01-24-2014 Brookhaven Reporter

BrookhavenReporter

www.ReporterNewspapers.net

JAN. 24— FEB. 6, 2014 • VOL. 6 — NO. 2

InsideTake out the trash

County testing once-a-week pickups

COMMUNITY 2

Lift offDeKalb County schools no longer on probation

COMMUNITY 3

Buckhead beautyDeveloper investing millions

in project’s streetscape

COMMUNITY 22

BY MELISSA [email protected]

Kids now have more than a new jungle gym to look forward to when they visit Briarwood Park.

On Jan. 16, offi cials unveiled a “little free library,” which allows kids to take a book or leave behind a book they’ve already read so someone else can read it. Th e Cross Keys Foundation said the Bri-arwood Park little library will be the fi rst of 10 installed in parks around the city of Brookhaven.

“Today is a great beginning, not just an event,” Cross Keys Foundation President Kim Gokce said as a group of children pre-pared to pull a cover from the new little library.

“What you’re about to reveal is a magic box,” Gokce said. “It’s going to provide you and your friends with an unlimited supply of quality reading material.”

Th e little library looks like a treasure chest, too. Cross Keys

BY MELISSA WEINMAN [email protected]

Th e future of several proposals for new cities in DeKalb County remained unclear as lawmakers returned to the state Capitol.

Part of the problem is that the proposed cities of Briarcliff , Lake-side and Tucker overlap in the area of Northlake Mall. Lawmakers and city proponents said eff orts failed to resolve border disputes among the competing proposals in the days before the 2014 Legis-lature convened Jan. 13.

“We have tried,” said Mary Kay Woodworth, chairwoman of the Lakeside City Alliance. “We have met with Tucker several times and are having a diffi cult time coming to a resolution. We have diff erent ideas of what should be Lakeside and what should be Tucker.”

Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Brookhaven, said none of the three poten-SEE FREE, PAGE 19 SEE FATE, PAGE 5

Look, there are books inside!

PHIL MOSIER

Arwen Coy, 9, takes a peek into the “little free library” unveiled at Briarwood Park on Jan. 16. The Cross Keys Foundation, a public charity that supports education in the Brookhaven area, was instrumental in

opening the free library, which features a post-mounted, book swap unit. More photos on page 19.

‘Little library’ offers kids books at the park Fate of proposed new

DeKalb cities unclear

Hot ticketJewish Film Festival runs Jan. 29-Feb. 20

OUT & ABOUT 14

PERIMETER BUSINESSpages 7-11

Dining out

Our reviewer visits Brookhaven’s ‘Smash’

RESTAURANTS 16

Res ta u r a n t R e v i ew

It’s back!

Police blotter records local crimes

PUBLIC SAFETY 20-21

Mark my words

Pastor teaches reading skills to youngsters

MAKING A DIFFERENCE 15

C O M M U N I T Y

2 | JAN. 24 – FEB. 6, 2014 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net

County plans to test once-a-week garbage pickups

BY MELISSA WEINMAN AND JOE EARLENeighborhoods in north and cen-

tral Brookhaven are among those select-ed to be part of a study into changes in DeKalb County’s sanitation services, in-cluding a move to once-a-week garbage pickup.

The three-month pilot program will include 28,000 single family households along more than 20 garbage pickup routes scattered across DeKalb to gauge opinions from customers from various parts of the county.

The main change in the pilot study will be reducing garbage collection from twice to once a week. Participants in the study will also receive new, 65-gallon bins for their garbage. The bins will work with new equipment to mechanically lift and empty them into a garbage truck.

If the program eventually is adopt-ed county-wide, it could save the sani-tation department more than $6 million a year, which would allow the depart-ment to avoid a rate increase, said Billy Malone, DeKalb County’s associate di-rector of sanitation.

“We have been running a deficit in sanitation,” Malone said. “We don’t want to raise our fees.”

Malone said during neighborhood meetings before the pilot program was announced, most people said they would be OK with once-a-week garbage pickup because so much can be recycled now. “Garbage has shrunk over time,” Malone said.

Malone said the new containers will be large enough to fit a week’s worth of

trash. “We’re not going to have odor prob-

lems, we’re not going to have insects crawling out of these things,” he said. “It’s a more durable container.”

Malone said the pilot program is ex-pected to start in March. A firm date will be announced soon, he said.

Also as part of the study, garbage, re-cycling and yard-trimming pickups will all take place on the same day each week. Those collections now may take place on different days.

DeKalb County officials will use the pilot program to assess the efficiency of mechanical garbage collection using semi-automated and automated equip-ment. Malone said mechanical garbage collection will help reduce employee in-juries, something that would be good for the employees’ quality of life and the county’s bottom line.

Malone said DeKalb County began twice weekly garbage collection in 1939. He said 80 percent of cities in the U.S. already have switched to a once-a-week garbage pickup schedule.

“DeKalb is probably the last one in this area,” he said.

Households participating in the pilot will be contacted by a third-party ven-dor and asked for feedback on the pro-gram.

To find out more, contact DeKalb County using the email: [email protected] or by calling the sanitation pilot hotline at 404-294-2980.

DEKALB COUNTY SANITATION

DeKalb County has selected neighborhoods in north and central

Brookhaven to be part of a pilot program reducing garbage collection to

once a week. For a larger version of this map, go to ReporterNewspapers.net.

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Parents pleased county school system’s probation lifted


North DeKalb parents are welcom-ing word that the DeKalb County school system’s accreditation probation has been lifted.

“I am pleased DeKalb’s accredita-tion has been upgraded,” former school board member Nancy Jester said in an email. “As the whistleblower that fi rst brought DeKalb’s deceptive budgeting practices to light, I was gratifi ed to see an intervention.

“Moving forward, our state should take action so no school district will suff er such fi nancial and systemic failures again.”

Th e school system announced Jan. 21 that AdvancED, a regional accred-iting agency, would bump the systems’ accreditation status from “probation” to “warned.”

According to the news release, an Ad-vancED report from December found that, “the progress made by the DeKalb County School District since May 2013 is commendable. Many programs, pol-icies and processes have been put into place to stabilize the school system and begin to restore confi dence and trust among stakeholder groups.”

Th e DeKalb school system had been placed on accreditation probation in 2012 after the accreditation agency re-leased a scathing report accusing the Board of Education of mismanagement and interfering into the operations of the schools.

Gov. Nathan Deal later removed six of the nine school board members, in-cluding Jester, who now is running for

state school superintendent.Several north DeKalb parents wor-

ried that despite the good news, the sys-tem still has a long way to go.

“Th e thing that struck me immedi-ately was [the accrediting agency] said the county still needed to work on lead-ership, getting resources into the class-room, and student performance,” said Shawn Keefe, president of the Ashford Park School Education Foundation. “Beside fi nancials, those are the main three areas people are concerned with.”

Allegra Johnson, one of the Dun-woody parents who organized Geor-gians for Local Area School Systems, said in an email the decision left her with “mixed feelings.”

She said while she was relieved the system won’t lose its accreditation, she was “disturbed that [the accredit-ing agency] has been manipulated into thinking that superfi cial progress is real progress.”

“I listened to the list of eight com-pleted actions items, the three still in progress and the three new additions, but wonder why we applaud false hope that students have become the No. 1 concern in this county,” she said. “Th ere was no mention of a positive eff ect on the school house or the classroom. ... DeKalb County must come to the re-alization that children have diff erent needs, but they all have needs that must be addressed.”

–Joe Earle contributed to this report

Brookhaven Government CalendarBrookhaven City Council usually meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. at locations to be determined.

For complete and up-to-date schedule of Brookhaven city meetings, go to http://brookhavenga.gov .

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Fate of proposed newDeKalb County cities unclear

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tial cities had a formal committee hear-ing in the fi rst days of the session.

But members of the DeKalb Coun-ty Legislative Delegation held a pre-ses-sion meeting with advocates for creating new cities Jan. 9 in an eff ort to untangle the mess of overlapping proposals in the central area of the county.

Representatives from each group made presentations and took questions from legislators. A fourth group, hop-ing to incorporate a city of Stonecrest in southeast DeKalb, also presented.

“Th is is an important issue for DeKalb County, and we want to make sure we hear from diff erent cityhood proposals so we can make the best deci-sions,” said Rep. Howard Mosby, D-At-lanta, chairman of the delegation.

To make matters more complicat-ed, existing cities are also looking to ex-pand their borders.

“Every city in DeKalb County has had plans to annex except for Dunwoody,” said Mark Baggett, managing director of the DeKalb Municipal Association.

Allen Venet, president of the City of Briarcliff Initiative, said his group’s pro-posal would create a large, inclusive city.

“Th e borders of Briarcliff are sensible. Th ey’re logical,” Venet said. “We are not reaching out and grabbing any commer-cial properties. It’s the fairest approach.”

He said his organization believes two of the three cities could coexist in the area.

“We’ve had some friendly discussions with Tucker, and we agree on a great deal with Tucker,” Venet said. “We ab-solutely think Tucker should be a city.”

Woodworth said her organization was the fi rst to propose incorporating. She said it has been a grassroots eff ort from people tired of the status quo.

“We’ve had over 75 meetings over the last 12 months, large and small,” Wood-worth said. “We feel we’ve reached out to the best of our ability to get this infor-mation out to the community.”

Frank Auman of Tucker 2014 said one of the reasons his group wants to form a city is to keep the Tucker com-

munity intact. He said many residents were concerned when they saw portions of what they considered to be Tucker drawn into other maps for new cities.

“Our concern was, Tucker’s about to lose its identity,” Auman said.

Auman said what makes Tucker dif-ferent from the other cityhood eff orts is that it has a longstanding community history. Th ere are highway signs that tell you how to get to Tucker and a down-town area, he said. “People know Tucker is a place,” Auman said. “A lot of people already think it’s a city.”

Mosby encouraged the groups to con-tinue working together to try to reach a resolution for their confl icting maps.

“We’ll be interested in any negotiated agreements between the parties,” Mosby said. “We will have to work this out in some way, form or fashion.”

Jacobs said logistically, the Lakeside bill has the best chance of approval because it is sponsored by Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dun-woody. Th e other two bills are sponsored by members of the House of Representatives.

