana spots, Bon Ton emphasizes the holy trinity of preps: boil, fry and pickle. The House Boil comes with snow crab, jumbo shrimp, mussels, clams, potatoes and corn for $30 per person. Fry baskets of crawfish, jumbo shrimp or catfish will run you $10, with a double order costing double. A single basket also works as an appetizer for several people. Before they do the fry, the kitchen dunks that crawfish in the boil liquid. Way beyond simply seasoning the batter with Tony Chachere’s, making use of the boil like that ensures that every morsel can set your lips aflame in the best way.

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The best sandwich is the blackened catfish banh mi, which most excellently combines Cajun blackening with Vietnamese pickling. It is a little known fact that there are so many good Vietnamese places to eat in New Orleans – because in some ways, French is French. You can find that super soft loaf of bread at either kind of place, and you can find it at Bon Ton as well, perched high atop some gumbo where the sausage is properly spicy and the roux is properly thickened.

Also testifying to the Vietnamese influence is the bright and fresh spicy jicama and papaya salad, which is covered in chilis, lime, cilantro, ginger and mint. The red beans and rice lean Vietnamese, too. Most Gulf Coast kitchens put enough lard in those beans to run you right into the hospital, but Bon Ton reigns in the fat with a stronger tomato base that won’t clog your arteries and will keep much better in the fridge for a couple days.

With real deal Louisiana flavors at such reasonable prices in a truly sweet location, I hope Bon Ton will stick around. Once they have lift-off, I expect dessert.

Give me the beignets and the bread pudding! Then I expect brunch. Give me the Bloody Mary shot through with shrimp juice and beer! Then I expect the small bar on the top floor to open up and show us something, mister. Atlanta has to let Bon Ton rouler.

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In Fulton chairman campaign, Pitts cites experience

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In the still-unofficial race for Fulton County chairman, candidate and former commissioner Robb Pitts is promising to be the sort of “strong leader” that he says is long overdue. Really long overdue.

“I’ll be very honest and candid with you,” Pitts said in a recent phone interview. “Fulton County is the largest of 159 counties in the state of Georgia and is going to continue to grow. … And the truth of the matter is, Fulton County has not had a visionary, dynamic chairman since Michael Lomax [who left the seat in 1989]…

No disrespect to those who have served since then.”

One person who has served since then is current Chairman John Eaves, who has opened up a potential race with his own campaign for mayor of Atlanta. A special election to replace Eaves is dependent on his formal resignation, which isn’t required until this summer. Pitts is one of two currently announced candidates for the chairman’s seat, along with Sandy Springs City Councilmember Gabriel Sterling.

Pitts positioned himself as the experienced candidate. He served as a Fulton commissioner from 2002 to 2014, and served on the Atlanta City Council for 20 years before that, including as council president.

He suggests his “advice and counsel” could be valuable to not only Ful-

ton, but Atlanta’s forthcoming leaders.

“You’re going to have a brand new mayor with no experience,” Pitts said.

“You’re going to have a brand new City Council president with no experience.

And you’re going to have a City Council – probably half that council is going to be new.”

City-county relations are shaping up as a key issue for the next chairman.

Robb Pitts

SPECIAL

Sandy Springs is concerned about losing a relationship that improved under Eaves and the current board. In Atlanta, Eaves has a notably rocky relationship with current Mayor Kasim Reed.

Pitts boasted of his reputation as

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MAY 12 - 25, 2017

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Community | 11

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both an independent thinker and an aisle-crosser. He said an old joke was that the Fulton commission had “three blacks, three whites and Robb Pitts,” or in another version, “three Democrats, three Republicans and Robb Pitts.”

“I have been able to work with every demographic in our county. …That’s basically been a hallmark of my career, my ability to get along with everyone,” he said.

“It would be a very good, positive relationship,” he said of Fulton’s relationships with Atlanta and Sandy Springs under his chairmanship. “The future is absolutely bright for a relationship …

with all of the cities.”

As for his own vision for Fulton, “number one, and this is really critical,” is transportation investments. That includes better east-west connections, including “public transportation, and that means MARTA.” His number two priority is modernizing the county’s criminal justice system, he said, and he praised Gov. Nathan Deal’s efforts in that arena. Number three, he said, is beefing up capital investments in a new animal control facility, the library system’s master plan, senior facilities and Grady Hospital.

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Lenox Square Mall has canceled its annual Fourth of July fireworks show, which it has held for more than 50 years.

Instead, Lenox Square will partner with Centennial Olympic Park on its fireworks event, and the mall will hold a full day of its own July 4 events.

Robin Suggs, general manager of Lenox Square, suggested the logistics behind hosting a show that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year is part of the reason the mall will no longer host the fireworks.

“By partnering with Centennial Olympic Park, which is only nine miles away, we can deliver an even better experience for everyone involved and provide much needed operational relief to the city of Atlanta during a very busy holiday,” Suggs said in a press release.

Lenox Square will make “a generous donation” to support the fireworks show at Centennial Olympic Park, according to a statement from Jennifer LeMaster, chief administrative officer of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, which oversees the park.

The decision was made with the input of community leaders, including Buckhead Coalition President Sam Massell, who said he supported the change.

“It sounded beautiful and patriotic to me, and I was pleased they will continue to provide events for the community,” Massell said.

