09-19-2014 Sandy Springs Reporter

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SEPT. 19 — OCT. 2, 2014 • VOL. 8 — NO. 19

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Last chance, last dance

PHOTOS BY PHIL MOSIER

“Bogey and the Viceroy” closed out the 2014 Concerts by the Springs season at Heritage Green on Sept. 14. Left,

Susan and Glenn Sugarman get close during a song. Center, Mia Sandfort, left, and her sister, Liliana, daughters of the band’s saxophonist, goof around before the concert. Top

right, singer Kendra “Lil Sis” Bailey. Bottom right, lead singer Bogey Thorton performs tunes from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

BY ELLEN [email protected]

Police in Sandy Springs stand ready with riot-control equipment – shields, masks, helmets, rifles. They own a Hummer. And Dunwoody’s police department has its own armored vehicle.

Although images of violence and riot-gear-clad police in Ferguson, Mo., reverberated across the country, raising questions about the “militarization” of community police departments, local officers say that while that kind of gear is seldom, if ever, used here, they believe it is necessary to keep up with the criminals they confront.

Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone points to a case of weapons in a conference room at police headquar-ters that was pulled off criminals. DeSimone says he has a

Thompson submachine gun in his office. “We’re not outgunning the bad guys,” DeSimone said.

“We’re just staying even with them.”Dunwoody Chief Billy Grogan says distinctions should

be made between police gear and military gear. The BearCat armored personnel carrier Dunwoody owns, he said, is a not as strongly armored or “weaponized” as the military version of the vehicle.

“It’s not as offensive as the military would have,” Gro-gan said, noting that military gear and police force gear is often similar, but while the military has a grenade launch-er that launches actual grenades, some police units have gre-

BY ANN MARIE [email protected]

A Texas-based developer says it is con-sidering cutting its proposed office tower at Northpark 100 to 42 stories, from the 50 stories originally planned.

To address residents’ concerns about a project they say would bring too much traf-fic to the area, real estate developer Hines has asked for more time to work on plans for Northpark 100 to make the proposed mixed-use development less dense.

The Sandy Springs City Council voted to delay consideration of the project for 30 days. In addition to the 50-story office tow-er, the original proposal included 500 apart-ments, hotel and retail space. The new pro-posal could decrease the office tower to 42 stories and the apartments to 325 units.

“What we’ve looked at and really chal-lenged ourselves with is [maintaining] via-bility for our development and maintaining the quality characteristics of our conceptu-al plan” while driving projected traffic gen-eration closer to what the existing zoning would produce, said Mark Ferris, a manag-

SEE LOCAL POLICE, PAGE 38

SEE DEVELOPER, PAGE 35

Developer may cut height of Northpark

project

Police say military experience, gear a benefit

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‘Sandy Springs Reads’ promotes literacy

Readers in Sandy Springs will have the chance to join other cities across the country in promoting literacy during Sandy Springs Reads’ “One City One Book” event in October.

“A Walk in the Woods, Re-discovering America on the Appalachian Trail” by Bill Bryson is the Sandy Springs selection for the event, a collaboration of Art Sandy Springs, the Sandy Springs Education Force, Friends of the Sandy Springs Library and the Sandy Springs branch of the Atlanta-Fulton Library System.

“Please read this great book and join friends and neigh-bors for a series of Sandy Springs Reads programs during the month of Octo-ber, sponsored by Art Sandy Springs,” said Christine Heller, chairperson of the event, in a press release. “October is a beautiful time of the year to take a walk in the woods, reflect on nature, and en-joy our local green spaces.”

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul also proclaimed Sandy Springs Reads Day at the Sept. 16 Sandy Springs City Coun-cil meeting.

Companion books suitable for chil-

dren during this event include “A Week in the Woods,” by Andrew Clements; “Hatchet,” by Gary Paulson; and “Lost in the Woods,” by Carl Sams.

Bryson wrote “A Walk in the Woods” following his re-turn to the United States af-ter 20 years in Britain. The travel writer decided to reac-quaint himself with his coun-try by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail. The book relays the history and ecolo-gy of the trail, talks with peo-ple along the way, and makes a plea for conserving the wil-derness.

The event also includes guided nature walks, volun-

teers reading to school children, and au-thor talks and book discussions at the Sandy Springs Library. The event cul-minates with a screening of the adven-ture documentary “Appalachian Impres-sions,” which tells a story about hiking the entire Appalachian Trail from Geor-gia to Maine, on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10:30 a.m. at the Lefont Theater.

Visit www.sandyspringsreads.org for a complete list of events as well as a book discussion guide.

–Ann Marie Quill

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www.ReporterNewspapers.net | SEPT. 19 – OCT. 2, 2014 | 3

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Public invited to honor retiring

fire chief

Sandy Springs plans to honor retir-ing fire chief Jack McElfish, and the community is invited. McElfish retires in October.

The celebration will take place on Thursday, Oct. 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the City Center Green on Sandy Springs Circle at Johnson Ferry Road (next to Fire Station 2). A pic-nic lunch will be served.

Following a 51-year career in fire/rescue service, with more than 33 years serving in the fire chief role, McElfish announced his retirement in January. He joined the city of Sandy Springs in July 2006, tasked with cre-ating a full service Fire and Rescue De-partment that became operational on Jan. 1, 2007.

Since its inception, Sandy Springs Fire Rescue has received numerous awards, including the “Crown Com-munity” Award by American City &

County magazine. McElfish has been honored on

many occasions, receiving the “Mis-sion Award” from the American Heart Association, the “Alan Brunacini Fire Service Executive Safety Award,” and several designations as “Fire Chief of the Year.” He was also one of the country’s first to receive the designa-tion of “Chief Fire Officer” from the Commission of Professional Creden-tialing.

City launches online survey on performing arts

center The city of Sandy Springs has

launched an online survey asking res-idents what types of events they’d like to see in the City Center performing arts facility. The survey mentions a number of possibilities, including con-certs, lectures, youth activities, meet-ings and theater, and asks responders to indicate their level of interest. The community can also submit addition-al suggestions.

The survey, at http://sandyspring-scitycenter.com/performing-arts-cen-ter/, will be live until Oct. 3 at 3 p.m., with results provided to City Center planners and the city council.

The council approved a site devel-opment plan for the City Center on Sept. 2. The plan includes office space for government services, green space, residential and retail areas, meeting space and a performing arts center.

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Sandy Springs resident ‘Siri’ talks about ‘iconic’ voice


“So you didn’t know Siri could walk,” said Susan Bennett as she strode across the stage. Bennett, a 40-year resident of Sandy Springs, was speaking to au-dience members at a Sandy Springs/Pe-rimeter Chamber of Commerce break-fast on Sept. 9.

Bennett is best known as the original Apple iPhone voice of “Siri,” a virtual as-sistant application on the device.

“Digital voices are everywhere,” she said. “They are in our cellphones, they are on our tablets.”

Siri, Bennett said, is special because earlier digital voices were more robotic and were not interactive. “That’s what made the original voice of Siri so icon-ic,” she said. “She was the first [digi-tal] voice that sounded human and you could interact with her. She had a per-sonality. She had a bit of an edge to her, a bit of an attitude and she also had a sense of humor.”

Bennett said that a lot of people think digital voices are machine-gen-erated. Machines can speed up, slow down and compress voices, but “the ba-sic sound has to come from a human, at least so far,” she said.

Bennett, whose voice has been used by Delta Air Lines, Ford, Coca-Co-la, McDonald’s, Macy’s and other well-known companies, said she actually made the Siri recordings for the Sirius satellite network, which Apple later ac-quired.

Bennett recorded the voice of Siri in July 2005 for four hours a day, five days a week, a process she described as “very tedious” because all of the words had to be read exactly the same way to remain consistent.

On Oct. 4, 2011, Siri was revealed to the world on the iPhone 4s, but Bennett didn’t reveal herself as Siri until the same day two years later.

She said she was surprised her voice was used for Siri, and didn’t realize it un-

til a friend emailed her, asking “Isn’t this you?”

Bennett said at first she was hesi-tant to go public as Siri because she didn’t want to lose the anonymity that voiceover artists have when auditioning for jobs. She said voice artists are chosen on their ability alone without having to reveal aspects such as what they look like or their age. “When you audition you are being chosen on your voice alone,” she said. “I knew when I revealed myself as Siri I’d be giving that up.”

Bennett was later replaced as Siri when the iPhone’s Operating System 7 was released. “She sounds a little bit more generic, a little less sassy,” Bennett said, “and she definitely is trying to ap-peal to younger people because Siri now says ‘LOL.’”

Bennett predicted that technology will advance beyond Siri.

“You’re going to have a lot more voic-es to choose from,” she said. “They’re going to sound even more and more human, and they’re also going to be pro-grammed to understand you better. . . . As we progress toward more artificial in-telligence, these digital voices are going to be able to predict what you want be-fore you even ask for it, particularly in reference to things that you might want to buy.”

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Fulton tax commissionerunapologetic over his salary

BY COLLIN KELLEY Fulton County Tax Commission-

er Arthur Ferdinand has faced – in his estimation – 1,000 lawsuits since he took the job in 1997.

Those lawsuits have come from dis-gruntled residents, the county and the municipalities he serves, while law-makers have tried unsuccessfully to curb Ferdinand’s unorthodox – but completely legal – pocketing of mon-ey from selling off liens on delinquent properties. That process has made him the highest paid elected official in the state.

Ferdinand, a native of Trinidad and former executive at IBM, is unapolo-getic.

“If I do more work, I should be compensated,” he said, noting that he also handles tax collection for the city of Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek and Chattahoochee Hills. “I don’t apologize for it one bit.”

Ferdinand gave a wide-reaching talk and answered questions at the Sept. 11 Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods meeting. The tax commissioner’s name has come up numerous times during recent BCN meetings, mainly stem-ming from his salary.

His annual salary reaches about $383,000. Much of that comes from the $1 he takes home from ev-ery lien he sells or settles. As an ex-ample, Ferdinand said if he sells the lien on a $100,000 property in Ful-ton, he gets $1 while the county gets $1,000. That’s money in the coun-ty’s piggybank it wouldn’t have had if the property had been allowed to sit derelict or was subjected to foreclosure.

Ferdinand was first appointed tax commissioner in 1997. He said his wife “forced” him to go to the inter-view, but he not only got the job, he’s remained entrenched there, even after the position became an elected one. He’s been re-elected three times – in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

He brush-es away criti-cism by saying he boosted Ful-ton County’s tax collection rate from the low-est in the state to the highest, at 99 percent, which he contin-ues to maintain. “My office col-lects more taxes than DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett put together,” he said.

The Legislature has tried sever-al times to change the law that allows the tax commissioner to personal-ly gain when liens are sold, and Fer-dinand said he would retire if the law was ever successfully changed. He also said he believed that most elected and appointed officials were underpaid.

Several residents attending the BCN meeting who had received liens against their property were frus-trated with Ferdinand because they said they had never received offi-cial word from the tax commis-sioner’s office before the liens were sold.

One resident suggested that regis-tered mail should be used for such cor-respondence, but Ferdinand said the county would never approve the in-creased cost. “From 49 cents to $3 per piece of mail will not happen,” he said.

Ferdinand said both Fulton County and Atlanta had countless numbers of properties that were sitting abandoned and derelict with his office unable to collect taxes or no investors willing to buy the liens.

Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who was in attendance at the BCN meeting, said the city’s new code enforcement commission would try to track down individuals and corpora-tions to get those properties back on the tax rolls.

Arthur Ferdinand

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Mount Vernon Village honors veterans on Patriot DayBY ANN MARIE QUILL

[email protected]

Three World War II veterans residing at the Mount Vernon Village retirement community were honored with a surprise ceremony in recog-nition of Patriot Day, Sept. 11.

“For our first Patriot Day ceremony, I thought there was no better way to celebrate than to hon-or our guys,” said Michael Meyers, the commu-nity’s administrator.

Merritt Ambrose, Frank DiCristina Jr. and Robert Foster were honored with a plaque ded-icating the community’s Memorial Flag Garden at the entrance.

Frank DiCristina III said he was “surprised and honored” when he heard the news, and he, along with his wife, Brenda, and sister, Elaine Waidelich, were on hand when his father Frank DiChristina Jr. received the recognition.

DiCristina Jr. said he surprised, as well. Resi-dents at the community were told it was a Patriot Day service, but were not told about the plaque dedication in advance. DiCristina Jr. was decked out in patriotic clothes and had a radio on his walker blasting patriotic music.

The former infantry commander said he al-ways makes sure there’s a flag in good shape fly-ing at the community’s entrance, and he buys a new one when needed.

