OUR TOWN DEKALB (December 2020)

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8 Age Friendly Tucker: Renewing and Maintaining the WHO Designation 10 Rotary District Grant Provides COVID Food Assistance in Tucker 18 Food for Thought: Sweetly Celebrating the Season

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OurTown NE DeKalb Community and Family Magazine A Shiny Inc Publication Editor Lizbeth A. Dison Shinycomm.com

ldison@shinycomm.com Our Town DeKalb is published and direct mailed to Creative Director Jay Adcock jaywadcock@gmail.com Writers Cindy E. Farrar Doug Reynics Lois Ricci Sanah Sayani Karl Schwartz Art Wood

Entire contents copyright 2020 by Our Town DeKalb and Shiny Inc LLC. Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden in any media without written permission from the publisher.

Distribution Coordinator Emma Dison Brantley

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select homes in the Tucker / Northeast DeKalb area.

Opinions expressed by the writers and staff are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. Our Town DeKalb reserves the right to edit or reject any editorial or advertising content. Our Town DeKalb is not responsible for errors in advertising beyond the cost of the space or for the validity of claims made by advertisers.

4426 Hugh Howell Road, Suite 307B Tucker, Georgia 30084 770.621.9041 info@ourtowndekalb.com

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IN THIS ISSUE

4 Celebrating A Very COVID Christmas 6 The Bits in Between: Family, Friends and Fruitcake 7 Wellness In-Sight: Goodwill To All 8 Age Friendly Tucker: Renewing and Maintaining the WHO Designation 9 Common Sen$e: Six Ways to Fix Your Credit – and Why It Matters (Part 2) 10 Wells Fargo Foundation Partners with Habitat for Humanity DeKalb to Repair Home for Senior 10 Rotary District Grant Provides COVID Food Assistance in Tucker 12 I’ll be (at) Home for Christmas 13 Back Talk: Staying Healthy in the Year of the Pandemic 14 Beauty Byline with Sanah: New Year = New You with Body Sculpting 14 Local Rotary Clubs Collect Five Tons of E-Waste in Recent Recycling Event 16 COVID Rapid Testing Now Available at Tucker Kroger Pharmacies 18 Food for Thought: Sweetly Celebrating the Season 19 Taste of Tucker Raises $30K in Reimagined Event 19 FODAC ’12 Days of Christmas’ to Address Pediatric Mobility Needs ON THE COVER: This year, Mountain West Church is holding its Candlelight and Carols Service outdoors.

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On The Cover:

The Smoke Rise Academy of the Arts Holiday Showcase will be a virtual performance this year.

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2020 has been a challenging year, and the end-of-year holiday celebrations are no exception. Nationwide, most public events are cancelled due to the COVID pandemic and ongoing concerns for public safety. While Main Street Tucker will be missing many of the holiday festivities residents would normally be enjoying this year, there are still a great selection of online events (and even some tentatively scheduled in-person ones) to help raise your holiday spirits.

(And even though there is no public lighting of the Christmas Tree and Menorah on Main Street, you can still walk or drive-by to enjoy them!)

Because COVID has caused everyone and everything to be in constant flux, scheduled events are subject to last minute change or cancellation; be sure to check the websites listed for the most up-to-date information.

The best advice is still to stay in whenever possible, and to avoid large gatherings. If you need to go out – MASK UP! If you are exhibiting any fever or other symptoms of COVID, avoid exposure to others and seek medical attention immediately.

and instrumental performances by students and faculty. Virtual program available for on-demand viewing on the Academy website; check website for details.

SMOKE RISE BAPTIST CHURCH (5901 Hugh Howell Road, 770.469.5856, smokerisebaptist.org) Sing We All Noel, Sunday, December 20, virtual Christmas concert airing on the website.

Outdoor Candlelight and Communion, Thursday, December 24, 6:00 p.m.

Drive-in and listen on your car radio or bring a lawn chair and sit under the steeple.

TUCKER FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (5095 Lavista Road, 770.938.3030, tuckerfirst.org) Online Advent Groups, weekly group times will vary based on member availability.Online Advent devotional by Henry Nouwen. Questions or to register, contact Pastor Anne at anne.cumings@ ngumc.net.

Christmas at Tucker Livestream, FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH Sunday, December 13 at 5:00 p.m.