Massell said he does not know what prompted organizers to cancel the Lenox Square fireworks, but said an increase in metro area fireworks could be a reason.

Massell said his daughter, who lives on Northside Drive in Buckhead, can sit on her balcony on July 4 and watch fireworks in all directions.

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Park dispute triggers talk of revised tree ordinance Continued from page 1 of the hundreds of trees two developers will cut down to build separate townhome communities on nearby property. The developer did not respond to requests for comment.

The Ashton Woods development is one of two townhome construction projects on Peachtree Hills Avenue. Along with the Isakson Living development, Peachtree Hills Place, the two developers will cut down hundreds of trees. Isakson Living is partly

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built on the corner of Kings Circle and Peachtree Hills Avenue, but a second phase is coming. The Ashton Woods development will be built adjacent to the park and will open in late 2017, according to its website.

“The two development projects underway in Peachtree Hills by Ashton Woods and Isakson Living demonstrate opportunities for better design and development,” Trees Atlanta said in the statement.

As part of the ordinance, Ashton Woods has agreed to repair the parking lot and clean and paint the gym at the park, which is one of the city of Atlanta’s Centers of Hope. However, Greg Levine, the co-executive director and chief program officer of Trees Atlanta, said the city should have made these improvements already and the improvements aren’t relevant to the damage the developers will do to the park.

“They’re not harming the building, they’re harming the creek,” Levine said.

When asked for comment, the city did not address the question about its responsibility to improve the park. A city representative said an agreement has been made between the city and the developer to make the repairs in return for the city’s consideration to grant permission to install the drainage pipe.

Developers know they have to agree to give a benefit to the city to get the approvals they need, but the trade-offs should be relevant to the project, Levine said. “If the city isn’t getting an environmental benefit, the city shouldn’t grant the easement,” he said.

Trees Atlanta would like to see the city’s tree ordinance include a list of options for developers to give back to the community that would make the trade-offs “more appropriate and pertinent to the environmental damage being done,” Christina Gibson, the canopy conservation coordinator at Trees At-

lanta, said.

“If we are going to have this system, why not add them to the code?” Gibson said.

The developers have also signed an agreement with the Peachtree Hills Civic Association in which they agreed to donate $30,000 to Friends of Peachtree Hills Park that will be used toward future improvements for the park, but Levine said that amount is “nothing” compared to money being spent to build the large development, and it doesn’t compensate for the environmental harm.

The developers behind Peachtree Hills Place, Isakson Living, have been more receptive to Trees Atlanta’s suggestions, Levine said, and the organization has been able to preserve 60 trees at that the development.

The Office of City Planning is working on a review of the tree ordinance, and Trees Atlanta is researching several suggestions it believes could protect Atlanta’s tree canopy, which it says is in danger.

A rewrite of the tree ordinance should include stronger tree protection incentives and removal penalties and to better connect the tree ordinance with zoning ordinances and storm-water code requirements, the statement said, and should advocate for innovative conservation practices, like street tree plantings, Trees Atlanta said.

Under the current ordinance, developers are fined $1,000 per tree they cut down without a permit. If developers are unable to replant enough trees to replace the ones cut down, they pay a fee to the city of $100 per tree in addition to $30 for each inch of the diameter of the tree.

“We must raise the bar for how we grow, build, and develop in the context of our Piedmont forest ecosystems,” Trees Atlanta said in a statement.

BH

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‘Tiny houses’ could help Buckhead affordability Continued from page 1 allows “accessory dwelling units” in areas zoned R-5 for duplexes.”

That means a house 750 square feet or less can be built alongside an existing single-family house. The ordinance prevents subdividing the lot to give the tiny home its own lot. The zoning previously required that a second house on a property be much larger.

The R-5 zoning district is more prevalent in other areas of the city like Grant Park and Old Fourth Ward, but there are some neighborhoods in Buckhead with the zoning, including Pine Hills and Peachtree Park.

The zoning chair of NPU-B, Bill Murray, said this could be an important affordable housing option for older residents who want to downsize.

“This city is going to have a problem with aging baby boomers and this is a solution,” Murray said.

Tiny houses are seen as a way to combat high rental prices and provide affordable housing in the city, where rents are too high for many, Councilmember Kwanza Hall, who proposed the ordinance, said in a press release.

“We have gotten really good at building large, single-family homes and luxury apartments, and as a result the cost of living has gone up dramatically over the last several years,” Hall, who represents Midtown and Downtown Atlanta, said in the release.

Tiny houses have become popular in recent years, with cities in such states as Oregon and California passing ordinances to allow them, and home improvement channels filming shows about them.

Seeing tiny houses in other placing in the country and the filming of a show in Atlanta were two of the reasons Hall became interested in them, said Colleen Kiernan, Hall’s policy director.

“Embracing the tiny house movement in Atlanta will help expand the diversity of our housing choices and provide more affordable housing options,” Hall said in the release.

A particular problem for Buckhead is affordable housing for the many service and retail workers employed at the stores in the affluent community, and this ordinance could help them, said Councilmember Andre Dickens, who holds the post 3 At-Large seat.

However, some neighborhood residents are concerned this will exacerbate problems with short-term rental service Airbnb.

Jason Kendall, the Peachtree Park neighborhood representative for NPUB, said at an April 4 meeting when the ordinance came before the NPU that his neighborhood has problems with residents renting out their house on Airbnb already and he is afraid the ordinance would be abused and make the BH

problem worse.

