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The Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team proudly hosted their 10th semi-annual Appreciation Lunch on Wednesday, April 24th, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, dedicated to honoring our local heroes – police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and military personnel. The event was a huge success, with the largest turnout they have seen to date!
PrimeLending served BBQ with a variety of sides and drinks, sponsored by Arrow Exterminators. Attendees were welcome to use the patio to enjoy their meal, or they could take it on the road, ensuring that our hardworking heroes could enjoy a well-deserved break amidst their duties. In addition to the delicious lunch, each attendee received a goodie bag filled with awesome items as a token of appreciation for their service and dedication.
Additional sponsors for the event included Amerispec /All Atlanta Inspection Services, First American Home Warranty, American Home Shield, and Chick-fil-A East Lake. For more information about upcoming community events hosted by the Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team, please visit www.JaniceOverbeck.com.
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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it has collected some new evidence related to its investigation into the homicides of an East Cobb married couple in south Georgia in 2015.
The GBI said Monday that a citizen found a .22 caliber rifle while fishing in Horse Creek near McRae, Ga., in Telfair County, on April 14.
The same citizen two days later went to the same location, and using a magnetic device, found a bag and driver’s licenses and credit cards belonging to Bud and June Runion, as well as a cell phone thought to belong to them, according to the GBI.
The GBI said its agents and the Telfair County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a home on two separate occasions after that last week, adding that investigators recovered unspecified further evidence that’s being sent to the state crime lab for further analysis.
The GBI didn’t identify who lived in the home and didn’t indicate in its release on Monday if the rifle could be the murder weapon.
A suspect arrested shortly after the murders, Ronnie Adrian Towns, is scheduled to go on trial for the killings in August.
The Runions, who lived off Holly Springs Road, were in their 60s when they ventured to Telfair County in January 2015 to buy a 1966 Ford Mustang. Bud Runion had posted an interest in making such a purchase on Craigslist.
The Runions were reported missing by their daughters the following day, and four days later their bodies were found on a rural road, not far from where their vehicle was spotted in a pond near McRae, 75 miles south of Macon.
Authorities said the Runions had been robbed and shot in the head, but a murder weapon had not been found. Towns, then 28, turned himself in and was charged with murder and armed robbery.
But his murder indictment was overturned in 2019 by the Georgia Supreme Court, upholding a lower court ruling of improper jury selection.
Towns was re-indicted in 2020.
The Runions were married for 38 years. According to their obituaries, in 1991 the Runions founded Forever Greatful Ministries, which helps families in need in the Marietta area. Bud Runion was retired from AT & T and June Runion was a preschool teacher at Johnson Ferry Christian Academy.
They were longtime members of Mt. Paran Church of God North on Allgood Road.
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A fire broke out at the Medford-Peden Funeral Home on Canton Road Tuesday, but there were no injuries, according to the Marietta Fire Department.
Deputy Fire Marshall Steve Gau said Marietta and Cobb fire crews were dispatched to 1408 Canton Road around 2:30 p.m. and found heavy fire and smoke conditions.
He said crews brought the fire under control in around 20 minutes, and there were no remains of any deceased in the funeral home.
Gau said a cause hasn’t been determined and that Marietta Fire is conducting the investigation.
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The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office announced that a 68-year-old male detainee passed away Saturday at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital after suffering from cancer.
A release said the man, who was unidentified, was homeless and declined to provide family contact information.
The Cobb Sheriff’s Office said “he was last arrested for violating restrictions based on his sex offender status,” but didn’t say how long he had been in custody.
“All signs pointed to this individual being homeless with no access to medical care,” Sheriff Craig Owens in a statement. “We believe he wanted to be arrested so he could live his remaining weeks in a more comfortable environment.”
The Sheriff’s Office said that following a medical screening upon his arrest “it became clear he was facing a serious health challenge.”
He was “routinely” taken to Kennestone for treatment, and “due to the detainee’s sex offender status and to protect the public, Sheriff Owens mandated that he remain incarcerated.”
Owens said in the release that “I say often that jails across our metro and the state have become de facto hospitals and mental health facilities.