OF ATLANTA (4532 Lavista Road, Rodrigo Rodriguez, internationally 770.939.4358, firstchristianatlanta.org) acclaimed guitarist; keyboards and carols, Advent services, Sundays, November 29 eight musicians on four keyboards. The – December 20, 11:00 a.m. On-line beautiful story of Jesus’s birth will once on-demand (Facebook and YouTube) and again come to life through music and Every year, volunteers from Old Town Tucker Merchants Association in-person. Featuring weekly videos of song, available on the website. decorate the Main Street Christmas Tree. shelter-at-home members lighting the Advent Candle.

Longest Night Service, Sunday, Candlelight Christmas Eve Service, Thursday, December 24, 6:00 p.m.

December 21, 7:00 p.m. Service is for all who are sad, lonely, hurting, or Livestream (Facebook and YouTube) and in-person. suffering from loss of any kind. Dependent on current COVID rates, a decision will be made regarding an in-person service; livestream service available. Event update and streaming available on website.

MOUNTAIN WEST CHURCH (4818 Hugh Howell Road, 770.491.0228, Christmas Eve for Children, Thursday, December 24. Recorded and mwchurch.com) available to families for on-demand viewing. See the website for details and In-Person Candlelight and Carols Outdoor Service, Wednesday, December times.

23, 6:00 p.m. (weather permitting), Crespac Inc. Parking Lot (4732 Hugh Christmas Eve Nativity Walk-Through, Thursday, December 24. WalkHowell Road). Live music, Christmas carols, special message, candlelight through exhibit of family Nativities, with narrative explaining the sentiment sing-a-long and meaning of each Nativity display.

Online Christmas Special, Thursday, December 24, 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., Christmas Eve Livestream, Thursday, December 24. In-person and 7:00 p.m. Available on church website. livestream Christmas Eve worship service.

SMOKE RISE ACADEMY OF THE ARTS (5901 Hugh Howell Road, 678.533.0562, smokerisebaptist.org/arts/) Holiday Showcase, Thursday, December 24. The holiday-themed program will include choreography from academy dance students of all ages, from pre-school to adult; scenes from elementary and high school drama students;

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TUCKER PARKS AND RECREATION CENTER (4898 Lavista Road, 470.481.0205, tuckerga.gov/departments/parks_and_recreation/) North Pole Tucker, Friday, December 11, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 12, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Come out and enjoy some holiday crafts and visit with Santa. Reservations are required; visit the website.

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The Bits in Between: Family, Friends and Fruitcake Tom Edmondson

OurTown NE DeKalb Community and Family Magazine

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“It’s fruitcake weather,” is a classic line from “A Christmas Memory,” Truman Capote’s famous story about growing up in rural Alabama. In the story, he and his elderly aunt make fruitcake in November and after they’re out of the oven, soak them with some whiskey. Because there’s a little bit of whiskey left over, they help themselves to it and both get very drunk and cause a huge family scandal.

Fruitcake is a traditional holiday staple in the South (as is soaking it in rum or whiskey, which is what makes this delicacy somewhat tolerable). The dish everyone seems to hate is also the dish which usually shows up on every holiday table. I’m one of those rare cases who actually likes fruitcake. I like most any kind of fruitcake (with or without the alcoholic immersion) but I am particularly fond of the small rectangular cakes made by Claxton Bakery in southeast Georgia.

Claxton was made famous by its fruitcakes, known worldwide as “The Choice of Millions since 1910.” The cakes are moist and sweet, with delicious pineapple, crunchy Georgia pecans, plump juicy cherries, freshly shelled walnuts and almonds, tangy lemon and orange peel blended into a rich pound cake batter and baked to a golden brown. Starting in early November and running throughout the holidays, Claxton Fruitcakes can be found in South Carolina (where I grew up) on just about every grocery store shelf, mostly put there through the efforts of local Civitan clubs, which sell the fruitcakes as a fundraiser to support the South Carolina Special Olympics. My father was a long-time Civitan, who for many years headed up his club’s annual fruitcake drive. My holiday memories of childhood always include a garage filled with hundreds of cases of Claxton Fruitcake, and going with my father on his weekly rounds to deliver cases to fellow Civitans and stock the store shelves.