Dickens said while concerns about Airbnb rentals haven’t been sent to his office, more regulations may be needed if accessory dwelling units are used for that.

“We want Atlantans to benefit from this, not people just visiting the city,” Dickens said.

Nancy Bliwise, who represents Pine Hills, said the smaller houses may offer some families the opportunity to live in a desirable school district they otherwise could not afford.

NPU-B recommended approving the ordinance prior to the city vote.

The number of people driving in to the city for work from the suburbs may decrease because of this ordinance, said Kiernan.

The zoning district this ordinance affects, R-5, follows MARTA rail lines, making it easier for people who could previously only afford to live in the suburbs, out of MARTA’s reach, to start taking mass transit to work.

The accessory dwelling units are geared partly toward millennials. An overview on the ordinance by the Department of City Planning says micro-housing will “attract millennials to the urban core” and Kiernan said Hall hopes to give younger people, who typically make less money, more options for affordable housing.

The ordinance is the first policy recommendation to come out of the Department of Planning’s Tiny House Feasibility Study, according to a press release.

The accessory dwelling units will be used as a pilot program for the city, Kiernan said, to see how tiny houses will work in duplex housing, how the community reacts and how many are built.

The ordinance takes a step toward making Atlanta an affordable city to live in, Dickens said, but the city still has more to do.

Tiny houses don’t solve problems for

families, as they can only house a small number of people, Dickens said.

Other mechanisms need to be used to ensure affordable housing is available, he said, like inclusionary zoning, which Dickens introduced legislation on last year.

The ordinance passed last May requires any developer receiving subsidies from a development authority to make 15 percent of the units available for individuals who make 80 percent of the area median income or 10 percent of units for lower-income residents, people who make 60 percent of the area median income.

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14 | Commentary

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Commentary/Talking traffic during the I-85 reconstruction

PCIDs make local contribution to fixing traffic

BY JOHN HEAGY AND DIANE CALLOWAY The rapidly completing reconstruction of an overpass on I-85 has rightfully been the focus of the commuting public and regional traffic reporting for weeks.

The Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Regional Transit Authority, MARTA and other metro transit agencies, as well as metro Atlanta employers and the commuting public, should all be commended for doing their parts to redirect and restructure morning and evening commutes to minimize congestion and back-ups during the demolition and bridge construction.

But work continues on a major highway project closer to home that will help alleviate future traffic problems in our immediate area. At I-285 and Ga. 400, the first phases of construction of the new interchange are underway.

The Perimeter Community Improvement Districts (PCIDs), two self-funded CIDs, comprise 4.2 square miles around the Perimeter Center sub-market. The PCIDs straddle two counties (DeKalb and Fulton) as well as parts of three municipalities (Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs). Our CIDs are voluntarily financed by an additional 4 mills of property taxes paid by the commercial property owners within the two districts.

Transportation and transit improvements for the region’s largest office submarket, as well as leading medical center

campuses are the primary focus of our CIDs. Towards that end, the Central DeKalb and Fulton Perimeter Community Improvement Districts committed $10 million toward the initial construction costs of upgrading and replacing the 285/400 interchange. On Friday, May 26, at the next meeting of our Perimeter Business Alliance, we will present a check for those funds to Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry.

This partnership makes clear our commitment to serve as catalysts, collaborators and representatives of the area’s business community, supporting and contributing towards infrastructure improvements that serve to make our Perimeter Center area even more attractive.

In the Perimeter Center sub-market, our job is to enhance the reputation of Georgia’s Fortune 1000 address of choice, as well as to further develop and maintain one of the premier live, work and play communities in the Southeast. Since the creation of the Central DeKalb CID in 1999, and later the Fulton CID, we have invested millions. And we plan to invest more.

Our existing 285/400 interchange has become one of the region’s most challenged. It handles nearing 500,000 autos and trucks daily, well beyond its original design capacity.

Perimeter business leaders and

property owners understand that there is no free lunch and we do not expect our state or federal governments to make major investments in this region without some type of commitment or contribution from the business community.

This new interchange will incorporate miles of fly-over bridges and collector distributor lanes. These lanes will reach Chamblee-Dunwoody Road and Roswell Road along I-285 and run along Ga. 400 from the Glenridge Connector to north of Abernathy Road.

The new interchange will take a few years to complete, compared to the months involved in reconstructing the overpass on I-85, but as with that project and the impressive construction completion timeline, it was a team effort, led by GDOT and assisted and supported by the commuting public.

Collaboration and cooperation take effort, but it is almost always more than worth the time and leadership involved in assembling and implementing them to get the job done.

John Heagy chairs the Central DeKalb Perimeter Community Improvement District.

Diane Calloway chairs the Fulton Perimeter Community Improvement District. Together, the two organizations make up the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts.

Southern hospitality helped us make it through town William-Oliver Building as a youngster and seeAs a Buckhead booster, I admit I pretty much see it ing the best behavior of lawyers and other professionall through rose-colored glasses. But, as a native of our al men in the elevators. They always removed their city, I have to admit some dramatic changes have takhats if women entered. How nice. en place, and they are not all what I would have choWhen I grew up, we had the standard Emily Post reographed. proper manners book on the same shelf with WebWe are exposed to so much violence on television ster’s dictionary, of equal importance. Child care was and through other media that we feel an obligation to included. protect against it. That’s when we begin to distance Recently, because of the increased traffic congesourselves in the arena of pleasantries. tion caused by the I-85 bridge collapse, we’ve had Of course, some change is a byproduct of othmore complaints regarding poor manners on the er change: Increases in population can certainly be roads. blamed for some attitude changes.

