06-08-18 Sandy Springs

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018 • VOL. 12 — NO. 12

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► Atlantan trades corporate world for trout streams

Doris Spruill on the garden patio of her Mount Vernon Highway home, which the city is attempting to buy, apparently to replace with a new road.

I’m not sure there will be new or different policies, but there will be more diverse conversations around all policy discussions.

A 54-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, COMMENTING ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN ON THE BALLOT

See Commentary, page 12

► Mountain fun: Wine, music, Cabbage Patch Kids and more

SPECIAL SECTION | P18-27

New cut-through road may now target home, garden

EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATOR The life lessons of art Page 28

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BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net

JOHN RUCH

OUT & ABOUT Juneteenth returns to the Atlanta History Center Page 10

Since Doris Spruill moved into her Mount Vernon Highway house 68 years ago, she and her family have replaced the broomsedge grass of rural Sandy Springs with mature trees and expansive gardens. Now the city is seeking to buy it for a different future — apparently a new cut-through road concept already so controversial that neighbors have launched a yard-sign opposition campaign.

Spruill said she’ll hear out the city’s offer, but added, “I don’t think anything could make me move.” At 91, she planned to spend the rest of her life amid the greenery, and she is now blind as well, relying on her lifelong memories of her home to get around.

The city won’t say why it wants to buy the property, Spruill said, but she assumes it is for the cut-through road between Mount Vernon and Johnson Ferry Road proposed in March as part of a grid-like redesign of those streets’ intersection with Roswell Road a block or so to the west. The city has proposed running the new road through The Reading Park, a green space that sits directly between Spruill’s home and the Sandy See NEW on page 16

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT City Springs brings star power to debut season Page 6

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Community Briefs

which must be approved by the Fulton County Commission. Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System spokesperson Claudia Strange said the new budget for Sandy Springs and other branches is still not finalized for commission review and likely will not be until late June. She said the system hopes to start interior work in August.

At the rear of the Sandy Springs Branch Library, exterior work was underway on the roof on June 4.

JOHN RUCH

M A IN L I BRA RY REN OVATI ON S D ELAYED ; EX TERI OR WORK UN DERWAY

A long-awaited interior renovation of the Sandy Springs Branch Library has been delayed to an August start at the earliest, as a budget increase still has not gone to Fulton County officials for approval. Meanwhile, exterior renovations, including painting and roof work, are underway.

Built in 1973, the library at 395 Mount Vernon Highway N.E. was last renovated 30 years ago. A renovation plan drew applause at a February meeting, with work expected to start between April and July and require a six- to eight-month closure.

However, the plan also included a 15 percent budget increase to $3.346 million,

FILE

The former Prestige Cleaners in the North Springs Center undergoing cleanup in 2016.

SHO PPING C ENTER P O L L UT IO N C L EA NUP EX TENDED TO 2 0 1 9

A dry-cleaner pollution cleanup that has stalled redevelopment of a Roswell Road shopping center since 2015 is on course for completion, but recently got an extension into March 2019, according to state officials. Redevelopment could still be-

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gin earlier, officials say.

No new pollution has been found at the largely vacant North Springs Center at 7300 Roswell Road, according to the state Environmental Protection Division, which is reviewing a cleanup report submitted in May. Officials say the cleanup at the 9-acre site is being conducted by a prospective buyer, Buckhead-based Blanchard Real Estate, under a state brownfields program that limits its liability. Blanchard has not responded to comment requests. Former City Councilmember Ken Dishman said in 2016 that the plan was to redevelop the shopping center, once anchored by a Big Lots discount store, into “higher-end retail.” That is a longtime city goal for northern Roswell Road, now the subject of an official “North End Revitalization Task Force.”

The pollution problem is the former Prestige Cleaners, which EPD officials say leaked toxins into the soil and groundwater.

According to EPD, further cleanup at North Springs was conducted in spring and summer 2017, followed by groundwater testing in March of this year. The prospective buyer got a cleanup extension into next March and can ask for further extension, EPD says. Meanwhile, it is possible for redevelopment to begin before the cleanup, directed by a “corrective action plan,” is complete.

“The redevelopment may proceed as planned, but the prospective purchaser still has an obligation to make sure that the property is protective of human health and the environment,” said EPD spokesperson Kevin Chambers. “Implementation of the corrective action plan may occur before redevelopment or during redevelopment.”

M A N D R O WN S I N C H ATTA H OOCHEE R IVER

A Douglasville man drowned in the Chattahoochee River between Sandy Springs and Cobb County on June 2, according to police.

Police say Christian Collis, 25, was tubing on the river with friends around 8:30 p.m. when he went to a location on the Sandy Springs riverside with cliffs and a rope swing. Collis fell from the cliff, hit rocks and fell underwater, police say. The friends did not have a cellphone, so one of them swam to the Cobb side of the river for help, police say.

Collis’s body was found by Cobb County authorities at Sandy Point, a beach section of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, roughly across the river from Sandy Springs’ Morgan Falls Overlook Park. Sandy Point has been the location of several drowning deaths in recent years.

S US PEC T DEA D I N MURDER/ A R SO N CASE

A Sandy Springs man wanted in a Memorial Day weekend murder and arson case was found dead, an apparent suicide, in a Louisiana motel on June 1, according to police.

Patrick Joseph Nolan, 43, was wanted on charges of murder and arson in the May 26 death of Amber Marie Holliman at 501 Hammond Drive in Sandy Springs.

Holliman, 39, was found by firefighters dead of blunt-force trauma and a gunshot to the head, according to police, who accused Nolan of killing her and setting the house on fire.

Nolan was found dead of an “apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound” by police in Gonzalez, La., according to the Sandy Springs Police Department. Local police are continuing to investigate.

Continued on page 4

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CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS MOVING SALE

If you are in the market for office items, this clearance sale is for you! HON Desks, Work Stations, Bookcases & File Cabinets, Laptops, Desktops, Printers and more.

Priced to sell, beginning at $5.00.

This is not an auction. Only items listed for sale will be available for purchase. All sales are final and all items must be removed from the sale site by 4:00 p.m. June 9, 2018. Buyers must load purchased items; no staff assistance is available. Items are sold as is, with no warranties or guarantees. Limit 2 laptops per person.

Saturday, June 9, 2018 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

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CITY TO B U Y ANO T HER HA M M O ND DR IV E HO US E

The city will buy another Hammond Drive residential property as a place-holder for a possible roadwidening project.

The $410,000 purSPECIAL chase of 650 HamThe house at 650 Hammond Drive as seen in city files. mond Drive was approved by the City Council June 5. It is one of several residential properties the city has bought for the possible project over the past two years.

The city also recently issued a request for proposals for a study of the possible roadwidening.

While the latest purchase was approved, City Councilmember Chris Burnett urged caution in future property acquisition. He said the latest deal was the highest price per square foot that the city had yet paid for a Hammond property.

“I think we’re getting on the high side,” said Burnett, saying the city must be careful “because it could get awful expensive for us if we keep going up.”

The council previously agreed that if any Hammond houses it purchases cost less to repair than to demolish, those houses would be rented to public safety officers at affordable rates. Many city police officers and firefighters cannot afford to live in Sandy Springs. As an experiment, the city last year began renting one of the houses to a police officer for $500 a month.

City Manager John McDonough said he doesn’t yet know whether 650 Hammond will be suitable for such housing and said the city “will follow our standard process to evaluate it.”

FU LTO N CO U NTY NA M ES ‘O P I O ID C O O R DINATO R ’ TO COM BAT DR UG EP I DEM I C

Fulton County has named a new “opioid coordinator” to help combat the narcotic drug epidemic.

Lynnette Allen is taking the new $55,300-a-year position.

“The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on our society and within our county,” said Board of Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Bob Ellis, who sponsored legislation in 2017 establishing the county’s Opioid Abuse and Misuse Prevention Plan, in a press release.

“Establishing this critical role is another bold step we are taking to proactively combat this menace.”

The press release says that Allen will “lead Fulton County’s efforts to address the opioid crisis and will serve as the point of contact between the county and community -based organizations, elected officials, Fulton County courts, local governments, the state of Georgia and federal officials.”

Allen brings more than 25 years of experience in public health and behavioral health, according to the press release. She has served with Fulton County since 2006, most recently as a program evaluation specialist with the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities. She holds a bachelor of science degree in community health education from the University of South Carolina.

Fulton has already joined lawsuits against prescription drug makers and distributors for their role in the opioid addiction epidemic, and provides funding for local first responders to carry the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, among other efforts.

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Women candidates on the rise in local races

BY EVELYN ANDREWS evelyn@reporternewspapers.net

More women have been running for local elected positions, particularly state legislature seats, in the past few years, pushing out perennial male candidates and filling seats formerly held by men.

On both Democratic and Republican sides of this year’s current legislative races in districts that cover Buckhead, Brookhaven, Dunwoody or Sandy Springs, there are 14 women candidates and eight male candidates.

Analysts think Republicans and Democrats alike are inspired by increased political attention nationwide and are more encouraged to run. The candidates agree those factors are contributing to the increase and also say women running encourages others.

Kay Kirkpatrick, a Republican state senator who has represented Sandy Springs since 2017, said women bring a different perspective to the table.

“There’s no reason women can’t be in leadership positions for the better of the state,” Kirkpatrick said. “They have different ways of thinking.”

Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University, said most of the conversations around women candidates center on Democrats because the increase is chalked up to movements against President Donald Trump driving more political participation.

“There’s a focus on Democratic women because of that hypothesis,” she said.

But Trump could be inspiring conservative women, as well as more moderate Republicans, to run, Gillespie said.

“They may be running as a more moderate voice in their party,” she said.

One historical reason the amount of women running has been low is because they are not encouraged by their parties or voters to run, she said, adding that there may be a shift.

“One of the big structural reasons women don’t run for office is they’re not encouraged to run,” she said. “Republican women have to be encouraged.”

Women are automatically assumed to be more moderate and liberal, which can be a disadvantage in most Republican primaries, but may be an advantage in the north metro Atlanta area, said Beth Reingold, a professor at Emory.

Many districts in this area are not “super-solid Republican districts,” which may give women a stronger chance at winning as voters begin voting for more moderate and Democratic candidates, Reingold said.

In Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, Republican Karen Handel beat Democrat Jon Ossoff in a race highly publicized as “flippable,” although a Republican has held the district since the 1970s. Democrats Kevin Abel and Lucy McBath will face off in a July 24 runoff, potentially setting up an allwomen race for the seat.

Several state legislature seats have drawn women Democratic challengers.

In some races, both parties’ nominees are women and will face each other in the Nov. 6 general election.

State Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democrat who represents parts of Buckhead and Cobb County in the District 6 seat, will face Republican Leah Aldridge. Jordan said the increase in women candidates could be due to issues that have become prominent recently being more important to women than men, such as education, healthcare and gun control.

“I think that’s part of what compels women to run,” she said.

She believes women were previously holding themselves back from running because of their obligations. Women often thought it wasn’t the right time for them to take on the endeavor, she said.

“I think what we’ve started to realize is, it’s never a good time, but it’s absolutely necessary,” Jordan said.

Aldridge said being a woman did not have influence on her decision to run, but she was mentored and encouraged by a longtime woman state representative, Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta).

Kirkpatrick, who represents state Senate District 32, said women may be encouraged by the increase in women running.

Democrat Ellyn Jeagar, who will challenge incumbent Republican John Albers in the District 56 race, said Democratic women are fed up with Republican policies.

“I think some people have been pushed to the edge of what people can tolerate.

That means some people are stepping in,” she said.

She said Georgia is “fortunate” to have the women running to help provide a more accurate representation of voters.

“At least half of Georgia is women, but you would not know that by looking at the House of Representatives or the Senate,” she said.

Others, like Betsy Holland, have been recruited by local groups set up to encourage Democratic women to run and challenge incumbent Republicans.

Holland, who defeated two male Democratic candidates in the primary, said the national political climate has “energized” people and drawn them to run.

On the Democratic side, Reingold, the Emory professor, has seen more women that do not have a strong chance at winning running for office.

“This surge in Democratic candidates seems to be a little less cautious,” she said.

Women candidates are typically more strategic, while men are less concerned with their chances, Reingold said.

“Male candidates are more willing to run even when they’re not sure of their own qualifications,” she said.

Some male candidates in recent local elections, such as Democrats Patrick Thompson in state Senate District 56 and Bob Gibeling in state House District 54, have

been perennial and unsuccessful candidates for various offices. They typically win their primaries with A B C no challengers, but this year were both pushed out in the primary by women candidates.

Thompson, who lost D E F to Jeagar in the A - Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie.

Democratic B - Ellyn Jeagar, a Democrat, is challenging is challenging District 56 primary, said state Sen. John Albers. C - Betsy Holland is running as the Democratic he was glad to nominee for the state House District 54 seat. D - Leah Aldridge, a Republican, is challenging District 6 state Sen. Jen Jordan. see more womE - State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick. F - State Sen. Jen Jordan. en running, but believes he running for various seats for 10 years and lost because people vote for women purealways attends community events to be ly because their gender. bested by a newcomer.

“I did hear people who are saying they “It’s a little disheartening,” he said. are voting for all women candidates, He said that groups like PaveItBlue rethe same as people that vote all one parcruiting unqualified women can have a ty, which I think is not a good practice,” negative affect because some people autoThompson said. matically vote for women.

Thompson said he feels he has gotten “That’s good and bad. I’m glad women short shrift as the candidate who has been took the initiative to recruit people,” he said.

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City Springs brings star power to debut season

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In its bid to make a splash in metro Atlanta’s arts scene, the City Springs Performing Arts Center has announced a highly varied debut season with some star power.

Jazz legend Branford Marsalis and his band will play as part of the opening day series at Sandy Springs’ new civic center Aug. 11. Other 20182019 performers include blues and world music star Taj Mahal, bestselling Christian author and speaker Rob Bell, and SPECIAL special programs by the AtlanTaj Mahal Trio. ta Ballet and the Atlanta Opera.

The season also includes film, comedy, lectures, circus arts, dance, symphonic and chamber music, and more. The new City Springs Theatre Company, an independent but City Springs-based company, will have its debut season as well.

The season announcement included a non-artistic event with news that National Night Out, the annual police community relations gathering, would be held at City Springs’ City Green park Aug. 7. The city previously joined Brookhaven and Dunwoody in a joint National Night Out at Perimeter Mall. It’s described as part of an “opening celebration” for the PAC, which technically includes City Green, though it will not be the first event held there; the June 9 “Food That Rocks” restaurant tasting is scheduled for that honor.

The artistic kickoff on Aug. 11 is branded as “City Springs Day” and will have a variety of free performances, with a charge only for the Branford Marsalis Quartet concert.

Subscription ticket packages are on sale now, and single tickets will be available starting June 22.

For more information, see citysprings.com.

City Springs is the city’s new mixed-use civic center on a 14-acre site bounded by Sandy Springs Circle, Mount Vernon Highway and Roswell and Johnson Ferry roads.

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Art & Entertainment | 7

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OPENING CELEBRATION • National Night Out, Aug. 7 • City Springs Day and Branford Marsalis Quarter: Aug. 11 • Concerts by the Springs After Party (featuring surprise guest artist): Aug. 12 • National Geographic Live!: Steve Winter: On the Trail of Big Cats: Tigers, Cougars, and Snow Leopards: Aug. 14 • Joe Gransden Big Band, featuring Landau Eugene Murphy: Aug. 16

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• Steinway Celebration (debut of concert grand piano): Aug. 17 • Sutton Foster: Aug. 18 • Atlanta Jewish Film Festival presents Heading Home: A Tale of Team Israel: Aug. 19

PERFORMING ARTS SERIES • Taj Mahal Trio, Sept. 8 • Late Night Tailgate comedy/sports: Oct. 11 • The Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir: Oct. 25 • Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company: Nov. 1 • Boston Brass: Christmas Bells are Swingin’: Dec. 22 • City Springs New Years Celebration with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, featuring Joe Gransden and Francine Reed: Dec. 31 • Simone Dinnerstein, piano, and Matt Haimovitz, cello: Jan. 29 • Broadway’s Next Hit Musical: Feb. 1 and 2 • Cirque Éloize: Saloon: Feb. 5

SPEAKER SERIES • Rob Bell: The Holy Shift Tour, Oct. 13 • Colonel (Ret.) Jill W. Chambers, speaking on PTSD and veterans: Sept. 22 • DEA Narcos: Steve Murphy and Javier Peña, involved in pursuit of drug cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar, Oct. 16

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• Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel, cybersecurity expert: April 3`

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE! SERIES • Kobie Boykins: Exploring Mars: March 14 • Mireya Mayor: Pink Boots and a Machete: May 6

AFFILIATE PROGRAMMING • City Springs Theatre Company debut season: September 2018 through July 2019 • Roswell Dance Theatre: The Nutcracker: Nov. 23-Dec. 2 • Atlanta Ballet: April 12-14 • Atlanta Opera: May 17-19

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The Heather Gillis Band, a roots rock band, is next up in this lineup of summer concerts, held every other Saturday evening, rain or shine, through July 21. Seating available on a first-come, first-served basis in the meadow or on the back porch.

Outside food and drink welcome. Craft beers, sodas and water available. $5 adults; $3 students; free for members and for children 3 and under. 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody. Info: dunwoodynature.org/2018-summer-concert-series.

Introducing Robin Conte’s debut book ‘The Best of the Nest’ “The Best of the Nest” offers 49 of Reporter Newpapers columnist Robin Conte’s witty essays on suburban family life, organized by seasons. They include some of the pieces that won Robin the first-place Lifestyle/Features Column award in the 2017 Georgia Press Association contest.

To follow updates on Robin’s book-related appearances, visit robinconte.com To order the book, visit bestofthenest.net

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POSSUM TROT 10K Saturday, June 16, 6-9 a.m.

The 40th annual Possum Trot 10K is a flatcourse run along the Chattahoochee River that benefits the Chattahoochee Nature Center’s environmental education and wildlife rehabilitation programs. Food, music and vendors before and after the run at CNC’S Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion. Registration fees for the AJC Peachtree Road Race qualifying event include free admission for the day to CNC, a T-shirt and giveaways.

9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. Registration and parking info: chattnaturecenter.org.

Enjoy free admission and special programs on the second Sunday of each month.

CAJUN CONCERT AND DANCE Saturday, June 16, 8-11 p.m.

The Atlanta Cajun Zydeco Association hosts the Nashvillebased Roux du Bayoux Cajun Band at the Dorothy Benson Center. Cajun/Creole food for sale. All ages. No partner necessary. $18; $14 active military; $5 students. Cash or check only.