Perhaps I like fruitcake because of those holiday memories associated with it. As I grew older, I also began to appreciate fruitcake as a perfect symbol of life – sweet, filled with a variety of nuts and fruit, and perhaps made more tolerable with a touch of spirits. Alone, some of the ingredients many not be to your liking but when mixed all together, the sweet concoction perfectly completes the feast.

This year our holiday celebrations may be small, or shared via technology.

Our friends and family may be physically absent but one thing remains the same – fruitcake will still be here. And I for one am glad of it.

Have a Happy – and safe – Holiday!

Lizbeth A. Dison Publisher and Editor

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Wellness In-Sight: Goodwill to All Cindy E. Farrar It’s beginning to look a lot like‌ well maybe not exactly.

Since childhood, the December holiday season for me was one always filled with such delight thanks in large part to my mom who made traditions centering around our family as well as the friends and extended community that graced our home. On Christmas Eve each year, while last minute tree decorations were hung on the fresh cut fir tree and gifts wrapped, our house was open to droppers-by to share and exchange fresh baked holiday goods, eggnog, gifts and holiday wishes. Growing up in Connecticut, I cannot remember waking up on Christmas morning without snow blanketing the ground. It was like growing up in a snow globe.

I also found the spirit of the season reached far beyond our household to even enjoying my younger years of employment in retail. The busyness of the stores and malls, colorfully decorated with lights, garland and bows, and holiday music playing in the background made the crankiest of shoppers an opportunity to spread holiday cheer. Recent years celebrating the season involved my business organizing blanket and clothing drives for the homeless as well as sharing holiday meals with my staff. And of course, the highlight has been continuing and making new family traditions with my grandchildren.

This December holiday season, however, will look and feel different than what we have ever known it to be. Our long-time honored traditions will most likely not be able to happen. We may be missing family members and friends due to distance, isolation or heartbreakingly to their passing. It may feel like the Grinch and Scrooge are having their way with us.

Thanksgiving was our day dedicated to acknowledging our gratitude for our lives, our families and all with which we have been blessed. Anticipating the transition to the upcoming holiday season, I have been reflecting upon how each of the special holidays celebrated in December have several things in common that represent their spirit. Significant to each of them is light (candles or stars), giving, and goodwill.

As you look toward the December holiday you celebrate, what is intended to be a joyous time, I recognize may be anything but. Please accept this wish, prayer and blessing I extend to you.

May the glow of the stars illuminate your way and guide you to peace.

May there be light to dispel the shadows of your lack, grief, or pain.

May you be present and make time to gaze into candle flames.

May you give from the heart that which cannot be bought.

Most of all, may you seek opportunities to be kind.

And may you and yours be healthy and safe.

Cindy E. Farrar, LMT, BCTMB, CLC is a licensed massage therapist, certified life coach and the owner of Massage Associates of Atlanta, LLC (Lavista Road in Tucker). In addition, she is a certified Qi Gong instructor and a nationally approved continuing education provider for massage therapy and bodywork. Cindy enjoys sharing insights on wellness and personal and community development as a speaker and writer.

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Age Friendly Tucker: Renewing and Maintaining the WHO Designation Dr. Lois Ricci There are now more people in the U.S. over 65 years of age than under the age of five. By 2030, 70 million people in the U.S. will be over 65. The World Health Organization (WHO), seeing these changing demographics worldwide, established in 2006 the Age Friendly Community Project.

WHO identified eight domains that mark a city as Age Friendly: transportation, housing, outdoor spaces and buildings, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, community support, and health services.

Tucker Civic Association Lifelong Community Committee, with the support of the Tucker mayor and city council, submitted an application to WHO, and in December 2018, Tucker was the fifth city in Georgia to be designated an Age Friendly City. Two years later, the committee is working to maintain that designation, and will be submitting a plan to WHO by the end of the year that will include projects in each of the eight domains that have been completed or are in development.

The committee is confident that, with continued support from the city council and residents, Tucker will remain an Age Friendly City. In 2021, the committee will begin discussion on prioritizing action plan items.

Dr. Lois Ricci is a longtime resident of Tucker, where she chairs the Tucker Civic Association’s Lifelong Community Committee. She serves as an adjunct faculty member at both Kennesaw State University and Clayton State University, where she teaches gerontology courses and the Professional Development in Gerontology Certificate Class. She also serves as a representative for AARP.