“This detainee’s death is another example of that fact, and we must collectively do more outside of the criminal justice system so that folks don’t intentionally go to jail to receive life or death medical treatment.”
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The two hopefuls for the open Post 5 seat on the Cobb Board of Education don’t have opponents in the upcoming primaries, but they’re picking up endorsements.
Last week the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Action Fund endorsed Democrat Laura Judge as part of a slate of endorsements in metro Atlanta school board and county commission races.
And on Tuesday, Republican John Cristadoro announced he had received the endorsement of Educators First, a teachers’ organization.
Post 5, which includes the Walton and Pope and some of the Wheeler attendance zones, is being vacated by four-term Republican David Banks.
According to its website, the SPLC Action Fund “is focused on lifting up communities of color, particularly in the Deep South, who face systemic oppression, poverty and structural racism. To overcome these injustices, the organization is committed to reimagining the political, economic and social systems that sustain them to create a world where all people can thrive. ”
Judge, a Walton-area parent, noted in a social media posting that she got the endorsement “on a day that I spoke out at the school board meeting for a student in my Post who had to deal with racial discrimination in one of our schools.
“I will continue to advocate for the safety of our students, stand up against hate within our district, and empower our community to use their voice.”
Judge also has received endorsements from Cobb school board member Becky Sayler of Post 2 in Smyrna, Democratic State Rep. Lisa Campbell of Cobb, the Georgia Working Families Party, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and the 3.14 Action Fund, which supports Democratic female candidates with science backgrounds.
Educators First represents professional teachers as an alternative to older organizations such as the Georgia Association of Educators.
Educators First says it offers “all the advantages of a traditional union, but without the high costs and partisan politics.”
Based in Kennesaw, Educators First was founded in 2011 and its CEO and co-founder is John Adams, a former Cobb County School District deputy superintendent.
“I am honored to have received the Educators First endorsement,” Cristadoro said in a statement Tuesday. “Educators First’s endorsement in my campaign clearly demonstrates the wide appeal and local grassroots support of our campaign.”
According to his latest campaign disclosure report in February, Cristadoro has raised more than $33,000 and has more than $28,000 in cash on hand.
Judge also filed a financial disclosure report in February listing more than $18,000 in contributions and more than $2,000 in cash on hand.
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A Cobb grand jury has indicted a former Woodstock police officer after a suspect fleeing a traffic stop in Northeast Cobb last fall was shot to death.
The April 18 indictment charges Grant Matthew Shaw, 23, of Canton, with a felony count of involuntary manslaughter for the Oct. 14 death of Emmanuel Millard, 20, of Marietta.
According to Cobb Police, Millard fled a traffic stop on Oct. 12 at Highway 92 and Hames Road, near the Cobb County line.
According to a preliminary Georgia Bureau of Investigation report, Woodstock police pursued Millard into Northeast Cobb for several miles, before stopping his vehicle near the intersection of Highway 92 (Alabama Road) and Old Mountain Park Road, near the Cobb-Roswell line.
As officers tried to remove Millard from the car, he was shot once, and officers rendered aid until EMS arrived on the scene, according to the GBI.
The GBI said Millard was taken to North Fulton Hospital, where he died two days later. Shaw was placed on administrative leave and resigned several days later as an investigation continued.
Cobb prosecutors sought indictments for felony murder and aggravated assault, but the grand jury concluded that Shaw did not intend to cause Millard’s death.
Shaw was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center Monday and is being held without bond, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.
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Contested primaries (our previous qualifying story) include Cobb Commission Chair (Democrat) and U.S. House District 11 (Republican).
In Cobb County, voters can cast their ballots early in-person at nine locations, or via a dropbox at six venues during regular business hours.
Those locations include the East Cobb Government Services Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) and the Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road).
Both of those East Cobb locations will have extensive advance voting hours:
April 29-May 3 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
May 6-10 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
May 13-17 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The East Cobb Government Service Center will have a dropbox available on those dates, during those voting hours. Early voters also may go there for the two Sundays of advance voting, May 5 and May 12, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Advance voters can vote at any advance voting location in the county. More information can be found by clicking here.
No voting will take place from May 18-20, and on primary day, Tuesday, May 21, voters will go their assigned precincts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
To check your polling station and which races will be on your ballot, visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s GA My Voter Page.