Free Two-Step dance lesson at 7 p.m. Intermediate/Advanced Cajun dance class from 4:30-6 p.m. is $15. 6500 Vernon Woods Drive, Sandy Springs. Info: aczadance.org or 877-338-2420.

FATHER’S DAY ON THE RIVER Sunday, June 17, 1–4 p.m.

Dads and grandfathers get free admission to the Chattahoochee Nature Center on Father’s Day. Walk the trails, enjoy nature center programs or celebrate the day with a family canoe trip and paddle to the playgrounds at Riverside Park. Ages 6 to adult. $35 general public; $30 CNC members. Register by June 14 for limited spaces for the canoe trip. 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. Info: chattnaturecenter.org.

BROOKHAVEN COMMUNITY BIKE RIDE Sunday, June 17, 2 p.m.

Join the Brookhaven Bike Alliance for community rides every third Sunday at varying locations. Rides cancelled in inclement weather. June 17 location is Ashford Park, 2980 Redding Road, Brookhaven. Info: facebook.com/groups/BrookhavenBikeAlliance.

SPRING YOGA SERIES Saturday, June 23, 9 a.m.

Stretch and strengthen with gentle yoga in the gardens of the Atlanta History Center in a class led by wellness practitioner Sarah Bristow and illustrator Veronica McDaniel, collaborators on the coloring book and yoga guide “Find Your Animal Side.” All ages. $10; $8 History Center members. 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead. Info: AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/programs or 404-814-4000.

STAND UP FOR THE HOOCH

Sunday, June 24, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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The seventh annual Stand Up For The Hooch race includes 2-mile and 6-mile stand up paddleboard races and a free kids’ race on the Chattahoochee River. All ages and ability levels welcome. Sponsored by High Country Outfitters in Buckhead, this year’s event benefits Sandy Springs Recreation and Parks scholarships. $45. Morgan Falls Overlook Park, 200 Morgan Falls Road, Sandy Springs. Registration info: highcountryoutfitters.com/StandUpfortheHooch-418.

Continued on page 10

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Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News Continued from page 9

KIDS AND FAMILIES purchase of $25 or more Sandy Springs 5975 Roswell Rd, Suite A-103 (404) 236-2114 NothingBundtCakes.com Expires 6/29/18. Limit one (1) coupon per guest. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. $5 off $25 before tax. Valid only at the bakery(ie listed.

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Wednesday, June 13, Saturday, June 16 and Wednesday, June 27, 10-10:45 a.m.

Perimeter North Medical Associates is proud to serve the families throughout the Atlanta area. Offering a full range of family medicine

Heritage Sandy Springs has partnered with The Swell Shop to introduce babies and toddlers to music, movement, and dance. Ages 4 and under. Siblings welcome.

Families may bring picnic lunches to enjoy in the park after the program. Heritage Green, 6110 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs. Info: heritagesandysprings.org or find Swell Music By The Springs on Facebook.

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The Atlanta History Center hosts its annual free admission twoday program commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. Themes of freedom and family history will be explored through author talks, stories, museum theatre and crafts. In conjunction with the exhibition “Barbecue Nation,” author-chef Michael W. Twitty will do cooking demonstrations and speak on African and African-American food traditions in Southern barbecue. Food and drinks available for purchase. 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead. Info: AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/programs or 404-814-4000.

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Art & Entertainment | 11

www.ReporterNewspapers.net

BACKYARD CAMPOUT

Saturday, June 16, 4 p.m. to Sunday, June 17, 9 a.m.

Join Dunwoody Nature Center educators for a family-focused program that covers camping basics such as setting up tents and building campfires. Overnight adventure includes s’mores, games and a night hike. $25 per campsite; $20 per campsite for DNC members. 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody. Registration and packing list: dunwoodynature.org/backyard-campout.

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GET INTO THE COMMUNITY DUNWOODY LIBRARY BOOK SALE

Thursday, June 14, 4-8 p.m.; Friday, June 15 and Saturday, June 16, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday, June 18: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Friends of the Dunwoody Library host a four-day book sale kicking off with a members only sale on June 14 from 1-4 p.m. prior to public sale hours starting at 4 p.m. that day, and concluding with a Bag Day sale on the last day. 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Info: 770-512-4640.

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12 | Commentary

Reporter Newspapers

Our mission is to provide our readers with fresh and engaging information about life in their communities.

Published by Springs Publishing LLC 6065 Roswell Road, Suite 225 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 Phone: 404-917-2200 • Fax: 404-917-2201 Brookhaven Reporter | Buckhead Reporter Dunwoody Reporter | Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net Atlanta INtown www.AtlantaINtownPaper.com Atlanta Senior Life www.AtlantaSeniorLife.com

C O NTA C T US Founder & Publisher Steve Levene stevelevene@reporternewspapers.net Editorial Managing Editor John Ruch johnruch@reporternewspapers.net INtown Editor: Collin Kelley Editor-at-Large Joe Earle Staff Writers Dyana Bagby, Evelyn Andrews Copy Editor: Donna Williams Lewis Creative and Production Creative Director Rico Figliolini rico@reporternewspapers.net Graphic Designers: Soojin Yang, Wes Duvall Advertising Director of Sales Development Amy Arno amyarno@reporternewspapers.net Sales Executives Melissa Kidd, Jeff Kremer, Janet Porter, Jim Speakman Office Manager Deborah Davis deborahdavis@reporternewspapers.net

Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News

Community Survey / The importance of women on the ballot More women candidates are appearing on ballots this summer and fall, and a substantial majority of the respondents to our most recent 1Q.com community survey found that to be a good thing.

Asked whether they thought increased representation by women was an important consideration when they voted, 70 percent of the 200 respondents said a candidate’s gender was very important or mattered a little. Just three in 10 said gender made no difference.

And the gender of the person answering the question seemed to matter in determining her or his answer. About two thirds of the people who answered gender was “very important” were women. And nearly twice as many men as women felt that gender made no difference.

The survey was conducted by cellphone and is not scientific.

Among many of the respondents who felt increasing the number of women in elective office was important to do, expectations are high for the changes more women officials would bring to governing, both locally and nationally.

Those respondents said they expected change on a wide variety of topics: gun control; listening to constituents; better family care policies; more money for education; more accountability and less corruption in government. One 38-yearold woman predicted the result would be “more logical thinking and open-mindedness.”

“I’m not sure there will be new or different policies, but there will be more diverse conversations around all policy discussions,” a 54-year-old Brookhaven woman commented.

A 29-year-old Buckhead man predicted that having more women in elective office would mean “more support for Planned Parenthood, education reform and equal rights for women.” A 28-year-old Dunwoody man expected “better family care

(e.g., maternity leave, childcare) and reproductive rights policies.”

And a 55-year-old Sandy Springs woman thought “new changes and policies could be more inclusive.”

Not everyone thought the gender of a candidate mattered, however.

“I would imagine more women in of-

fice would have little effect on policies,” a 49-year-old Sandy Springs man said. “Politicians by nature are consensus-driven, whether through their constituents, inner-circle or financial backers. I don’t see women as having more or less ability in his area.”

More women candidates from both major parties have been running for our area’s state and federal offices in recent years. How important to you is increased representation by women officials when you choose a candidate?

Makes no difference Very important

Matters a little bit

Contributor Julie E. Bloemeke, Kathy Dean, Phil Mosier

Free Home Delivery 60,000 copies of Reporter Newspapers are delivered by carriers to homes in ZIP codes 30305, 30319, 30326, 30327, 30328, 30338, 30342 and 30350 and to more than 500 business/retail locations.

For locations, check “Where To Find Us” at www.ReporterNewspapers.net For delivery requests, please email delivery@reporternewspapers.net.

Here’s what some other respondents had to say “New changes and policies could be more inclusive.”

– 55-year-old Sandy Springs woman

“Hopefully they can do something about the wage gap.”

– 24-year-old Sandy Springs man

“The issues we have aren’t gender-specific.”

– 47-year-old Brookhaven woman

“Definitely a lot more policies regarding women’s rights in the workplace, and maybe a new perspective on any current policies needing change.”

– 22-year-old DeKalb County woman

“Gender is meaningless to me when I evaluate candidates.

Who is most qualified? Whose values best match mine?”

– 51-year-old Buckhead man

© 2018 with all rights reserved Publisher reserves the right to refuse editorial or advertising for any reason. Publisher assumes no responsibility for information contained in advertising. Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Reporter Newspapers or Springs Publishing, LLC.

1Q is an Atlanta-based startup that has developed a technology which sends questions and surveys to a cellphone via app or text message from businesses and organizations across the country. Respondents are paid 50 cents per answer, through PayPal, for sharing their opinions.

Payments may also be donated directly to charity. Sign up to be included in our local community polls at 1Q.com/reporter or by texting REPORTER to 86312.

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018

■

Commentary | 13

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Around Town

Joe Earle is editor-at-large at Reporter Newspapers and has lived in metro Atlanta for over 30 years. He can be reached at joeearle@reporternewspapers.net

The Jewish Democratic Women’s Salon leaders include, from left, Valerie Habif, Kate Kratovil and Joanie Shubin.

JOE EARLE

In Trump era, a Democratic women’s group thrives

SS

vited to participate is when the salon hosted forums in which local candidates came in to debate. Kratovil said in an email that it “comes down to a sense of camaraderie and being able to have a true safe space, especially with women’s health and access to healthcare as a main focus of JDWS.” Now that the organization is up and running, the founders say they intend to keep going.