Resident JoAnn Meaders said she appreciat-ed the ceremony because her husband, Conrad, served in the Navy during World War II. “I think it’s nice that [Meyers] has organized and planned this because it has never been done here before,” she said. “It reminds me of my husband.”

Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone was also on hand. “As the son of a World War II vet, I appreciate your service,” he told the hon-orees.

ANN MARIE QUILL

From left, Mount Vernon Village Administrator Michael Meyers, Robert Foster, Merritt Ambrose, Frank DiCristina

Jr. and Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone in Mount Vernon Village’s Memorial Flag Garden.

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History Center renovates to make the past ‘not boring’

BY JOE [email protected]

They want more company. To show it, they’re getting a new front door.

And a lot more.The Atlanta History Center has begun

a dramatic renovation of its West Paces Ferry Road facilities that will create a new entrance for its museum building, a new display of Atlanta history, add an historic log cabin to its collection, and, if the city of Atlanta signs off, could provide a new home for the historic Cyclorama painting.

The center plans to bring more than $50 million worth of construction proj-ects and new programs to its Buckhead campus over the next few years.

“It’s definitely an exciting time,” His-tory Center Vice President Hillary Hard-wick said. “It’s a great time for Atlanta and it’s a great time for the Atlanta History Center. We used to say we were one of At-lanta’s best kept secrets -- and we didn’t say that proudly. We want to open up.”

The $21 million construction project now under way will provide a new entry drive off West Paces Ferry, move the front of the building closer to the street, create a new entry façade for the museum, dou-ble the size of the building’s atrium, add a central hallway connecting the exhibits, and add a coffee shop/gift shop/bookstore.

History Center officials hope that the work will make the facility seem more in-viting and will help change the way Atlan-tans view history. “One of our big goals is changing the perception of history and the Atlanta History Center,” Hardwick said.

What do they hope to convince peo-ple about history? “It’s not boring,” His-tory Center President and CEO Sheffield Hale said. “It’s fun. It impacts their lives.”

In the past, he said, history “was taught so badly that people thought it was names and dates and dead folks and had no rela-tion to them.” To change that, Hale and Hardwick say the center is opening up both physically and philosophically.

“The first thing I did when I got here was take down the fences,” Hale said. “The reaction I got was far beyond anything I thought I’d see. ... Who wants a chain-link fence in their front yard? Those kind of symbolic things matter. The architecture matters. The way this old building looked to people, they didn’t know what it was and they didn’t come in.”

Hale says the new bookstore/gift shop/coffee shop planned as part of the reno-vation will provide one way the center can become more welcoming to the pub-lic. He hopes it becomes a place where the

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center’s neighbors will come for coffee or a spot to relax. The shop will offer places to sit and Wi-Fi connections, he said.

“It’s not going to be like any other mu-seum bookstore,” Hale said. “It’s going to be a community living room. What I want it to be is the coolest bookstore/café/living room you’re ever been to.”

The center used focus groups to deter-mine what people wanted to see. Audi-ence feedback said one thing museum go-ers wanted, Hale said, was coffee. “Coffee and a chair,” Hardwick said.

As the building gets a new entrance and façade, the center’s main exhibit showing the history of Atlanta is being re-tooled, too. The exhibit, which hadn’t changed since it was installed in 1993, has been re-moved and center historians are reworking it. They intend for the new exhibit, sched-uled to open in 2016, to be more interac-tive and to do a better job of bringing At-lanta history to life.

“We’re going to talk about your neigh-borhood,” Hale said. “One week it could be Morningside, the next week it could be Old Fourth Ward. Everybody loves to talk about their neighborhood. ... We think that construct of ‘neighborhoods’ might be a disciplined way for us to get out into the community.”

And Hale wants the history center to get out more. He thinks the nonprofit center should have a greater impact on the community.

“When we started this project, one of our goals was to really change the way peo-ple feel as they walk onto this 33-acre cam-pus,” Hardwick said. “We’re changing. ... All of this helps reinforce that. It mirrors the organization we‘re becoming.”

Changes under way at the Atlanta History CenterThe Atlanta History Center has begun a

major renovation of its facilities. Over the next few years, more than $53 million is to be spent on projects at the museum and on its grounds. The work, History Center officials say, is in-tended to make the facility more visible from the street and more inviting to visitors.

1. New entrance from West Paces Ferry and new atrium. Construction is under way to build a new entrance to the History Center and enlarge the building’s atrium to 5,300 square feet. The $21 million project will change the look of the building and add a new gift shop/coffee shop/bookstore that center officials hope will be used by neighbors as well as museum visitors. The plan includes moving the front of the building closer to West Paces, landscap-ing the drive to reflect the center’s gardens, and adding a hallway through the building that will connect all the center’s exhibits.

Opens 2015.

2. New history of Atlanta display. History Center historians are working on a new display of center artifacts and documents, and plan to tell the story of the city of Atlanta in a new way. It’s the first reworking of the center’s main ex-hibit since the building opened in 1993. The new exhibit, the center says, will allow visi-tors to see, hear, touch and explore the exhibits through new media.

Opens 2016.

3. Cyclorama. The History Center has raised more than $32 million to restore and build a new home for the 128-year-old paint-ing “The Battle of Atlanta,” which now is on display at the Cyclorama in Grant Park. If city of Atlanta officials approve the deal, the His-tory Center plans to build a new home for the painting as one of its displays. The money raised includes $10 million for maintenance of the painting. History Center conservators plan to restore the painting to its original size, adding 3,268 square feet that was removed in 1921, and hang the painting the way it was originally displayed.

4. Elias Wood family cabin. The center is moving to its campus a log cabin that originally was located in the Hollywood Road area. The cabin, home to Elias and Jane Wood, was built on land ceded to Georgia by the Creek Indians in 1821, and dates to Atlanta’s earliest days, the center says.

Opening fall 2014.

5. Goizueta Gardens. A $3 million gift from the Goizueta Foundation will be used to rehabilitate and tie together the History Cen-ter’s 22 acres of gardens, which include six pub-lic gardens that illustrate the horticultural his-tory of the area.

Ongoing.

Source: Atlanta History Center

SS

C O M M E N T A R Y


“The senate race in partic-ular, yes. I like Michelle Nunn. ... I’m interest-ed in the envi-ronment and landscaping of property. I think she’s bet-ter about that, about preserva-tion of trees. I liked her dad, too.”

Joan Ama-Leo

“I have been paying attention to the Senate race -- because of the advertising. It’s unavoidable.”

Matthew Barker

“Yes. I would like to see more progressive election [results].”

Bob Chalfant

“Not as much as I should. Probably 30 percent, which is what I hear through the media.”

James Stempel

“I am. I think it is an impor-tant race with a lot at stake. We need a strong candidate for Georgia’s repre-sentation.”

Jodi Daniels

“Somewhat. There’s a chance it could be a Democrat this year. Yea!”

Heidi Natkin

STREET TALK

Q&A

County: Help libraryTo the editor:

We are lucky that we have hard working citizens to tackle the hard jobs that Fulton County refuses to provide (“Resident devotes time to beautifying library,” Sandy Springs Reporter, Sept. 5). However, I see that Ms. McAdam is looking for volunteers and wishes to form a coalition including funds. How about forcing Fulton County to provide the basics of lawn care and trash pick-up, and the volunteers provide the tal-ent for the landscaping extras?

This article reminds me of the rea-sons we fought for the city of Sandy Springs in the first place. Fulton Coun-ty has never provided the services that our community deserved, although we have been writing them checks for years. As a reminder to all, almost 75 percent of the traffic lights needed re-pairs when the city took over. We don’t even need to talk about the ongoing street repairs.

As a longtime patron of the library, I haven’t concentrated so much on the landscaping except for the downed trees when I drive there and park.

I now am just trying to figure out if the library is even open. It was so smart of Fulton County to punish the taxpay-ers by closing the library on Fridays and reducing the hours. What better way to get the citizens to acquiesce to the rise in mileage rates?

With the advent of the new cities in

Fulton County, the county government provides many fewer services. I simply don’t understand why they can’t seem to streamline their structure and quit wasting OUR money.

Fulton County needs to figure out how to maintain what they are respon-sible for. Why not using some of its prison population or those to be pun-ished by performing community service to maintain the libraries? Let’s not al-low them to abrogate their responsibil-ities.

Tammy Sandin

Cuts will be madeTo the editor:

I fully under-stand and admire the devotion and impetus behind this fine service but as long as citizens pro-vide what the library system should be supplying, cuts will be made without conscience.

Why should Sandy Springs have a neglected library? Why should the es-sential services of community infor-mation be compromised here? What is wrong with Atlanta, that it cannot meet the aspirations of its citizens?

David Carr

My ‘red flags’ are upTo the editor:

I agree with the letter to the editor by Cindy S. Mayer (“Reconsider City Center plans,” Sandy Springs Reporter, Sept. 5-18) completely.

My husband and I have been resi-dents of Sandy Springs since 1975 and have witnessed many changes, includ-ing the welcome creation of the city of Sandy Springs. When I began to hear of the grandiose plans for the Sandy Springs government center, my red flags began to go up.

There is no need for me to rehash Ms. Mayer’s reasoning and log-ic. She did a well-thought-out and cogent analysis of the situation. At the very least, when my tax money is financing such an enor-mous outlay as city Manag-er John McDonough men-tions of $24 million to $40 million for a performing

arts center, as part of a total city center cost of $169.3 million to $196.6 mil-lion, I and others who pay for the city and its functions should have a chance to have an input by vote on the scope of said project.

Do you believe that the majority of Sandy Springs residents are in favor of adding a performing arts center to the city government complex? I do not.

Sara Eads

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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C O M M E N T A R Y


After living for 38 years in Sandy Springs, Julia Woodman was talking one recent afternoon about moving.

“This was country when I moved out here,” Woodman said as she sat in her sprawling, art-filled home on Powers Ferry Road. “Cars on Powers Ferry were an event. Now they’re a menace.”

She feels it’s time to move. Her hus-band died two years ago. She wants to be closer to her family in Cobb Coun-ty. “It’s lonely here,” she said. “It’s isolat-ed because everybody has 2 acres. I don’t know my neighbors.”

But, unlike many aging Sandy Springs residents who contemplate set-tling into smaller, more manageable homes, Woodman had some special,

well, considerations as she planned her move.

After all, not everyone who’s down-sizing takes an anvil with them. Or a hammer to use on the anvil. Or a met-al press.

“This is my 50-ton press,” she said, sitting in her basement studio crowd-ed with metal-working tools. “It only weighs 1,400 pounds, but it has 50 tons of pressure.” She uses it to make bowls. “I want to make bowls into my 80s.”

So, how old is she? “81. And I’m still making bowls. Can you imagine?”

Well, yes you can. After an hour talk-ing with Woodman, you can imagine her tackling all sorts of things. She ra-diates enthusiasm and energy. And she’s still eager to try new things.

“If you stop learning, you get ripe and fall off the vine and rot,” she said.

She’s a metalsmith. Not just a silver-smith, she says, but a metalsmith. She works various kinds of metal into works of art. “Metal requires an enormous amount of discipline,” she said.

She earned her B.F.A. degree de-signing and making a silver teapot and creamer. She moved on to other things – processional crosses used on special oc-

casions at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Buckhead, a medal-lion worn at Georgia State University’s formal cere-monies, more tea services. She’s stud-ied abroad, teaches, and has devel-oped a fol-lowing. Her work has been displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Lon-

don, among others.

That’s a long way from where she started. She grew up on a farm in North Caro-lina. Her dad ran a dairy just outside Asheville. She “always had been arty,” she said, so she went to col-lege in New York to study industrial de-sign. There, she met her husband-to-be. He was a

military man who taught ROTC at the time. After she married, they travelled all over, from Fort Knox to Iran. “We moved 19 times in 20 years,” she said.

Once he retired, he found work near Atlanta and they settled in Sandy Springs, out in the country. She decided to go back to school and, at age 49, en-rolled at Georgia State University with plans to study sculpture. She found she liked working with metal. “I discovered I had a little talent,” she said. “I start-ed winning competitions and commis-sions.”

In 1986, she started spending por-tions of her summers doing metal work at an international craft school near Asheville. Eventually, she won a schol-arship to study metalworking in Finland “from second and third generation Fa-bergé masters.”

She intends to keep working with metal as long as she can. “All so I can continue working with metal, so I can sling a hammer.”

After all, it’s still fun. And fun is im-portant.

“You don’t stop playing when you get old,” she said. “You get old when you stop playing.”

She’s got a hammer and knows how to use it

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Metalsmith Julia Woodman in her art studio.