“I don’t have a particular dog in this hunt. But as an interested observer I can say the only proposal that appears poised to move forward is Lakeside, and that is because there is no question Sen. Millar will be able to get a hearing and committee vote on that over in the Sen-ate,” Jacobs said.

“Th e Senate is smaller, highly col-legial. Th ere simply are more of us on the House side, and more competing legislation.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“This is an important is-sue for DeKalb County, and we want to make sure we hear from different city-hood proposals so we can make the best decisions.”

– REP. HOWARD MOSBYD-ATLANTA

C O M M E N T A R Y

6 | JAN. 24 – FEB. 6, 2014 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net BK

LETTERTO THE EDITOR

Send your letters to [email protected]

Pink Pony: City vs. will of the people?

To the editor:Brookhaven city offi cials have been

fi ghting a battle on two fronts – the Pink Pony attorneys on one, and their constit-uents on the other. It must be exhausting.

It’s been one year, and nothing has changed with regard to the direction city offi cials have taken with the Pink Pony. Th ey have been steadfast in their determi-nation to shut it down, and steadfast in refusing to listen.

Citizens have expressed their opin-ions, concerns, disappointment and out-rage through every means possible (email, phone calls, public forums, face-to-face meetings, a telephone poll, and a round-table discussion with the mayor), yet city offi cials continue to ignore their pleas for

representation. How a newly-elected City Coun-

cil can ignore the results of the commu-nity-sponsored telephone opinion poll is an amazement and travesty to those of us who voted for cityhood. According to poll results, 75 percent of Brookhaven res-idents want the city to settle the lawsuit with the Pink Pony.

Unfortunately, our fi ve elected offi -cials apparently know what is best for us 48,000 residents – and – as it turns out, it’s not what we think is best for us. If they’re right and 75 percent of us are wrong – there is an alarming defi cit of smart people in Brookhaven.

It’s time to stop the madness in City Hall. It’s time to hold our elected offi cials accountable for what we elected them to do – represent us!

As a long-time resident of Brookhaven, I can no longer bear what is happening in our community. First I was stunned, then heartbroken, and now I’m just angry.

I voted for cityhood, am thrilled about the potholes getting repaired, new side-walks, food trucks at Blackburn Park, and more police – but I cannot ignore the fact that 75 percent of Brookhaven residents are being ignored!

A call to action: Sign the petition at www.BrookhavenAlerts.com. Don’t just sign the petition; pass it along to every-one in your network. We need to send a strong message to City Hall that says “We’re paying attention, we’re holding you accountable and we’re willing to take action.”

Kathy Forbes

Th is issue marks the start of our eighth publishing year. Th e fi rst two Reporter editions, serving Sandy Springs and Buckhead, rolled off the press in January 2007. Today, our fi ve publications—now including Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Intown—cover some of metro Atlanta’s most diverse and dy-namic areas.

Th e past few years have been a time of dramatic change in the print media industry; pundits have been predicting the demise of newspapers for a while. But, fortunately, that hasn’t happened and our own growth path has bucked the trend. Th at’s because our publications reach residents who care deep-ly about their cities and want the “hyperlocal” information found only in community papers like ours. We know that you appreciate this attention. A recent study by the National Newspaper Association confi rmed this, with eight in 10 readers saying they rely on their community newspaper for local news and information, while two-thirds say they also look for advertising from local businesses.

From the beginning, our intent was to off er readers a credible and colorful source of local news with a singular mission—to provide fresh and engaging information about your communities. Th e bi-weekly Reporter Newspapers and the monthly Atlanta INtown, which we acquired last May, now have combined circulation of 100,000 copies. Each publication serves to inform residents about issues and actions aff ecting their homes, neighborhoods, schools, parks and business districts. Often these very local matters, which are the cornerstone of our mission, don’t make the headlines of a daily newspaper or fi t the sound bites of radio and television news. Nor do they pop up in a Google search—although they can usually be found at our websites, report-ernewspapers.net and atlantaintownpaper.com, which together drew more than a half million unique visitors last year.

Hundreds of advertisers use one or more of our papers to promote their products and services cost-eff ectively to custom-ers and prospects within a few miles of where their businesses are located. We are grateful to this growing base of advertisers who have made our publications an integral part of their mar-keting eff orts, especially at a time when smaller budgets have to do a bigger job. We encourage you to patronize them, which also helps to build economic stability in each community.

We always look for ways to enhance our content to better refl ect readers’ inter-ests. Th e addition last year of the monthly Perimeter Business section (see pages 7-11 in this issue) is one example. Also, starting in this issue, we are introducing restaurant reviews and related “news you can eat” (pages 16-17). Our food writer, Art Huckabee, is an elite-level Yelp reviewer and his articles already appear in Atlanta INtown. You’ll see other new features in the issues ahead, including a local columnist and real estate reports.

Our initial mission is still intact, fueled by the enthusiasm of a talented and experienced staff (pictured above). We care very much about what goes into our publications and what you think about them. Your feedback is important to us. Please let me know how we’re doing and what we can do better. Contact me at [email protected].

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ReporterNewspapers

Founder & PublisherSteve Levene

[email protected]

Editorial

Managing EditorJoe Earle

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Intown Editor: Collin Kelley

Staff Writer: Melissa Weinman

Copy Editor: Diane L. Wynocker

Creative and Production

Director of Creative & Interactive MediaChristopher North

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Graphic Designer: Walter Czachowski

Advertising

Director of Sales DevelopmentAmy Arno

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Senior Account ExecutiveJanet Porter

Account ExecutivesSusan Lesesne

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Sales ConsultantsDavid BurlesonLinda Howell

Offi ce ManagerDeborah Davis

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Contributors

Art Huckabee, Phil Mosier

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STEVE

Our staff, from left: Chris North, Amy Arno, Collin Kelley, Susan Lesesne, Deborah Davis, Janet Porter, David Burleson, Steve Levene,

Lenie Sacks, Walter Czachowski, Melissa Weinman, Joe Earle.


Perimeter BusinessA monthly section focusing on business in the Reporter Newspapers communities

Wine making is anyoneʼs business Buying New York Stock Exchange ʻreally changed our livesʼ

By Dan Whisenhunt

Before Joe Keenan bought Beer & Wine Craft, he en-joyed making wine as a hobby.

Keenan recently took over the business, which has operated at various locations since 1969, and claims to be the Southeast’s oldest wine-making supply store. In January of 2013, Beer & Wine Craft settled into a shop off Sandy Springs Circle that smells of malted honey.

The business began its life near Piedmont Hospital. Keenan keeps photos that previous owners collected depicting a time when the store’s shelves were as likely to offer knickknacks as corks. Now the store also sells ingredients to make beer and cheese.

For Keenan, it doesn’t get much better. He keeps a side cabinet stocked with a special collection of wines he’s made himself. Now he takes his love of winemak-ing to a new level by offering customers a chance to come in to make and bottle their own wines. It’s a pro-cess that takes three visits over an eight-week period, Keenan said.

“Our main goal is for everybody to be successful,” he said.

Keenan first started making wine in college at Pur-due University in Indiana. He had a roommate from France whose father was a French industrialist. Togeth-er they made wine and consumed bottles that today he says could sell for hundreds of dollars.

“I’ve always loved it,” he said. During the course of his winemaking hobby, he be-

came friends with Rick and Peggy Adams, the previ-ous owners of the business, which they sold to him in October.

Now Keenan puts his love of the craft to work, and he spends time selling products to people with simi-

lar interests. He said some customers at the store have been shopping there since the 1970s. Their business has been cultivated over the decades as the store’s owner-ship changed hands.

Customer Scott Rockhill, a local salesman, stopped by one recent day to see what was on the shelves. He’s been shopping at Beer & Wine Craft for three months, since he first tried his hand at making wine. The ap-peal? “It’s fun and it tastes good,” Rockhill said.

During Rockhill’s visit, he and Keenan chatted about the different flavors produced by the different boxes of grape juice sitting on the shop’s shelves. Keenan said what sets his shop apart from many other retailers is the clientele. Customers come in and don’t mind wait-ing if there’s a line ahead of them.

“Nobody’s in a hurry,” Keenan said. “They come in here and they browse.”

By Joe Earle

Jeff Sprecher says he could see right away the difference buying the iconic New York Stock Exchange made for his Sandy Springs-based company.

“It’s really changed our lives,” Sprech-er said of the acquisition of the New York ex-change last year. “We’re getting attention from all over the world.”

A college friend texted him to say, “Who knew you could actually buy that thing?”

New York’s historic stock exchange is only one of 16 exchanges owned by Intercontinen-talExchange, or ICE, which calls itself the lead-ing global network of exchanges and clearing houses.

And ICE is close to buying the Singapore exchange, which would make it the first west-ern company to own an Asian market, Sprech-er, ICE chairman and CEO, and his wife, ICE senior vice president Kelly Loeffler, told more than 200 people attending the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting on Jan. 16.

Sprecher joked that he was more impressed that his company owned the New York Board of Trade, an exchange he said he knew because CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Dan WhisenhuntBeer & Wine Craft allows customers to make and bottle their own wines over an eight-week period, says owner Joe Keenan.

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PCIDs play crucial role in Perimeter’s transportation successThe Perimeter Community Im-

provement Districts (PCIDs) contin-ued their track record of success last year by making major transporta-tion improvements that further en-hance the competitive edge of the Perimeter Market, a premier loca-tion for businesses, and an emerg-ing model livable center.

Great progress was made toward our No. 1 priority - improvements to the I-285/Ga. 400 Interchange.

At a news conference in May at the Georgia Capitol, Gov. Nathan Deal applauded the formation of a bipartisan “285@400 Interchange Partnership” of congressional, state and local elected officials and busi-ness organizations in multiple ar-eas impacted by the interchange. He thanked the PCIDs for their com-mitment of $10 million in financial assistance to move the project for-ward, and $500,000 in research and data support.

In a subsequent newspaper ed-itorial, Deal said that “Improve-ments to the I-285/Ga. 400 Inter-change are a need, not a want.” The governor said “Georgia must direct

its limited resources toward projects that provide the biggest return, both in mobility and in economic devel-opment. The I-285/Ga. 400 Inter-change tops this priority list.”

Another significant development was the advancement of the project through placement in the Atlanta metro area’s short-range Transpor-tation Improvement Plan.