“We started with an idea and look what we’ve accomplished,” Habif said. “This is what happens when like-minded people come together. … We will never go back. Once you understand your responsibility, you can never go back. It was a delusion to leave it to others to do the right thing …

“Complacency is not an option,” she said.

This is not your father’s political group. It doesn’t raise funds or hand out contributions to candidates. Its founders don’t deny their partisanship, but they don’t see themselves as practicing politics in the usual way, either. They call their group a “salon,” the Jewish Democratic Women’s Salon.

“We didn’t know what else to call it,” co-founder Joanie Shubin said.

“We don’t mean a hair salon,” co-founder Valerie Habif quickly added.

No, their salon would be one of the old style, a place for talking and for learning about issues and politics. “It was really to gather like-minded people,” Habif said. “We were really frustrated about what was happening to people.”

But their salon has developed a newfangled spin: it has taken off on the internet. The group that started with a few dozen women gathered in the meeting room of a Buckhead condo now claims more than 1,100 members who interact regularly through an invitation-only Facebook page.

And they believe they offer a sign of change in local politics since the election of President Donald Trump. The women behind the salon say Trump’s presidency has convinced waves of other progressive and Democrat-leaning women to join the political seas. Even, the salon’s organizers say, in traditionally Republican suburbs such as Sandy Springs.

Members of the salon actually started meeting back in 2012, when Barack Obama was president and the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed “Obamacare,” seemed to be all anybody wanted to talk about. Habif, a clinical psychologist who’s now retired, and Shubin, who volunteered with nonprofits, were trying to figure out just what the fuss was all about.

“We didn’t understand the opposition,” Habif said during a recent chat at a Sandy Springs coffee shop. “What we did was to better understand the other side. Why would people be opposed to everyone having access to the same healthcare they have? What was so scary about healthcare?”

Habif and Shubin, who both live in Sandy Springs, regularly talked to one another about issues, but they decided they needed to hear more points of view. They invited some friends to get together and invited an expert to speak. Soon, the women were meeting regularly to discuss issues of the day and to hear from experts on those issues. The idea was to educate and empower like-minded women in the area, the founders said, and to get them engaged in political issues. “We mean [to attract] women, other Jewish women, who were going through the same things we were going through,” Habif said.

The group grew slowly, through word of mouth at first. Once 29-year-old member Kate Kratovil of Brookhaven, who works with nonprofits as a professional, established the group on Facebook in 2016, however, membership really took off. It was about the time of the current president’s election, she said, and suddenly progressive women wanted new ways to get involved in politics. “Donald Trump was the catalyst,” Kratovil said.

Regardless of what motivates members, its founders say the salon focuses on local issues. “We’re all about local,” Habif said. “This is about having local voices.”

“We are a true grassroots group,” Kratovil said.

The group focuses its attention on a half-dozen issues its members see as driving women’s political discussions here. Topics include gun violence, women’s health and reproductive rights, refugee and immigrant rights, education and child protection, hate crime legislation and resisting “religious liberty” laws in Georgia.

The founders say the salon defines itself as a women’s group created for and run by women and that it keeps its discussions women-only. The only time men have been in-

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Guest Column / Capt. Rose says farewell to policing Sandy Springs On Jan. 3, 1980, I began my police relationship with Sandy Springs.

A beat car was assigned to me on the evening watch, 3 to 11 p.m., working the west side of Roswell Road from I-285 north to Abernathy Road. I was somewhat familiar with Sandy Springs as I traveled north on Roswell Road to get home from Buckhead, where I used to throw darts at a bar called Digger O’ Dells on East Andrews Drive.

At the time, Fulton County Police was new, only five years old since splitting from city of Atlanta police on July 1, 1975. North Fulton was where APD sent the older officers and those who they would rather not see. It was their version of Siberia, but for the officers, it was the briar patch. Few calls, nice scenery, and it was not Atlanta.

I came along as part of the first merit system class of employees, not a transfer from the city police. Since I had three years of experience, I rode two days with older officers, then was given a copied map of the north county and set loose. I immediately managed to get lost somewhere north of the river, on a call to Mountain Park. I ended up in Hickory Flat and on the lieutenant’s you-know-what list after the complainant asked why I never showed for the report. They decided to send me south into Sandy Springs. I got a call on Johnson Ferry Road near the hospital. I ended up on Johnson Ferry in Cobb County. That was the beginning.

Twenty-four years later, Ashley Jenkins, my Neighborhood Watch contact in her subdivision, asked if I would be interested in the new city of Sandy Springs Police Task Force, charged with creating the city’s police department. My retirement was close and this was a perfect opportunity, so I agreed. For weeks on end, a core group of five or so of us met each Wednesday, trying to build a police department. We literally started from scratch. Budgets, work force numbers, cars, radios, procurement lists, and how on Earth would we put it all together, were part of the weekly discussions.

Of course, there isn’t enough room to talk about the entire process we endured to get to July 1, 2006. The fact is, it was a daily crisis, but at the same time, incredibly fun. Everything from scratch! Cars, badges, uniforms, everything.

Other agencies often commend us for our badges, gold set on a black background. That

actually came about as a mistake. The badge-maker was supposed to make the badge in the traditional black writing on gold, but she got it backwards. We liked it so much we adopted it as our badge. Although they may not admit it, Dunwoody and Johns Creek followed suit.

As time neared, there were only five or so of us officially designated as SSPD officers, neatly tucked into a corner at the CH2M Hill city management offices, sitting on boxes, recruiting officers on our cheap Nextel phones.

We wore several hats. Mine was community and media. We were under the microscope with the competitive Atlanta media market. Everything we did made the news. On July 6, 2006, we began operations at midnight. One minute later, we arrested a drunk guy at the Shell station on Northwood Drive. To this day, I am sure he has no idea of his significance to the new police department.

Our new police units drove south from City Hall while the county police drove north in a pre-arranged changing of the guard, in a parade-style event. We waved to them; they waved back — some with only one finger. It was a difficult transition.

I consider myself lucky to have been a part of such a rare event, to create a police department from the very beginning. As I leave, I realize the majority of officers and staff within the department came long after the inception and have no idea how SSPD came about.

Maybe I will write a book.

We have a wonderful community, so much so that I believe we are somewhat spoiled.

With so much anti-police ranting on social media over the past years, people are afraid to support the men and women of law enforcement. You have been consistent through it all, providing a tremendous support system for our department. We are truly lucky.

I want to thank many people who got us to this point, but especially Ashley Jenkins, Jim Anderson, Joe Wilkerson, former Chief Gene Wilson, Eva Galambos, Tibby DeJulio, John Paulson, Dave Greenspan, Rusty Paul and a host of others. I especially want to thank Sandy Rose, one of the best detectives ever and the love of my life.

Thank you for all the support in the past and all of the great things that lay ahead!

Steve Rose recently retired as a captain in the Sandy Springs Police Department. He now works there in a civilian role.

Atlanta’s

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JUNE 8 - 21, 2018

■

Public Safety | 15

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JOHN RUCH

Family members celebrating the “Steve Rose Day” proclamation at City Hall June 5 were, from left, mother Sue Rose; Steve Rose; grandson Cohen; wife Sandy Rose; granddaughter Sawyer; and daughter and son-in-law Emily and Patrick Girvan.

Police Capt. Rose, known for crime ‘Wrap-Up,’ retires

BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net

SS

Sandy Springs Police Capt. Steve Rose, known throughout the city for his “Weekly Wrap-Up” crime reports, retired May 23 after 42 years of policing.

He was honored with a “Steve Rose Day” proclamation by Mayor Rusty Paul and the City Council on June 5.

Rose, whose “Wrap-Up” appears in the Reporter as the crime blotter, said he will stick around at SSPD in a civilian role, running the Citizens on Patrol and volunteer units. And he believes the department will allow him to keep writing the “Wrap-Up,” which reports certain crimes in the city with Rose’s often sarcastic commentary. The “Wrap-Up” began around 2001 as emails that expanded into a weekly newsletter.

Rose is retiring after 42 years, with police service that is older than the city itself. He previously served on the Fulton County Police force before the city’s incorporation and creation of its own department in 2006. He most recently served as night commander at SSPD’s South District.

The city proclamation, read aloud by Paul, thanked Rose for his service, including helping to found the city’s police force in 2005 and its first Neighborhood Watch programs, and praised him for using “the power of the pen, mixed with a dry, sarcastic humor to inform and entertain…”

Paul concluded by saying that “the leadership of the city, as well as its citizens, want to thank Steve Rose for his long-standing dedication and service to our community, helping ensure that we stay safe.”

While known for his humor, Rose took a serious approach to accepting the proclamation, downplaying himself and praising other officers. He said he accepted it on behalf of police everywhere and for his wife and fellow Officer San-

dy Rose. He spoke at length about Sandy Rose’s longtime work investigating child sexual abuse cases and how they once came close to adopting a 14-year-old left orphaned by a murder-suicide.

“I tell you, there are very few people with that level of commitment,” Steve Rose said. “…My greatest compliment to my wife is, I wouldn’t want her coming after me.”

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New cut-through road may now target home, garden Continued from page 1 Springs Branch Library.

City spokesperson Sharon Kraun did not confirm that the city wants Spruill’s property for the cut-through, but didn’t deny it, either.