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Monday, Sept. 22, 4:30-5:30 p.m. – Come join Out of the Box Art Studio and go “Dali-style” in clay! Create and glaze a “timeless” clay melting clock inspired by the Salvador Dali piece called “Per-sistence of Memory.” Free. Open to the public. For preschool, elementary and middle school audienc-es. Registration required and started Sept. 3. Space is limited. Come by the Sandy Spring Branch Library, call 404-303-6130 or email: [email protected] to sign up. 395 Mount Vernon High-way, Sandy Springs, 30328.

Tasty ParfaitsTuesday, Sept. 23, 4:30-5:30 p.m. – Help celebrate the first day of autumn with the Young Chefs Academy. Get a hands-on cooking lesson, and make some tasty fall harvest parfaits. Free. For ages 6 and up. All are welcome. Registration required and started Sept. 3. Space is limited. Come by the Sandy Spring Branch Library, call 404-303-6130 or email: [email protected] to sign up. 395 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, 30328.

Moonlight MoviesFriday, Sept. 26, 6-10 p.m. – Sandy Springs “Movies by Moonlight,” now in its 10th year, shows “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” an animated, ac-tion comedy set in a world of burly Vikings and wild

dragons. Free. Outdoors. The community is wel-come to attend. Food for sale. Kids’ activities. Sandy Springs United Methodist Church, 86 Mount Ver-non Highway, Sandy Springs, 30328. Call 404-256-9091 in case of inclement weather. For further de-tails, visit: www.leadershipsandysprings.org.

Superhero PropsSaturday, Oct. 4, 1:30-2:30 p.m. – Kids, cre-ate your own superhero props, like masks and oth-er accessories! Free. Geared for those ages 7 and up. Open to the first 25 participants. Registration began Sept. 2. Call 770-512-4640 or visit the Dunwoody Branch Library to sign up. 5339 Chamblee Dun-woody Rd., Dunwoody, 30338.

F U N D R A I S E R S

Book Sales Monday, Sept. 22, 6-9 p.m. – The 55th annu-al American Association of University Women book fair includes more than 75,000 gently-used books at bargain prices. Find Southern authors, mysteries, science fiction, reference, business, history, politics, biography, romance, foreign language, cookbooks, arts, travel, military and children’s books. Au-dio tapes, cassettes, CDs and DVDs also available. Opening night admission, $10; all other times, free. All are welcome. Sale continues through Sept. 28, mall hours. Cash and checks only. Perimeter Mall, in the Dillard’s Wing, 4400 Ashford Dunwoody Rd., Atlanta, 30346. For more: 404-261-7646 or bookfairaauw.org.

Thursday, Sept. 25, 1-4 p.m. – The Friends of the Dunwoody Library hold their book sale. Browse titles and take home books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and much more. Members only from 1-4 p.m. All are welcome 4-8 p.m. No admission fee. Sale con-tinues Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26-27, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m.-8 p.m., is “Bag Day.” Buy a bag for $6 and fill it up! Proceeds benefit the Dunwoody library. 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd., Dunwoody, 30338. Email: [email protected]

CONTINUED ON PAGE 29

FALL 2014

Education Guide


Are standardized tests relevant?

HALL TALK 15-17

Up, downTest results fluctuate statewide

PAGE 19

Be flexibleSchools must remain open to options

PAGE 14

Inside


The Georgia Department of Education is rolling out new statewide tests this year in an effort to add more “rigor” in the evaluation of schools and stu-dents.

“We need to know that students are being pre-pared, not at a minimum-competency level but with rigorous, relevant education, to enter college, the workforce or the military at a level that makes them competitive with students from other states,” Geor-gia School Superintendent Dr. John Barge said earlier

this year when the announcement was made.One parent with children in the Atlanta Public

Schools system said that while she didn’t know much specifically about the new tests, that teachers in Buck-head public schools have been preparing the students for them.

“I know they’re supposed to be higher rigor,” said Sara Catherine Kibler, who has a ninth-grader at North Atlanta High School, a sixth-grader at Sutton Middle School and a child who recently graduated

from North Atlanta. “I expect to see drops in scores; I don’t necessarily expect them to be super at first. But I know the teachers have been changing their curric-ulums for several years to prepare.”

The new tests, called Milestones, this year will re-place the End of Course Tests, or EOCT, and the Cri-terian Referenced Competency Tests, or CRCTs, now used in Georgia public schools. The new tests will be aligned to Common Core standards, state officials said. The state claims that a benefit of the new test-ing system is that it provides one consistent measure across grades 3-12, whereas previously, students took

SEE SCHOOL, PAGE 18

SEE SCHOOL MERGER, PAGE 28

A meeting of the minds

DEVI KNAPP, ATLANTA JEWISH ACADEMY

Atlanta Jewish Academy students, from left, Dan Jutan, Eliott Dosetareh and Mia Azani, study in their classroom. The academy is a merger of Greenfield Hebrew

Academy in Sandy Springs and Yeshiva Atlanta High School in DeKalb.

School merger will ‘strengthen community’

New tests, growth models on the agenda for area schools


There’s a new cat in town. The jaguar is the mascot representing

the new Atlanta Jewish Academy, a merg-er of two longtime private Jewish schools in the Atlanta area – Greenfield Hebrew Academy lower and middle school in Sandy Springs and Yeshiva Atlanta High School in DeKalb.

Backers say the merger creates the only Jewish day school in metro Atlanta serving pre-K through 12th grade students.

“A family can come here knowing this is a full-service place,” said new Head of School Rabbi Pinchos Hecht, who moved from Florida to take the position.

Meanwhile, a very different kind of new school is emerging in Buckhead. The Atlanta Classical Academy opened this year with 450 students selected from 1,341 who entered a lottery to attend the new public charter school.

The school follows the classical educa-tion model, which follows Western tradi-tions and has been popular with Christian schools, though organizers have said no re-ligious material will be in the curriculum. Matthew Kirby, chairman of the school’s board of directors, said the school took “a very traditional, liberal-arts approach.”

The classical academy opened offering classes from kindergarten through eighth grade. Its organizers plan to add a grade


EDUCATION GUIDE


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Infants – Private Pre-K & After School

School systems pursue options for more flexibility


DeKalb schools may soon pass Ful-ton County schools to become the state’s largest charter system if they succeed in its plan to convert its operations to a more flexible model.

In April, Superintendent Michael Thurmond informed the DeKalb Board of Education that the district would pursue charter system status. A public hearing on the decision will follow an Oct. 6 school board work session, where the proposal will be discussed.

Georgia’s school systems are explor-ing options for more autonomy fol-lowing a Georgia Department of Edu-cation mandate from several years back that they choose an operating model by June 2015.

Schools must choose a charter sys-tem model or an “Investing in Educa-tional Excellence System” model, called “IE2,” or retain the status quo. The char-ter system and IE2 models allow school systems to sidestep many state rules and regulations while also requiring more ac-countability.

“In exchange for increased autono-my, including waivers from state law, . . . districts receive the flexibility to be innovative and thereby [must] show greater accountability and higher stu-dent performance,” said Trenton Ar-nold, a regional superintendent for DeKalb schools, at a public hearing on Aug. 28.

According to Atlanta Public Schools’ website, the types of flexibility schools may pursue under the charter and IE2 options include customizing course of-ferings; waiving class-size requirements to allow for college-like settings; waiv-ing class-time requirements to allow stu-dents to explore internships or dual en-rollments; or hiring subject experts for

teachers and non-traditional gifted pro-grams.

The Atlanta Public School System hasn’t chosen what model it will pursue.

“These are things that will dramat-ically change the way we do business,” said Superintendent Meria Carstarphen during her Sept. 9 “State of the Schools” address. “We haven’t chosen a model. APS could be very similar to what it is today; it could be very different.”

APS currently has a survey on its website seeking community feedback on the direction it should take, and says if it decides to pursue the charter or IE2 op-tion it will submit its application to the state by Nov. 5 following a presentation at its Oct. 6 board meeting.

In Fulton, officials seem pleased that they converted in phases to charter sta-tus in 2012, with a final group of schools set to switch by this time next year.

“Our charter system is really begin-ning to gain a lot of traction,” said Su-perintendent Robert Avossa, at Fulton schools’ back-to-school news briefing in August.

He cited examples of what some Ful-ton schools have been able to do as a re-sult of the conversion.

At Centennial High School in Ro-swell, a physical education credit was waived, meaning that students in an athletic club or marching band can take a high-level credit course such as math or science instead.

Meanwhile, Northview High School in Johns Creek applied for a class-size waiver, allowing the school to create larger classes to simulate a college expe-rience.

“We’re excited to see if we can repli-cate some of those strategies across the district,” Avossa said.

JOE EARLE

Dr. Meria Carstarphen delivered her first “State of the Schools” address on Sept. 9.

EDUCATION GUIDE


Which Test: SAT or ACT? As founder of Applerouth Tutoring, I often help parents navigate the complicated world of college admissions testing. Parents know the ACT is an alternative to the SAT, but they often do not know how to help their student choose between the two tests. Recently announced changes to the tests have contributed to the uncertainty.

Students tend to feel more comfortable with one test format over the other. Over the past thirteen years, I’ve seen time and time again how that extra comfort can translate into a significantly higher score to send to colleges. It’s important to make as informed a decision as possible about your student’s test preparation. Making an Informed DecisionStudents become familiar with the SAT format when they take the PSAT in 10th grade, but not all students take the ACT equivalents, the PLAN/ASPIRE. Parents often ask me how they can use just a PSAT score to make this important decision.

The easiest way to make this decision is to have your student take a mock ACT so that they can compare their PSAT/SAT score equivalents to the ACT scores in order to make the best choice. If it’s been a year or more since they last took the SAT, they may additionally want to sit for a mock SAT test. Compare your student’s percentile rankings on the two tests, and then put your energy into the test your student more naturally excels at.

There is zero risk and a lot of benefit to using meaningful data to make the right decision early on because when students find out early which test is a better fit, they can avoid a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration down the road!

Find Out MoreYou can speak with me and learn more about these tests, including the “new” SAT, at one of our upcoming FREE EVERYTHING COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SEMINARS:

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Educating students with language learning disabilities and differences 5 years old through 12th grade

“It’s good to see what level you’re at compared to other students in the state. They could be shorter, though.”

Thomas Beson The Marist School

“I think they provide a good baseline for national rankings. Other than that I don’t see a purpose. I think a more personalized curriculum is more important.”

Liam Collins Riverwood International Charter School

HALL TALK

Q&AQ: Do you think

standardized tests are important?

“I think they are an important way to gauge students’ knowledge.”

Jordan Gold The Weber School

“Standardized test are not important because they do not determine a student’s true abilities. People are smarter in certain areas that are not covered in a standardized

test. These tests are not designed to improve intelligence, nor are they fair. They are only a measure of what students have learned and retained prior to taking the tests. Standardized tests test students on memory, as opposed to skills. Everyone has different learning styles, and with standardized tests, students are forced to comply with solely one style of learning, which makes standardized test absolutely biased.”

Skylar Gardner Riverwood International Charter School

“I think standardized tests are important because it’s a way to judge everyone’s intelligence by the same scale. Although it leads to questions of upper class

privilege, it’s still important to have a way to grade everyone’s intelligence, and I can’t think of another alternative that would complete that task.”

Olivia Hagen, The Galloway School

EDUCATION GUIDE


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“I think it’s a necessary evil. While it doesn’t necessarily correlate to intelligence, I think it’s important to have in the college process because the quality of

schools varies.”

Catherine Benedict, The Westminster School

“Standardized test are important for the state to know how well students are performing, but these scores not only reflect on you but the teachers as well. Some

students aren’t the best test takers. This shouldn’t affect the student’s or teacher’s capabilities. The student could be a genius, but according to the test he’s not meeting requirements. And the same for the teacher.”

Aiya Kadi, Riverwood International Charter School

“Standardized test are important, because of the fact that they give people insight as to how students perform in school, because there are so many school systems and they are all different. The only problem with that is that not a lot of people are good test takers and in some cases this can make or break your future.”

Courtney Jeffers , Riverwood International Charter School

“I find standardized tests useless because they don’t really prove how someone could solve a problem in the real world. The testing environment is

too controlled and relates to nothing in real life. Standardized tests just show how well a person can bubble in an answer.”

Sarah Waindle, Riverwood International Charter School

“SATs are good because they test your knowledge. But, SLOs are annoying because we obviously don’t know the content.”

Alycia Cooper Riverwood International Charter School

“I think they serve a purpose to make sure you comprehend the subject matter.”

Elizabeth Lamar

Riverwood Inter-national Charter School

“Standardized tests are important because it is critical for students to practice time management and the ability to work for what they want. Also, colleges need

to know the students that they are admitting.”