All voters must go to the polls with proof of identification (details here).
Cobb Elections also is seeking poll workers to staff 148 precincts on primary day. Visit https://bit.ly/CobbPollWorker to learn more and apply today.
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The following East Cobb residential real estate sales were compiled from agency reports. They include the subdivision name, high school attendance zone and sales price:
April 1
4968 Meadow Lane, 30068 (The Meadows Condos, Walton): $320,000
2675 Willow Field Crossing Unit 14, 30067 (The Oaks at Powers Ferry, Wheeler): $506,000
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On Thursday, the Cobb Board of Education approved in a 7-0 vote a $71.9 million construction contract to get the project underway starting this summer.
The contract went to Carroll Daniel Construction of Atlanta, and the work is expected to take three years.
The current campus at 2525 Sandy Plains Road opened in 1973. Sprayberry was the first high school in the East Cobb area, opening in 1952 at what is now Cobb Parkway and Allgood Road and occupied by The Walker School.
The group pushing for a new Sprayberry facility includes a hashtag on its Facebook page declaring that “NowTheRealWorkBegins.”
Sprayberry parents and community leaders sold a special T-shirt as they lobbied for a new main campus building.
At a school board work session Thursday before the vote, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale didn’t mince words about what that will entail.
A total of 37 portable classroom buildings will be placed in the parking lot, similar to a rebuild a decade ago at Wheeler High School, whose leaders gave that school community ample warning about the scale and length of the disruptions.
By comparison, a multi-phased rebuilding at Walton High School didn’t require portables.
Classes continued in the original classroom building until the replacement opened nearby in 2017.
The only displacements were varsity softball, baseball and tennis teams, which now have new facilities on or near campus.
The new Sprayberry facility (signified in the rendering above with beige roofs) will have four stories with 68 classrooms, new administrative and guidance offices and learning commons. Renovations also will be made to existing cafeteria space and other facilities.
But, Ragsdale said, “it’s going to be a very difficult construction. It’s not going to be a fun time. It will be an awesome campus once it’s complete.”
The Sprayberry rebuild is the first of the major projects in the current Cobb Education SPLOST VI collection period, primarily to continue the momentum of previous renovations.
A new gymnasium and Career, Technical and Agricultural Education space (at the right, indicated with a turquoise roof) was recently completed.
“We need everybody’s grace and patience with this one,” Ragsdale said.
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The Barnes & Noble at Avenue East Cobb is among the venues for the new East Cobb chapter of the Silent Book Club.
We heard recently from Cecilia Griesenauer, who’s part of a new chapter of the Silent Book Club in the East Cobb area.
The concept is similar to book clubs that are held at book stores and libraries, except that there is no assigned reading. Instead, reading sessions for participants including mingling, socializing and reading.
Participants bring or buy their own books and can interact with others how they choose, or not.
“There is no agenda or personal gain on my part other than meeting the founding goals, supporting local businesses who are willing to host our gatherings, meeting and mingling with others who love books, and finding my next read,” she said.
The group met earlier this month at the Barnes and Noble at Avenue East Cobb (4475 Roswell Road, Suite 102) and there’s another meet-up there this Wednesday, April 24 at from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
On Monday, April 29, a meet-up is scheduled at Mzizi Coffee (2995 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 220), also from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Another Barnes and Noble meet-up will take place on Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m.
The time frame includes mingling, and optional book discussions before and after a dedicated hour of reading.
The Silent Book Club started in San Francisco in 2012 and has more than 500 chapters in more than 60 countries, all organized by volunteers.
Here’s a recent story from The Washington Post explaining how the concept appeals particularly to introverts, and that it grew out of a sense of isolation readers felt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of the clubs formed recently, according to the story, which mentions the East Cobb chapter. Some of the participants said formal book clubs with assigned reading “were too much like homework.”
Griesenauer said she’s aware of 12 chapters in Georgia, including one that formed in Marietta late last year, as well as Smyrna and Roswell.
She said the Atlanta chapter began in December 2023 with eight attendees at the first meetup, then soared to more than 100 after a local celebrity attended.