President of the Our Buckhead Coalition saw a need to help local For instance, we seldom see horse-drawn buggies Buckhead Coalition and drivers into and out of driveways by offering them on the roadways anymore, so men have no reason to former mayor of Atlanta. free signs asking others in traffic to “PLEASE Let Me walk the sidewalk curbside to protect our female comIn The Drive,” or, conversely, “PLEASE Let Me Out Of panions. Although I may be admonished for writing The Drive.” the following, with so many women in the workforce now, it’s no We equate “hospitality” with a happy face and this takes on an longer considered bad manners to let them pay for part of the meal. even stronger degree of civility when we’re branded as “Southern As a former politician, however, what I dislike most is the overt Hospitality.” avoidance of making eye contact when passing one another on the What I request is that you not give up. A smile begets a smile, sidewalk or building hallway. and there are lots of them out there ... at least I can vouch for such Thinking back, I can recall when it seemed everyone knew evin the 28 square miles of Buckhead. eryone, so there was no fear associated with strangers. But BuckIt’s a happy place, where all are welcome and road-rage is rehead is not your grandfather’s small town anymore. stricted.

I recall with some nostalgia visiting my dad’s office at the down-

Sam Massell

BH

MAY 12 - 25, 2017

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Commentary | 15

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Iron Chef Mom I think that many of us, while browsing through 185 channels trying to find 30 minutes of mindless entertainment, once discovered the program “Iron Chef” or one of its many children and lingered there for a few moments.

The premise of “Iron Chef America” was enticing: a Master Chef, usually someone who is renowned for the cuisine at his or her restaurant, was pitted against one of the Food Network’s own “Iron Chefs.” Each chef had two helpers, along with all of the food and technology that Kitchen Stadium could provide, and were charged with creating (within the hour) six gourmet courses that featured a Secret Ingredient.

Competition was overseen by The Chairman, who acrobated himself onstage, swooshed his head and said hello. Then, using a good deal of aplomb, he revealed said Secret Ingredient and set the contestants scurrying with the words, “Allez cuisine!”

I must say I was pretty impressed with that “Iron Chef” program. How could I not be? There were teams of sous chefs who could dice a pound of onions in less time than it takes me to find my cutting board.

There were chefs who could produce -- and gorgeously plate -- six dishes in roughly the same amount of time it takes me to microwave a package of chicken enchiladas.

But I grew a little weary of watching a competition that revolves around the meals that two super chefs can make from a reindeer.

I want to see television start featuring a real challenge. I want to see an Iron Chef Mom. We all have Robin Conte is a writer our Iron Chef and mother of four Mom moments. who lives in Dunwoody. You’re in the kitchShe can be contacted at en with one child robinjm@earthlink.net. who’s late for soccer practice, one who needs help with some “new math” homework and a 2-year-old who needs a diaper change when the tiny Chairman Voice in your head asks, “What can you make with … a bag of frozen ravioli and a can of refried beans?”

So I want to see a competition that celebrates our everyday Home Kitchen challenges. Home Kitchen Stadium would have a counter full of mail, a table piled with laundry, and a dog. The Chairman would be the Original Iron Chef’s Mother-in-Law. Prizes are a month’s supply of lasagna and a spa weekend. A chef wins if her kids eat her food.

Alton Brown can still be the commen-

Robin’s Nest

school parking lot. tator. (We like him.) His commentary “Meanwhile, the challenger has comwould sound something like this: bined those anchovies with her trademark “Our Iron Chef Mom is a veteran mothcream of chicken soup and poured it over er of two whose crowning achievement animal-shaped pasta. Her twins have been was making veal parmesan for 20 while her tormenting Home Kitchen Dog, so she’s … house was being painted and her daughletting them take turns with the cucumber ter was going through a breakup with her and the juicing machine. Brilliant. boyfriend. Our challenger is a worthy op“Iron Chef Mom has told her daughponent whose cookbook, ‘365 Ways to Use ter that the jumper cables are under the Cream of Chicken Soup,’ is a bestseller and baseball gloves in the trunk and is talking whose 3-year-old twins are at this moment her through how to jump the car (that’s smearing the walls of Home Kitchen Stadiwhat makes her Iron, folks!), while platum with garlic paste. ing the burritos for her son and three of his “Tonight, we’re going to see if they can friends, who have just entered Home Kitchmake dinner out of … a jar of anchovies en Stadium looking for and an old cucumber!” something to eat.

“You’d better hurry!”

“Now for the test… says Chairman MotherWill They Eat It? in-Law. “Yes! The boys ate “And they’re off! the burritos!

“The challenger “Oh no…on the chalruns to the supplies and lenger’s side, the twins grabs a stack of Dora spit out their food! But the Explorer DVDs to wait … the dog is eating buy herself three minit, so our challenger still utes of prep time. gets the lasagna! Here “On the home side, at Home Kitchen StaIron Chef Mom is makdium, everyone’s a wining burritos out of our ner, just like Mom says!