Using a $2.8 million grant from the Georgia Department of Trans-portation (GDOT), the PCIDs and the cities of Brookhaven, Dun-woody and Sandy Springs took a big step toward improving traffic congestion in the Perimeter busi-

ness district through the Perimeter Traffic Operations Program.

During its first year in 2013, PTOP completed the synchroniza-tion of the majority of 99 traffic sig-nals along major, arterial corridors within and adjacent to the Perime-ter business district. Many people are traveling through several cities to reach their destinations, so we needed to coordinate the timing of traffic signals across those boundar-ies.

Travel time studies conducted before and after the PTOP improve-ments show that average vehicular delay (stopped time) has been re-duced 29 percent, and that drivers using the corridors during the morn-ing, noon and evening peak peri-ods will save 233,680 hours of travel time and 160,290 gallons of gaso-line – valued at nearly $4 million – each year because of improved traf-fic flow. The timing plans pay for themselves approximately every 3.9 workdays.

Another major goal achieved was establishment of a communications link between a central traffic control

center and 76 traffic signals with-in the PCIDs to allow active man-agement of traffic operations. This means that when traffic backs up, signal timing can be immediately adjusted to improve traffic flow.

In early 2013, the PCIDs start-ed a $4.86 million project to bring streetscape, intersection and road-way improvements to Lake Hearn Drive, Perimeter Summit Parkway and Parkside Place between Ash-ford Dunwoody Road and the Pe-rimeter Center Parkway Bridge across I-285. These improvements make the area safer and more ac-cessible for pedestrians, cyclists and cars, while promoting economic de-velopment on the south side of the Perimeter Market.

The PCIDs created and installed a distinctive landscaping design to showcase the innovative Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) at I-285 and Ashford Dunwoody Road – a major gateway to the city of Dun-woody and the Perimeter Market.

In 2013, the Ashford Dunwoody DDI was one of 10 national finalists for “People’s Choice” and “Grand

Yvonne Williams, president and CEO, PCIDsGuest Column

Yvonne Williams, president



Prize” awards in an America’s Transportation Competition spon-sored by the American Association of State Highway and Transporta-tion Officials (AASHTO), AAA and the U.S. Chamber.

The PCIDs’ “Can You DDI?” edu-cation and marketing campaign re-ceived a prestigious Award of Ex-cellence from the Georgia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Metro Atlanta TV cover-age alone for the DDI bridge clos-ing and crossover of traffic reached an audience of 7.44 million with 117 separate stories from May 21 to June 5, 2012. The Associated Press

released the story statewide, and there was coverage in every major market of the state as well as nation-al coverage from Chicago to Spring-field, Mo., site of the first DDI in the U.S.

The PCIDs’ signature landscap-ing and branding of major entranc-es to the Perimeter market now also enhances the Hammond Half-Di-amond Interchange at Hammond Drive and Ga. 400. GDOT award-ed a grant to the PCIDs to provide the landscaping. The PCIDs also in-stalled more durable, highly visible, brick-print pedestrian crosswalks.

The PCIDs’ past 13 years of work

to transform Perimeter from a sub-urban, car-dependent to a livable, walkable community was recog-nized in a major study by George Washington University School of Business professor Chris Leinberg-er that was released last year by the ARC. Central Perimeter was named one of 27 regionally significant es-tablished Walkable Urban Places (WalkUPs) in metro Atlanta, and one of only four “platinum” areas in an economic success ranking of those WalkUPs.

Today, thanks to the work of the PCIDs, Perimeter is a prime exam-ple of how the creation of a walk-able, urban place is the most effec-tive economic development strategy that a CID, a city or a region can pursue.

Improvements this year will in-clude better access to the Dun-woody MARTA station through construction of the Hammond Drive mid-block crossing, which MARTA has identified as its top priority for pedestrian safety. With increasing workers in the vicinity, foot traffic is expected to soar.

The PCIDs will continue to ad-minister the PTOP program in the second of its three-year program to improve traffic congestion through

signal improvements, will begin design work on Lake Hearn Phase II streetscape, do intersection and roadway improvements on Lake Hearn Drive and Peachtree Dun-woody Road, and will develop a bi-cycle implementation strategy.

We will continue to advocate for I-285 and Ga. 400 improvements, expand and make improvements to the fiber optic network within the PCIDs, and develop a commuter trails shovel-ready design.

And, of course, the PCIDs will continue their long-standing pro-grams to maintain medians and di-rect traffic at busy rush hour inter-sections through the use of off-duty police officers.

Economic development in Cen-tral Perimeter, one of the dominant office districts and employment centers in metro Atlanta, is driven in large part by the area’s central lo-cation in the region and its access to interstates, international and re-gional airports, and multiple modes of transportation including three MARTA transit stations.

The PCIDs play a crucial role in ensuring this access. We look for-ward to another successful year as we strive to create the premier liv-able center in the Southeast.

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Openings

� e Dunwoody Chamber of Com-merce welcomed da Via, an Italian Market Eating restaurant, to the Pe-rimeter Place Shopping Center, 4511 Olde Perimeter Way, Suite 800. Enjoy-ing the festivities are, from left, Wendy Gri� n, Beth Summers, Bill Mulcahy, Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davis, Pau-la Owens, Mike Muldoon, Scott Tr-zaskus, da Via general manager, City Councilman Terry Nall, City Council-man Denny Shortal, Katie Bishop, Kim Trawick, Todd Smith and Sabrina McDonald.

Blast900, a workout facili-ty o� ering personalized exercise classes, recently opened at 5521 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, in Dunwoody Village. � e Dun-woody Chamber of Commerce, along with sta� , friends and fam-ily, joined in the ribbon cutting ceremony, with owner Missi Wolf, center, left, and Mayor Mike Davis, center, right, holding the scissors.

Chambers, local officials welcome new businesses

New businesses offer-ing everything from good eats to personalized work-outs to a close shave are starting up in the Perime-ter, one of the largest com-mercial areas in metro At-lanta. Here’s a sampling of recent

ribbon cuttings formal-ly marking the opening of new businesses in the area. Photos were provid-ed by the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce and the Dun-

woody Chamber of Commerce.

Renee and Ross Christen, center, owners of Rooster Men’s Grooming Center located at 4969 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, cut the ribbon in front of the Roosters’ team, representatives from the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Cham-ber of Commerce, and Sandy Springs Councilwoman Dianne Fries, far left.

Stars & Strikes marked its grand opening in Sandy Springs with a rib-bon cutting. Sta� , friends and family gathered, including, Sandy Springs/Pe-rimeter Chamber of Commerce mem-ber Jim Walsh, Chamber member Patty Conway, City Councilman John Paul-son, Jack Canouse, City Councilman Ken Dishman, Carolyn Canouse, San-dy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, Elis Ca-nouse, Mary Albana, Chris Albana, Adam Clark, Chamber member Clare Stefan, City Councilman Gabriel Sterling, Kip Lowery, Chamber member Chris Ad-ams and Chamber member Carla Sweetwood. Stars & Strikes, located at 8767 Ro-swell Road, o� ers bowling, an arcade, laser tag and live entertainment.

Marlow’s Tavern recently opened in � e Prado Shopping Center, 5590 Roswell Road, Suite A-160, in Sandy Springs. Celebrating were, front row, left to right, Samantha Barton, Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Com-merce, City Councilman John Paulson, John Metz, executive chef and co-found-er, Alan Palmieri, market partner, Keith Grant, general manager, Susan Skolnick, director of development and major gifts at Special Olympics Georgia. Back row, from left, Tom Maha� ey, Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce president, and City Councilman Andy Bauman.



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Buying New York Stock Exchange ‘really changed our lives’

it was featured in the movie “Trading Places.” “I think, in a way that’s more iconic,” he said.

Sprecher said ICE’s business has been made possible by new technol-ogy. “We own exchanges around the world. ... [They’re] run out of an office building in Sandy Springs because of the Internet. It’s a fascinating thing to take a legacy business like the New York Stock Exchange and put the In-ternet in it.”

He and Loeffler said businesses have been willing to embrace change and find ways to capitalize on it. “I love change,” Sprecher said. “It’s very interesting. We all hate change. We all want to go home and sleep in the same bed. As humans we hate change. But busi-nesses really thrive on change.”

Sprecher said the company’s roots go back to an Atlanta-based company he bought in 1997 for $1. “Today, it’s a $25 billion company,” he said.

After buying the company, called Continental Power Exchange, he called his new employees together and, thinking they would be pleased by the news, told them they could all relocate to Los Angeles. “It took about 10 minutes,” he said. “They all said, ‘None of us is going to Los An-geles.’”

ICE now employs about 400 in Sandy Springs of the 4,000 it em-

ploys around the world, said Loeffler, who also is co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, a WNBA professional basket-ball team. “We continue to hire,” she said. “We’re in growth mode, particu-larly in technology.”

Sprecher said he has discovered that metro Atlanta wasn’t the place he thought it was. “When I was living in LA, I thought this was a place with pickup trucks and old hound dogs,” he said. “The truth is this is an unbe-lievable diverse community.”

Sprecher said his company works to update its mar-kets through use of technology. The New York Stock Exchange, he said, opened in 1792. “You go there and there are artifacts and history that are very interest-ing,” he said.

“The challenge for us is, can we take this lightweight, Internet-based company, based in Sandy Springs, and marry it with something iconic? The address [of the New York Stock Exchange] is 11 Wall Street, which is why you know ‘Wall Street.’ How do you marry this brand with this light-weight company?”

And a few perks come with own-ing a company such as the New York Stock Exchange. He’s rung the bell to start trading, he said. “I’ve got a spe-cial badge that has a little mark on it,” he said. “When I walk through, they don’t know who I am, but they know what that badge means.”

AMY I. KAHN PHOTOGRAPHY

Kelly Loeffl er, left, ICE senior vice president, with husband Jeff Sprecher, chairman and CEO, discuss their acquisition of the New York Stock Exchange at the Sandy Springs/Perimeter

Chamber of Commerce annual meeting on Jan. 16.


“We own exchanges around the world. ... [Theyʼre] run out of an offi ce building in Sandy Springs because of the Internet. Itʼs a fascinating thing to take a legacy business like the New York Stock Exchange and put the Internet in it.”