The East Cobb Silent Book Club updates its activities on its Instagram page.
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Delta Community Credit Union is proud to announce its 2024 Scholarship Award recipients who were selected based on their academic achievement, community involvement and essay submission. As Georgia’s largest credit union with more than $8.5 billion in assets, Delta Community is proud to provide financial support to well-deserving students for the 19th consecutive year. The following five students will each receive a $5,000 award to assist with college-related expenses:
Jalen Johnson, a senior in the Westlake High School Magnet Program in Atlanta, who plans to attend Georgia State University to major in chemistry and physics;
Maximus Stetter, a senior at Dunwoody High School in Dunwoody, Georgia, who plans to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology to major in aerospace engineering;
Gargi Telang, a senior at Pope High School in Marietta, Georgia, who plans to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology to major in mechanical engineering;
Simone Walker, a senior at Dutchtown High School in Hampton, Georgia, who plans to attend Spelman College to major in biology; and
Joshua Zyzak, a senior at Beechwood High School in Lakeside Park, Kentucky, who plans to attend Harvard University to major in mechanical engineering.
“This year’s recipients embody our Credit Union’s values through their service to others as well as their interest in financial and social responsibility,” said Hank Halter, Delta Community’s CEO. “Their contest essays demonstrated a clear understanding of the role financial literacy can play in both personal and community prosperity. It is an honor to invest in each of them so they can pursue higher education, unlock their full potential and contribute to the future of their local communities.”
Delta Community also supports community education through quarterly scholarships for students attending historically Black colleges and universities as well as by offering free classes and workshops to the public through its award-winning Financial Education Center.
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Four more sexually explicit books have been removed from Cobb County School District library shelves.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale made the announcement Thursday as he delivered lengthy prepared remarks similar to those he made with the removal of books last September that generated a noisy controversy.
As then, he said the books recently removed contained lewd, vulgar and sexually graphic content, and that “the sexualization of children can never be allowed to become normalized.”
He identified the four books by title (see below for more) and reiterated previous comments that the district would protect children from materials that are not age-appropriate and that this is “a battle between good and evil.”
Ragsdale didn’t say if the books were the subject of parental complaints or what schools had them in their libraries.
The four books removed are as follows:
Novelist Alice Sebold’s 1999 memoir “Lucky” has won awards in the children’s literature category, but also was pulled by its publisher in 2021 after a man she accused in the book of raping her was exonerated in court. The book’s graphic depiction of the alleged assault prompted a number of school removals across the country.
Best-selling author Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” is aimed at adult readers, and includes sexual content and depictions of an abusive relationship.
“Thirteen Reasons Why” is a 2007 young adult novel by Jay Asher about a high school freshman who commits suicide, and includes sexually explicit content. It’s been widely challenged on the grounds of not being age-appropriate.
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky, addresses themes like teen sex, drug use, sexual abuse and abortion, and has been subject to a number of school library removals.
Ragsdale has come under fire from critics alleging a book ban, but he took umbrage in his remarks Thursday.
“We are no more ‘banning books’ than we are banning rated R and NC17 movies,” he said. “What we are doing is not forcing taxpayers to fund students having unrestricted access to materials that are so sexually explicit and graphic they could not be read aloud in the board meeting without violating FCC regulations.
“What we are doing is giving parents peace of mind in knowing their children will not have unrestricted access to this content while at school.
“What we are doing is assuring Cobb County educators will not be forced to assume the heavy burden of incorporating lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit materials into instruction and student conversations.
“What we are doing is refusing to force Cobb County taxpayers and educators to facilitate and advance the sexualization of children.”
(The Cobb school district later Thursday sent out a full release with a transcript and video of his comments that you can read and watch by clicking here.)
Micheal Garza of East Cobb, parent of a first-grader and a frequent critic of Ragsdale, issued a lengthy response on social media Friday, insisting that “not a single book has ever sexualized a child in Cobb schools,” nor has one endangered a student in school.
“You know what has? Guns. Weapons. Racism. Antisemitism. Islamophobia,” Garza wrote. “Yet the Superintendent spent more time last night talking about porn than he has talked about school safety or bigotry collectively in the past two years.”