• Transportation options will be introduced, and a survey will be distributed to Tucker residents to determine interest in promoting a trolley for Tucker.

• Housing that is affordable to all will be further explored, with input from the realtors who serve on the committee.

• A Tucker service directory will be created and distributed.

• Available social and civic participation opportunities as well as health and community services will be communicated to residents.

Increasing active membership and resident participation in the Tucker Civic Association Lifelong Community Committee is key to the success of Tucker as an Age Friendly City. Most volunteering and other involvement in projects and activities is being supported by seniors; residents 65 and older number about 7,000 in Tucker. With a city population of around 36,000, and the median age forty-four, that leaves a lot of people who could (and should) be volunteering! Everyone is aging, and an Age Friendly city is designed to meet the needs of every age, “not just old people.” Check out involvement with the Tucker Civic Association and its Lifelong Community Committee maybe what you think you know about aging is wrong!

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Common Sen$e: Six Ways to Fix Your Credit – and Why It Matters (Part 2) Art Wood

Last month we started this conversation about credit. We talked about why we need credit and the first three steps to improve it. Step 1 was “pay down your debt;” Step 2 was “correct past mistakes;” and Step 3 was “fix other people’s errors.” Now, let’s dive into the next steps!

Step 4: Pay your bills on time. Sounds easy, right? This is the easiest way to mess up your credit. Be diligent about when you pay your bills; it is your name and reputation on the line. You promised in writing to pay the creditor back at a certain time, so do it, and not just when you feel like it. ON TIME! Every time you pay thirty days (or more) late, it results in a serious hit to your credit.

If you have a hard time with the discipline of paying on time like I do, set it up on automatic draft so you do not have to think about it. I do that on all mortgages, cars and credit cards.

Step 5: Time heals all wounds - even credit. Of all the steps so far, the fastest way to raise your credit score is to pay off credit card debt. The other steps take time to “heal.” You need as much time as possible between the negative events on your credit and when you apply for a loan. With regards to collections or judgements, paying them off does not make them disappear from your credit, so you need to be patient and let time pass. You will see a steady improvement each month.

Step 6: Limit the number of credit pulls and credit cards. You really don’t need to save ten percent at your favorite store by opening up a new card, especially in this holiday season. Remember last month when I said that your credit score drops when it looks like you are looking for more money? Every credit pull that you incur, and every new credit card you open, will have a negative impact on your credit. Find your favorite one or two cards and use them (up to thirty percent) and pay them off. Do yourself a favor and ignore all the credit card offers - your credit will thank you.

I am going to stop here. To be honest, the original title to the article only had THREE steps but I got long winded! This is something that I am very passionate about because I like to see people succeed. I was blessed with very financially responsible parents who passed that trait on to me, and I

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am eternally grateful. Please feel free to reach out with any questions; I am not a credit repair guy but am happy to help if I can! I hope you all have an amazing Holiday Season and I will see you in January!

Art Wood (NMLS #118234) is the branch manager of Legacy Mortgage Team of Goldwater Bank, located at 2341 Main Street in downtown Tucker. “Tucker’s Mortgage Guy” for fifteen years, he is a former Tucker Tiger (Class of ’92), and co-founder and organizer of Taste of Tucker. Family guy, community guy, and definitely not your typical mortgage guy - it’s all that he does that makes Art Wood who he is. Contact him at 678.534.5834 or art.wood@goldwaterbank.com.

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Wells Fargo Foundation Partners with Habitat for Humanity DeKalb to Repair Home for Senior Our Town DeKalb Staff Habitat for Humanity DeKalb will use a $15,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to repair a senior home in its Aging in Place program. The project will include repairing a leaky roof, and replacing unsafe front steps and a rotten back deck.

“Ms. Sarah” has lived in her Pine Lake home for over thirty years but since the death of her husband has found it difficult to make needed repairs on her limited income. “I am so grateful to have been selected to participate in the Habitat DeKalb AIP program with help from the funding of Wells Fargo.”

“Amid a global health crisis, the significance of a safe, decent place to live and shelter in place is more vital than ever,” said Sharon Steele, Habitat DeKalb Executive Director. “Although volunteer participation is limited, we continue to work to the goal of safe, decent and affordable housing solutions for DeKalb residents.”