Secret Ingredients and “So until next week, a can of Vienna sausagwe leave you with final es while fielding a phone words from Chairman call from her daughter, Mother-in-Law:” whose car battery died SPECIAL “What’s in YOUR in the middle of the left- Iron Chef Mom Robin prepares for the nightly cooking challenge. freezer?” turn lane out of the high

Save the Date! June 10, 2017!

Everyone is invited to make a lantern and parade to the river! Bring your family, friends, and neighbors for a magical stroll to Morgan Falls Overlook Park.

Lantern Workshops June 3-6!

BH

Details at VisitSandySprings.org/lanternparade

16 | Out & About

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DUNWOODY

•

The 10th Anniversary 2017 Brookhaven Bolt 5K, a family event that winds through the Ashford Park neighborhood, is an official AJC Peachtree Road Race qualifying event. Strollers and walkers allowed. All proceeds benefit Ashford Park Elementary School. Sign up starts at 6:45 a.m. The race begins at Village Place Brookhaven, 1430 Dresden Drive, Brookhaven, and ends there with a post-race festival. Registration info: brookhavenbolt.com.

SANDY SPRINGS

PERFORMANCES DUNWOODY NATURE CENTER SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

DUNWOODY POOL DAY AT THE J

Saturdays, May 20, June 3, June 17, July 1 and July 15, 7 p.m.

Sunday, May 21, noon to 2 p.m.

The community is invited for music and dancing, children’s games, pool activities and free ice pops at the outdoor pool and splash park at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. Food will be available for purchase from the outdoor cafe. Admission is free and open to families and to adults of all ages, MJCCA members and non-members.

MJCCA at Zaban Park, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Info: Rabbi Glusman, 678-8124161 or rabbi.glusman@atlantajcc.org.

The indie pop rock band Lexi Street is up next in this concert series presented by the city of Dunwoody.

Picnicking begins at 6 p.m. Craft beers available for purchase. Free to nature center members. Non-members: $5 adults, $3 students, free to children 3 and under. 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody. Info: dunwoodynature.org.

ATLANTA TAKE STEPS WALK

Sunday, May 21, 1 p.m.

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s 2017 Atlanta Take Steps Walk is a 1.5-mile event that raises money to help find cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Brook Run Park, 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody.

Registration info: cctakesteps.org/ Atlanta2017.

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DUNWOODY LIBRARY BOOK SALE

A DIVISION OF S&S RUG CLEANERS

Thursday, May 18, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, May 19-20, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday, May 22, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Stoney Green & Steve Arroll, Owners 1710 Chattahoochee Ave., Atlanta, GA 30318

This sale of 25,000 items includes thousands of books, most priced from 25 cents to $2, plus CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, audio books, magazines and puzzles. All proceeds benefit the Dunwoody Library and the DeKalb County public library system. Dunwoody Library Friends members can preview the goods and shop on Thursday, May 18, at 1 p.m.

The sale’s last day is “Bag Day,” when a large grocery bag can be filled with items for $6. Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Info: 770-512-4640.

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Join us on the green space for culinary delights from our restaurants!

Advance Tickets: $20 - Day Of Event: $30 To purchase tickets, visit www.eventbrite.com and search Taste of Town Brookhaven.

Benefiting LifeLine Animal Project

Enjoy food tastings, wine, beer, cooking demonstrations, music, prizes & more.

FESTIVAL

Participating Restaurants:

TASTE OF TOWN BROOKHAVEN FOO

Of

CinéBistro, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern, Jefe’s Tacos & Tequilas, Lucky’s Burger & Brew, Marble Slab Creamery, Newk’s, Olde Blind Dog, There Restaurant & Bar, Tin Can Oyster Bar, Tropical Smoothie Café, Yogurtland & more

D & FUN

Saturday, May 20th 3-7pm

www.townbrookhaven.net

Conveniently located on Peachtree Rd. adjacent to Oglethorpe University.

Out & About | 17

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NATIONAL KIDS TO PARKS DAY Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The city of Sandy Springs celebrates its eighth annual Kids to Parks Day with activities at Hammond Park for all ages, including a water slide, obstacle course, a DJ, games and prizes. Free. 705 Hammond Drive, Sandy Springs. Info: 770-730-5600 or registration. sandyspringsga.gov.

MOMMY & ME PRINCESS TEA Sunday, May 21, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

All ages are invited to this fifth annual afternoon tea with a “Strong Girls” theme. Princesses Belle, Rapunzel, Snow White and Jasmine are among other VIPs (very important princesses) scheduled to perform a musical stage show. Event includes a silent auction, photo fun corner, story time corner and a “Braid Bar” that will serve up sparkly hair styles. Proceeds benefit Girl Talk, a Buckhead-based national nonprofit. Tickets: $45 and up. Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Road, Buckhead. Info: tea4girltalk.com.

SANDY SPRINGS GAZETTE LIVE

Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or by appointment.

This exhibit brings to life Heritage Sandy Springs’ weekly online magazine, the “Sandy Springs Gazette.” Sandy Springs community life through the decades is explored in stories, images and artifacts. Free. Top level of the Williams-Payne House, 6075 Sandy Springs Circle. Info: heritagesandysprings.org.

Continued on page 18

AMERICAN GIRL CLUB

Perimeter North Family Medicine

Saturday, May 27, 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Heritage Sandy Springs continues its monthly American Girl Club programming with a character named Kit from the Great Depression era. Best for ages 5-12. RSVPs requested. $8 for members; $10 for non-members; $15 at the door. Girls can bring their favorite dolls. 6075 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs. Info: heritagesandysprings.org.