Lily Maslia, The Galloway School

EDUCATION GUIDE


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“I don’t think standardized tests are fair because they don’t really measure your knowledge of school materials, just your test-taking skills. Additionally, studies have shown that teenagers from richer backgrounds do better on standardized tests because they can afford to hire tutors to teach them how to game the system.”

Tara Subramaniam, The Westminster School

“I think that standardized tests [referring to the SAT] are good in theory and that they give universities a chance to easily compare students from all around the country.

However, I think they have become something that no longer does that. They seem much more focused on how well you can learn to take a test, rather than how well you understand the material it is covering.”

Alicia Martinez, Atlanta International School

“Standardized tests are not important because not everyone learns the same and not everyone can recall the same information.”

Ereka Fitts, Riverwood International Charter School “I think

standardized tests are essential because they allow colleges to fairly compare students from different schools. If you go to an easy school and have

high grades, but a poor SAT score, colleges will then be able to view your grades in context.”

Berhan Getachew, The Westminster School

“Standardized testing has very little to do with really learning and internalizing the nature of the information you learn. Much of it is repeating facts and showing how

well you are able to recall information, rather than apply it to real-life situations and thinking critically. While it may have provided a good baseline for testing knowledge, there is much left to be desired as a means of gauging academic understanding.”

Sara Wren, Atlanta International School

“I think when they say ‘standardized,’ that doesn’t apply. Students in advanced classes will find the tests easy. They really need to be ‘standardized’ a lot better.”

Collins Vise, Riverwood International Char-ter School

“I like the tests that you can’t really study for. They compare students by intelligence rather than how hard they work.”

Chase Luther

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School

EDUCATION GUIDE


3110-A Ashford Dunwoody Rd. Atlanta, GA 30319

Open HouseNovember 8, 2014 9:30 am–12 noonQuestions? Contact the Admissions Office at 404.228.0709 or visit stmartinschool.org.

discover the possibilities at St. Martin’s Episcopal School

Beginners (3-year-olds) through 8th grade

Extended-day program available

Preparation for Atlanta’s top high schools

Welcoming Christian environment

Scan the code to learn more about St. Martin’s academic program.

4055 Roswell RoadAtlanta, GA 30342

At the Blue Heron Nature Preserve

404-434-9078www.littledavincischool.org

LITTLE DA VINCIINTERNATIONAL SCHOOLwhere learning inspires the mind

The Little Da Vinci International School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin,age, or disability in any employment practice, educational program or any other program, activity, or service.

PUPPETRY: celebrate the art of puppetry through creative and cultural exploration.

ART: young artists develop their creativity, imagination, and talents in a variety of forms.

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THEATRE: students sharpen their self-expression, listening and observation skills.

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Learn Grow Connect

a series of individual tests.Barge warned that parents should

expect lower scores this year due to the increased expectations embod-ied in the new tests. However, this year the tests will have no bearing on whether or not students are held back, the state board recently announced.

Robert Avossa, Fulton Schools su-perintendent, said he welcomes the higher challenges the new test will bring.

“We’re anticipating a dip in aca-demic outcomes, but y’all have heard me say this before, it’s the right thing to do,” Avossa said during a back-to-school news briefing in August. “We need to raise the bar.”

With Georgia having one of the lowest scores in the nation, he said, “we’ve got to make sure we tell parents how their kids are truly doing.”

Kibler said that standardized tests should hold students and teachers ac-countable. “We keep complaining that Georgia has low national stan-dards for education, then we start complaining when we want to hold children accountable,” she said.

Avossa did express concern that schools may not be able to adequate-ly prepare students for the new tests, and that the changes the state has made in the past have often left dis-tricts scrambling.

To help parents prepare their chil-dren, the DeKalb school system was planning to hold an interactive work-shop to gain a better understanding of the tests.

The new testing system will in-clude open-ended questions -- to bet-ter gauge students’ content mastery,

the school system says. The plans are for the tests to be administered entire-ly online in five years.

The state of Georgia awarded a bid on May 28 for a $107.8-million, five-year contract to CTB/McGraw-Hill to develop the new testing system.

The state education depart-ment also said it would provide in-depth information on student prog-ress through an online tool called the Georgia Student Growth Model, found at www.gastudentgrowth.ga-doe.org.

“Historically, Georgia’s assessment system has only enabled us to ask cer-tain questions: ‘What percentage of students met the state standard?’ for example, or, ‘Did more students meet the state standard this year compared to last year?’ the DOE said.

“The [new model] will allow all stakeholders to take a deeper look at student growth by school and school district, asking questions such as, ‘Did students in this school grow more or less than academically simi-lar students across the state? or, ‘Are students growing as much in math as in reading?’”

Users can search student-growth data by district, grade, assessment and subject area. Parents and teachers will be able to view reports for their spe-cific students.

Results from the growth model will be used in the College and Career Ready Performance Index.

“They’re pretty complicated to un-derstand,” Avossa said, “but we want to make sure . . . all kids are grow-ing at least one year in one year’s time [and] we can begin to close the gap that exists in some of our schools.”

School systems brace for new tests, growth models

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

EDUCATION GUIDE


The Georgia De-partment of Education has released the re-sults of its second Col-lege & Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI), a measure of public schools that takes into account CRCT and EOCT scores. Those tests will be replaced this year by Milestones.

Statewide, both el-ementary and middle schools saw increas-es overall, while high school scores saw a dip.

Overall, Atlan-ta Public Schools and Fulton Coun-ty schools increased scores at all three lev-els, while DeKalb County schools fell in all three.

Here are the results, based on a 110-point scale, from 2013 and 2012 for schools in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and Brookhaven.

APS, Fulton schools improve CCRPI scores, DeKalb sees dipBuckhead schools 2013 2012E. Rivers Elementary 76.8 72.7Garden Hills Elementary 76 68.6Morris Brandon Elementary 94.2 90.7Sarah Smith Elementary 86.6 89.8Warren T. Jackson Elementary 93.2 94Sutton Middle 84.3 77.4North Atlanta High 70.6 64.8APS Elementary Schools (all) 67.1 59.6APS Middle Schools (all) 65.4 60.4APS High Schools (all) 59.2 58.9

Brookhaven schools 2013 2012Ashford Park Elementary 87.6 77.9Montgomery Elementary 89 88.6Woodward Elementary 48 64.2DeKalb PATH Elementary 83.2 83DeKalb PATH Middle 90.9 85.4Chamblee Middle School 87.9 82.7Chamblee Charter High 78.6 80.3Cross Keys High 72.8 63.6Dunwoody schools 2013 2012Austin Elementary 96.5 95.1Chesnut Elementary 84.1 70.2

Dunwoody Elementary 93.7 85.4Kingsley Elementary 68.9 68.7Vanderlyn Elementary 95.2 94.2Peachtree Middle 72.8 81Dunwoody High 79.1 80.9DeKalb Elementary Schools (all) 62.9 64.1DeKalb Middle Schools (all) 59.9 66.2DeKalb High Schools (all) 62 65.1

Sandy Springs schools 2013 2012Dunwoody Springs Elementary 65.9 82Heards Ferry Elementary 91.2 90.9High Point Elementary 73.9 77.8Ison Springs Elementary 86.9 72.2Lake Forest Elementary 64.2 66.9Spalding Drive Elementary 78.6 71Woodland Elementary 85.8 72.9Ridgeview Middle 71.7 67.3Sandy Springs Middle 75.8 69.2North Springs High 75.6 71.3Riverwood High 73.5 69.5Fulton Elementary Schools (all) 77.8 76.6Fulton Middle Schools (all) 74.6 73.5Fulton High Schools (all) 77.6 69 So

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How can ( i ) explore new ideas and build on the ideas of others?

Curiosity and passion drive learning. When students explore their questions, passions, and interests in a hands-on, experiential learning environment, they grasp subject matter on a deeper level. They make connections that inspire original ideas. They understand how context and action impact their world.

Prepared to be college-ready and globally competitive, Mount Vernon students are the new generation of innovative thinkers, engaged citizens and compassionate leaders.

Open House Nov 13, 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

Group Tours Preschool–Grade 4: Oct 29, 8:30 a.m.

Grades 5–6: Oct 15, 9:30 a.m.Grades 7–12: Oct 8, 8:30 a.m.

LearNiNG aNd LeadiNG by exaMPLe

Preschool–12. Family. Community.mountvernonschool.org404.252.3448

EDUCATION GUIDE


OPEN HOUSE Sunday, December 7, from 1-4 p.m.

Where will your child go and how will they get there? The Society of Mary founded Marist School

more than 100 years ago to provide an education unlike any other. Our faculty and curriculum

encourage excellence in all of our students. Beyond the classroom, we offer a comprehensive array

of extracurricular activities to inspire exploration and uncover students’ hidden talents. Through it all,

we instill a sense of personal responsibility, foster spiritual growth, and teach the joy of serving others.

Learn more about what Marist has to offer. Please visit marist.com or call Jim Byrne, director of admissions and financial aid, at 770.936.2214. Help your child prepare his or her future—no matter where it leads.

PHOTOS BY ANN MARIE QUILL

Lending a helping handDozens of students from Mount Vernon Presbyterian School honored the Sept. 11 National Day of Service by volunteering at the Sandy

Springs Library. Students planted flowers, pulled weeds, and hauled and laid down mulch. Their efforts were organized by Sandy Springs resident Sylvia McAdams, who is working to improve the library’s grounds following cuts in services. Top left, Emily Hollis,

left, and Arden Tahtinen empty mulch from a wheelbarrow. Bottom left, Epi Yonas, left, and Jacob Munoz do a little raking. Center, third-graders help plant flowers in front of the library sign. Top right, left to right, Curran Jolly, Zack Betz

and Brooks Scarborough lay down mulch. Bottom right, Eric Soelberg helps pull out a stubborn weed.

EDUCATION GUIDE


Mazel Tov to the Epstein Class of 2010We are proud of your achievements in high school and wish you continued success in your freshman year in college.COLLEGE ATTENDANCEBoston UniversityBrown UniversityChristopher Newport UniversityDuke UniversityElon UniversityEmory UniversityGeorgia College and State UniversityGeorgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia State UniversityHaverford CollegeIndiana UniversityNew York UniversityNorth Georgia College and

State University

Ohio UniversityTufts University Tulane UniversityUnited States Air Force AcademyUniversity of AlabamaUniversity of Central FloridaUniversity of FloridaUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of GlasgowUniversity of MichiganUniversity of South CarolinaUniversity of VermontWashington University in St. Louis

WE ARE ACADEMICS. n 3 Valedictoriansn 2 Salutatoriansn 4 National Merit

Finalistsn 83% National

Merit Scholars or National Honor Society

WE ARE CHARACTER .n 75% played sportsn 42% team captains

of a sportn 65% officers in

Student Council or a club

WE ARE COMMUNITY. n 19 graduates

served in international, regional or national positions of leadership for Jewish youth groups

We are The Epstein School. We invite you to get to know us and our newly-renovated campus: www.EpsteinAtlanta.org/Tour

THE EPSTEIN SCHOOLSolomon Schechter School of Atlanta







experience EPSTEIN.We’re way more than you imagined.

335 COLEWOOD WAY NW | SANDY SPRINGS, GA 30328-2956EPSTEINATLANTA.ORG

4819 epst gradad14_prf1.indd 1 9/8/14 5:34 PM

Holy Innocents’ installs new head of schools

Paul Barton was recently installed as the new head of school at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal in Sandy Springs. Special guest the Rt. Rev. Rob Wright, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and a Holy Innocents’ parent, led the service. The entire student body participated in the ceremony, called the Celebration of New Ministry.

SPECIAL

Left, the Rt. Rev. Rob Wright, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, with Paul Barton, the new head of school at Holy Innocents’, and his wife Leanne, at the Celebration of New Ministry service.

SSEF hosting first Footprints for the Future 5K

The Sandy Springs Education Force (SSEF) will host its inaugural Footprints for the Future 5K and Family Fun Run on Saturday, Nov. 8.

The event, part of the RUN & See Geor-gia Grand Prix Race Series, will provide fami-lies from throughout metro Atlanta and Sandy Springs the opportunity to come together for a day of fitness and fun. Money raised from the event goes toward SSEF’s mission of inspiring and supporting Sandy Springs public school students to graduate and pursue productive lives beyond high school by providing educational and enrichment programs.

Footprints will start at Lake Forest Elementary School, 5920 Sandy Springs Cir-cle, NE.

For more information, visit www.sandyspringseducationforce.org.

EDUCATION GUIDE


Connecting learning to life at every level.

We THINK BIG.