Rotary District Grant Provides COVID Food Assistance in Tucker Our Town DeKalb Staff Five DeKalb Rotary Clubs worked with Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) to host a food distribution event for county families and children experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic. Funded by a grant from Rotary District 6900, 1,152 meal boxes (each containing five pounds of meat, five pounds of dairy including a gallon of milk, and twelve pounds of produce) were delivered via tractor-trailer to the FODAC warehouse on a Saturday morning in late October. Various metro Atlanta food coops (including Tucker’s NETWorks Cooperative Ministry) were there to pick up loads and transport them to popup distribution events scheduled that day throughout DeKalb County. The event totalled over 22,000 individual meals delivered.

FODAC staff and volunteers from Rotary Club of Tucker, Rotary Club of Stone Mountain, Rotary Club of Emory Druid Hills, Rotary Club of Emory-Clifton, Decatur Rotary Club, and Rotaract Club of Atlanta worked to unload the pallets, break them down, and then load boxes on each of the coop trucks.

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I’ll be (at) Home for

precipitation also limit our time out-of-doors. Add to that rising cases of COVID-19 which will likely lead to more restrictions on our ability to move about freely. How can we keep our spirits up?

Like many, I find inspiration in the writings of Viktor Frankl, particularly his most famous and oft-quoted book, Man’s Search for Meaning.

Christmas Tom Edmondson

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

The prospect of spending this winter holiday season isolated from friends and family is a little disheartening. Already we have been quarantining and social distancing for a lot of months. And now that Thanksgiving and Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are approaching - times that should be spent in large family and religious gatherings - the shadows of depression threaten all the more.

Even under normal circumstances the holidays are difficult for many.

Shorter days and longer nights deprive us of sunshine. Cooler weather and

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These two statements are not glib clichés. They were written shortly after Frankl was released from spending three years in four concentration camps (including Auschwitz). Already an M.D. and psychiatrist before his interment, Frankl was uniquely gifted to interpret the truth claims of his beliefs by his experience. As for tragedy, he lost his parents and his pregnant wife during the Shoah (the Hebrew term for the Holocaust preferred by the Jews). If anyone had reason to give up in despair, it was Frankl.

In the face of all this tragedy, Frankl held to his conviction that life is meaningful. If a person has a sense of meaning— what Frankl refers to as their “logos” - they can face anything that happens in life. “It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us,” he wrote. “We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life.”

The isolation imposed on us by COVID-19 is not as drastic as the conditions faced by those who suffered in Nazi concentration camps, but we certainly can learn a lot from those who did. Frankl taught that one of those lessons is to change our perspective from questioning the meaning of what happens to asking what it is that these circumstances are asking of us.

Here are a few answers I would suggest. First, we have had to learn to slow down a bit. Second, we have learned to be more hygiene-conscious (washing hands, covering up a cough, etc.). Third, we seem to be making more time to check in on friends and family, even if only by phone. Each of these has meaning, for who doesn’t want to be more relaxed, more healthy, and more in touch?

While our current circumstances are less than ideal, we don’t have to think of them as all gloom. Imagine a time, twenty years from now, when a child asks, “What were the holidays like during the COVID-19 pandemic? How did you make it?” What would you like your answer to be? Perhaps your answer would be something like this: “I learned how to be resilient. No matter what happens in life, there is meaning to be found.” And perhaps that child will hear the hope in your voice and learn from your example.

Tom Edmondson, MTS, JSMA, Th.D. is the senior pastor of First Christian Church of Atlanta (Disciples of Christ), and a co-founder of the Tucker Community Action Team.

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Back Talk: Staying Healthy in the Year of the Pandemic Karl Schwartz, D.C. As we come to the end of one of the most tumultuous years that I can remember, we find ourselves in a conundrum. Everything in our DNA tells us to come together with family, relatives and friends and celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Celebrate the fact that we triumphantly made it through 2020! However, we’re still overshadowed by the restraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress still pressures us as we try to decide what is the right choice for this season with our families. Can we be together and socially distance effectively without putting our friends and relatives at risk, or should we simply swing to the other extreme dictated by the scientific community, and stay home and stay separate? It is a moral decision that each person and each family must decide based on their health situation.