–Jeff Sprecher

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P E R F O R M I N G & V I S U A L A R T S

Much Ado About Nothing

� ursday, Jan. 30- Saturday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m. – � e Westminster Players bring the hilarious tale of Benedick and Beatrice to the stage as they present Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing in Kellett � eatre at Westminster. � is take on Much Ado uses Shakespeare’s language while placing the classic sto-ry in modern-day South Georgia. Admission is free. For more information, please email [email protected] or call 404-609-6344.

Galloway TheatreFriday, Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m. – � e Galloway � eatre Company presents “She Kills Monsters,” a comedy looking into the world of role-playing games, featuring students of the Galloway commu-nity. Play suitable for audiences over 13 years of age. Tickets, $10. Additional shows, Sat. and Sun., Feb. 1-2, 2 p.m. Black Box � eatre, in the Chaddick Center, 215 West Wieuca Rd., NW, Atlanta, 30342. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: www.gallowayschool.org.

Spotlight on ArtMonday, Feb. 3, 6-9 p.m. – � e Trinity School hosts an Artists Market, open to the public. Browse pieces by more than 350 artists in all genres, in-cluding contemporary, realism, impressionism, folk, sculpture, jewelry and more. Children’s and youth collection also available. “Meet the Artists” on Opening Night and also during Cocktails & Can-vases, Friday, Feb. 8, 6-9 p.m. Market hours: Tues-day-� ursday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free admission and park-ing. 4301 Northside Pkwy., NW, Atlanta, 30327. Go to: www.trinityatl.org or call 404-231-8100 for more information.

Harp MusicSunday, Feb. 9, 4 p.m. –� e Atlanta Harp Center En-semble presents the music of the Renaissance to modern times. � e ensemble will play Vival-di, Franck and some surprises. Suggested donation, $10. In the Sanctuary of Dunwoody United

Methodist Church, 1548 Mount Vernon Rd., Dun-woody, 30338. Call 770-394-0675 or visit: www.dunwoodyumc.org for additional details.

Abe LincolnSunday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m. – Northwest Unitar-ian Universalist Congregation welcomes Abraham Lincoln actor, playwright and scholar, Dr. Gene Griessman, as he presents “� e Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln,” for a special President’s Day ap-pearance. Griessman appears in costume as the 16th President delivering the presentation. VIP reception, 6 p.m.; performance, 7 p.m. General admission tick-ets, $50; VIP, $75. Purchase tickets and learn more at: http://NWUUC-ABE.brownpapertickets.com. 1025 Mount Vernon Highway, NW, Sandy Springs, 30327. Email: [email protected] with questions.

F U N D R A I S E R S

Tartan TrotSaturday, Feb. 1, 8:30 a.m. – St. Luke’s Pres-byterian Church holds its eighth annual 5K/10K Tartan Trot, bene� ting outreach e� orts close to home and around the world. Race features runners in kilts, bagpipes, and baked goods for the winners. 1-mile run goes o� at 8 a.m.; Tot Trot at 9:45 a.m. Both 5 and 10K are Peachtree Road Race quali� -ers. $35; $20 for 1-mile. Awards, t-shirts, hooded shirts for entrants. Leashed dogs and strollers wel-come. Rain or shine. Vehicle parking in Dunwoody Village; shuttle buses available. 1978 Mount Ver-non Rd., Dunwoody, 30338. To register or to learn more, go to: www.tartantrot.com.

Book Sale� ursday, Feb. 6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. – � e Friends of the Chamblee Library hold a book sale! Browse hardbacks, in-cluding � ction, non-� c-tion and children’s books, going for $1-2. Proceeds enhance adult and chil-dren book collections, and support programs for both. Free admission. Sale continues Feb. 7-8, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Monday, Feb. 10, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.,

which is Bag Day. Buy a plastic bag and � ll it for $3. Recycle your books and receive a 501(c)(3) receipt. 4115 Clairmont Rd., Chamblee, 30341. To � nd out more, call 770-936-1380.

Puppet ShowSaturday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m. – Piccadilly Puppets presents “Wish Tales,” three stories about wishing: “� e Knee High Man,” “� e Frog Prince” and “Lit-tle Orphan Animal.” All proceeds bene� t Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Recommended for ages 3-8. Tickets, $10. Reservations helpful, but not required. Go to: www.eventbrite.com and search “pup-pets.” Landmark Diner, 3652 Roswell Rd., Atlanta, 30305. Call 404-636-0022 or visit: www.piccadilly-puppets.org with questions.

C O M M U N I T Y

Kirkin’ o’ the TartanSunday, Feb. 2, 11 a.m. – St. Luke’s Presbyte-rian Church welcomes the community to join them for their annual Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan service. Tradi-tional music, and a Blessing of the Tartan banners. Some of the congregation will be dressed in clan tar-tans, kilts and plaids. Reception follows the service. 1978 Mount Vernon Rd., Dunwoody, 30338. Call 770-393-1424 for details.

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Photography Tuesday, Jan. 28, 7-8:30 p.m. – Join David Tulis, sea-soned Atlanta news and sports photogra-pher, and learn basic photographic com-position, lighting, lenses and techniques during this � ve-week course. Class ends with hands-on � eld day at the Dunwoody Nature Center on Feb. 22. DNC members, $125; non-members, $150. Adult program; best suited for those with a good camera. 5343 Roberts Dr., Dunwoody, 30338. Call 770-394-3322 or go to: www.dunwoodynature.org for details or to register.

Go to CollegeWednesday, Jan. 29, 3-3:45 p.m. – Marcus Hilliard, with GAcollege411, presents information on pursuing higher education and � nding � nancial aid. Free. For those age 18 years and older. Open to the � rst 25 participants. Brookhaven Branch Library, 1242 N. Druid Hills Rd., NE, Brookhaven, 30319. Call 404-848-7140 to sign up or to � nd out more.

Bird Walk Saturday, Feb. 1, 8:30-10:30 a.m. – Join the Atlanta Audubon Society for a guided bird walk along the trails at Morgan Falls Overlook Park. Per-haps see open water duck species and eagles. Bin-oculars available to borrow. Free and open to the community. Children 16 and under must be accom-panied by adult. Appropriate for ages 6 and up. Pre-registration requested by calling 770-730-5600 or going to: www.sandyspringsga.gov/registration. 200 Morgan Falls Rd., Sandy Springs, 30350.

Write Your StorySaturday, Feb. 1, 2-4 p.m. – Learn how to write the stories of your life. Workshop present-ed by a certi� ed, guided autobiography instructor. Free and open to the public. For adult audiences. Registration required by emailing: [email protected] or calling 678-386-1651. Sandy Springs Branch Library, 395 Mount Vernon High-way, Sandy Springs, 30328. Call 404-303-6130 or email: [email protected] with questions.

How Money WorksWednesday, Feb. 5, 6:30-7:30 p.m. – Check out a free, � nancial education workshop that teach-es principles on how money works so you can con-trol your � nances. Learn simple strategies to help build savings, get out of debt, protect your income and defer taxes. Open to all. Registration required by calling Nicole Fitzgerald at 404-957-6809. Sandy Springs Branch Library, 395 Mount Vernon High-way, Sandy Springs, 30328. Call 404-303-6130 or email: [email protected] for more details.

Cokie RobertsWednesday, Feb. 5, 7-9 p.m. – � e Davis Academy presents award-winning journalist and po-litical commentator Cokie Roberts for an evening of conversation and a book signing. Copies of her books along with her new and � rst children’s book, “Founding Mothers,” will be available for purchase. Free event, and open to the community. RSVP to [email protected]. Davis Academy Lower School, 8105 Roberts Dr., Sandy Springs, 30350. For more information contact Lori Zelony at 678-527-3293.

Snakes of GeorgiaSaturday, Feb. 8, 10:30-11:30 a.m. – Snakes are one of the most feared and misunderstood groups of animals, yet they provide signi� cant ben-e� ts to people. Join a reptile and amphibian ex-pert from the Georgia DNR and learn what makes snakes so special. Participants also meet some Geor-gian snakes. $10 per person. Space is limited; RSVP by calling 412-398-1101. Blue Heron Nature Pre-serve, 4055 Roswell Rd., Atlanta, 30342. To learn more, go to: www.bhnp.org.

Black HistorySaturday, Feb. 8, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. – “Strug-gles and Strides: � e Early Fight for Civil Rights,” a family program commemorating Black History Month, explores the African-American experience from the Great Migration to the Civil Rights Move-ment. Free for AHC members; included in the cost of general admission for non-members. 130 West Paces Ferry Rd., NW, Atlanta, 30305. For more in-formation or to buy tickets, visit: www.atlantahisto-rycenter.com/Family or call 404-814-4000.

Turtle ToursSaturday, Feb. 8, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Her-itage Sandy Springs’ “Tur-tle Tours,” an educational series appropriate for chil-dren ages 2-5, continues. In this program, children learn about museum mascot San-dy’s “cool tools.” Free; dona-tions encouraged. No reser-

vations required. 6075 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs, 30328. For more information, email: [email protected], call 404-851-9111 or visit: www.heritagesandysprings.org.

Daddy-Daughter Dance

Saturday, Feb. 8, 6-8 p.m. – � e � fth annual Daddy-Daughter Dance o� ers an evening of music, games, complimentary snacks and goodie bags for each girl. $35 for father/daughter; $10 for multiple daughters. $5 walk-in fee. Souvenir photo includ-ed. Business or semi-formal attire. Open to all girls in grades K-5 attending schools in Sandy Springs. Spalding Drive Charter Elementary School, 130 W. Spalding Dr., Sandy Springs, 30328. Call 770-730-5600 or email: [email protected] for details. Go to: https://apm.activecommunities.com/sandyspringsga to register.

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Atlanta Jewish Film Festival adds venues to accommodate fansBY COLLIN KELLEY

If you haven’t purchased tickets to the movies you want to see at this year’s Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, you might be out of luck.

More than 10,000 tickets were sold Jan. 5, the day they went on sale.

Festival executive director Kenny Blank encouraged � lm fans to keep checking the fes-tival’s website at AJFF.org for the release of more tick-ets and returns to sold-out � lms.

“If you check 24 to 48 hours before a screening, you might be able to snap one or two tickets up,” he said.

� e only way to get into some of the more popular � lms is to show up at the venue the day of the screening and add your name to a wait-ing list. Luckily, there are so many � lms on o� er that if you buy tickets now, you’ll get to see something interesting.