Pace Academy's Isdell Center

for Global Leadership

www.paceacademy.org/icgl

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House Calls for Sick Kids

mymedzed.com404-382-8859

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Riverwood runners earn state and national recognition

The Riverwood Lady Raiders Cross Country team is currently ranked 5th in State Class 5A. Junior Anna Hayden is ranked No. 1 in the state. Sophomore teammate Elizabeth Graves is No. 2. Both Hayden and Graves have been recognized this year by Ga. MileSplit with “Runners of the Week” honors. With Hayden meeting the Mile-Split U.S. First Team standard and Graves meeting the Milesplit U.S. Second Team standard, this is the first time that the Raiders have ever had two athletes qualify for first and second team national elite status in one season.

SPECIAL

Riverwood Cross Country runners Elizabeth Graves, left, and Anna Hayden.

Free digital textbooks available through the Georgia

Department of EducationTeachers, school leaders, parents and students can now access free, interactive dig-

ital textbooks through the Georgia Department of Education’s website.“As we implement the new standards, we know teachers and parents need high-

quality resources,” State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge said. “We developed these textbooks and other resources for middle and high school virtual school cours-es, and the students who have used them have been very successful. Much of their success can be attributed to these exceptional resources in the hands of our teachers.”

The textbooks, which can be accessed by visiting www.gavirtuallearning.org/Re-sources, are currently available for middle and high school courses. They cover an ar-ray of content areas in language arts, math, science and social studies.

Many of the textbooks feature supplemental or interactive content, including study guides, discussion questions, games, audio recordings and quizzes. These re-sources are aligned to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards and are free for use by schools, districts or individuals.

Mount Vernon named an Ashoka Changemaker School

Mount Vernon Presbyterian School has been selected into Ashoka’s Changemak-er Schools Network, joining 59 innovative schools across the country. The school, the only one in Georgia to date, was chosen for equipping students with the vital skills necessary to address the needs of the community through empathy, teamwork, prob-lem-solving and leadership.

Bo Adams, chief learning and innovation officer at Mount Vernon, said, “If school is supposed to prepare kids for real life, then why doesn’t school look more like real life? For more than a decade, this central question has guided my research and profes-sional practice as an educational leader.

“Through design thinking and real-world context and problem solving, we are striving to nurture engaged citizen leaders and people that give, rather than get or take, for their education.”

EDUCATION GUIDE


OPEN HOUSE Sunday, November 9, 2014

EVENING TO INFORM Thursday, December 4, 2014

PRESCHOOL PREVIEW Thursday, December 11, 2014

IB World School | Preschool – Eighth Grade | Roswell, GA | 770.993.2940U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School www.highmeadows.org

what school should be.Come take a closer look.

what school should be.Come take a closer look.

Atlanta families are invited to the 2014 Elementary School FairOctober 29, 10AM – 12PM at The Temple

This event is hosted by

Come meet representatives from these schools: • Atlanta International School • Atlanta Jewish Academy • Cliff Valley School

• The Children’s School • The Davis Academy • The Epstein School • The Friends School of Atlanta • The Galloway School • The Lovett School • The Paideia School • Pace Academy • Trinity School • Woodward Academy

• St. Martin’s Episcopal School • The Westminster Schools • Springmont, Atlanta’s First Montessori School

This event is FREE and parking is FREE

and convenient in our covered deck

1589 Peachtree St, NE Atlanta, GA 30309

[email protected]

Rabbi Pinchos Hecht, Head of School

Dr. Paul S. Oberman, Associate Head of School, Upper School

Leah Summers, Associate Head of School, Greenfield Pre-School - 8th Grade

For more information, please call (404) 843-9900 or (770) 451-5299

Combining the best of Greenfield Hebrew Academy & Yeshiva Atlanta

Introducing the Southeast’s first Pre-School-12th grade

Jewish Day School


It’s a match!The Dunwoody High School girls’ varsity volleyball team

faced the Holy Innocents’ Lady Bears in the North

Springs Charter High School gym on Sept. 11. Above, Holy Innocents’ player Kat Glover,

right, with Dunwoody’s Caroline Madden, left, and Bridget Boyle

defending. Center, Golden Bears players Helania Theos, left center, and clockwise, Sarah Joe, Kat O’Connor,

Kat Glover, Kate Chesser and Haley Collins celebrate after winning the first game. Left,

Lady Bears’ Haley Collins bumps, or passes, the ball. The Dunwoody Lady Wildcats won the match, two games to one.

EDUCATION GUIDE


At the MJCCA’s NAEYC-accredited preschools, our loving, highly-trained,and experienced teachers guide yourchild through our exceptional program.

For Ages 6 weeks - Pre-K

• Dramatic Arts

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• Handwriting Without Tears

• Ready, Set, Go...to KindergartenFLE

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Full- and half-day programs; 2-day, 3-day and 5-day

THE SUNSHINE SCHOOL at Temple Kol Emeth1415 Old Canton Road, Marietta • 678.812.3720

THE WEINSTEIN SCHOOL5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody • 678.812.3834

[email protected]

atlantajcc.org/preschool

Developing young men and women of honor, faith, and wisdom with the character and intellect to thrive in college and in life. Learn more at www.lovett.org.

Lovett

The Lovett School practices a nondiscriminatory admission policy. Financial aid is available.

Join us for an Open House:Saturday, November 15 Kindergarten, 1:00 pm

Sunday, November 16Grades 1–5, 1:00 pm Grades 6–12, 3:30 pm

DeKalb School District boosts budget surplus to $30.9 million

The DeKalb County School District has announced a 35 percent increase in its surplus for Fiscal Year 2014, reporting an additional $10.9 million in reserves over the $20-million surplus previously estimated.

Superintendent Michael Thurmond cited an increase in revenue collections as well as lower expenditures to produce a FY14 fund balance of $30.9 million.

“The additional $10.9 million in reserves demonstrates that we are making signifi-cant progress in stabilizing the finances of the DeKalb County School District,” Thur-mond said in a press release. “Our goal is a fund balance of $66 million. We’re just halfway there, but we are confident that we will reach that milestone.”

When Thurmond was appointed interim superintendent in February 2013, the school district faced a budget deficit of $21.4 million. The $30.9 million fund balance represents an improvement of $52.3 million since the end of FY2012.

Earlier this year, the district announced an anticipated surplus of $20 million in a budget that made new investments in instruction, technology and school safety. The FY14 budget also eliminated furlough days, and provided the first pay raises to teach-ers and staff in six years.

Epstein School celebrates first phase of renovations

The Epstein School in Sandy Springs recently celebrated the completion of the first phase of renovations resulting from its Building Our Future Capital Campaign.

The changes include a new, restaurant-quality kosher kitchen and cafeteria, ma-jor overhauls of the Orkin Education Building and Halpern Family Building, com-bined with a state-of-the-art renovation of the Goldstein Media Center and the Cav-alier Bet Tefilah.

SPECIAL

Celebrating Epstein’s renovations, front row from left, Ted Blum, Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, President of Board Mark Stern, Jack Halpern,

Lynne Halpern, Carolyn Oppenheimer and City Councilman Graham McDonald. Back row, from left, Amy Fox, Tamar Stern, Head of School

Stan Beiner, Greg Lewis, Bryan Lewis, Ramie Tritt and Joyce Tritt.

Cross Keys teacher earns State Farm grant

Glenda Bonds, a Business Computer Science teacher at Cross Keys High School in Brookhaven, received a State Farm Student Achievement Grant to lead her stu-dents in a semester-long service and learning project to address the issue of senior cit-izens’ hunger.

Bonds’ project begins on Oct. 5, and continues through Global Youth Service Day in April 2015. Throughout the school year, students will partner with the Senior Con-nections’ Meals on Wheels program to assist in preparing and distributing meals to the elderly. “Service learning enhances academic achievement and serves as an avenue for civic involvement for students,” Bonds said.

Bonds is one of 130 State Farm Student Achievement Grant recipients for the 2014-2015 academic year.

EDUCATION GUIDE


Inspiring students from 18 months to 8th grade

what I’ll learntoday?

wonder

An extraordinary, curious, open mind. A sense of wonder nurtured and inspired. Lessons experienced, not just taught. Collective engagement and personal success. Gifts of knowledge and wisdom extending far beyond the classroom. Welcome to Springmont.

ATLANTA’S FIRST MONTESSORI SCHOOL

springmont.com • (404) 252-3910

Join us for an Open House!Upcoming Dates:November 7thJanuary 11thJanuary 29th

Open HouseSaturday, Nov. 1, 2014

10:00 a.m.Presentation at 10:30 followed by school tours

• Cultivatingthedyslexicbrain-type• Buildingonthestudents’strengthsandtalents• Aschoolwheredyslexicsexcel

300GrimesBridgeRoad|Roswell,GA30075|678.205.4988|www.swiftschool.com

RollingAdmissionsGrades1-8

St. Martin’s students learn to be ‘digital citizens’

St. Martin’s Episcopal School recently delivered iPads to all its 4th and 5th grad-ers, and HP Chromebooks to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. The school did a test program with two grade levels last year. They will use the devices throughout the school day and at home for homework assignments.

In addition, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms each have five iPads that students can use in small groups or centers for different learning activities. Those iPads are housed on campus at all times. In the Early Childhood preschool, a mobile cart hous-ing 20 iPads is available for teachers to “check out” and bring to their classrooms for learning activities.

In addition to teaching students how to use these devices for their academic work, St. Martin’s is intentionally teaching students how to be good “digital citizens” -- be responsible with their equipment and be accountable for how they use them.

SPECIAL

From left, 7th-graders Lily Steck, Kyra Graap (in back) and Jordan Wissman use their Chromebooks.

Marist’s Styf is a national ‘Teacher of the Future’

Marist School 7th grade science teacher Sarah Styf has been selected by the Na-tional Association of Independent Schools to participate in its Teachers of the Fu-ture program.

As one of only 35 teachers nationwide chosen for the pro-gram, Styf will par-ticipate in a vari-ety of initiatives that aims to strengthen learning and teaching at independent schools, as well as grow the instructors’ personal and professional leadership capacities.

The 2014-15 NAIS Teachers of the Future were selected from a pool of nomi-nees who “exemplify creativity and innovation in the classroom, inspire academ-ic excellence in students, and who serve as opinion leaders among their colleagues and peers,” according to a National Association of Independent Schools press re-lease.

“You don’t want to make smartphones or any other new technology the en-emy,” Styf said. “There are a lot of really cool apps out there that can be used to make the classroom fun and the lessons informative.” Styf ’s frequent tweets give parents who follow her an open door to class activities and lessons.

“When I saw the criteria for the Teachers of the Future program, Sarah im-mediately came to mind,” said Styf ’s nominator, Tricia Glidewell, Marist School dean of faculty. “From introducing her colleagues to the Kagan Method of teach-ing to inspiring a group to attend a Critical Thinking Conference to sharing how she uses TED talks in her classroom, she has not only been an innovator herself, but she has inspired creativity and innovation in others.”

Styf earned a BA in biology from Kalamazoo College and an MA in physics ed-ucation from the University of Virginia. She began teaching seventh and eighth grade science through Marist School’s middle-school-tailored Foundations pro-gram in 2010.

EDUCATION GUIDE


Proud Affiliate of:

Where the Journey Begins

Triple Accreditation • Engaging Academics • Exceptional FacultyWorld Languages • Fine Arts & Athletics • Contemporary Judaism

Integrated Technology • Guiding Values & Community Service

Come see for yourself! Call 678-527-3300 to schedule a private tour or visit www.davisacademy.org

for 2014-2015 Parent Information Session dates.

The Davis Academy Inspires Inquiring Minds, Caring

Hearts, and Confident Leaders

An independent elementary school serving students age three through sixth grade345 Tenth Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

RSVP at www.thechildrensschool.comor call 404-835-4603

Experience hands-onlearning for yourself atThe Children’s School’s

fall open houseNov. 2, 2014 2pm to 4pm

At The Children’s School, Hands-on learning is child’s play

Purpose.PLAY. Passion.

St. Martin’s students earn high marks in French contest

Middle School French students at St. Martin’s Episcopal School recently took the National French Contest exam, also known as “Le Grand Concours,” administered by the American Association of Teachers of French. Several students received high ac-colades on the exam.

Eighth graders Charlotte Hermann and Knox Pittman both ranked No. 7 in the nation. Seventh-graders Gracie Ackaway, Caswell King and Lauren Young, and eighth-grader Katie Crofton, ranked in the top 10 in the state.

SPECIAL

From left, Caswell King, Gracie Ackaway, Lauren Young, Charlotte Hermann, Katie Crofton and Knox Pittman.