“The city is looking at all options available to provide the best possible project for this intersection safety and improvement project,” was the only comment Kraun would provide, declining to say whether the city is still considering The Reading Park or other alternatives.

The Reading Park sits on land owned by Fulton County, which has not responded to repeated comment requests. Neighborhood rumors have swirled that the county opposes the cut-through.

Many local homeowners associations’ members definitely oppose it.

Yard signs are sprinkled across local lawns, reading, “No cut through!!! Save our homes. Save our park. Save our neighborhood.”

The signs were designed by Brooke Henze, a Johnson Ferry Road resident who recently opened a gift shop on Hilderbrand Drive. Various HOAs are paying for and distributing the signs, she said. Her house is across the street

from The Reading Park, and she doesn’t think a cut-through that displaces Spruill from her home is a better solution.

“I want our leadership to be accountable to their vague claims of ‘traffic efficiency for the greater good’ and why destruction of homes, a long-standing neighborhood and property is warranted to provide, what, one extra potential minute through a traffic light just to get bottlenecked at Roswell Road?” said Henze in an email. “Our neighborhood is being used as a playground for trying to bandage all the misguided traffic planning and development choices made by current leadership.”

Bob Lebbing, president of the Glenridge Hammond Neighborhood Association, says most City Council members have visited the area at the invitation of local HOA representatives, partly to see the park first-hand rather than on an abstract map. His HOA is particularly concerned that a new cut-through would increase commuter traffic already filling its neighborhood.

“Right now, the design is not desirable for everybody,” said Lebbing. “…

We’re trying to keep an open dialogue with the city.”

The cut-through idea is just part of

the city’s long and complicated attempt to improve the complex Mount Vernon/ Johnson Ferry intersection. Currently, it has an unusual X-shaped configuration complicated by Boylston Drive entering from the south. Located just a block east of busy Roswell Road, the intersection is known as dangerous and gridlocked during rush hour, though traffic can be light at most other times.

City officials say there were more than 150 accidents reported there in 2014 through 2016.

For several years, the city worked on a redesign involving dual roundabouts. Those options drew immediate criticism after their 2015 unveiling for the land-taking required at senior residences and other spots, and for concerns they would make traffic worse and more dangerous.

In the latest proposals issued earlier this year, a dual roundabout is still an option. But city officials clearly favor two new grid options, saying they are less expensive and, unlike the roundabouts, would improve future rushhour traffic flow.

In the grid concept, the intersection would be eliminated, with Mount Vernon and Johnson Ferry reconfigured as separate streets running paral-

lel, though very close together, through that area. Boylston Drive would end there in a T intersection rather than going across both streets.

The cut-through comes in as a way to maintain a connection between Mount Vernon and Johnson Ferry for crossover traffic. It is proposed as a four-lane road about a block long, with traffic lights.

The grid concept could still work without the cut-through road, just less efficiently, according to Steve Tiedemann, the city’s manager of projects funded by a transportation special local option tax, which includes the intersection.

“It’s not the end of the world for me if it goes away,” Tiedemann previously said of the cut-through road concept.

However, it would mean crossover traffic likely increasing on Glenridge Drive, about 1,500 feet farther east.

The cut-through has been the biggest sticking point in community opposition, with many residents saying they might otherwise support the grid options. Lebbing said that killing the cut-through could inconvenience some drivers a bit longer, but also means “you’re not taking parks and land that is valuable to the public and you’re not dispersing traffic into a neighborhood.”

He said he thinks a “win-win for the neighborhoods” is still possible in the designs.

“I do not want a cut-through,” said Spruill, who has one of the opposition signs in her front yard.

Her daughter Cathy says that the city is only offering money, “whereas this is her life, what she does, the way she lives.”

Spruill calls her home the “best of both worlds” — easy access to the city’s shops, but lots of peace and quiet and greenery. She and her family are responsible for a lot of that greenery. Her late husband’s rose bed is still there; so are her mother’s peonies. There’s an extensive vegetable garden, and in the back, a small woodland of mature trees that her children watched grow from saplings.

When Doris and George Marshall Spruill moved to Sandy Springs from Buckhead nearly 70 years ago, Roswell Road was two lanes, and they erected a picket fence along Mount Vernon to keep neighboring cows and mules from trampling the kids. Sitting on a rear patio amid the greenery on a recent afternoon, she said the city’s wrong if it thinks she’ll accept being eminent-domained and leave to a nursing home.

She declined to say how much the city had offered, only that it wasn’t enough to give up her home. As she spoke, the traffic on nearby streets could barely be heard in the garden’s quiet.

“Can you imagine this being converted into pavement?” she asked.

SS

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018

■

Public Safety | 17

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City Springs debuts pedal-powered police patrol

BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net

City Springs is getting pedal-powered protection from the city’s first-ever police bicycle patrol.

The new Sandy Springs civic center is partly intended to transform the downtown area into a more walkable and bikefriendly place. For now, it’s still unusual to see bicyclists there — let alone bike-riders carrying Tasers and handguns. So the new patrol has caught public attention.

Sgt. Paul Pietruszka assembled and commands the six-officer City Springs bike squad. He says that since the officers started riding in March, passers-by frequently stop them for a chat and a few questions.

The public reaction? “Mainly shocked” that cops are out of cars and on bikes, says Officer Herschel Duke, one of the patrol members.

“We get a good reception from everybody,” says fellow bike patrol member Officer Jordan Wright. “People tend to like to see us.”

That sort of approachability is one of the pluses of a bike patrol, says Pietruszka.

Another is flexibility. With Roswell Road’s traffic, bike officers can “get around faster than a car sometimes,” he said.

The bike patrol is the first non-motorvehicle police beat since the city formed and opened its own police department in 2006. But years before that, Pietruszka patrolled parts of then-unincorporated Sandy Springs by bike as an officer with the Fulton County Police Department.

Part of the plan for City Springs — which includes the new City Hall and a soon-to-open Performing Arts Center, among other features — was a new police mini-precinct to ensure security. The bike patrol evolved from that plan. Pietruszka began assembling the group in October. Besides the regular patrols, the bike officers have monitored the grand opening of City Hall, the Heritage Sandy Springs Farmers Market and other new events at City Springs.

All the officers are volunteers for the stamina-straining 10-hour shifts of pedal-pumping. Bicycling backgrounds are common. Duke said he was certified in bike patrols in the 1990s while working at the Detroit Police Department, where bikes are largely used for special events and around casinos. Wright previously patrolled by bike for the University of Georgia Police Department.

“We have no home” for now, says Duke, as the city has not figured out exactly where within City Springs they will be based. The patrol is now operating out of a police gym a block away on Hilderbrand Drive. Also available there are patrol cars, which they use if the weather is bad or if they have a suspect to transport to jail.

City Springs is a 14-acre site bounded by Sandy Springs Circle, Mount Vernon Highway and Roswell and Johnson SS

From left, Sandy Springs Police Sgt. Paul Pietruszka, Officer Herschel Duke and Officer Jordan Wright pose with their bikes at City Springs, the heart of their new pedal-powered beat.

Ferry roads. The bike beat includes not only that site, but the larger City Springs downtown district. The officers ride as far south as Cliftwood Drive and as far east as Boylston Drive.

Their uniform consists of blue, black

JOHN RUCH

and gray biking shirts with knitted-in badges, black shorts and matching helmets. They ride mountain bikes that are not of any special design, but some have seen previous police usage. Wright said his bike was used to patrol the 2012 Democrat-

ic National Convention in North Carolina.

The slower pace and ground-level view of bicycling helps with crime-spotting, the officers say. Car break-ins are a major concern for their beat, and patrolling a parking lot by bike is much easier.

“I think you can see a lot more stuff that you wouldn’t see in a car. We can go places cars can’t,” says Wright, explaining that the officers frequently check behind commercial buildings and other narrow spots.

With more freedom to move in traffic, Pietruszka says, the officers are responding more quickly to calls in progress, such as shoplifting cases where a suspect can frequently get away before a traffic-bound police car can arrive. The bike officers also played a role in the recent capture of a burglary suspect who threatened to kill himself on Sandy Springs Place before being wounded by a SWAT team.

Being on two wheels also means being exposed to more — or at least different — hazards of the roads. One officer already took a spill, suffering minor injuries. “Crossing over Roswell Road’s dangerous,” says Wright, adding that some car-drivers treat them courteously while others drive recklessly close.

“I’m sure it’s the same as any other bike on the road,” says Wright. Well, except that these bicyclists just might pull you over.

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A SPECIAL SECTION

Modern living, rustic settings beckon homebuyers

PHOTOS BY JULIE E. BLOEMEKE

Tiger Mountain Vineyards, co-owned by Martha Ezzard (pictured below), sits on 90 rolling acres between Rabun Gap and Tallulah Falls in North Georgia.

Days of Wine and Roses

Tiger Mountain Vineyards produces award-winning grapes

BY JULIE E. BLOEMEKE When three Tiger Mountain wines — the 2015 Sweet Petit (late harvest Petit Manseng), the 2014 Tannat and the 2016 Rosé — each won silver medals at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition, Martha Ezzard, one of the founders of Tiger Mountain Vineyards, knew it was official: “Georgia wines have come up in the world.”