With 65 � lms from 20 countries, it also makes the AJFF, which runs Jan. 29 through Feb. 20, the biggest � lm festival in the city and the second largest Jew-ish � lm festival in the country. Nearly 32,000 attended screenings during last

year’s festival.“We have a very loyal and enthusi-

astic audience, and they stake out this event early on to make sure they get tick-ets,” Blank said. “We’re o� ering more screenings of the popular � lms and have secured larger auditoriums.”

To accommodate the crowds, the festival ex-panded to more venues around Atlanta, includ-ing the Cobb Energy Cen-tre, UA Tara Cinema, GTC Merchants Walk, Regal North Point, Lefont Sandy Springs, Westside Cultural Arts Center, Regal Atlantic Station and the Woodru� Arts Center.

Some of the most anticipate � lms in-clude 50 Children: � e Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus, about a Philadelphia couple who saved children from the Nazi concentration camps; � e Baby, a doc-umentary about a woman recalling for-bidden memories of her past; Bethlehem, a cli� hanger about an Israeli intelligence agent and a con� icted Palestinian infor-mant; Hunting Elephants, a bank heist ca-per; the documentary Mel Brooks: Make A Noise about the comedian and direc-

tor; When Jews Were Funny, a documenta-ry about cultural identity: a 25th anniver-sary screening of Driving Miss Daisy with a panel of local actors and experts; and Omar, a nominee for this year’s Best For-eign Film Academy Award, about a young Palestinian baker living under Israeli occu-pation.

� e festivities kick o� Jan. 29 with an Opening Night Gala at the Cobb Ener-gy Centre, featuring a screening of the

Polish drama Run Boy Run.“Every year we strive to make the

festival better for our audience,” Blank said. “Festivalgoers will have more op-portunities to see the most sought-after � lms than ever before. We want every-one to experience these meaningful and entertaining � lms that might not ever play in Atlanta otherwise.”

For a complete list of � lms, venues and to purchase tickets, visit AJFF.org.

Jewish Film Festival factsWhat: Founded in 2000, the festival bills itself as the biggest fi lm event in metro Atlanta and the second largest Jewish fi lm festival in the country. Nearly 32,000 fi lm fans attended the festival’s showings in 2013. The 2014 festival presents 65 fi lms – 52 features and 13 shorts - from 20 countries. When: Jan. 29-Feb. 20 Where: Eight different venues scattered around metro Atlanta, including Lefont Sandy Springs theaters, UA Tara Cinemas, Regal North Point, Regal Atlantic Station and the Cobb Energy Centre, which is hosting the Opening Night Gala and showing of “Run Boy Run.” Tickets are available at theater box offi ces and online at www.AJFF.org.How much: Prices vary.Of special note: The festival plans a special panel discussion on two fi lms that tell similar stories, but from different sides of the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict. One of the two, Omar, is the fi rst fi lm fully fi nanced and produced within the Palestinian fi lm industry, the festival says. The event, Bethlehem vs. Omar: Confl ict and Context, will take place Feb. 16 at Regal Atlantic Station.

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www.stagedoorplayers.net box office770.396.1726

Volunteer readers help Ashford Park students grow

John Freeland, pastor at Skyland United Methodist Church in Brookhaven, tutors youngsters at Ashford Park Elementary in reading.

MELISSA WEINMAN


“Zot” is not a word, John Freeland sadly informed Juan, a kindergartener at Ashford Park Elementary School, who had enthusiastically drawn the letter “Z” onto his white board.

But put an “H” in front of that “OT”? De� nitely a word, Freeland said.

Freeland, the pastor of Skyland Unit-ed Methodist Church in Brookhaven, is among a group of people from the church who volunteer once a week to help stu-dents at Ashford Park Elementary School with their reading skills.

“I try to � nd a creative way to work with them and help them learn new words,” Freeland said.

Ashford Park Principal LaShawn Mc-Millan said if a child cannot read by the third grade, it’s an indicator for poor fu-ture academic performance.

“Reading is critical. You have to be able to read to be able to do well in all the other subjects,” McMillan said.

So when Freeland asked what his church could do to support the school, McMillan came up with a plan to give students who are having trouble the one-on-one support their teachers don’t al-ways have time to provide.

“In a number of classes, we found we have a number of kids that really struggle with reading,” McMillan said.

� e volunteers help students in kin-dergarten through second grade who have been recommended by their teach-ers.

“It’s not just reading. It could be pre-reading, letter recognition, phonics, knowing the sounds of the letters, and getting them ready for reading,” McMil-lan said.

Freeland said the majority of the stu-dents he works with speak Spanish at home. He said their parents may not have the English skills necessary to help them with their reading.

“For them, if they have an older broth-er or sister, their English skills are much better,” Freeland said. “� ey go home and it’s a Spanish world.”

McMillan said the school would love to have more volunteers. She said anyone who is interested can contact the school to set up a plan.

“One of the requirements is, we’re looking for someone who can be com-mitted to coming and working with our students,” McMillan said. “If you’re go-ing to do it, we really want you to come

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in and do it.”Freeland said since the beginning of

the school year, he’s been going to the school once a week. He tutors for about 30 minutes each visit.

“It’s one of the highlights of my week,” Freeland said. “It’s nice to go sit down with the kids who are always loving to-ward me, and happy to see me walk in

the door. It’s such a joy for them that I can’t help but enjoy it.”


BY ART HUCKABEEArt Huckabee is one of Yelp’s Elite re-

viewers and a pilot, gourmet cook and food lover. Starting with this issue, he will be regularly reviewing restaurants around At-lanta for Reporter Newspapers and Atlan-ta INtown.

With the ad-dition of my food writing into the Reporter News-papers and subse-quently, additional parts of the Atlanta metro area, it only seemed appropri-ate to make a visit to one such area for this month’s restau-rant review.

We chose Town Brookhaven, a mixed-use develop-ment in the vibrant and lively city of Brookhaven. � is work, play, shop and of course, eat, development has well over a dozen res-taurants to chose from. We set our sights on restaurateur Tom Catherall’s latest cre-ation, Smash Kitchen and Bar.

We visited at lunchtime during the week. � e restaurant is decorated nice-ly in dark colors with most of the seat-ing comprised of booths. It feels more like a dinner and drinks place, especial-ly with the wall-mounted deer heads star-ing down at you.

Our server quickly approached, in-formed us of the daily specials and touted the muddled drink o� erings. Smash de-rives its name from several items on the menu, and these muddled or smashed drinks are one such item. With names like Blackburn, Capital City, Ogletho-rpe and Lynwood, they contain ingredi-ents like blackberry bourbon with mud-dled blackberries or vodka, or ginger beer and muddled pears and honeydew.

� ey were enticing, but as it was lunch and all of us were headed back to work afterward, we declined. Smash also o� ers other craft cocktails and a decent beer and wine list.

For appetizers, we ordered the pret-zel sticks and the wild mushroom � at-bread. � e pretzel sticks came upright in a butcher paper cone accompanied by grainy mustard and a Newcastle Ale cheese sauce; both accentuated the salty, warm pretzels and were quite good. � e � atbread was large, and looked delicious with the dough spending just the right amount of time in the wood-� red oven. However, the toppings of Fontina cheese, roasted peppers, baby arugula and tru� e oil made it soggy and a disappointment, given its high marks for appearance.

� e three in our party ordered the half rack of baby back ribs, the steak burger

and the kale salad with a side of grilled salmon.

� e ribs were good. � ey were fall-o� -the-bone tender and covered in a house-made, fairly-standard barbecue sauce. � e mound of thin-cut shoestring pota-toes that accompanied the ribs could eas-

ily have fed three or four diners. � ey were crispy and hot. � e South-ern slaw contained rough chopped cabbage and strips of green and red peppers; it was more of a garnish and tasted as such.

� e steak burg-er -- ordered plain, with ched-dar cheese -- was cooked to order and tasted of good quality beef. � e bun, however, was a bread behemoth, and totally over-

powered that all-important bun-to-meat ratio. Adding to the mix was a huge por-tion of � nely shredded, un-melted ched-dar cheese that was perched on the bun top. It looked as though the cook had opened a bag of Kraft and dumped it, in its entirety, onto the bun. � e burg-er also came with the mountain of shoe-string fries.

� e kale salad contained an Asian peanut dressing, mint, cilantro and � ai chilies. It was a nice combination on the front of the tongue but quickly got bit-ter on the back, begging for a little more sweetness. � e accompanying salmon was unadorned and ordinary, yet cooked properly and a nice portion.

We decide against dessert but they have several interesting o� erings includ-ing chocolate pecan pie and red velvet cheesecake.

Our server was very attentive through-out the meal, bringing multiple re� lls of tea and water.

From the looks of the well-stocked bar and lots of outdoor seating, Smash is probably a lively place on warm-weath-er weekends and after work when Town Brookhaven residents return from their workdays. Our lunchtime visit never saw more than three or four tables of diners during our hour and half stay.

Smash’s dinner menu is almost iden-tical to the lunch menu, with the addi-tion of steaks and chops, and the usual increase in prices from the $12 to $17 range to the $17 to $24 range.

Smash is located at 804 Town Bou-levard, Suite 1010, in Town Brookhav-en, and can be found at www.h2sr.com/smash.

Send feedback to [email protected].

R E S T A U R A N T S

There are more than 100 full-service fine dining restaurants in Sandy Springs. Reserve a table and

enjoy a delicious meal in our community!

For more information about dining in Sandy Springs, please visit:

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Walk into The Brickery and you will quickly feel the difference that proprietors Bruce and Sally Alterman, also longtime Sandy Springs residents, have created. The Brickery has been feeding Sandy Springs and area residents for over 22 years. It’s a genuine neighborhood landmark that can only be created with time, and with great food, and it’s the kind of place that has become part of, and important to, the community itself.

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Res ta u r a n t R e v i ewDINING OUT:

Smash Kitchen & Bar

SPECIAL

Smash Kitchen & Bar, a casual eatery located in

Town Brookhaven, serves up sandwiches, pizza, seafood

and “comfort foods” like baby back ribs, as well as “smashed”

and “muddled” cocktails.