Sandy Springs Education Force, Mount Vernon named STEM award finalists

The Technology Association of Georgia has announced that the Sandy Springs Ed-ucation Force and Mount Vernon Presbyterian School have been named finalists for the 2014 STEM Education Awards.

The awards recognize schools, programs and companies for outstanding efforts and achievements in supporting and promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer-ing and Math) education in Georgia.

Selected among 220 nominees, SSEF has been named a finalist for its work in part-nership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute in presenting a comprehensive and community-wide STEM event. “Our partnership with GTRI has inspired countless students in Sandy Springs to consider a future career in STEM, and we are honored to share this recognition with them,” said SSEF Executive Director Irene Schweiger in a press release.

Mount Vernon was chosen as a finalist for its design thinking approach to learn-ing. The school instituted the first, comprehensive K-12 design thinking program in Atlanta.

DeKalb schools’ online tool allows parents to view progress

The DeKalb County School District has a new and updated Campus Portal, a con-fidential and secure website that allows parents and guardians to log in and view their children’s progress in school.

“The Campus Portal strengthens the partnership between our schools, and our par-ents and guardians,” said Michael Thurmond, superintendent of the DeKalb County School District. “With Campus Portal, academic information is shared confidential-ly and quickly, allowing parents to know right away if their students are on the right track or need academic help. Campus Portal helps keep our students on track, and re-establishes the bond between schools and homes.”

Parents and guardians designated with legal rights to student records may receive a Campus Portal account. In order to create a Campus Portal account, parents and guardians will need to retrieve an activation code and create a username and pass-word.

For more information, visit www.dekalb.k12.ga.us.

EDUCATION GUIDE


BEYOND EXPECTATIONS

VISIT GALLOWAYSCHOOL.ORGfor more info and to sign up for an admissions tour.

At Galloway, students (ages 3-18) are inspired to push beyond

intellectual boundaries, to embrace challenges, and

to discover more about themselves and the world

around them. A community of 1,360 students, ages 3-years-old through 12th Grade.

All-School Open HouseSaturday, Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m.

Where good kids become great people.

www.hies.org404-255-4026

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School develops in students a love of learning,

respect for self and others, faith in God,and a sense of service to the world

community.- Mission Statement

Fall_2014_HIES_Reporter.indd 1 8/25/14 4:18 PM

Raiders attend Governor’s programFour Riverwood International Charter School

students, after an audition and interview process, were selected to participate in a four-week 2014 Governor’s Honors Program at Valdosta State University. Students Garon Berenson in technol-ogy, Max Kantor in theater, Callaway Powlus in music and Pascal Acree in biology were selected. GHP is a residential summer program for approx-imately 700 intellectually gifted and artistical-

ly talented high school juniors and seniors from across the state. Students spend their mornings in their major area of nomination exploring topics not usually found in the regular high school class-room. During the afternoons, students choose one of the other 20 areas in which to study. Eve-nings are filled with seminars, activities, concerts and performances. Now in its 51st year, GHP is fully funded by the Georgia General Assembly.

Pace’s Knights get a new homeOn Aug. 29, Pace Academy’s varsity football team took on the Our Lady of Mer-

cy Bobcats in the first athletic competition at Walsh Field, a new facility within Pace Academy’s existing Athletics Complex.

The game marked the end of a two-year, $32-million capital campaign for the Ar-thur M. Blank Family Upper School, a 75,000-square-foot building that recently opened on the school’s W. Paces Ferry Road campus in Buckhead. More than 1,300 donors contributed to the campaign, which exceeded its goal by more than $3 mil-lion, allowing for the completion of the school’s satellite Athletics Complex, located at 5700 Riverview Road in Cobb County.

Pace Academy parents, volunteers, and alumni Leigh and Tim Walsh (Pace Class of 1981) contributed to the campaign, the largest alumni capital gift in Pace Acade-my history, and Walsh Field is named in their honor. “Participation in Pace Athletics has had a tremendous impact on me, on Leigh and on our three children,” said Walsh, who served as chairman of Pace Academy’s Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2014. “It was time for the quality of our facilities to match the quality of our student-athletes, and our family is fortunate to be part of making that happen.”

The Walsh Family cut the ribbon on Walsh Field during a back-to-school event for faculty and staff on Aug. 28, and they participated in the inaugural coin toss pri-or to the Aug. 29 game. In addition to the opening festivities, the Knights’ 2014 state champions in track and girls’ soccer received state-championship rings during half-time, and the Knights went on to defeat the Bobcats 14-12.

Walsh Field includes a state-of-the-art stadium with bleacher seating, a FIFA-regu-

lation grass field and a Beynon track. The facility fulfills the school’s original vision for the Riverview Road property, which it acquired in 2005. In addition to Walsh Field, Pace Academy Athletics Complex includes Charlie Owens Baseball Field, a multipur-pose field for football, soccer and lacrosse, locker rooms, an athletic training facility and a snack bar.

SPECIAL

Pace Academy’s new Walsh Field. The school’s Athletics Complex also includes a baseball field, multipurpose field for football, soccer and lacrosse, locker rooms, an athletic training facility and a snack bar.

Grant to improve school superintendents’ skillsThe Wallace Foundation is investing $3 million in a five-year

effort to help the DeKalb County School District improve the in-structional leadership skills of its principal supervisors or regional superintendents. The initiative is to improve the quality of teach-ing and learning in schools by providing more effective instruc-tional support to school level leaders.

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School merger aims to strengthen Jewish community

each year until it reaches 12. Dr. Ter-rence O. Moore was hired as its first prin-cipal. He was the founding principal of Ridgeview Classical Schools in Colorado, which Atlanta Classical Academy is mod-eled after.

The new school is located at the Northside Drive campus of the Heiskell School, a private Christian school that closed this summer. It’s open to all stu-dents in the Atlanta Public Schools Sys-tem, but it’s located in the North Atlanta High attendance zone.

Ian Ratner, chairman of the Atlanta Jewish Academy board, said talks of cre-ating a new Jewish K-12 program have been going on for years. About two years ago, “a working group was formed to re-ally get more involved in the analysis,” he said. The boards of both schools voted this summer to merge the schools.

Both Ratner and Hecht say there are numerous benefits to merging into one school.

Hecht said aside from operations be-coming more efficient, a merger pro-vides growth opportunities for faculty. “There’s more professional opportunity for steps up they can take in a larger sys-tem with a full school,” he said.

A full school also strengthens the com-munity, he said. “Where I was a principal earlier, many of my students became my parents, and that speaks to a certain kind of continuity, and you build a communi-ty,” Hecht said.

Ratner explained that the K-12 model also helps students retain their Judaism.

“The less breaks in the system, the less opportunity to leave the Jewish system,” he said. “There’s a much smaller num-ber of Jewish children in Atlanta in high school than are in elementary school. What that says is that all of us aren’t do-ing a good enough job because we’re at-tracting kids into the elementary school but for some reason we can’t keep them engaged in high school.”

Ratner said the school’s enrollment picked up some this year, and that hav-ing a school from early childhood to 12th grade helps with recruitment efforts as parents won’t have to worry about where

to send their children when it’s time to enter high school.

He said a study conducted by the Jew-ish Federation of Greater Atlanta a num-ber of years ago called for lower and high schools in the community to align.

“That’s been buzzing around Atlanta for a long time, he said. “We’re just the first people to say we’re doing it.”

Ratner pointed to other successful pri-

vate schools in the community with low-er and high schools.

“One of the things about the K-through-12 model that struck me is that most of the leading independent schools – not necessarily Jewish schools – wheth-er its Woodward, Pace or Paideia or West-minster, all have adopted this uniform K-through-12 model.”

Erica Gal, a parent with children in

preschool and kindergarten at the school, said that continuity is what attracted her to Atlanta Jewish Academy. While it’s her second year involved with the school, she said that she was aware in the beginning of a possible merger.

“It’s important to us because we do see our involvement in the school and where we put our kids in terms of a long-term commitment,” she said. “As parents we’re thrilled and excited about the possibility of our kids growing up in this system that takes them from children to adults.”

Ratner said a full school also helps from a fundraising perspective.

“It gives you a much longer life of a family,” he said, “instead of the fami-ly starting in kindergarten and by the time they get to grade 6 or 7 they are al-ready looking at different options. . . . You want families to develop that long-term fundraising relationship that says, ‘Hey, we’re going to get you on a program where you’re going to make a donation every year for the next 10 years.’ You get them bought into the programs. So from a fundraising and investment perspective it is absolutely the winning model.”

The school’s name, too, leaves space at the front, in case a major donor comes through during the school’s fundraising. Names were solicited from board and steering committee members, and then a survey was sent to the board, with sur-vey results later analyzed. Possible names were categorized, but “academy” was a name that popped up frequently.

“‘Academy’ gives a sense of education-al quality,” Ratner said. “‘Jewish’ identi-fies who we are.”

Right now the schools remain on their respective campuses. But the plan is for the high school to eventually move to the Sandy Springs campus adjacent to the theater arts building. The Yeshiva campus will then be turned into a sports com-plex, retaining its state-of-the-art gym, and adding a soccer field, baseball dia-mond and tennis court.

“I would not be shocked, when oth-er schools see the energy that this kind of combined institute can create, if there were other similar mergers going up very quickly,” Hecht said.

PHOTOS BY ANN MARIE QUILL AND DEVI KNAPP, ATLANTA JEWISH ACADEMY

Top, Atlanta Jewish Academy student Sophia Harris. Above, left, Ian Ratner, chairman of the Atlanta Jewish Academy

board, with Head of School Rabbi Pinchos Hecht. Left, from left, students Ariela Bland, Shimon

Horwitz and Rayut Shmuel.


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Sandy Springs Sprint Saturday, Sept. 27, 8 a.m. – Woodland Elemen-tary School holds its second Sandy Springs Sprint, a 5K Family Run/Walk fundraiser. Adults, $20; child, $10. No charge or registration for children 3 years and under. Rain or shine. No pets, bikes or scooters. Strollers allowed. Kids’ Fun Run begins at 9 a.m. Proceeds benefit the school. Park at North Springs High School, 7447 Roswell Rd., Sandy Springs, 30328. For further information and to register, go to: www.sandyspringssprint.com.

Open Arms Festival

Saturday, Sept. 27, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. – The festival, an annual fundraiser, benefits Open Arms Lutheran Child Development Center, a not-

for-profit ministry of The Lutheran Church of the Ascension. $5 bracelet provides unlimited access to games, bounce houses, pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting and more. Sand art cart for additional fee. For toddlers and young children ages 6 and un-der. 4000 Roswell Rd., NE, Atlanta, 30342. Visit: www.openarmsbuckhead.org or call 404-256-1330 with questions.

Howl-O-Weenie Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. – The an-nual Howl-O-Weenie festival benefits DREAM Dachshund Rescue. Free admission. All are wel-come to enjoy. Festivities include howling con-test, costume contests and doxie races. Also features a silent auction, microchipping, face kissing con-test, hot dog lunches and beer for sale. Brook Run Park, 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody, 30338. For additional details and the schedule, visit: www.dreamrescue.org.

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

Swing Night

Thursday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m. – Peachtree Road United Methodist Church kicks off its music sea-son by welcoming Joe Gransden and his Big Band for a night of swing music, dancing and fun. Tick-ets, $25. Enjoy light appetizers and dessert through-out the evening. In the church’s Fellowship Hall. Childcare available with reservation. Buy tickets and find out more at: www.prumc.org. For addition-al information, call the church’s music department at 404-240-8212. 3180 Peachtree Rd., Atlanta, 30305.

Pottery on the PorchSaturday, Sept. 27, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. – Chas-tain Arts Center presents the 2nd annual Pottery on the Porch, Artists show, where onsite artists sell both thrown and hand-built works. Food trucks, Raku demonstration, hourly door prizes from art-ists. Free. Open to the community. 135 West Wieu-ca Rd., NW, Atlanta, 30342. Call 404-252-2927 for details.


out & about


Local photographers bringcolor to area libraries

BY MATHA NODARExhibitions at two Buckhead libraries

showcase works by local photographers this month.

Ruth Gogel of Buckhead and Ale-ta Aaron of Sandy Springs join fellow members of the Buckhead-based Atlan-ta Artists Center in displaying images at the Buckhead branch and at the North-side branch of the Atlanta-Fulton Coun-ty Public Library System.

Buckhead BranchThe “Tenth AAC Photography Ex-

hibit at the Buckhead Public Library” runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 27, and in-

cludes 70 pieces by Aaron, Gay Allen, Cheryl and Paul D’Amato, Nathan Dean, Judith Dunne, David Foster, Louise Georges, Joe Hoyle, Al John-son, Nafisa Shariff, Russell Streur, Cole Thomas and Saul Torres.