The 2017 competition received over 3,000 wines from 999 wineries including wines from France, Portugal, South Africa, Italy and the U.S.; that Tiger Mountain did so well is a testament to family commitment, passion and dedication. Ezzard was also particularly thrilled because “Tiger Mountain was competing alongside wines from Napa and Sonoma wineries.”

The vineyards, located on about 90 acres between Rabun Gap and Tallulah Falls in Northeast Georgia, boasts a tasting room that hosts individual and reservation-based group tastings; individual and group winery tours; a wine and gift shop; an on-site facility where grapes are crushed, fermented and bottled; the Red Barn Café which offers lunch, brunch and Saturday dinner; a Tigerwine Tasters Wine Club; a pond teeming with bluegill and bass where visitors can relax and enjoy a glass of wine; numer-

ous picnic areas; and spots for do-your-own blueberry picking. Weddings, live music weekends, business meetings, parties and an Awakening the Vines celebration in the spring are also common events.

However, it was not always that way. The vineyard began with a dream and vision for Martha Ezzard and her husband, John, both professionals who traded city careers for a return to the rural land of Rabun County. John, a physician, and Martha, a lawyer, award-winning Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer and author of a memoir about the experience of relinquishing city life — “The Second Bud” — confesses their motivation: “Our chief aim,” said Ezzard, “was to save the family farm. It was part of John’s soul; he’s a farmer at heart.”

The land that comprises Tiger Mountain has been in the Ezzard family since the 1830s. Previously a dairy farm, John wanted to grow something but he was not sure what. There was talk of apples, but after extensive research and considering the land, soil and elevation, he landed on wine. It was not necessarily a popular decision with folks that had lived in the area for generations. Martha laughs when she shares the reaction. [Many people said] “John, how come you are growing these highfalutin grapes?” Then she confesses,

“I thought it was a crazy idea too, but the secret was finding a mentor in Virginia.”

It was another Georgia vintner — David Harris, previous owner of a small winery in Habersham County — who recommended that John speak to Dennis and Sharon Horton in Charlottesville. After doing so, Martha and John began by working the first five acres on their own, and in 1994-1995 they planted five red European grape varieties — Cabernet Franc, Tannat, Malbec, Touriga Nacional and Mourvedre. All of these were selected by John, who took Horton’s advice to cultivate grapes for fine dry wines. And French grapes (with the exception of the Touriga, which is Portuguese) were best suited for southeastern climate and soils. Tiger Mountain Vineyards was the first vine-

yard in Georgia’s history to make this move, concentrating on the fine dry wines over the sweeter varieties like muscadine.

A particular time of excitement came in 1998, when the first grapes were ready to harvest after about three years of maturing. The Ezzards shared the fruit with a local vintner who was “very excited about the quality,” Martha says.

And they sold the first harvest to the Hortons. This was also when the Ezzards produced their first batch of wine — on the back porch of the farmhouse in a large bucket purchased from Walmart. A photo of this event hangs in the old barn, now lovingly restored and converted to a shady nook-filled respite for visitors to enjoy a glass of wine while overlooking Tiger Mountain. This bout of initial success led to another important event in 1999: it was the year the winery officially opened for sales.

These days Tiger Mountain Vineyards produces 10 wines, but grows seven varieties of grape — five French, one Portuguese (the Touriga) and the native American Norton. They also produce three blends: Continued on page 20

SS

Special Section | 19

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

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Continued from page 18 the five-grape blend Rabun Red, (the most popular Tiger Mountain Wine), Mountain Cyn (a blend of Cab Franc and Norton, also known as Cynthiana) and TNT ( a blend of Touriga Nacional and Tannat).

The Norton, a grape native to Virginia, thrives on the Blue Ridge. It’s known, Ezzard says, for “being hardy and reliable.”

Martha has taken on her own experiments with the variety. She is currently growing two rows of Norton grapes that are chemical free. They cannot be organically certified because of the proximity of other grapes that are being grown traditionally. And the wine the Norton produces is not only known for being full-bodied with qualities of plums and cherries, it is also one of the essential wines that comprise the famed Rabun Red. The Petit Manseng is also a point of pride for Martha. Native to the southwestern France in the Pyrenees, it is known for its small berries and loose clusters, which make it harder for mildew to take hold.

And the ability for the Petit Manseng to ripen in the Georgia climate is great. The grape produces a crisp white wine with a hint of green apple tones. The late harvest Petit Manseng comprises the Sweet Petit, known for just enough sweetness to be considered a dessert wine.

And, while it was the 2015 late-harvest Petit Manseng grape that secured the 2017

win at the LA International Wine Competition, it was the 2013 Petit Manseng that won a gold medal for being an “exceptional wine that is near the pinnacle of achievement in its category” in the 2015 San Francisco International competition, known worldwide for “setting the standard for professional wine judging since its debut in 1980,” according to the website.

But to Martha, the connection to the grape is highly personal: “I think the Petit Manseng just loves Tiger Mountain!” she says.

Martha says a lot of folks see running a vineyard as “romantic.” But she is quick to note the intense labor involved, a topic she addresses in detail in her memoir: “[Running a vineyard] is so much work.

We are just farmers.”

Still, when touring Tiger Mountain Vineyards, one can’t help but note the rosebushes planted at the end of almost every row of vines. Pops of red, orange and yellow dot the landscape amidst the green of the grape leaves. This practice originated in France as the flowers are early indicators of disease. Harbingers, they serve as way to ensure vines will stay healthy.

As it happens, Martha says, she and John have been “gifting each other rosebushes for years.” It is a tradition they picked up on and continued, in honor of the vineyard’s legacy, and of one another.

For more information, visit tigerwine.com.

Escape to the Mountains

Wine Country

More mountain vineyards to sip and savor The Cottage Vineyard and Winery 5050 Hwy 129 North, Cleveland, GA cottagevineyardwinery.com Open since 2012, the vineyard hosts tastings seven days a week and also offers live music on Saturdays.

hira, Valdosta and Helen, Georgia.

Wolf Mountain Winery 180 Wolf Mountain Trail Dahlonega, GA wolfmountainvineyards.com Wine tastings and tours include an estate tasting flight or a group tasting flight. Reservations are required.

Cavender Creek Vineyards & Winery 3610 Cavender Creek Road Dahlonega, GA cavendercreekvineyards.com Wine tastings invite visitors to sample any four wines from the menu; souvenir glasses are available.

Three Sisters Vineyards 439 Vineyard Way, Dahlonega, GA threesistersvineyards.com Hosts walk-in tastings Thursday through Sunday. Features “Chicks and Chocolate” tasting which pairs six wines with various artisan chocolates.

Boutier Winery 4506 Hudson River Church Road Danielsville, GA boutierwinery.com Hosts weekend wine tastings with a sampling of six wines; no appointment needed.

Montaluce Winery and Estates 501 Hightower Church Road Dahlonega, GA montaluce.com

Yonah Mountain Vineyards 1717 Highway 255 South, Cleveland, GA yonahmountainvineyards.com

Offers winery tours weekdays at 2 p.m., weekends at noon. Wine hikes and general tastings do not require a reservation.

Individual wine tastings are available seven days a week; no reservations are required.

Frogtown Winery 700 Ridge Point Drive, Dahlonega, GA frogtown.us Offers wine tastings at various tasting rooms including locations in Ha-

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Habersham Vineyards & Winery 7025 South Main Street, Helen, GA habershamwinery.com Located in the Nacoochee Village just outside of Helen, wine tastings include five wines and a souvenir wine glass. Reservations not required for individuals.

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Special Section | 21

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

A Fisherwoman’s Tale

Atlanta resident trades corporate world for trout streams

Natalie Sharp

BY JOE EARLE

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SHARPER BITES

The water gets too warm for good trout fishing in July and August, she said. Her trips include a stream-side lunch she serves with silver and plates and linen napkins and sometimes with little fishshaped napkin rings.

Metro Atlanta resident Bob Muniz, who’s been fly fishing much of his life, went out last fall on a day trip with a friend and with Sharp as their guide.

“We had such a great day,” he said. Now, they’re eager to return on a second trip with her this fall and they’re bringing along a couple of friends.

Muniz has nothing but praise for Sharp: “She’s got that Southern charm, that Southern lady charm,” he said, and she knows what the fish will bite, too.”

Sharp describes her clients as “people who want to make it a day of relaxation.

“It’s about being out on the water,” she said. “It’s all about relaxation.”

And, of course, catching a few fish.

“What I tell my clients is, ‘You’re going to see a lot of fish. You’re going to hook a lot of fish. And you’re not going to land a lot of fish,” she said. “My goal is to always get a fish into the net.”

But that’s not the real appeal for her.

Not anymore.

“In the beginning, you just want to catch a fish,” Sharp said. “Then, the second thing is, you want to catch a lot of fish. Then you want to catch a big fish. Then you don’t care about catching a fish. It’s just being out there.

“What I loved about it was being in nature.

It’s the beauty God creates for us.”

Besides, she said, “it’s much more relaxing than being on a deep-sea fishing boat.”

Natalie Sharp’s introduction to fishing came on big boats in the deep salt waters off Florida when she was growing up. But about 17 years ago, when she lived in Atlanta, she decided to try something a bit different.

She was traveling a lot then as a consultant to dental practices. She needed a break from the road, so she headed to the north Georgia mountains. Eventually, she bought a home and settled in near Blue Ridge.

She’d always wanted to learn to fly fish, so she hired a guide to teach her how and started walking nearby mountain streams in search of trout. “I just sort of fell in love with it,” she said.