Chef Ford Fry’s newest restaurant, St. Cecilia (stceciliaatl.com) has opened in the former Blue-pointe space inside � e Pinnacle Building, 3455 Peachtree Road. � e European menu features � sh and pasta. Fry said he and executive chef Bri-an Horn worked together to create a menu that travels the southern European coastline, explor-ing pasta and roasted � sh served in the historic seaside towns and villages.

Rumor has it that a new Zaxby’s is coming to Sandy Springs. Tomorrow’s News Today reports that the chicken chain is working to secure two parcels at 6545 and 6555 Roswell Road for the new location.

Buckhead Atlanta has signed 10 restaurants for the mixed-use development, ac-cording to a report from the Atlanta Business Chronicle. � e restaurants include Le Bilboquet, a French bistro; American F+B, a bar and grill concept; a to-be-named pizza restaurant from Texas-based Consilient Hospitality; Lugo Ca� e, an Italian cafe; Corso Co� ee, an Italian-style co� ee bar; Doraku Sushi, a Japanese sushi and steak eatery; Georgetown Cupcake, a bakery; Gypsy Kitchen, a Spanish fusion concept; � e Southern Gentleman, a gastropub; and Shake Shack, a burger, hot dog and fro-zen custard concept.

A second outpost of Lucky’s Burger & Brew is expected to open during the � rst quarter at Town Brookhaven. � e original is in Roswell.

A Buckhead Village mainstay since 1993, � e Cheesecake Factory (thecheese-cakefactory.com) has announced it will move to Lenox Square during the � rst quar-ter of 2014. � e current location on Peachtree Road will remain open until the new location opens.

Bell Street Burritos (bellstreetburritos.com) has shuttered its Irwin Street Mar-ket location in the Old Fourth Ward after just a little more than a year in business. However, a new location of the burrito joint has opened in South Buckhead at 1816 Peachtree Road.

Beverly Hills-based Sprinkles Cupcakes (sprinkles.com) is now open at Lenox Square in Buckhead. � e new outpost includes an ice cream shop and the famed Cupcake ATM, which is constantly restocked with fresh treats available with a swipe of your charge card.

Chef Christophe Le Metayer, formerly

with the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, has found-ed Christophe’s To Go (christophestogo.com), which sells prepared gourmet meals that only need to be re-heated and served. � ere are locations in Brookhaven (4060 Peachtree Road, Suite F), Sandy Springs (6309 Roswell Road, Suite 1E) and John’s Creek (9775 Medlock Bridge Road, Suite P). � ere are more than 30 daily options to choose from, including salads, soups, sandwiches, � sh and meat.

Roots Juices (rootspressedjuices.com) is now open at the Around Lenox Shopping Center in Buckhead in Suite 202-A.

Red Pepper Taqueria (eatredpepper.com) is now open at 3135 Piedmont Road in Buckhead.

King + Duke (kinganddukeatl.com) was named one of Esquire magazine’s Best New Restaurants of 2013. “We are thrilled to have one of our restaurants recognized for the second straight year by Esquire magazine,” said Chef Ford Fry, whose � e Op-timist made last year’s list. Esquire food and travel correspondent John Mariani de-scribed King + Duke as a “can’t-miss spot.”

� e distinctive, circular former location of Trust Company Bank and the now shuttered Piebar and Ixtlan on Monroe Drive will soon become a restaurant and lounge called Cirque. Built in 1962, the new concept is from the owner of � e Dai-quiri Factory on West Peachtree Street in Midtown.

Canoe Cellar Door (cellardooratl.com), a sommelier-operated wine shop, is open at 4199 Paces Ferry Road. � e new shop from the owners of Canoe Restau-rant features 750 wines from around the world priced at $9 to more than $1,000.

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An Evening with Cokie Roberts

Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at 7 p.m.Free Community Event

The Davis Academy is pleased to present award-winning journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts for an evening of conversation and book signing. Copies of her best selling books along with her new and first children’s book, Founding Mothers, will be available for purchase and signing.

The Davis Academy Lower School 8105 Roberts Drive, Atlanta GA 30350 Seating is limited for this exclusive event. Please RSVP today to: [email protected].

For more information,contact Lori Zelony, [email protected]

Proud Affiliate of:www.davisacademy.org

Standout StudentStudent Profi le:

Mary Catherine Thomson Holy Innocents’ Episcopal

School, senior

For Mary Catherine � omson, learn-ing extends far beyond the walls of the school she has attended since sixth grade.

As a sophomore, she spent 10 days in Briey, France, as part of a foreign ex-change program.

“I really enjoyed getting to know my exchange student’s family. She had a sin-gle mother and a sister, and we just spent a lot of time sitting around their kitch-en table talking about our di� erent cul-tures,” said Mary Catherine.

From eating home-cooked escargot to enjoying daily fresh breads, Mary Catherine had the chance to experience the language which she has studied since kindergarten. � is year, she received a 2013 Outstanding Senior in French award from the American Association of Teachers of French, which honors students for their commitment to the language, and for having high academ-ic achievement. Mary Catherine was one of only nine students in Georgia to receive the 2013 honor.

“I have de� nitely developed a passion and love for French, so it was nice to be recognized for that,” said Mary Cathe-rine.

Her passion is apparent to those around her.

“From the beginning, I saw her ea-gerness and her incredible intelligence. She is a very discerning lady and can read between the lines in literature,” said her current Advanced Placement French teacher Gerard Gatoux. “She is extreme-ly professional and is a perfectionist in the classroom.”

In addition to French, Mary Cathe-rine is also passionate about English and literature, and attended the four-week Governor’s Honors Program in Valdosta, Ga., this past summer as a communica-tion arts major and theater minor. At the program, she enjoyed taking part in dis-cussion-oriented classes and exploring in-teresting topics, from stand-up comedy to modern feminism.

Before her junior year, she was selected to play for the highly competitive Geor-gia national lacrosse team at the nation-al tournament in Long Island, New York.

“I have de� nitely gained lessons in commitment, hard work and dedication from lacrosse,” said Mary Catherine, who has played lacrosse at Holy Innocents’ since eighth grade. “I am really close with my lacrosse team, and the support they give me both on and o� the � eld has been very valuable in my time in high school.”

During the school year and summer, Mary Catherine is involved in helping

other, younger students to achieve suc-cess through Horizons Atlanta. � e or-ganization hosts free, six-week summer programs and monthly Saturday school days to help underprivileged children maintain and advance academic prog-ress. Mary Catherine is currently one of two youth board members for the orga-nization, and acts as a link between the group, Holy Innocents’ and the commu-nity to help organize student volunteers for the program.

“� ese kids are so precocious and en-ergetic, and really enjoy being there. I usually � nd myself laughing almost the entire time just because of how much en-ergy they have, and how ready they are to learn and to be there,” said Mary Cath-erine. “Being able to provide support to them academically and as a role model is something I have really come to enjoy.”

As a sophomore, Mary Catherine also helped in her community as part of the inaugural Youth Leadership San-dy Springs class. � e year-long program takes a group of 30 sophomores and ju-niors for one school day each month to travel around the community and talk to di� erent professionals, from city planners to policemen.

At the end of the program, the par-ticipants work on a cumulative project. In Mary Catherine’s year, this project in-volved making voice recordings of chil-drens’ book reading, and donating the recordings and books to Lake Forest Ele-mentary School, where many students do not speak English at home.

What’s Next: Mary Catherine has been accepted to

the University of Georgia, but has not yet decided on a college. She hopes to possi-bly minor in French and continue with lacrosse. She is also interested in continu-ing her interest in science by studying bi-ology. “I think she will be one of those students that will always amaze you and will become whatever she wants to be -- whether that is an engineer or doctor or lawyer or diplomat,” Gatoux said.

� is article was prepared by Mollie Simon, a student at Chamblee Charter High School.

Corrections� e enrollment of � e Weber School was misstated in the Jan. 10-Jan. 23 editions

of Reporter Newspapers. � e enrollment is 226.An article about Robert Port’s cycling trips in Israel that appeared in the Jan. 10-

Jan. 23 editions of Reporter Newspapers misstated the location where cyclists waved to guards. It was along Israel’s Egyptian border.


C O M M U N I T Y

BK

alumna and Agnes Scott College stu-dent Yehimi Cambron painted the sides of the little library with a pirate motif, including a treasure map and a dog in a pirate hat.

Gokce said he wanted to combine the idea of the little free library, most often used as a way for people to swap books, with public education. The little libraries in the parks will contain chil-dren’s books exclusively in an attempt to reach kids at the parks, where they al-ready gather.

“We have a great deal of English lan-guage learners in our community, a lot of poverty in our community, and a lot of households where kids don’t have ac-cess to books or adults who are reading to them daily,” Gokce said.

The Cross Keys Foundation is orga-nizing the little library program, which is being funded by a grant from the At-lanta Braves Foundation.

Officials from the city of Brookhav-en, the Cross Keys Foundation, the At-lanta Braves Foundation and the Briar-wood Park Conservancy were on hand for the ceremony, as well as students from Cross Keys High School.

Cross Keys student Kedan Endrias said she thinks the little library will be good for the community.

“It’s really good because my little sis-ters come here all the time,” Endrias said. “My parents always stress how im-portant it is to get an education.”

Vina Vo, a senior at Cross Keys, said she thinks the little library is a good way to get kids excited about books.

“I think it’s such a good idea,” Vo said. “Our generation is so technology- oriented, and I think this is a great way to expose the younger generation to fun with books.”

The Cross Keys Foundation is col-lecting donations of cash and books to


Free ‘little library’ debuts at Briarwood Park

PHOTOS BY PHIL MOSIER

Left, Arwen Coy, selects a book to read from the “little library” in Briarwood Park. Above, Cross Keys Foundation President Kim

Gokce, in red jacket, introduces foundation members, Brookhaven

city officials, Atlanta Braves Foundation members and the

Briarwood Park Conservancy to the crowd. Right, Dalia Alvarez,

left, helps Edgar Remerez put up a donation sign.

help keep the little libraries stocked. To contribute, email [email protected].

Parks and recreation director joins Brookhaven

Brookhaven Parks and Rec-reation Direc-tor Ray Hollo-way began work with the city on Jan. 13.

At the City Council’s Jan. 14 meeting, Hollo-way got a warm

reception from officials and residents ea-ger to begin improving the city’s parks. Holloway comes to Brookhaven after serving as the parks and recreation di-rector in Clinton, Mississippi.