As a chiropractor, I believe that the body is a healing organism that wants to stay healthy given the right ammunition. Prevention is always better than having to treat a dysfunction, illness or disease. I believe that we must take responsibility for our individual health. There are many proactive steps we can take to stay healthy and prevent illness and disease.

Getting the proper amount of sleep allows our bodies to regenerate and repair. Most people need an average of seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Many fitness trackers also monitor and track your sleep, recording not only how long but how deeply you are sleeping each night, which determines the quality of your sleep. When pain consistently disrupts your sleep, that can be a signal that something is wrong and needs to be addressed.

Good nutrition gives our bodies the building blocks to heal. A well-rounded and varied diet is paramount to continued good health. Each meal should consist of lean protein, fruits and vegetables. I personally believe that we should be supplementing daily with a high-grade, liquid-based whole food multivitamin and mineral.

Exercise is necessary to maintain our muscles and ligaments which are the foundation of our skeletal system. Use it or lose it, as they say. Walking, jogging, yoga, stretching, cycling, swimming, tennis and golf are all good ways to ensure continuity of movement.

Support a proper functioning nervous system. Your brain and nervous system control all systems, organs and tissues in your body. A properly functioning nervous system begets an improved immune system. The better your nervous system is, the better your immune system.

If you haven’t had your spine adjusted lately, what are you waiting for?

Dr Karl Schwartz is a graduate of Life University in Marietta, Georgia; he has been practicing chiropractic in Tucker for twenty-one years and a resident here for fifteen years. His office specializes in preventing sports injuries and maximizing performance by analyzing posture, weight bearing, and gait. If you have a question you would like addressed in a future column, please email karlschwartzdc@gmail.com. Note “Back Talk” in the subject line.

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Beauty Byline with Sanah:

New Year = New You with Body Sculpting healthy glow. It can also smooth out stretch marks and reduce the appearance of cellulite. There is no downtime and best results are usually achieved with eight to twelve treatments. Many notice changes immediately after the first session. The cost per treatment area ranges from $125-$200.

Both treatments are meant for people who are on a body journey.

CoolSculpting kills fat cells in the targeted area but if you gain weight, there is a chance you will also gain fat in the areas that were treated. Cavi-Lipo shrinks the cells but does not get rid of them. This means they are still there and can store fat over time. Results from both treatments are permanent as long as they are in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise.

They say “no pain, no gain” but non-invasive Body Sculpting may make that saying obsolete. You might just be able to keep that New Year’s resolution in 2021.

Sanah Sayani No surgery, no knives, no downtime - non-invasive Body Sculpting is the way to get a head start on the new you before the new year. CoolSculpting and Cavi-Lipo are two FDA-approved methods of getting rid of fat cells and reducing the appearance of fat on targeted areas of the body. CoolSculpting freezes fat cells while Cavi-Lipo liquifies them. Both options are permanent.

Let’s dig deeper into both techniques.

CoolSculpting, also known as cryolipolysis, freezes and kills fat cells. The body then naturally eliminates the dead cells over twelve weeks resulting in up to 20% reduction of fat in the treated area. This procedure uses vacuum and cold on stubborn areas of fat that haven’t responded well to diet and exercise.

CoolSculpting can be done on the abdomen, love handles, inner and outer thighs, and upper arms. Clients can expect to feel pinching and pulling from the vacuum and intense cold as the treatment area becomes numb. A twominute massage is performed after the treatment to break up the frozen tissue which helps your body absorb the dead cells. There may be some bruising or redness after the treatment which is normal. You can go back to your daily routine after the procedure. Full results are evident in one to three months.

Multiple treatments are necessary and each treatment can be $500 or more per area.

Cavi-Lipo, also known as ultrasonic cavitation, uses low-frequency ultrasonic waves to break down and liquify fat cells which are then eliminated through the lymphatic system about seventy-two hours after the treatment. The heat and vibration causes adipose tissue to break down in the targeted area which then results in loss of inches. This reshapes the body to give it a slimmer appearance.