This exhibit is part of the Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival, an an-nual event promoting the art of photog-raphy in Atlanta for the last 16 years.

Aaron’s “Autumn Joy” is one of the images included in the exhibit.

While walking outside her home, Aaron noticed a multicolor array of fall-en leaves had gathered together in a path almost floating in a slate of water.

“It had rained the night before,” she said. “The rain had made the leaves fall

ALETA AARON

Aleta Aaron’s “Autumn Joy,” on display at the Buckhead Branch Library, was snapped outside her home.

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EventsWhat: “AAC Exhibit at the Northside Public Library”Where: Northside Public Library, 3295 Northside Pkwy., Atlanta, 30327, 404-814-3508When: Oct 2 through Oct. 30Admission: FreeLibrary Hours: Mon, Wed: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.Tues 12-8 p.m.Thurs 2-6 p.m.Sat 1-5 p.m.

What: “Tenth AAC Photography Exhibit at the Buckhead Public Library”Where: Buckhead Public Library, 269 Buckhead Ave., Atlanta, 30305, 404-814-3500When: Sept. 30 through Oct. 27Reception, free to the public: Sat. Oct. 4, 2:30-4:30 p.m.Admission: Free Library Hours: Mon, Thurs: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues 2-6 p.m. Wed 12-8 p.m. Sat 1-5 p.m.

down from my Japanese Maple tree.”Aaron turned around and got her

camera. Fellow AAC members Valerie Gruner

and Robert Kelly off ered their views on Aaron’s image.

“We don’t often get to see the tree leaves preserved in such a lovely, deli-cate pattern,” Kelly said. “Th e colors are wonderful!”

“I feel like the joy in Aleta’s image is the near celebratory scatter of the color,

like confetti,” Gruner said. “Th e love-ly wet aspect of it makes one practically feel the crispness in the air.”

Gruner is exhibiting her work at the Northside Branch along with Gogel, Jim Freeman, Grace Hawthorne and Streur.

Northside BranchTh e “AAC Exhibit at the Northside

Public Library” consists of 10 pieces and runs from Oct. 2 to Oct. 30. Th is ex-hibit is not formally associated with the ACP annual event.

Gogel’s “Ready to Go” is one of the photos included in this exhibit, which shows a pile of boats in the sand at a ma-rina in Florida ready to be launched into the water.

She said this is a repeated theme in her compositions. “I love the water and the marine motif,” Gogel said.

Recalling her youth, Gogel said her family frequently spent their vacations

RUTH GOGEL

“Ready to Go,” by Ruth Gogel, shows a pile of boats in the Florida sand, and can be seen at the Northside Branch Library.

at Michigan’s upper peninsula, where she and her father would go fi shing.

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During the high holy days -- which begin at sunset Sept. 24 with the start of Rosh Hashanah -- Jews awaken spiritually to examine their deeds and atone with their creator.

Rabbis in Reporter Newspapers com-munities say they seek to provide inspi-ration and healing in sermon topics.

In Dunwoody, Rabbi Mark Zim-merman, of the Congregation Beth Shalom, compares the importance of Rosh Hashanah to the Super Bowl. “It’s the Super Bowl of Jewish spirituality,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to take stock of life, pause and see where we are as indi-viduals and as a community.”

It’s a time when Rabbi Analia Bortz, of Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs, leads her congregation “to show with pride who we are by the contributions we’ve done for the world.”

Her sermon will speak out against the vandalism in synagogues and the murder of Jewish reporters in Europe, and she said she will call her congre-gation to action without vengeance. “The idea is about taking action by producing more contributions to the world,” she said.

Zimmerman said the high holy hol-idays involve spiritually reconnecting to our world, which is often driven by secular concerns.

“We don’t have as much time to pause and ask why we’re here and what is this life all about,” he said,

Part of taking stock is what is go-ing on in the larger community, Zim-merman said, noting the “frighten-ing growth of anti-Semitism around the world.” He described a sanctuary, which is required to have windows, and how those windows remind those inside of the outside world.

“People are disconnecting spiritu-ally. Oour job is to reconnect them spiritually to the Jewish community,” Zimmerman said. “Anti-Zionism is the new anti-Semitism.”

Rabbi Neil Sandler of Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Buckhead also plans to discuss Israel during Rosh Hashanah.

“I’ve been a rabbi more than 30 years, and I try to bring a message of current import, like this sermon, and then I always want to make certain I bring a more personally introspective

Rabbi Mark Zimmerman

Rabbi Neil Sandler

Rabbi Analia Bortz

Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla

Rosh Hashanah marks period of reflection, atonement

CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

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Blasts from ram’s horn announce Jewish New Year

ISADORA PENNINGTON

Bruce Duner blows the shofar at Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs.


Th e Jewish New Year starts with the emotion-stirring call from a ram’s horn, an instrument known as the shofar.

Signaling a call to ac-tion, shofar blowers reso-nate with the words from the Torah, asking con-gregations to commem-orate the sacred occasion of Rosh Hashanah with loud blasts.

Th e high holy holidays start the Jewish calendar over, and faithful members look inward to refl ect on the year in terms of deeds and their relationship with God.

At the Congregation Or Hadash, locat-ed in Sandy Springs, generations are rep-resented by the alternating roles of two

shofar blowers. Bruce Duner, a man in his 50s, and Adam Rosenfeld, a man in his 20s, have been blowing the shofar for about six years.

Rabbi Analia Bortz said these two do a mag-

nifi cent job blowing the shofar. “Tears come out of your eyes when

they blow the shofar,” she said. “[It’s] a CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

To hear the shofar, read this article on our website at ReporterNewspapers.net

SS

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most pristine and beautiful sound.”Duner, who had played trombone from

middle school through college, thought he would use that experience when he vol-unteered to blow shofar for services at Or Hadash. But it turned out his years with the trombone only helped a little -- shofars have no mouthpiece attachment or pitch control and the sound is created only by the shape of the horn itself and the posi-tioning of the player’s lips.

Duner found his shofar in 2008, when he visited Israel for his son’s bar mitzvah.

“I’d always wanted to buy one,” Dun-er said, adding that a “shofar has to choose you—like Harry Potter’s wand.”

Visiting various shops in Israel, Duner said some stores displayed decorated sho-fars and made a big deal out of their ar-rangements, but the place where Duner found his shofar simply had several horns stuff ed in a box.

“I started pulling a bunch out and the second or third one I tried, I said ‘Th at’s it!’” Duner said. “I just looked at my wife and she smiled.”

Now, Duner said he displays his shofar above the fi replace in his liv-ing room and takes it down to blow it during the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah.

Or Hadash’s younger shofar blow-

er, Rosenfeld, who attends Kennesaw State University, said he starts practicing a month and a half before the holidays to build up his lung capacity.

He believes he had a bit of natural tal-ent, but his practicing since he was “just a kid” helped him develop the lung strength needed to produce the sounds. Th e fi rst year he blew the instrument, he said, “I was exhausted.”

“Another gentleman, who was sup-posed to blow that year, couldn’t come to synagogue because his kid was sick,” Rosenfeld said. “So I stepped up.”

He said he felt he performed “okay,” but does a much better job now. His role as one of two shofar blowers makes him feel like he is helping out his community and the rabbis, he said.

“It’s nice to be up there; it’s my favorite part of the service,” Rosenfeld said. “For me, it’s a breathing exercise because I’m not very musically accomplished—except for this.”

Duner said the fi rst year he and Rosen-feld worked together, they practiced be-forehand. Now, they alternate blowing the 100 notes necessary during the day-long service.

“It’s an honor to be able to blow shofar for the community, a huge honor,” Duner said. “And it’s nice we can volunteer, but if other people want to do it, we fi nd a way.”

and personal message also,” Sandler said.

Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla, of Congre-gation Or Veshalom in Brookhaven, said he will talk about healing after a dif-fi cult summer, noting one of the central prayers of Rosh Hashanah asks to let the

year end with all its curses and negativ-ity, and let the new year bring blessings.

“We need to focus on the positive, the miracles of the land of Israel, the miracles of the Jewish people and the miracle of Jewish existence, and the hope of a serene and joyous new year,” he said.

A time of refl ection, atonementCONTINUED FROM PAGE 32


Blasts from ram’s horn announce Jewish New Year

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C O M M U N I T Y


Developer may cut height of Northpark project

City Council defers vote on Franklin Road development

ing director at Hines. The company has requested a zoning

change for 14.3 acres of land at Peachtree Dunwoody, Abernathy and Mount Ver-non roads from office to mixed use, which would allow for the apartments, as well as a use permit for the office tow-er to exceed maximum height require-ments.

In July, the council deferred a vote on the project for 60 days to study traffic in the area. City staff members and the city Planning Commission have recom-mended the council approve the North-park project with some conditions, saying it fit into Sandy Springs’ Com-prehensive Plan and Live Work Region-al district.

Critics have said a 50-story office tower would be the tallest in the area and would change the city’s landscape. They say the project would bring too much traffic to an already-congested area.

Ferris said he requested the deferral so that city staff could analyze the new proposal, which also reduces office space by 150,000 square feet and retail by 50,000 square feet.

“We think we’ve made significant

improvements and are very close” to a solution,” Ferris said, adding that the company is still willing to make road in-frastructure improvements that it had previously proposed.

Those improvements include a northbound and additional southbound turning lanes on Peachtree Dunwoody, dual eastbound turning lanes on Mount Vernon, restriping the Mount Vernon bridge for two westbound lanes, con-structing a dedicated westbound right turn lane on Mount Vernon, a left turn eastbound lane on Mount Vernon, pe-destrian sidewalks and bike lanes.

Councilman Gabriel Sterling, who rep-resents District 4, where the project is lo-cated, made the motion to defer the vote.

“I think we want to see mixed use and good quality mixed use,” he said. “We gave the 60-day deferral so that we could get a handle on traffic [in the area].” But, he ex-pressed frustration that a new proposal had not been worked on earlier.

Councilman John Paulson said he liked the idea of mixed-use projects in the area, and that the Northpark project would change office space to a place where peo-ple could both live and work. It’s a “great direction for this property,” he said.


The Sandy Springs City Council on Sept. 16 granted a 60-day deferral to a proposed development at Franklin and Roswell roads that would replace the Park 225 apartments.

The delay will allow The Providence Group to continue working with neigh-bors to address concerns that the project is too dense.

On Aug. 21, the city’s Planning Com-mission recommended the deferral, stat-ing that while redeveloping the property is needed, the proposed density is too high.

The developers have requested rezon-

ing the property to allow a mix of town-homes and apartments as well as a permit to exceed the height allowance.

“We are in support of the deferral,” said resident John Stembridge, who was speak-ing to the council on behalf of the West-field Park neighborhood, next to the site. He said neighbors think the development as proposed would destroy the character of the area. But, he said that talks with the developers were going in the right direc-tion. “We did feel like there was positive momentum from the developer,” he said. “They did propose some revisions.”

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


SANDY SPRINGS NOTICE OF VARIANCE PETITION

Petition Number: 201402837

Petitioner: Elizabeth Weiner

Location: 4600 Roswell Road

Request: Primary variance from Section 33.22.H.2 to allow wall signs on non-street facing walls for buildings A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

Public Hearings: Board of Appeals October 9, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

Location: Sandy Springs City Hall, Morgan Falls Office Park 7840 Roswell Road, Building 500 Sandy Springs, Georgia 30350 770-730-5600

SANDY SPRINGS NOTICE OF REZONING


Petitioner: Mt. Vernon Estates, LLC

Property Location: 358 Mt. Vernon Hwy

Present Zoning: R-1 (Single Family Dwelling District)

Request: To rezone the subject property to R-2A (Single Family Dwelling District), with concurrent variances.

Public Hearings: Planning Commission September 18, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

Mayor and City Council October 21, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.

Location: Sandy Springs City Hall, Morgan Falls Office Park 7840 Roswell Road, Building 500, Sandy Springs, Georgia 30350 770-730-5600



Petitioner: Ted Meleky

Location: 7060 Glenridge Drive

Request: Primary variance from Section 109-225 (a) (1) & (2) of the Stream Buffer Protection Ordinance for relief from the seventy-five (75) foot impervious surface setback and fifty (50) foot undisturbed buffer.





Petitioner: Jarrett Jack

Location: 310 Heards Ferry Road

Request: Primary variance from Section 6.2.3.C and 6.2.3.D of the Zoning Ordinance to reduce the required side and rear setbacks for construction of an accessory structure.



Police BlotterThe following incidents and ar-rests are some but not all of

the reports fi led with SSPD over the listed period, dated from

Sept. 1 through Sept. 12.