Chad Boles, president of the Friends of Briarwood Park, introduced volun-teers from other parks around the city. They attended the meeting as repre-sentatives of a newly-formed umbrella group of park volunteers called PARC, or Parks and Recreational Coalition.

“We hope you would use us as a re-source,” Boles said. “Welcome home, we’re glad you’re here.”

A desire for better parks and recre-ation services was one of the driving forces behind the movement to cre-ate the city of Brookhaven. This year, Brookhaven will begin its parks and recreation master planning process to create a long-term vision for the city’s parks.

Ray Holloway

P U B L I C S A F E T Y


BrookhavenPolice Blotter

From Brookhaven police reports dated through Jan. 16.

The following information was pulled from Brookhaven’s Police-to-Citizen Portal Event Search website and is presumed to be ac-

curate.

BURGLARY 2300 block of Bynum Road – A burglary to

a residence, using forced entry, was report-ed on Jan. 3.

400 block of Lincoln Court Avenue – A burglary to a residence, without using forced entry, was reported on Jan. 6.

3100 block of Clairmont Road – A burglary to a residence, using forced entry, was re-ported on Jan. 8.

3500 block of Buford Highway – A bur-glary to a residence, without using forced en-try, was reported on Jan. 14; an attempted burglary to a residence was reported on Jan. 14; a burglary to a residence, using forced entry, was reported on Jan. 16.

500 block of Windmont Drive – A burglary to a residence, using forced entry, was re-ported on Jan. 14.

AUTO THEFT 2000 block of Fairway Circle – Theft of an

auto was reported on Jan. 5.

3100 block of Buford Highway – Theft of an auto was reported on Jan. 11.

1500 block of Park Creek Lane – Theft of an auto was reported on Jan. 16.

THEFT/LARCENY 1700 block of Briarwood Road – Theft was

reported on Jan. 2.

700 block of Brookhaven Avenue – A lar-ceny of articles from a vehicle was report-ed on Jan. 3.

4200 block of Peachtree Road – A larce-ny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 3.

3900 block of Peachtree Road – Shoplifting was reported on Jan. 3.

2800 block of Buford Highway – A larce-ny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 3.


3200 block of Buford Highway – A larce-ny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 4; shoplifting was reported on Jan. 16.

1300 block of Keys Crossing – A larceny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 4.

4000 block of Peachtree Road – A larce-ny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 4.

1100 block of Hampton Hall Drive – Theft from a residential mailbox was reported on Jan. 6.

Brookhaven offi cer honored for

catching felonBrookhaven Police Offi cer Patrick Di

Cicco was honored by the Brookhaven City Council for capturing a man wanted on more than seven felony counts, includ-ing murder, assault and armed robbery.

On Dec. 30, Di Cicco arrested a man for providing a false identity. After he was fi ngerprinted at the DeKalb County jail, the suspect was identifi ed as Chris-tian “Butter” Williams, who was wanted on several active felony warrants.

“Offi cer Di Cicco represents the core values of the Brookhaven Police Depart-ment, and his hard work and dedica-tion make our streets safer today,” Police Chief Gary Yandura said.

DeKalb names new fi re chief

DeKalb County has hired a new fi re chief.

Darnell Fullum, former deputy fi re chief of Fulton County, will become the chief of DeKalb County’s fi re and res-

cue department, the county announced Jan. 13.

Fullum spent 26 years with the Ful-ton County Fire Department and was appointed deputy chief in 2008, DeKalb County offi cials said in a press release.

“I am proud to announce that, af-ter an extensive nationwide search, Dar-nell Fullum has accepted the position,” Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May said. “DeKalb County will be in very capa-ble leadership.”

Th e county began looking for a new fi re rescue chief in August. From 110 ap-plications, the fi eld was narrowed to the top candidates who were interviewed by a panel of subject matter experts from surrounding jurisdictions, including a mayor from a city in DeKalb Coun-ty and a representative from DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, the county said.

May chose two fi nalists, including Fullum, and hosted two televised pub-lic forums in which candidates were in-terviewed.

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P U B L I C S A F E T Y


2100 block of Knoll Place – Theft was re-ported on Jan. 6.

1800 block of Northeast Expressway – Theft was reported on Jan. 6; a larceny of ar-ticles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 9.

1800 block of Tobey Road – Theft was re-ported on Jan. 7.

2400 block of � ompson Road – A larce-ny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 9.

1300 block of N. Cli� Valley Way – A lar-ceny of articles from a vehicle was report-ed on Jan. 9.

1600 block of Richwood Drive – A larce-ny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 10.

2500 block of Drew Valley Road – Two lar-cenies of articles from vehicles were report-ed on Jan. 10.

1600 block of Wayland Circle – A larce-ny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 10; a larceny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 11.

2000 block of Cobblestone Circle – Enter-ing an auto was reported on Jan. 13.

3700 block of Ashford Dunwoody Road – Theft was reported on Jan. 13.

700 block of Town Boulevard – Two larce-nies of articles from vehicles were reported on Jan. 13.

100 block of W. Druid Hills Road – A lar-ceny of articles from a vehicle was reported on Jan. 15.


ASSAULT 2800 block of Clairmont Road – Simple

battery was reported on Jan. 1.

3600 block of Buford Highway – Simple battery was reported on Jan. 1.

2800 block of Buford Highway – Battery was reported on Jan. 1.

1000 block of Saint James Crossing – Sim-ple battery was reported on Jan. 2.

1700 block of Briarwood Road – Simple battery was reported on Jan. 3.


1100 block of � ornwell Drive – Simple battery was reported on Jan. 3.

2700 block of Buford Highway – Simple battery was reported on Jan. 5.

1800 block of Corporate Boulevard – Ag-gravated assault with a gun was reported on Jan. 7.

3100 block of Clairmont Road – Battery was reported on Jan. 7.

2000 block of N. Druid Hills Road – Sim-ple battery was reported on Jan. 8.

1700 block of W. Nancy Creek Drive – Simple assault was reported on Jan. 8.

Read more of the Police Blotter online at

www.reporternewspapers.net

3500 block of Buford Highway – Simple battery was reported on Jan. 10; simple bat-tery was reported on Jan. 14; simple battery was reported on Jan. 16.

700 block of Town Boulevard – Simple bat-tery was reported on Jan. 11.


4600 block of Peachtree Road/Redding Road – Aggravated as-sault with a gun was reported on Jan. 16.

3900 block of Battleford Court – Sim-ple battery was reported on Jan. 16.

FRAUD 1200 block of Curtis Drive/Bu-

ford Highway – Fraud was report-ed on Jan. 4.

3000 block of Buford High-way – Check forgery was report-ed on Jan. 6.

1900 block of N. Druid Hills Road – Forgery in the fi rst degree was reported on Jan. 6.

3500 block of Sunderland Circle – Fraud was reported on Jan. 7.

2800 block of Parkridge Drive – Credit card fraud was reported on Jan. 7.

1400 block of Dresden Drive – Fraud was reported on Jan. 9.

3300 block of Buford Highway – Fraud was reported on Jan. 10.

700 block of Town Boulevard – Fraud through impersonation was reported on Jan. 14.

1700 block of Briarwood Road – A worth-less check was reported on Jan. 15.

OTHER 2900 block of Buford

Highway – Damage to a business was reported on Jan. 1.

3100 block of Buford Highway – A loitering violation was

reported on Jan. 3.

3200 block of Buford Highway – Harassing communications were re-ported on Jan. 3.

4000 block of Navajo Trail – An animal complaint was reported on Jan. 5.

2000 block of Dru-id Hills Reserve Drive – Harassing

communications were reported on Jan. 6.

1900 block of E. Roxboro Road – Criminal trespass was reported on Jan. 7.

1100 block of Victoria Street – Criminal trespass was reported on Jan. 8.

3500 block of Buford Highway – A suicide attempt was reported on Jan. 8.

3700 block of Ashford Dunwoody Road – A suicide threat was reported on Jan. 10.

2500 block of � ompson Road – Stalking was reported on Jan. 10.

3200 block of Buford Highway/N. Cli� Valley Way – Public peace offense was re-ported on Jan. 10.

1700 block of N. Druid Hills Road – Crim-inal trespass was reported on Jan. 11.

2000 block of N. Druid Hills Road – Pub-lic peace offense was reported on Jan. 11; public intoxication was reported on Jan. 15.

1700 block of Buckhead Lane – A verbal dispute was reported on Jan. 12.

3700 block of Peachtree Road – Harassing communications were reported on Jan. 13.

2000 block of Summit Boulevard – A ver-bal dispute was reported on Jan. 13.

1800 block of Corporate Boulevard – Pub-lic peace offense was reported on Jan. 14.

3800 block of Peachtree Road – A suicide attempt was reported on Jan. 16.

reported on Jan. 3.

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C O M M U N I T Y


For the fi rst time in three years, Ol-iverMcMillan CEO Dene Oliver came to Atlanta to talk about the progress of his company’s behemoth redevelopment project known as Buckhead Atlanta.

At the Buckhead Business Associa-tion’s annual luncheon Jan. 16, Oliver told members of Buckhead’s business community that his California-based company plans to invest $10 million into the streets, sidewalks and landscap-ing around Buckhead Atlanta.

“Th e way we connect with people in an urban environment is on the streets and sidewalks,” Oliver said.

He said people-watching from a side-walk cafe or walking between shops un-der shady trees is part of the experience he envisions. Oliver said the company is investing in trees 90 inches to 120 inch-es tall and in granite curbs to provide a nice outdoor experience.

“Life on the streets and sidewalks is what will be so important here,” Oliver said.

He said the development will be built using quality materials, like stone in-stead of plaster, to give it the feel of an established area.

“It’s great design that doesn’t look like it’s all been done by the same person at the same time,” Oliver said. “We’re looking at bringing something to you that feels like it could have been there a while.”

Oliver said it was symbolic to see the cranes that have been looming over Peachtree Road for years begin working again in 2012.

“People have said, ‘you’ve been sort of quiet.’ We felt our actions were more important than our words,” Oliver said. “With the cranes being such a visual component, it was pretty hard to fake it. Th ere isn’t a lot to say until you make them move.”