Others on a Facebook group page devoted to school matters suggested starting a loose book club to read the books removed from Cobb schools, and discuss there.
Also on Friday, Cobb school board chairman Randy Scamihorn responsed to the latest book in his “Just the Facts” column, backing Ragsdale’s insistence that books aren’t being banned.
“The School Board doesn’t have the authority to decide what you and your family read, and the majority of us believe those are choices you should make at home,” he said. “On the other hand, the Board is responsible for doing everything we can to keep your children safe.”
The Cobb school district also sent out Scamihorn’s comments Friday afternoon in a separate press release.
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The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday approved the appointment of new principals at schools in East Cobb for the 2024-25 academic year.
Mitchell Askew
Dr. Mitchell Askew, an 8th grade administrator at Pearson Middle School in South Cobb, is the new principal at East Cobb Middle School.
He has been a teacher in the Savannah-Chatham and Cobb school districts in a 20-year career. Askew had been an assistant principal at Hillgrove High School and Campbell High School before coming to Pearson in 2021.
A former teacher at Cooper Middle School, Askew was in charge of academies, transportation and the AVID program at Pearson. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Kennesaw State University and a doctorate in education from Piedmont College.
Askew will succeed Leetonia Young, who is retiring.
Ruth Martin, an assistant principal at Garrison Mill Elementary School, has been named the principal there.
She has been there since 2021, and also served as an assistant principal at Sedalia Park Elementary School and was a teacher at Brumby Elementary School and Nicholson Elementary School.
Martin earned degrees from Brigham Young University and Kennesaw State and hold’s an education specialist degree from the University of West Georgia.
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Shaw Mixon, a varsity football player at Lassiter High School, has been honored by the Atlanta Falcons for his dedication to the game on the field and his service to the community.
He’s been named the Falcons’ “High School Man of the Year.” It’s similar to a National Football League honor for professional players that’s named after the late Chicago Bears’ Hall of Famer Walter Payton.
A three-year starter in football as well as a basketball player, Mixon is vice president of Sources of Strength, an organization that works with schools to provide crisis intervention services for teens and their families in such areas as mental health, suicide, bullying and substance abuse.
“Despite personal challenges, including the loss of his father and a season-ending injury, Shaw’s resilience and dedication inspire those around him, leaving an enduring impact on both his school and local community,” the Falcons said in explaining Mixon’s honor.
He received an award at the Falcons’ team banquet in February.
The Cobb County School District said in a release that Lassiter High School’s SOS program is a flagship effort in the county, having trained more than 200 students and a third of the teaching staff has been trained as trusted adults.
“It’s nice to get recognition and validation that you’re doing something right,” Shaw in the CCSD release. “I wasn’t expecting an award or anything, but obviously, whatever I have been doing is working, and I will keep giving back to the community in whatever ways I can.”
Mixon was nominated by Lassiter head football coach Sean Thom, who said “he is the type of kid who makes everyone around him better. He made me a better husband, father, coach, and teacher. He is an uncommon man in today’s society and has great things in his future.”
Lassiter AP teacher Lizz Etter, who oversees the SOS program, said Mixon not only is a bright student and excels in sports, but “as a friend, Shaw is loyal, genuine, and kind. Above all, he is humble and gracious. Shaw Mixon is an excellent choice for any award.”
Mixon also is involved in a program at Lassiter called The Joy Mission Club, in which high school students visit elementary- and middle schools to support kids who have lost a family member.
Having lost his father a little over two years ago, Shaw knows what these kids are going through. While his own network of family and friends was strong and helped support him during a very tough time in his life, he wants to be a support for other kids experiencing something similar.
“It can be easy to think about yourself and how difficult your situation is, but sharing what you think and feel with someone else is so necessary and important,” Mixon said. “I don’t want anyone to have to go through that time alone.”
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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The school board voted 7-0 Thursday night to tentatively adopt the budget, meaning it can be advertised publicly and receive public feedback before a final vote is scheduled for May 16.
Proposed FY 2025 budget documents can be found by clicking here.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
The Cobb County School District’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget includes staff pay raises that average 6 percent.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said at a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday that teachers, administrators and other full-time employees will receive raises ranging from 4.4 percent to 9 percent.