Now the 67-year-old angler is herself the guide, one of dozens salted across mountain communities who teach visitors how to effectively stalk trout in Georgia’s cold mountain creeks and rivers.

Through her company, Sharper Bites, she gives her clients lessons on how to cast a fly, the preferred lure for trout, and then leads anglers to fishing spots along private trout streams on the headwaters of the Toccoa River. And, as part of the deal, she provides lunch. “I used to the be only [guide] who supplied lunch,” she said with a laugh. “Now others do.”

Sharp has taught fly fishing to clients aged 6 to 85, she said. They tend to be “couples, husbands who want their wives to fish, corporate groups.”

Mostly, she guides only a couple of customers at a time. Some special corporate events have included up to 10, she said.

She guides fishing trips from March through June and from mid-September through November.

Bob Munitz shows off his catch.

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Mountain Fun

Wine, music, Cabbage Patch Kids and more on tap If you’re headed to the mountains of North Georgia or North Carolina this summer and fall and wondering what there is to do besides admire the view, check out this list of eclectic upcoming events.

BLAIRSVILLE SCOTTISH FESTIVAL Bagpipes, drums, games and food will bring the Scottish highlands to Meeks Park in Blairsville on June 9-10. Visit blairsvillescottishfestival.com for details.

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS WINE & JAZZ FESTIVAL The festival will be held June 16 from 2 to 10 p.m. at 58 Boardtown Road near the town of Blue Ridge.

More than a dozen wineries will provide the vino, while musical acts include Kharisma Jazzmatic Funk, The 4 Korners, Tray Dahl and The Jugtime Ragband and Taryn Newborne. Visit blueridgewineandjazz. com for tickets and details.

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

Special Section | 23

VILLAGE SQUARE ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW Held in Highlands, N.C. on June 23-24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Kelsey-Hutchinson “Founders” Park on Pine Street in downtown. There will be high quality fine art, folk art and regionally made crafts. Visit facebook.com/villagesquareshow for more information.

RABUN COUNTY MUSIC FESTIVAL The annual music extravaganza returns to the Rearden Theatre on the campus of the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Rabun County. The lineup includes: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (June 23); Evening in the Round with Linda Davis, Lang Scott and Bill Whyte (July 7); Emile Pandolfi (July 21); 7 Bridges (Aug. 4); and The Drifters (Aug. 18). Tickets and details at rabunmusicfestival.com.

POTS ON THE GREEN This two-day festival – June 30 and July 1 – in Cashiers, N.C. features the area’s rich pottery heritage with demonstrations, talks and original pottery on display and for sale at The Village Green Gazebo. Visit villagegreencashiersnc.com for more information.

FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA ON THE GREEN Celebrate the 4th of July in Cashiers, N.C. with this evening festival, which will include food, music, dancing and a colossal fireworks display. The fun begins at 6:30 p.m. at The Village Green. Details atvillagegreencashiersnc.com.

GEORGIA MOUNTAIN FAIR This year’s fair is July 20-28 at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds in Hiawassee. Rides, live music, food and much more draw thousands of visitors each year. See all the events happening this summer at the fairgrounds at georgiamountainfairgrounds.com.

BABYLAND GENERAL HOSPITAL The Cabbage Patch Kids were created by Xavier Roberts in Cleveland, Ga., which is home to Babyland General Hospital where the tykes are born. The Cabbage Patch Kids are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year and there will be events all summer long (including regular weekend tea parties) culminating with an anniversary celebration on Sept. 8. Find out more at babylandgeneral.com.

BLUE RIDGE BLUES AND BBQ MUSIC FESTIVAL The annual festival will be held in the downtown Blue Ridge City Park on Sept. 15 from noon to 9 p.m. There will be barbeque, live music, craft beer, fun stuff for the kids and more. Find more information at stayinblueridge.com.

ROME BEER FEST Head to Rome for the annual unique craft beer, art and music experience on Sept. 22 at Heritage Park. All proceeds benefit the Rome Area Council for the Arts, providing community arts programming, education and outreach. For more information, romebeerfest.com.

GEORGIA APPLE FESTIVAL The annual event is held over two weekends – Oct. 13-14 and Oct. 20-21 – in Ellijay. There will be more than 300 vendors, an antique car show, a parade and plenty of apples. Visit georgiaapplefestival.org for information.

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PADDLING The Park Paddlers Club offers an abundance of scenic waterways to explore, for both seasoned paddlers and beginners. Whether paddling in a kayak, in a canoe or on a stand-up paddleboard (SUP), paddle the 24 miles of water trails at the six participating state parks and earn a Park Paddlers t-shirt and bragging rights. In addiHigh Falls SUP tion to the six state parks in the Park Paddlers Club, visitors can rent kayaks, canoes and SUPs to explore a variety of mountain lakes, coastal waters and winding rivers, all located within Georgia state parks.

Find a complete list of parks with paddling at GaStateParks.org/Paddling.

FISHING Georgia State Parks are an angler’s paradise with reservoirs, streams and rivers, lakes of all sizes and saltwater fishing. Many bass fishermen equate “The Bass Capital of the World” to George T. Bagby’s Lake Walter F. George. In fact, the size and variety of fish are rivaled only by the varieties of unspoiled environments, from bass at Tugaloo and Hart Outdoor Recreation Area, to crappie at Seminole, Red Top Mountain and Richard B. Russell. Several of the parks have created programs that allow you to borrow equipment for little or no charge. Find a fishing spot at GaStateParks.org/Fishing.

BOATING In addition to lakeside beaches, dozens of Georgia State Parks provide public boat ramps and docks, a few with their own docks adjacent to campgrounds and cabins.

Boat rentals are available at more than 20 state parks. Larger lakes even allow boaters to partake in water skiing, sailing and other personal watercraft activities, however, some parks on smaller lakes have horsepower restrictions to preserve the tranquil setting and wildlife. See a full list of boat ramps at GaStateParks.org/Boating.

SWIMMING Nothing says summer like a trip to the lake. Georgia State Parks’ sandy swimming beaches serve up all the amenities of a trip to the coast without the expense. Check out the beaches at parks like Red Top Mountain, Hard Labor Creek or Tugaloo. If swimming pools are more your style, head to F.D. Roosevelt, High Falls, Little Ocmulgee or Victoria Bryant state parks. Kids will find fun ways to play in the water with splash pads at Magnolia Springs, Little Ocmulgee and Gordonia-Alatamaha.

Find a lake, pool or splash pad at Red Top Mountain Beach GaStateParks.org/Swimming.

Special Section | 25

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

Third Act

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Noted poet, dancer and activist prepares for mountain move

BY COLLIN KELLEY Poet, dancer, activist and history-maker Louise Runyon is leaving Decatur for the mountains of North Carolina.

Her latest poetry collection, “The Passion of Older Women,” not only acts as goodbye letter to the city, but also arrives at the height of the social mediadriven #MeToo movement as a frank testament and tool of empowerment for women “of a certain age.”

“I love Atlanta and Decatur. I will deeply miss the DeKalb Farmers Market, my many communities here, my friends and garden,” Runyon reflected. “But I’m looking forward to pursuing a more spiritual path, and part of that is being in the mountains. I want to rest, be quiet and appreciate the natural world.

I want to take better care of myself and get to know a new place and community. It’s an adventure.”

Runyon is not new to adventures and forging her own path. She made history in the 1970s by becoming the first woman to work at Atlantic Steel (where Atlantic Station now sits in Midtown) since World War II. She also made a name for herself in the dance world, touring the country as a performer and choreographer and creating the Louise Runyon Performance Company. Runyon said the strong women in her life were her inspiration, including now as she prepares to make another life-altering move.

“I’m 68, so it’s pretty daunting to make this move by myself,” Runyon said. “But the mountains are where my heart is.”

She was particularly inspired by her cousin, Francis, who moved to the North Carolina mountains at age 70 and lived happily there for another 26 years. “Those were the best years of her life,” Runyon said. “She found peace there and I hope to do the same.”

Before she makes the move to Sylva, North Carolina, Runyon remains steadfast in her role as an activist, including support of #MeToo. “Sexual assault on women, viewing them as objects and commodities, leads to the stigmatization of older women,” she said. “When you become an older woman, you feel shame and stigmatized no matter how confident or powerful you’ve been. It’s not really talked about, but just part of the fabric of our culture. I think the Me Too movement is a huge step forward for women.”

While writing “The Passion of Older Women,” Runyon became aware of just how little writing there was for older women. She said most of the books come from a religious angle or “formulaic garbage” playing on the old trope of older women desperate for younger men.

“I hope that when women read this book they will gain solace, hope, comfort and direction,” Runyon said. “We’re looking at the last third of our lives and how we’re going to live it. It’s not an easy thing to face. Younger women may not think about it or want to think about it, but this is their future, too.”

As for her legacy, Runyon said she’s not one to reflect on it.

“My contribution is to write and talk about the power of the women of my generation,” she said. “We’re a formidable group. We’ve made a difference and will continue to do so and not just disappear.”

Louise Runyon will read from “The Passion of Older Women” on June 25, 7:15 p.m. at the Decatur Library as part of Poetry Atlanta Presents… in conjunction with Georgia Center for the Book. For more information, visit georgiacenterforthebook.org or louiserunyonperformance.com.

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26 | Special Section

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Design Ideas

Ideas for decorating your mountain retreat As more people buy mountain homes for retirement or as weekend getaways, interior design has definitely evolved.