The following information was provided by the Sandy Springs Police Department from its records and is presumed to be accurate.

ROBBERY � 8000 block of Adair Lane 30350—On

Sept. 1, a 24-year-old woman reported that around 5:30 p.m, she was on Adair Lane near Morgan Falls Road, in her car, when a man came from the bushes and ordered her out of the car. Th e man drove off . He was described as about 30 years old, 5-foot 9-inches and slim. He had a white shirt and jeans.

� 1000 block of Sunnybrook Farm Road 30328—On Sept. 2, an 86-year-old woman said she heard her alarm go off at around 3 a.m. She said a man came into her room and told her to be quiet, and then opened some drawers before leaving. She didn’t know who the man was, and she didn’t get a good look at him. Offi cers found signs of forced entry. She said the only ac-tivity out of the ordinary was that a man had come to the door recently trying to sell meat, but she didn’t know if the man sounded the same. She was not injured.

� 6600 block of Peachtree Dunwoody Road 30328 – On Sept. 7, a 20-year-old woman reported that around 1 p.m. she was walking in the parking garage, when a man with a gun approached her. He took her “Beats” headphones, wallet and cellphone, and then ran off . He was de-scribed as a man in his 20s, with a deep voice, and dirty blond hair sticking out of a black hoodie pulled over his face. He wore gray sweats and had a black gun, slightly larger than his hand.

� Trowbridge Road 30350—On Sept. 9, a 21-year-old delivery driver for a small restaurant said that around 9:30 p.m. he was driving on Trowbridge Road, when a young man jumped in front of his car. He stopped, opened the door and got out to ask the man what he was doing. Two more young men came out of bush-es they were hiding behind and pulled a gun. Th ey took about $80 and the vic-tim’s phone, and then fl ed to the near-by wooded area. Th e man’s supervisor had some doubts about the victim’s sto-ry, which led to a (later) altercation be-tween the two.

� 6500 block of Roswell Road 30328—On Sept. 11, just before 5 p.m., two peo-ple entered a store and asked about get-ting a money order. Th e pair briefl y left and then re-entered the store. A man jumped the counter and began beating the store owner, while a woman jumped

the counter and began beating the own-er’s wife. Th e owner and his wife were then tied up and put in the bathroom. Th e suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash and the victim’s cellphone. Both victims had to be transported to North Fulton Hospital.

BURGLARY � 4000 block of Merlendale Court

30342—On Sept. 1, a resident said sev-eral yard tools were taken from his ga-rage overnight. He had been working on one of the tools, and he left the garage

door open over-night. Missing is a weed eater, blow-er, chainsaw and lawn mower.

� 5800 block of Roswell Road 30328 – On Sept. 6, a cigar store alarm activated just before 2 a.m. Offi cers found that someone threw a rock through the storefront window and took a cash register and about $600 cash.

�Mount Paran Road 30342—On Sept. 6, a woman said that around 4:15 p.m. she pulled into the driveway of a resi-dence and saw several juveniles fl ee from the home and into nearby woods. Th ree of them were still on the scene and told police that the owner’s son invited them to come over to drink some beer and play beer pong on the ping-pong table. Th e woman did not want to prosecute. Th e juveniles were turned over to parents.

THEFT � 6400 block of Roswell Road—An em-

ployee at Roswell Package Store, locat-ed in the 6400 block of Roswell Road, called on Sept. 6 and reported that a man came into the store and placed a bottle under his shirt and pants. Th e employee saw him and told him he was calling the cops. Th e man placed the bottle on the counter and then ran out.

� 6000 block of Barfi eld Road—On Sept. 7, a woman reported a theft, say-ing that she thought she lost her iPad. She bought a new one and when she reg-istered it, she found out that her old iPad was re-registered in the name of her for-mer roommate.

� A woman reported that just before 7 p.m., a man came into the business and inquired about services. She gave him a card (she was with a client) and she as-sumed he left. He apparently went be-

CAPTAIN STEVE ROSE, [email protected]

Read more of the Police Blotter online at

www.reporternewspapers.net

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Petitioner: JW Homes, LLC

Property Location: 120 & 130 West Wieuca Road

Present Zoning: A-O (Apartment-Office District)

Request: To rezone the subject property to A (Medium Density Apartment District), with concurrent variances.






Petitioner: Theodore A. Speaker

Location: 355 Forest Valley Court

Request: Primary variance from Section 18.5.B of the Zoning Ordinance to allow parking/vehicle storage outside of the buildable area.





Petitioner: Quik Trip

Property Location: 200 Hanover Park Drive

Present Zoning: O-I (Office and Institutional District)

Request: To rezone the subject property to C-1 (Community Business District), with concurrent variances.






Petitioner: Edge City Properties, Inc.

Property Location: 6860 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd and 1000 Peachtree Dunwoody Ct.

Present Zoning: O-I (Office and Institutional District)

Request: To rezone the subject property to A (Medium Density Apartment District), with concurrent variances.






Petitioner: Jeff and Doris Muir

Location: 5125 Marbury Circle

Request: Primary variance from section 6.2.3.D of the Zoning Ordinance to reduce the required forty (40) foot rear yard setback to fifteen (15) feet to allow construction of a single family dwelling unit.



hind the front desk looking into the drawers, went down the hallway looking in rooms, and then took $330 from an employee’s purse. He is about 6 feet tall feet and bald. He wore glasses.

� A tool rental company reported on Sept. 3 that a man rented a saw blade on July 22 and had not returned it. He owed more than $1,000 on it, and they had made a number of unsuccessful calls to recover the item.

� A 25-year-old woman reported the fol-lowing: she and another woman, whom she did not know, got into an argu-ment over a $300 tab. The other woman, whom she does not know, took her Sprint phone and Bluetooth headset. This hap-pened around 2 a.m.

� A 38-year-old man said he was evicted and his belongings were put on the street. He said a 50-inch and a 32-inch televi-sion were taken.

� A woman reported that a bottle of io-dine was stolen from a package in her mailbox.

ARRESTS �Cops were called to the Wyndam Hotel

on Powers Ferry just after 2 a.m. on a do-mestic assault. A woman and a man were in a discussion on the topic of ménage a trios, and somehow it turned ugly and the man pushed his wife down, which in-jured her. He was later arrested. No third party was involved.

�Willow Glen 30328—On Sept. 7, po-lice were called to meet a woman regard-ing the theft of her TV. Several other peo-ple, including the suspect, were still on the scene. The suspect said he took the 32-inch TV to an area in Atlanta called the “Bluff” and sold it for $40 worth of heroin. He was arrested.

OTHER THINGS �While on a traffic stop on I-285, an of-

ficer smelled marijuana from the car. The driver denied having marijuana, the offi-cer found it, and the man was cited for it.

�On Sept. 10, an officer involved in a road safety check, stopped a car and smelled marijuana. The driver said he

smoked it earlier in the day. The officer found a small amount on him and issued him a citation.

� An occupant of a home on Lafayette Court said a man came to the house to solicit putting pine straw in the yard. He quoted $130. He was told to come back later and speak with the homeowner. He later came over and spread $1,357 worth of pine straw, claiming the resident gave him permission to put down “as much as necessary.” He was charging $4.50 a bale. Receipts later showed he paid $3.85 at a nursery in Chamblee. The husband was contacted and came home and said he did not hire anyone to do this work and would not have approved $1,357 of pine straw work. Police found that the same man soliciting without a permit earli-er in the week, and he was told to leave. The man had 13 bales of pine straw in his truck that he had not put down, but that he had charged the homeowner for. The homeowner later agreed to pay for what was put on the ground and the pine straw guy was charged with soliciting without a permit.

� Just before midnight, a patrol officer spotted a Mercedes having problems stay-ing in the lane so he stopped it. He no-ticed the driver and passenger switching seats. The man had a suspended license, and was arrested and taken to jail. The passenger was cited, but released to drive the car with permission of the owner.

� 8600 block of Roberts Drive — Detec-tives, following up on some tips through the Sandy Springs Police Department, ar-rested a man at an apartment. The man had several pieces of different identifi-cation, and had in his possession a sto-len car that he had rented, but never turned in. That led to a search warrant, and that led to numerous documents of driver’s licenses, Social Security num-bers, email addresses, a machine to clone credit cards, various credit, debit, and gift cards in multiple names, several cell-phones, and a couple of laptops. The man was charged with felony theft by decep-tion and multiple counts of forgery in the second degree. Two outstanding Ful-ton County warrants were active on the man for cruelty to children and failure to register as a sex offender.

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P E TS E R V I C E S

D I R E C T O R Y

nade launchers that launch tear gas.”Dunwoody’s BearCat has been used

only a half-dozen or so times since the city bought it, Grogan said. It’s mostly deployed “to transport the [North Met-ro] SWAT Team in safety” during con-frontations with hostage-takers or other dangerous situations, Grogan said. “We think it’s a good tool to keep offi cers and citizens safe,” he said.

And Sandy Springs’ Hummer is used only for parades and community events, including the recent National Night Out, SSPD Sgt. Ronald Momon said.

Still, many similarities exist between police and the military when it comes to training, preparedness and discipline, police say.

DeSimone, who retired from the United States Marine Corps Reserve, said he believes a military background is good for local police offi cers because the training acts as an equalizing experience.

“People from all races, all walks of life and all economic classes,” work to-gether in the military, DeSimone said. “You have the rich people coming in and

the poor people coming in. It’s the great equalizer.”

Momon, who has 15 years’ military experience, says law enforcement agen-cies model themselves after the mili-tary in rank structure, grooming and uniform appearance, physical fi tness and discipline.

“Th e main aspect of the military train-ing as it relates to law enforcement is main-ly the discipline as-pect,” Momon said. “In my opinion, this prepares you better to handle the dangers and stress of law en-forcement.”

Grogan agrees. “Th e military is a structured environment, and struc-ture transfers well into a police environ-ment,” Grogan said.

But applying a military mindset to policing local communities sometimes can get police offi cers into trouble, he

said. While he doesn’t have military ex-perience, he believes it’s good to hire of-fi cers who have been honorably dis-charged from the military.

Grogan said a diff erence lies in whether a group is policing a group of

people or an individ-ual. Grogan said po-lice have to make sure their response to any given situation is ap-propriate. “Common sense is the num-ber one trait of a good police offi cer,” DeSimone said.

Grogan says po-lice must stay en-gaged with commu-nities they serve. “In general, it’s impor-tant for the depart-

ment to have a good relationship with the community,” Grogan said, adding that when a relationship is developed between police and the community as in Dunwoody, then a crisis, if one were to occur, would be better worked out.

Training makes a great diff erence when it comes to police use of military gear, said Sandy Springs police Capt. Rob Stevens, commander of the North Metro SWAT Team. Th e SWAT Team’s main functions include drug raids and executing high-risk warrants, he said, noting Sandy Springs has had three hos-tage rescue situations since 2006.

“We [SSPD] have a specialty unit for riots,” Stevens said. “When you mix units to do the same job, you create is-sues. Long guns and SWAT teams don’t need to be in a riot.” Stevens joined the Sandy Springs department in 2006, af-ter 20 years with the Fulton County Po-lice Department. In 2009, he helped create the North Metro Multi-jurisdic-tional SWAT Team that he commands. “Th ey are cross-trained in active shoot-er situations,” he said, adding that the SWAT Team is “not there for off ensive, but defensive; to rescue.”

Stevens said the SWAT Team doesn’t want to be portrayed as a bunch of tat-tooed tough guys scaring the communi-ty. “We want people to know we’re there to help,” he said.


“We want people to know we’re there to help.”

– ROB STEVENS

SANDY SPRINGS POLICE CAPTAIN

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Carve a pathThe Trail Blazers, a volunteer patrol for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, along with National Park Service Ranger Sean Williams, took care of some park maintenance on Sept. 6. Far left, John Purcell maneuvers the “Ditch Witch” to rough in a new mountain bike and hiking path in Cochran Shoals in Sandy Springs. Left, Kerstin Bagus, left, and Greg Zell help clear the way.


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Dads’ Bucket List

Mom gets a break while Dad & Kids (ages 4-14)team up to try challenges & obstacles inspiredby TV shows like Survivor

October 25, 2014(2 hr time slots open from 10am-6pm)

Dunwoody (Brook Run Park)

Register now at: www.dadsbucketlist.com

Want to see your business here?Contact us about event sponsorships

Event proudly supports Bert’s Big Adventurein making a difference in the lives of childrenwith chronic & terminal illnesses

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09-19-2014 Sandy Springs Reporter

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Transcript of 09-19-2014 Sandy Springs Reporter