Cavi-Lipo can be performed on the abdomen, love handles, inner and outer thighs, upper arms, back, face, neck and buttocks. During the treatment, clients may hear a sound from the ultrasound and experience mild heat from the radio frequency. Radio frequency uses heat to shape the body by boosting collagen production which in turn helps firm, tighten and lift skin for a

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Sanah Sayani is a master cosmetologist and owner of Thread Beauty Spa (4426 Hugh Howell Road in the Tucker Publix Shopping center). Her monthly column seeks to answer readers’ beauty concerns; write to her at threadbeautyspa@gmail.com, or drop by the shop to ask her in person!

Local Rotary Clubs Collect Five Tons of E-Waste in Recent Recycling Event Our Town DeKalb Staff During the recent Electronics Recycling Day, sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Tucker and Stone Mountain, volunteers collected over five tons of working and non-working electronics and home medical equipment (HME). The event was held on November 7 in the parking lot of Ace Handy Hardware in Tucker; proceeds benefited Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC), a non-profit organization providing recycled mobility equipment for children and adults during or after a health crisis.

During the five-hour event, vehicles maintained a steady line of traffic while Rotarians and FODAC team members unloaded a wide range of electronics and HME, as well as collected cash donations totaling almost $2,000. Working electronics will be sold in FODAC’s Thrift Store; non-working will be sold for parts or to recycling companies. HME will be refurbished and redistributed to those in need.

FODAC is based in Tucker but serves the Metro Atlanta community. A pioneer in recycling and re-use, FODAC keeps 400 tons of materials out of landfills each year through its programs, and is recognized nationally for green best practices.

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COVID Rapid Testing Now Available at Tucker Kroger Pharmacies Our Town DeKalb Staff

Pharmacies at Tucker area Kroger stores now offer rapid antibody testing to help inform patients if they have previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

All three Kroger stores in Tucker Embry Village, Cofer Crossing and Northlake Lavista – have in-store pharmacies offering the tests.

The FDA-authorized rapid antibody tests, which are supplied by Whitmire Medical, are available to Kroger customers for $25 and typically provide results within 15 minutes. Individuals who believe they may have previously been infected with COVID-19 and are not currently experiencing symptoms are eligible for the test.

Kroger Health’s rapid antibody tests are conducted by a licensed health professional using a fingerstick blood sample and the Assure COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Device, configured like a blood sugar test, to detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The test was first authorized by the FDA for emergency use in July and further authorized for broader point-of-care use in September. Kroger is the first retailer to offer the testing solution to its customers.

Many testing labs are still experiencing a shortage of commercial testing kits for SARS-CoV-2. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in many states,

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Kroger Health’s rapid antibody test may provide critical information about past infection to patients who believe they may have been exposed to the coronavirus but were unable to access testing at the time of infection.

Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health, believes that the launch of this testing program will help both patients and researchers. “Making rapid

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Line must be funded by 50% or $10,000 at closing, whichever is greater. CenterState Bank will waive reimbursement of closing costs as long as your account is open for at least 2 years. Offer is available for primary residences only. Manufactured Homes/Mobile Homes are not eligible for a home equity line of credit. **Rate based on minimum beacon score of 721, ***Rate based on minimum beacon score of 700, ****Rate based on minimum beacon score of 640. Annual Percentage Rate (APR) may increase after consummation. Maximum APR is 18%. Property insurance is required, and if applicable, flood insurance will be required. All loans subject to credit approval.

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antibody testing available across our family of pharmacies will not only provide an affordable and convenient testing solution for individuals who want to understand if they have previously been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, but also help clinicians understand the long-term impacts of COVID-19 and potential public health strategies for fighting the disease.�

Regardless of the testing result, all patients should continue to practice FDArecommended safety guidelines, including social distancing and wearing masks. The Assure COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test should not be used to diagnose an active infection, as the test only detects antibodies developed in response to the virus, not the virus itself.

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Food for Thought: Sweetly Celebrating the Season Doug Reynics With the upcoming Christmas season soon upon us, I am spotlighting a few smaller local independent sweets companies.

These are companies that are a little “off the beaten path” from traditional big box retailers.

Apple Butter Bakery is a quaint Stone Mountain bakery run by a mother and her two daughters.