OliverMcMillan acquired the prop-erty after the original development plan, then known as the Streets of Buck-head, stalled in 2009 due to the reces-sion. Construction is now in full swing. When Oliver visited the property Jan. 15, he said there were 825 people work-ing.

When complete, Buckhead Atlan-ta will include 1.5 million square feet of shops, restaurants, offi ces and luxu-ry apartments on eight acres covering

six city blocks near the intersection of Peachtree and East Paces Ferry roads.

Oliver said including the $350 mil-lion invested in the project before Oli-verMcMillan acquired it, Buckhead At-lanta is expected to cost a total of $1 billion.

A few Buckhead Atlanta tenants have been announced, including several res-

taurants and the headquarters for Atlan-ta-based undergarment maker Spanx. But Oliver said he prefers to keep the majority of the future tenants a surprise.

“We are bringing a lot of people that are not already here in the [Atlanta] market,” Oliver said.

He explained some of the reasons be-hind renaming the project “Buckhead Atlanta,” a name he admitted was large-ly panned by the press.

He said including Atlanta in the name was important for the European market, which isn’t necessarily familiar with the Buckhead area.

“Buckhead is the identity. Th e city is Atlanta,” Oliver said. “It was a far more inclusive name.”

He recognized the original develop-er, Ben Carter Properties, whom he de-scribed as a victim of poor timing.

“[Buckhead Atlanta] would not have happened had there not been some great vision by the Buckhead community and Ben Carter Properties,” Oliver said. “Th e vision, the tenacity to assemble that property and come forward with a vision, was courageous.”

Th e fi rst shops, restaurants and apart-ments are scheduled to open in July. Buckhead Atlanta is expected to be com-plete by the spring of 2015.

Buckhead Atlanta streetscape includes trees, ‘quality materials’

“Life on the streets and sidewalks is what will be so

important here.”

– DENE OLIVER

OLIVERMCMILLAN CEO

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InsideUphold, honorLeases violate U.S. Constitution, says residentcommUNity 2Left outResidents want more input

on development projectscommUNity 3

SharpshootersLocal ‘Annie Oakleys’ enjoy blasting targetsaRoUNd towN 11

No more chadsOfficial promises a smooth Nov. 5 electioncommeNtaRy 10

sept. 20 — oct. 3, 2013 • vol. 7 — NO. 19Dog days of summer

phiL mOSieR

Frances mosley, 12, and “amos,” enjoy the water at the Garden Hills Pool during the 28th annual

Peachtree Hills animal Hospital dog Swim on Sept. 15. members and non-members had a chance to splash

with their four-legged friends during the final swim of the 2013 season. More photos on page 8.

By Dan [email protected]

Parents of North Atlanta High students

are angry, confused and – above all – sus-

picious of the latest drama surrounding the

leadership at the school.Principal Howard Taylor was leaving,

but was enticed to stay when Atlanta Pub-

lic Schools officials offered him a promotion

to oversee the entire North Atlanta Clus-

ter. But the Board of Education on Sept.

17 wouldn’t vote to approve that promotion.

That last development came just before

a hastily arranged community meeting on

Sept. 17 at Garden Hills Elementary. As-

sociate Superintendent Steve Smith, Board

of Education Chairman Reuben McDaniel,

District 4 Board of Education member Nan-

cy Meister and Seat 7 Board of Education

member Courtney English were there to an-

swer questions, or at least try.One parent summed up the general senti-

ment of the NAHS community.

“What in the hell has happened here?”

she asked. “That’s the million-dollar question,”

Smith said. Taylor was not at the Garden Hills meet-

ing. Neither was Superintendent Erroll Da-

vis. Smith’s explanation, in a nutshell: Taylor

butted heads with central office staff at APS.

He couldn’t hire the teachers he wanted and

found the bureaucracy too burdensome.

“What Dr. Taylor has in a general sense

outlined to us was the inability to sometimes

choose his own personnel, meaning what

teachers would actually work in his facility,”

Smith said. “The other thing he would out-

line … is even when he did have the oppor-

See NoRtH atLaNta, PaGe 5

North atlanta leadership troubles continue

V TE WIN

more stories

Buckhead ‘address of choice’ for apartmentscommUNity 6-7

1

46

19

2

13 & 18

15

20

16

5

7 & 12

8

3

9

17

21

1110 & 14 FaLL eDucatIon GuIDe pages 13-28

Inside Brookhaven

Reporterwww.ReporterNewspapers.net

Scan here to get

Reporter Newspapers

in your inbox

or sign up @


Survey says...

Many unhappy with

city’s Pink Pony fight

commuNity 3

map quest

Proposed new cities

take first steps

commuNity 5

Sharpshooters

Local ‘Annie Oakleys’

enjoy blasting targets

aRouNd towN 11

Hit parade

Time to eliminate

DeKalb CEO position

commeNtaRy 10

House hunters

Tour of homes features

local residences

commuNity 31

sept. 20 — oct. 3, 2013 • vol. 5 — NO. 19

By Melissa WeinMan

[email protected]

The Silver Lake Civic Association is

not your typical neighborhood group.

Its activities include dredging and dam maintenance for a 28-

acre lake, and upkeep of the 80 acres of old growth forests

sur-

rounding it, said Kris M

iller, the association’s president.

“The lake today is an unbelievable natural resource,” Miller s

aid.

See clock, page 2

See SuRvey, page 8

May I ha ve this dance?

PhiL MOsiEr

kara d’angelo, 3, boogies with her mother melissa to the sounds of Rockin’ Rick and Sweet

“tea” pisaniello during the Food truck Roundup at Blackburn park on Sept. 11. the event also

included a 9/11 remembrance ceremony. additional photos on pages 34 and 35.

time running out

to find new city offices

Residents consider

Silver lake a ‘jewel’

V TE WINFind out how you

could win an iPad!

kudzu.com/best

By Melissa WeinMan

[email protected]

With leases on Brookhaven’s city office space and municipal

court set to expire D

ec. 31, officials are still on the hunt for a more

permanent facility for the city to call home.

When the city began operations in December 2012, officials

moved into two temporary offices, each with a one-year lease. C

ity

Hall is located in Ashford Center N

orth, a Dunwoody office build-

Its activities include dredging and dam maintenance for a 28-

where

you

live

Fall education Guide

pages 13-28

InsideDunwoodyReporterwww.ReporterNewspapers.net

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Reporter Newspapers

in your inbox or sign up @


Sept. 20 — Oct. 3, 2013 • vOl. 4 — NO. 19

Drop itBonser ethics complaints

deemed ‘frivolous’commuNity 3

Home aloneMayor Davis says ‘all types

of residences important’commuNity 8

SharpshootersLocal ‘Annie Oakleys’

enjoy blasting targetsaRouND towN 11

Hit paradeTime to eliminate DeKalb CEO positioncommeNtaRy 10

House huntersTour of Homes features

local residencescommuNity 31

Ice, ice babyValyn Lekan, 2, left, gets an

icy cool down from addison

eckard, 8, while enjoying Food

truck thursdays at Brook Run

Park on Sept. 12. the two,

along with other members of

their families, sampled tasty

treats from local food truck

vendors and listened to live

music. the weekly event

continues through oct. 24. to

read more about Food truck

thursdays, turn to page 2.

View additonal photos

on page 38.PHiL MOsiEr

By Joe [email protected]

The city redevelopment project known as Project Renaissance is

picking up momentum, city officials say.

On Sept. 9, the city sold six lots to the private developer work-

ing on the project, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, so

the developer could begin work on the first residences it will build

in the 35-acre project, City Manager Warren Hutmacher told

members of Dunwoody City Council.

Also, the city is considering an early purchase of 19 of the acres

it has under contract in order save money on financing costs.

“The first two homes will start coming out of the ground in

By Joe [email protected]

Dunwoody residents soon may be able legally to keep more than

three pets and to practice certain kinds of home occupations.

Removing the limit on pets and adding rules allowing some

home businesses were among Dunwoody City Council’s most recent

tweaks to the city’s rewrite of its zoning and development regula-

tions. The rewrite, intended to make Dunwoody’s regulations reflect

the desires of city residents, has been under way since early last year.

After debate Sept. 17 that touched on residents’ reactions to jobs

such as teaching piano or giving swimming lessons, council members

seemed to endorse an idea to divide home occupations into three

See PRoject Page 9

See DeKaLB, Page 35

Project Renaissance

gaining momentum council ‘compromises’

on home business lawsV TE WIN Find out how you could win an iPad!

kudzu.com/best

Fall education Guide pages 13-28

Inside Sandy Springs

Reporter


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Reporter Newspapers

in your inbox

or sign up @


Sept. 20 — Oct. 3, 2013 • vOl. 7 — NO. 19

Troubled water

Northridge Road bridge

replacement coming soon

commuNiTy 2

Swell hotel

Luxury complex stil

l

in the works

commuNiTy 3

Sharpshooters

Local ‘Annie Oakleys’

enjoy blasting targets

aRouNd TowN 11

No more chads

Official promises smooth

Nov. 5 election

commeNTaRy 10

moving on

Fire marshal, public

safety director leaving

commuNiTy 32

It really, really happened!

By Dan Whisenhunt

[email protected]

During its Sept. 17 meetin

g, City Council took the next ste

p in

revitalizing its d

owntown.

According to city spokeswoman Sharon Kraun, City Council

officially authorized

the release

of a request f

or qualifications in

By Dan Whisenhunt

[email protected]

City staff is reviewing policie

s aimed at protecting the city’

s

tree canopy at t

he request o

f outgoing City Councilwoman Kar-

en Meinzen McEnerny.

McEnerny said the tre

e protection ordinance th

e city passed

in

See ciTy officially, page 8

See cuRReNT, page 8

‘master developer’ next

for downtown plans

city reviewing tree

ordinance

V TE WINFind out how you

could win an iPad!

kudzu.com/best

PhiL MOsieR

Kate walstad, 3, le

ft, with tw

in sister caroline, rig

ht, share a litt

le news with mom Stephanie

at the Kinchafoonee cowboys concert a

t Heritage green on Sept. 8

. The performance was the

last in the concerts

by the Springs music series fo

r 2013. more photos on page 38.

FaLL eDucation GuiDe

pages 13-28

100,000 copies delivered to homes and businesses in 5 great communities.

BK

01-24-2014 Brookhaven Reporter

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