Perimeter North Family Medicine is proud to serve the families throughout the Atlanta area. Offering a full range of adult and pediatric services, our physicians, Dr. Charles Taylor, Dr. Shetal Patel and Dr. Mithun Daniel offer the highest standard of care to keep you and your family happy and healthy. We accept most insurance plans and offer same-day appointments for sick visits.

Our Services Include: • • • •

Opens Saturday, May 20. Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5:30 p.m.

Artifact holdings from the Atlanta History Center are combined with the poster collection of Atlanta historian Walton Rawls, author of “Wake Up, America!

World War I and the American Poster” for an exhibit that reveals these posters both as graphic masterworks and as illustrations of history.

Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead. Admission info: atlantahistorycenter.com.

Mithun Daniel, D.O.

Charles Taylor, M.D.

Call 770-395-1130 for an appointment 960 Johnson Ferry Rd. NE, Suite 300, Atlanta, Georgia 30342 PNFM.com

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MAY 12 - 25, 2017

18 | Out & About

Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News Continued from page 17

SPRUILL ARTS SHOWCASE Thursday, May 18, 6-8 p.m.

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The 25% discounted passes are available for purchase until June 30, 2017, but you can use your Weekend Passes for any weekend you have planned!

A reception closes the current display of student and instructor artwork at the Spruill Center for the Arts. Wine and light fare served.

Hallway Gallery of Spruill’s Education Center, located within the North DeKalb Cultural Center. Free. 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Sandy Springs. Info: spruillarts.org.

LEARN SOMETHING NAVIGATING THE MEDICARE MAZE Wednesday, May 17, 10 a.m.

Updates to Medicare 2017 and how to prepare for the open enrollment season will be discussed in a presentation at Dunwoody United Methodist Church by Jenny Meredith of Affordable Medicare Solutions. Join members of the Perimeter North Villages organization for this event in the Young Adult Suite of Dunwoody UMC, 1548 Mt. Vernon Road, Dunwoody. Free. RSVP by Monday, May 15. Info: 470-231-0015 or pnvillages@ gmail.com.

“INTERNATIONAL CAFE”

Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m. to noon.

Meet new people, share refreshments and practice conversational English or Spanish skills at the Brookhaven Library. Free. Register: 404-508-7190, ext. 2257 or email adultservices@dekalblibrary.org. 1242 N. Druid Hills Road N.E., Brookhaven. Info: 404-848-7140.

D

PEACHTREE DUNWOODY

Medical Associates

Welcome Dr. Michael Crowe!

Peachtree Dunwoody Medical Associates is proud to welcome Dr. Michael Crowe, a boardcertified gynecologist with over three decades of experience practicing in the Atlanta area. Dr. Crowe offers comprehensive gynecologic care to women of all ages, serving with the same excellent, compassionate care you are accustomed to from Peachtree Dunwoody Medical Associates. Dr. Crowe is welcoming new patients, accepts most insurance plans, and offers a convenient location

Michael Crowe, MD Gynecology

near the Northside Hospital Atlanta campus.

Call 404-497-1020 for an appointment!

404-848-5000 | www.itsmarta.com/Weekend

875 Johnson Ferry Road NE, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30342 PeachtreeDunwoodyMed.com

MAY 12 - 25, 2017

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Out & About | 19

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ROSIE THE RIVETER

Thursday, May 25, 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Storyteller Carol Cain, who has performed as “Rosie the Riveter” for the past 23 years and represented millions of women who went to work during World War II, will appear at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. Free for MJCCA members; $5 for non-members. MJCCA Zaban Park, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Info: 678-8123861 or matureadults@atlantajcc.org.

PARTY WITH A PURPOSE THE TASTING EVENT AND FUNDRAISER Thursday, May 18, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Taste the night away with food from some of Atlanta’s top restaurants and an array of fine wines, bourbons, tequilas and beers. This event, which includes a silent auction, raises funds for Jewish Family & Career Services’ Zimmerman-Horowitz Independent Living Program for people with disabilities. Tickets: $100 in advance, $125 at the door. Under age 36: $50 in advance, $75 at the door.

Grand Hyatt Buckhead, 3300 Peachtree Road, Buckhead.

Info: thetasting.org.

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20 | Education

Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News

Kelly Lecceardone The Lovett School Editor’s note: Through our “Exceptional Educator” series, Reporter Newspapers is showcasing the work of some of the outstanding teachers and administrators at our local schools. If you would like to recommend an Exceptional Educator, please email editor@ ReporterNewspapers.net.

Kelly Lecceardone teaches sixth grade English at the Lovett School.

She’s been teaching for 26 years.

Q: What attracted you to A:

teaching at first?

Exceptional

Educator

the subject. A teacher had never inspired me like that, and I was encouraged by him to go into the profession.

Q: Has the appeal changed?

A: The appeal for me has grown even

stronger over the years because each day presents a new challenge in terms of how to inspire and motivate my students to be their very best.

Teaching is an exciting, fulfilling profession where I get to see the results of my effort daily.

Q:

I always excelled in What keeps you grammar, writing, and going year after year?