Gone are the days of the primitive log cabin, replaced by modern conveniences with a rustic flare.

We rounded up a few design ideas to help inspire you if you’re getting ready to decorate your mountain retreat.

1 An outdoor fireplace is a must for those chilly nights in the mountains. It also makes an excellent focal point for a family gathering, party or just curling up with a good book.

4

No outhouses here! A sleek, modern bathroom can have a rustic touch as well as a commanding view of the mountains while you soak in a big tub or enjoy a long shower.

2

5

A modern version of the campfire, a fire pit with plenty of seating is great for parties, sleepovers or sitting around toasting marshmallows and listening to ghost stories.

3

Wood and stone accents in a mountain home offer plenty of charm, while big windows offer great views – even from bed.

6

Open floorplans are de rigueur in city homes these days, but they are also perfect for mountain retreats, especially if you’re trying to get closer to the family or hosting a party. A big kitchen bar with plenty of seating and a grand view of the living space opens up all kinds of possibilities.

If you’re going to be entertaining at your mountain home, plenty of seating will be a must. This interior design offers multiple areas for gathering, socializing and intimate conversations.

Special Section | 27

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

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28 | Education

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Dana Munson Riverwood International Charter School Riverwood International Charter School teacher Dana Munson, no stranger to awards, was recently honored for her work teaching students art.

Munson was honored as Georgia’s National Art Honor Society Distinguished Teacher of the Year alongside her students as they won their own awards.

“Though the honor should be enough, what I treasured most was that my National Art Honor Society kids were there to see me win this award. To be able to share that with the kids that made it possible to win the award was one of my finest moments as a teacher,” Munson said of accepting the award, which was announced at the group’s March conference.

She has previously been honored as Educator of the Year for both the Georgia Art Education Association and from the National Art Education Association.

For nine years of Munson’s 20-year career, she has been teaching at River-

Exceptional

Educator

wood in Sandy Springs. Munson believes art teaches kids how to “dream big, to make mistakes, to fail and to succeed.”

She could be on her way to another award.

Munson and teacher Lana Ensmann have been nominatSPECIAL Dana Munson. ed as sponsors of the year by the Georgia Art Education Association for their work with Riverwood’s National Art Honor Society, where they have led students to raise $1,500 for a nonprofit.

“I really enjoy getting to know my students through the art that they create,” she said.

Dana Munson helps her students with their artwork.

Q: What keeps you going year after year?

A: The students are the reason I keep

coming back. Each student is unique and it is part of the puzzle of educating that you have to find a way to reach each one. Some kids are easier than others, but that is part of the reason that teaching never gets old.

Q:

What do you want to see in your students?

A: One student told me once that I had

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taught him more science than any other teacher. Though I know that just wasn’t the case, I also realized that through the arts, he had actually applied his science knowledge in a different way. I really enjoy seeing when a student realizes some insight (large or small) that makes an impact on him or her. Those are the moments that we, as teachers, look forward to.

Q: What are you most proud of in your career?

A: Though I have won several awards

and those were proud moments, the one thing that I am most proud of is that I was able to teach my daughters when they were in elementary school and I was able to teach them in high school. They are graduating this year from Riverwood and I couldn’t be prouder of them and the time we have spent together.

Q: What is your favorite memory at your school?

SPECIAL

A:

Though I have had some fabulous memories at Riverwood throughout my time here, I have to say my favorite (to date) was having my last day with my graduating [Advanced Placement] art students this year. I have taught these kids for three to four years and have become very fond of each of them. It was a sad day for me to see each of them move their name to the AP art student name wall (a tradition in my room), but I know that each of these fabulous kids will do great things in the future.

Right now, it is my proudest memory.

Q:

What do you hope students learn from you?

A: Deep down, I really want my students

to appreciate their talent and skills. As an artist, we create and it is through creating that we gain insights into ourselves.

For students, the arts help to give them the confidence that each needs to be able to conquer problems.

One of the quotes in my room is, “In art, it’s not a mistake, it’s an opportunity.” The arts teach kids that it is okay to make a mistake and to learn how to go beyond that mistake. Art is about process and achieving a goal and for my students, I think this is the greatest lesson.

Editor’s note: Through our “Exceptional Educator” articles, Reporter Newspapers showcases the work of some of the outstanding teachers and administrators at our local schools. If you would like to recommend a teacher or administrator to be the subject of an Exceptional Educator article, please email editor@ReporterNewspapers.net.

JUNE 8 - 21, 2018

■

Classifieds | 29

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30 | Public Safety

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Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber presents

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Join us for the Annual Address with Mayor Rusty Paul June 26, 2018 11:30am – 1:30pm City Springs Conference Center 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs, GA 30328

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An outdoor mailbox at a Sandy Springs post office was pried open by thieves on May 21 or 22, and authorities say mail may have been stolen.

The target was a big blue collection box outside the post office at 227 Sandy Springs Place in the City Walk shopping center. A door used by postal officials to take mail out of the box was heavily damaged with pry marks. Several days after the crime, the box was taped off with a sign reading, “Please bring all mail inside to drop off.

There has been a mail theft.”

In a written statement, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Atlanta field office said the break-in happened on the evening of May 21 or early in the morning of May 22. The office JOHN RUCH did not say whether anything was The damaged mailbox as it appeared May 27, several days after the crime. known to be stolen from the box, but advised any residents who believe their mail was stolen to contact the Postal Inspection hotline at 1-877876-2455 or the Sandy Springs Police Department at 770-551-6900.

Postal Inspection and Sandy Springs Police officers continue to investigate.

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Public Safety | 31

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SANDY SPRINGS NOTICE OF TEXT AMENDMENT

Police wound burglary suspect to end standoff

Petition Number:

TA18-0001

Petitioner:

City of Sandy Springs

Request:

An Ordinance to Amend Division 7.2 & Division 7.8 of the Sandy Springs Development Code to amend regulations for home occupations.

Public Hearing:

Mayor and City Council July 17, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.

Location:

Sandy Springs City Hall Studio Theatre, Room B:105 1 Galambos Way Sandy Springs, Georgia 30328 770-730-5600

SANDY SPRINGS NOTICE OF TEXT AMENDMENT DYANA BAGBY

Police officers crouch behind shields as they approach the suspect while he holds a handgun under his chin during the May 31 standoff on Sandy Springs Place.

BY JOHN RUCH AND DYANA BAGBY A 15-year-old burglary suspect allegedly shot at police officers and engaged in a three-hour standoff May 31 before being wounded by a SWAT team.

The suspect, who police are not identifying because he is a juvenile, was shot by police to end the standoff outside an animal hospital on Sandy Springs Place. Police say he is “expected to recover from his injuries.”

He was one of three suspects in a burglary at the Modera apartments at 6125 Roswell Road. The other two suspects are both 17 years old, one from Lilburn and one from Norcross, according to a police report, and were arrested.

The 15-year-old suspect allegedly fired a handgun at police officers during a pursuit, then sat in the animal hospital parking lot with the gun under his chin, threatening to kill himself. Police say negotiation attempts failed, so they set off a concussion grenade to stun him and fired several gunshots at him. It is unclear whether the suspect also fired his gun. Authorities say the SWAT team opened fire when the suspect attempted to flee with his handgun after the grenade was used.

The initial charges against the suspect do not include burglary, though police say more charges may follow. For now, the suspect is charged with six counts of aggravated assault on a police officer; possession of a firearm during commission of a crime; minor in possession of a handgun; obstruction; possession of drug-related objects; possession of alcohol under 21 years of age; and discharging a firearm on the property of another.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a press release that it was asked by the Sandy Springs Police Department to investigate the shooting. The GBI routinely investigates police shootings.

A GBI truck was on the scene shortly after the suspect was taken to the hospital. GBI investigators worked at the scene into the night, placing evidence tag markers and examining the animal hospital’s parking lot area by flashlight.

The GBI said that after its investigation is complete, it will give its finding to the Fulton County District Attorney’s office for review.

Petition Number:

TA18-0002

Petitioner:

City of Sandy Springs

Request:

An Ordinance to Amend Division 12.2 of Article XII of the Sandy Springs Development Code to amend definition of “stabilization, final”.

Public Hearing:

Planning Commission Mayor and City Council June 26, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. July 17, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.

Location:

Sandy Springs City Hall Studio Theatre, Room B:105 1 Galambos Way Sandy Springs, Georgia 30328 770-730-5600

FRESH, LOCAL FUN

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) Housing Authority of Fulton County, Georgia (HAFC) is issuing a Request for Proposal from qualified property owners and developers interested in applying for up to 60 Project Based- Vouchers (PBV) specifically made available to provide affordable housing to be used in new construction of multi-family affordable housing rental project(s) in Fulton County, Georgia.

Proposals must be received by 6:00 p.m. EDT, Monday, July 9, 2018 in the HAFC office, 4273 Wendell Drive SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30336 or via email re: Proposals to mortgagefinance@hafc.org. Any proposals received after the designated time and date will be returned unopened. HAFC may reject for good cause any or all proposals upon a finding of HAFC it is in the public interest to do so.

Detailed application and selection information of the Request for Proposal is posted on the HAFC website at www.HAFC.org. Proposers are responsible for checking the HAFC website for any addendums before submitting their proposals.

HAFC Board of Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive any and all informalities in the best interest of HAFC.

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32 |

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