The proposed $1.85 billion spending is “an employee-centric” budget, Ragsdale said during a presentation.
The budget would maintain a property tax rate of 18.7 mills, holding from last year, when the school board reduced that rate by 0.2 percent to offset rising assessments.
Brad Johnson, the district’s chief financial officer, told board members that the projected Cobb tax digest growth in 2024 is 7.5 percent, compared to 14.6 percent in 2023.
“We need to be aware of a drop like that and keep it in mind” when making budget decisions, he said.
The board also was scheduled to hold a public forum on the budget proposal and to tentatively approve it Thursday night.
Another budget forum will take place on May 16, the date the board is scheduled to finalize the budget.
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After a name change and several months of renovations, Reunion Kitchen and Bar has opened at the Market Plaza Shopping Center on Johnson Ferry Road.
Co-owner Ilene Kapper Oxman said in a release Thursday that the restaurant concept, which held a grand opening April 2, focuses on a “fusion of exquisite cuisine, captivating ambience, and handcrafted drinks.”
Reunion, located in the former Red Sky space (1255 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 16) is open for dinner from Tuesday through Sunday.
The fusion includes “classic flavors and contemporary twists, showcasing the best of Southern hospitality. From comforting soups and salads to innovative cocktails and carefully curated wine selections, there’s something to delight every palate.”
Oxman, a former East Cobb resident, has been working with two other partners in the venture in part to fill the void left by Red Sky, which closed in 2022 after 14 years.
Initially the new restaurant was to be called 1255 Social, reflecting the street address.
Oxman said the name was switched to Reunion “as a testament to the power of bringing people together. Whether it’s a gathering of family, friends, or colleagues, Reunion is the place where memories are made, and connections are forged.”
The menu include beef, pork, chicken and seafood entrees, starters and shareables, salads, desserts and a fully stocked bar.
Reunion also has outdoor space with heaters and a roof for year-round use.
“Our vision is to create a gathering place where guests can enjoy exceptional food, drinks, and company in a welcoming atmosphere,” Oxman said. “We look forward to becoming a beloved destination for locals and visitors alike.”
Reunion is open Sunday 4-9; Tuesday-Wednesdsay 4-9; Thursday 4-10, Friday-Saturday 4-11 and is closed on Monday.
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“It’s totally appropriate for Sunny and the park,” Diane Spencer of Frameworks Gallery said of the creation of a garden at East Cobb Park in memory of her late sister, Sunny Walker.
As the 50th anniversary of her East Cobb business approached earlier this year, Diane Spencer couldn’t help but think of her late sister.
“Sunny” Walker wasn’t just a family member but a business partner at Frameworks Gallery at Woodlawn Square Shopping Center on Johnson Ferry Road.
Walker, who died in 2019, also was a leading figure in the creation of East Cobb’s first passive park.
As an inaugural board member and later president of the volunteer group Friends for the East Cobb Park, Walker was heavily involved in the efforts to identify, purchase and convert land on Roswell Road, along Sewell Mill Creek, into what’s become one of the most popular parks in Cobb County.
The 20 acres that make up the park once was farmland, then became the home to Bowles Oil Company.
The park features multi-use trails, playgrounds, grassy recreational space, pavilions and a concert shell. Events include regular musical concerts, holiday celebrations and a Veterans Day salute.
More than anything, Walker and those behind the park’s creation simply wanted a place in the community where people could gather, recreate and enjoy natural beauty.
“There was no central gathering place” in East Cobb, Spencer said. Her sister “envisioned this very much being a community gathering place.”
Those leading the Friends group now are working to enhance the vision of the 21-year-old park. Last year, the East Cobb Park Garden Club was formed, with the goal of beautifying the park.
Its first project was seeding natural plants and perennial flower beds.
Now, the club will be taking on a major improvement, in honor of Sunny Walker.
A portion of greenspace below the gazebo overlooking the back quad of the park will be carved out to create what Spencer calls “Sunny’s Butterfly Park.”
Kurt von Borries, the group’s current president, came up with the idea when Spencer approached him about doing something to honor her sister.
“It’s totally appropriate for Sunny and the park,” she said.