SPECIAL reading, and I truly enKelly Lecceardone joyed my English classes With advancements in in middle school and high school. When technology, my teaching practices have I was a freshman in college, I had one changed significantly from when I first beof the best professors I had ever experigan in the early 1990s. I am now teaching enced at Colorado State University. He at a school where each student has a laptop taught American Literature 101, and his and where I am challenged to incorporate passion for reading was contagious. technology in a meaningful way when it One day in class, his recitation of the is appropriate for the lesson. This adds ansermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Another layer of excitement to the profession gry God” by Jonathan Edwards brought and also keeps me current on the best practears to my eyes, and I fell in love with tices for my subject and my students.

A:

Q: What do you think makes a great A:

teacher?

I think a great teacher has to be a role model, mentor, and a source of inspiration. A great teacher “wins the crowd” and develops trust and respect in the classroom. With those key ingredients in place, a teacher can take students on an incredible learning journey, and the students will follow.

Q: What do you want to see in your

they are enjoying hearing about Gino’s antics. I use any hook I can to make learning more enjoyable and less stressful.

I also create grammar songs to help them memorize their notes so that they learn the information quicker. This means we can start applying the information quicker, too, in their writing.

Q: Do you have a project or special A:

program you use year after year?

One of my favorite units to teach is a Humanities unit on WWII and the Hostudents? locaust, and it is based upon the novel “The IsMy goal for my stuland on Bird Street,” dents is that they try to written by Uri Orlev. take their learning outWith Lovett’s assistance, side of their comfort I have traveled extensivezones. I want them to ly through Germany and push past memorization Poland to bring the unit and look for application SPECIAL to life for my students. of skills in their reading Kelly Lecceardone visited Most recently I jourBerlin as part of her research and composition. I also do for a unit she teaches on World neyed to Warsaw to find not want them to fear the War II and the Holocaust. remnants of the Warsubject, and I strive to prosaw Ghetto wall and then took a day trip vide them with songs and tricks to make to Treblinka, the extermination camp, the content less intimidating. where the Warsaw Ghetto inhabitants were taken. I added this information to How do you engage your students? my Google presentation for students and Students are more apt to be engaged in made an iMovie for them, thus creating a my class when they feel they know me as a virtual field trip of sorts. The unit speaks person, so I start out every year by letting to man’s inhumanity to man, and the stuthem learn about me first. I try to establish dents are fascinated by it year after year. a connection with each one by seeing what we have in common.

What do you hope your students I often use my dog Gino in stories, sentake away from your class? tences, writing assignments, and find I became a teacher because I love to that they love hearing about him. They learn.

My students know this, and above are learning parts of speech and sentence all, I want them to become lifelong learners. types without even knowing it because

A:

Q: A:

Q: A:

y.™

The Wa Find Your Path. Lead

Center for Global Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurial Studies™ Summer Programs 2017

Applications are still being accepted for summer offerings at Brandon Hall School: English Language Village™ (July 1 – July 14, 2017; July 15 – July 29, 2017) Global Youth Leadership in Action™ (July 1 – July 14, 2017; July 15 – July 29, 2017) Earth Science Field Studies (July 1 – July 14, 2017; July 15 – July 29, 2017) iCreate Summer Music Program (July 24 - July 28, 2017) Customized Summer Program (Available June 10, 2017 through August 6, 2017) Our global youth summer program is anchored in our signature “leadership in action™” curriculum and philosophy. The Brandon Hall campus is located on a 27-acre nature preserve overlooking the Chattahoochee River.

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Reporter Classifieds

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Administrative Assistant – Performs full administrative and general support duties to assist the Manager and Board of Directors.

Proficiency in MS Word, MS Excel and Ms Outlook. Excellent people skills required.

Excellent starting compensation with benefits.

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Email resume to: susan.foxcroft@gmail.com.

Matthew’s Handy Services – Small jobs and chores are my specialties. Shelves, organizers, carpentry, drywall, painting, and plumbing. Member of BBB – 404-547-2079 Email: mwarren8328@gmail.com.

Hairdresser Needed in Sandy Springs – Excellent location. Rental or Commission – Great atmosphere. Call 404-255-6025.

REAL ESTATE Office Condo For Sale – 1851 Peeler Rd, Dunwoody - $129,900. 1000 sq. ft.

Call 770-361-4421.

Commercial Real Estate Services – Have a Commercial Building to Sell or Lease? Call Rick 678-209-3100. Proven local results.

Room Needed – Mature lady would like to rent a room asap. No animals, no kids, $300 per month and will clean your home.

Charlotte 404-604-7866.

PERSONALS Prayer Answered – St. Jude - Thank you for granting me my request. MJR

Driveways & Walkways – Replaced or repaired. Masonry, grading, foundations repaired, waterproofing and retaining walls.

Call Joe Sullivan 770-616-0576.

Home Tending – Regular inspections of your unoccupied property. Call Charles, 404-229-0490.

Dynamic Assertive Personal/Executive Assistant & Travel Concierge with home office wants to manage your administrative and travel needs and help your business grow. Extensive experience handling correspondence, proofing, expenses, meeting coordination, event planning, social media, and travel planning (domestic and international). Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Full time/part time/hourly.

Retainer preferred. Call 954-684-0174.

CEMETERY PLOTS Arlington Cemetery – Buy 2 at $8,000 and Get 2 free. Call 770-314-1271. This is a total of 4 plots.