Its Apple Butter Bread Pudding contains its signature homemade apple butter and is served with a white chocolate sauce. The featured cupcake for the Fall/ Winter holidays is a Sweet Potato Cupcake with Italian Meringue Buttercream topped with toasted marshmallows. The month of December features Egg Nog Rum, a vanilla cupcake soaked in egg nog and topped with rum flavored Italian Meringue Buttercream. The bakery also offers a variety of traditional holiday cakes, including Red Velvet and German Chocolate, and its version of a Buche de Noel, or Yule Log. Visit applebutterbakery.com for a full menu and to pre-order for the holidays.

Chef Phil is a graduate of the baking and pastry program at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and has taught public baking and pastry classes at Viking Culinary Arts Center and Cook’s Warehouse. This Atlanta pastry chef is famous for his German stollen - a traditional holiday dessert made with glacé fruit, golden raisins, pecans and a hint of cherry brandy folded into a yeast dough. I’ve tasted his authentic German stollen and I can certify it is spot on! Each loaf is individually hand crafted from a time-honored German recipe, weighing approximately 1.5 pounds, and feeds four to six people (and freezes beautifully). You can order online at chefphils. com – he ships anywhere in America.

Leah Lonsbury is the founder of Just Bakery, a nonprofit that provides recent refugees with paid job training, professional certification, and living wage work. The international staff trains and bakes in a commercial kitchen on the campus of Memorial Drive Ministries in Stone Mountain. When COVID19 hit in March, Just Bakery quickly pivoted to mostly contactless doorstep deliveries and neighborhood pick-ups and a limited number of regular pop-up sales. Tucker First United Methodist Church hosts order pick-ups and an outdoor pop-up on the first Tuesday of each month, and our friends at Corner Cup on Main Street have welcomed us on a number of occasions for pre-order pick-ups.

During the winter holiday season, Just Bakery is offering “take ‘n’ bake”

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cinnamon rolls by the dozen, cheesecakes, assorted holiday cookie boxes featuring buttercrunch toffee with a chocolate glaze and local pecans, lemon thyme shortbread, snickerdoodles, chocolate cherry biscotti, Pfeffernüsse (a traditional German gingerbread spiced cookie), and Linzer cookies (an Austrian jam sandwich cookie.) Pick-ups will be scheduled for different locations, including Tucker. Orders can be placed through Just Bakery’s online store (justbakeryatl.org) starting in December.

Dessert is a satisfying finish for any meal; the ingestion of sugar has been shown to improve the mood and increase the production of dopamine, the so-called “hormone of happiness.” What better end to this confusing and difficult year than to serve up a dish of happiness from one of our local sweet bakers?

Doug Reynics is a longtime Tucker resident and self-described “foodie.” Many know him as “Doug the Driver,” who provides rides to and from both the domestic and international airport terminals. (To date, his service has provided 1,450 airport rides!)

If you have a food story or question you would like to see him write about, email him at dougthedriver1@gmail.com.

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Andrea Wolf, owner of Tucker Meat Market (center) receives her award from Eric Sinclair (left) and Art Wood.

Taste of Tucker Raises $30K in Reimagined Event Our Town DeKalb Staff Taste of Tucker raised $30,000 in its reimagined event which ran October 9 through November 7. The annual fundraiser, the proceeds of which benefited Camp Kudzu and NETWorks Cooperative Ministry, had to re-adjust this year because of the pandemic, shifting from its scheduled one-day event held on Main Street to a virtual event lasting thirty days and featuring a different restaurant each day. ToT was promoted via Facebook during the event, with live broadcasts by hosts Eric Sinclair (Eric’s Fit Lab) and Art Wood (Goldwater Bank) from many of the participating restaurants. Each restaurant donated a portion of its proceeds from its assigned day to the event.

Tucker Meat Market won this year’s People’s Choice Award, garnering the most votes from participants as well as earning top fundraiser.

Taste of Tucker is tentatively scheduled to return in-person to Main Street in October 2021.

FODAC ‘12 Days of Christmas’ to Address Pediatric Mobility Needs Our Town DeKalb Staff COVID has cancelled this year’s Breakfast with Santa, so FODAC has come up with a virtual fundraising event that would safely celebrate the holiday. The “12 Days of Christmas” Virtual Event (December 1-12) will raise funds for FODAC’s Pediatric Home Medical Equipment (HME) Program by sharing videos, pictures, quotes and more about FODAC kids and families, online and on social media, to raise awareness about the program while celebrating the holidays and spreading cheer.

You can follow the event on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, or on fodac.org.

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