A rendering of “Sunny’s Butterfly Garden” at East Cobb Park.
It will be an all-season garden featuring more than two dozen types of flowers, covering several hundred square feet. The garden is being designed by Lyn Cohen, head of the East Cobb Park Garden Club, who’s a professional landscape architect.
To be planted include redbuds, Black-Eyed Susans, daffodils, hydrangeas and other varietals.
“It’s really a pollinator garden,” Spencer said, explaining the origins of the garden’s name. “But that doesn’t sound as good as butterfly garden.”
Cohen’s company, SiteOne Landscape Supply, is donating stone, mulch and some other materials. Two Japanese maple trees also will be donated, according to von Borries.
But between $10,000 to $15,000 needs to be raised to purchase and plant the flowers, and to build out and maintain the garden. The work is expected to get underway later this spring, with completion aimed for the fall.
To that effort, Spencer is holding a fundraising open house at Frameworks next week, donating between 30 to 100 percent of whatever she sells in the store for the garden.
The hours for the open house are from 4-8 p.m. Thursday, April 25, and during store hours Friday-Saturday April 26-27 from 10-6 (1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 110).
Frameworks features painting, sculpture and ceramics made by local and Georgia artists. Spencer said some of them agreed to donate their works for the fundraiser.
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Since Friends for the East Cobb Park is a 501(c)3 non-profit, she’ll also have tax receipts for purchasers.
(Anyone can donate at anytime online, in an amount of their choosing, by clicking here. Checks should be made out to Friends for the East Cobb Park.)
Von Borries admitted that “it’s going to be a challenge” to maintain the garden, which will be the major project of the garden club.
Long-term, he’s hopeful that East Cobb Park could someday include a botanical garden.
“We’re just trying to beautify the park,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of land to work with.”
Walker was previously honored in 2017 with a piano named after her at the gazebo, but which has since been removed. There’s also a bridge named after her connecting the current park to its newer space extending toward Fullers Park.
Spencer said the garden is the perfect way to honor her memory.
“This is kind of a personal thing,” she said. “There are so many people who knew and loved Sunny.
“This is a prime example of what can be done with this park. Sunny would have envisioned that. I think that’s what she would want to see. I think this will be a milestone for the park.”
Sunny Walker “dreamed big,” according to the first president of the Friends for the East Cobb Park, “and we bought into it.”
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In support of and inspired by our Veterans, Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, Inc. is hosting its inaugural “Building To Honor” Military Ball & Gala—an uplifting event that creates greater awareness of the Veterans Memorial, and celebrates the remarkable service and sacrifices of our Military and Veterans in Cobb County. The Military Ball & Gala will be attended by dignitaries, community leaders, friends, supporters, and Veterans from all wars – including six (6) Veterans who served in World War II.
Mark Your Calendar:
April 20, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Atlanta Marriott Northwest at Galleria (200 Interstate N Pkwy SE, Atlanta, GA30339)
Keynote Speaker:
The well-known and highly respected Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and Four-Star General Jack Keane (Ret.) has an outstanding military career of 37 years. He is a frequent National News Media Contributor and currently serves as the Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War. He serves as an advisor to presidents, cabinet officials, members of congress, international leaders, CEOs, and business leaders.
Intel:
5:00 – 6:00 PM Pre-Dinner Reception (Cash Bars) – Auction and Fun with Bagpiper Scott McAliley
5:15 – 6:15 PM VIP Reception with General Jack Keane and Special Guests
(ticketed event)
6:15 – 10:00 PM Toasts, Dinner, Keynote Speech, Dance to the Live Music of Atlanta Seventeen, Live Auction, and More!
(ticketed event)
Dress: Military Uniform, Business, Semi-Formal
For media inquiries or additional information about the “Building To Honor” Military Ball & Gala, please contact Donna Kosicki, Chair of the event, at (678) 472-1802 or via email at Cvmfmilitarygala2024@gmail.com.
The Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) organization committed to honoring the service and sacrifices of our Military and Veterans. Through various initiatives, including the construction of a Memorial, the Foundation aims to create a lasting legacy that celebrates the bravery and dedication of our nation’s heroes, starting right here in Cobb County, Georgia.
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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