Arlington Memorial Park (Sandy Springs) – Tandem crypts for two people, 3rd level All Faith Mausoleum. Location: CC Crypt #13. Priced to sell. Call 770-886-6090.

MAY 12 - 25, 2017

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Classifieds | 21

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Home Services Directory

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22 | Community

Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News

Big Al’s Butter Made Burgers now open in Buckhead!

ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER

The “Texas” arriving at the Atlanta History Center on May 4.

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Historic locomotive ‘Texas’ arrives in Buckhead

BY EVELYN ANDREWS evelyn@reporternewspapers.net

The “Texas,” a historic 1856 locomotive, returned to Atlanta on May 4 and was installed at the Atlanta History Center.

The locomotive’s previous Atlanta home was at Grant Park’s cyclorama exhibit that featured “The Battle of Atlanta” painting, which was also recently moved to the Atlanta History Center.

The “Texas” was displayed at Grant Park for more than 100 years. In 2015, the Atlanta History Center shipped the locomotive up to the North Carolina Transportation Museum to undergo an extensive, $500,000 restoration.

“After many years of limited view in the basement of the Cyclorama building in Grant Park, we are putting the Texas in a place where it is going to be front and center,” Jackson McQuigg, vice president of properties for the history center, said in a press release.

Many trains from this era were destroyed, but the “Texas” was saved because of its role in the “Great Locomotive Chase,” an 1862 incident in the Civil War in which Union troops stole an engine near Kennesaw. The locomotive also ran for decades on the Western & Atlantic Railroad, the line that sparked the founding of the city of Atlanta.

The Atlanta History Center expects to open the exhibit to the public in the fall.

“The Battle of Atlanta” painting and the locomotive are being displayed at the history center through a 75-year licensing agreement with the city of Atlanta.

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MAY 12 - 25, 2017

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Community | 23

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Community Briefs

Police Blotter / Buckhead

TEX M C I VER I N DI C TED ON M U R D ER CH A RGES IN WIF E’ S DEATH Claude “Tex” McIver was indicted April 27 on murder charges in the September 2016 shooting death of his wife, Diana McIver.

In addition to the felony and malice murder charges, McIver is charged with three counts of unlawfully influencing a witness, according to a Fulton County District Attorney’s office press release. Each count carries two to 10 years in prison, if convicted, the release says.

The couple were passengers in a vehicle driving though Midtown when Tex McIver shot Diane McIver in what he maintains was an accident.

McIver, a Buckhead attorney, was previously indicted on manslaughter and reckless conduct charges in December 2016 and was released on bond. Now facing murder charges, McIver was arrested with a warrant that doesn’t allow for bond, according the release.

The following information, involving events that took place in Buckhead between April 23 and 30, was provided to the Buckhead Reporter by the Zone 2 precinct of the Atlanta Police Department from its open data records.

Between April 23 and April 30 there

were 31 larcenies from vehicles reported across Zone 2 and 34 reported cases of larceny and shoplifting.

B U R G L A RY

AU TO T H E F T

2300 block of Piedmont Road — April 23

There were 12 reported incidents of

2300 Paul Avenue — April 25

auto theft between April 23 and April 30.

100 block of Wieuca Road — April 26

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LARCENY

1400 block of English Street — April 27

The Buckhead Coalition has printed signs to help frustrated drivers enter and exit their driveways.

The group’s president, Sam Massell, said he and others have had problems getting in and out of their driveways in the bumper-to-bumper traffic the I-85 collapse has brought to major Buckhead roads.

“Normally people in Buckhead are polite enough to let you in, but this congestion is causing some road rage,” Massell said.

The nonprofit civic association printed 250 signs that read “please let me in the drive” on one side and “please let me out of the drive” on the other to help signal to other drivers they need to be let in to their business or residential driveway.

The signs are free for people living or working in Buckhead. To get one, call the Buckhead Coalition at 404-233-2228.

Massell said they will print more if the demand calls for it.

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April 28

AG G R AVAT E D A S S AU LT

B UC K H EA D C OA LITI ON P RI N TS SIG NS TO H EL P DRIVERS I N I -85 TR AFFIC

Northside

1800 block of Piedmont Avenue —

NorthsideHeart.com (404) 256-2525 or (770) 343-8565

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24 | Community

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Portman sculpture unveiled at Charlie Loudermilk Park A new 12-foot-tall abstract sculpture designed by architect John Portman was unveiled Tuesday, May 9, at the renovated Charlie Loudermilk Park.

A - A crowd gathers for

the unveiling at the park, formerly known as Triangle Park, which sits between Roswell Road, Peachtree Road and Sardis Way.

A

B - Sharing a moment are, from left, Charlie Loudermilk, founder of Aaron’s, Inc.; the sculpture’s designer, John Portman; and Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition.

B

C - The stainless steel

sculpture, titled “Aspiration,” includes a water feature to reflect the piece which is meant to symbolize Buckhead’s past and future success.

D - Jim Durrett, executive

director of the Buckhead Community Improvement Distict, which commissioned the sculpture, addresses the gathering.

E - John Portman’s grandsons,

D

from left, Calvin Portman, 6, and Holden Beard, 7, sit with Charlie Loudermilk, John Portman and Sam Massell.

F - John Portman, the architect and developer known for designing the Westin Peachtree Plaza and the Hyatt Regency, talks with guests.

PHOTOS BY PHIL MOSIER

C

E

F BH