Community News

ATLANTA

Holiday display on TV to get Atlanta touch

The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau and designers at Abcom Inc. have teamed up for the annual seasonal showcase of American cities on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

More than 4.3 million viewers are expected to tune in Thursday morning when Mayor Shirley Franklin unveils the holiday window. Atlanta was one of three cities chosen to create a window to be displayed in GMA’s ground level studios windows in New York’s Times Square for the remainder of the year.

The window showcases such Atlanta landmarks as the Fox Theatre and Centennial Olympic Park, which are encompassed in a 13.5-foot-wide snow globe.

“Good Morning America” airs 7 to 9 a.m. on ABC.

—- Staff reports

CLAYTON COUNTY

Grandparents raising children gather Friday

Grandparents raising children are invited to celebrate the holidays at the Kinship Care Resource Center.

The resource center will have a free open house Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 849 Battlecreek Road, Jonesboro. Homemade desserts and activities will be available.

The Kinship Care Center is for grandparents and other relatives raising children in homes without parents. The center offers support groups, computer training, tutoring and other services.

—- Megan Matteucci

Gang awareness forum planned Thursday

The Clayton County school system will host a gang awareness forum Thursday featuring judges, police, ministers, government leaders and school officials.

Superintendent John Thompson and County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell will discuss their visions for the school district and how it relates to gang violence. The forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mundy’s Mill High School in Jonesboro.

Four Clayton students have been shot and killed since late October. Two of the shootings have possible gang ties, police said. None of the shootings occurred on school property.

—- Megan Matteucci

COBB COUNTY

SAT prep class helps boost test readiness

In its second year, a free SAT preparation course, funded in part by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, has boosted the practice test scores of 90 percent of participants.

The 510 high school juniors from the Cobb and Marietta systems who participated in “Project 2400” saw up to a 610-point jump in scores between an initial diagnostic test and the practice SAT at the end of the course. The average SAT score of the participants at the end of the course —- 1,490 out of a possible 2,400.

The program will be extended for a third year. For more information, contact Linda Hoynes at 770- 426-3390 or linda.hoynes@cobbk12.org.

—- Alexis Stevens

I-285 ramp signals activated this week

Three interstate access ramp signals will be activated on I-285 in Cobb County by Thursday.

Signals at Cobb Parkway, Paces Ferry Road and Atlanta Road onto I-285 southbound were turned on Tuesday. This morning, ramp meters, as the lights are called, will be activated at Hollowell Parkway, Atlanta Road and Paces Ferry Road onto the northbound interstate.

This afternoon, ramp meters at South Cobb Drive, Bolton Road and Hollowell Parkway onto I-285 southbound are to be turned on, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Ramp meters, which resemble standard traffic lights, are turned on just before heavy rush hour traffic begins and are turned off at the end of the peak traffic period. They are timed to allow one vehicle at a time to merge in to interstate traffic.

—- Kay Powell

DEKALB COUNTY

Those opposed to annexation speak out

A standing-room-only crowd at a public hearing Monday appeared to oppose Decatur’s consideration of adding two large neighborhoods and commercial strips to the city’s borders.

A city study shows that Decatur, which relies mostly on property taxes for revenue, will need to raise taxes if it doesn’t annex property. However, the annexation of Forrest Hills and Midway Woods could add about 450 students to the school district, a significant impact on the small district. It was this that helped quash earlier talk of annexation.

Those concerns remained a common theme for city residents who appeared before the City Commission on Monday night. The majority of those at the meeting, however, were residents in the areas to be annexed, said city spokeswoman Linda Harris. Many wanted to avoid an increase in taxes that would come with being annexed.

The City Commission is slated to vote on whether to pursue annexation at its Dec. 15 meeting. The city school district is expected to vote on the issue sometime before that meeting, though no date has been set.

—- April Hunt

Decatur city manager wins state award

Decatur’s longtime city manager has earned a statewide honor from her peers for her governmental leadership.

The Georgia City/County Management Association named Peggy Merriss its sole recipient of the Pillar of Professional Excellence Award at its fall conference in Albany.

The honor praises Merriss for championing local government, acting in an ethical and consistent manner and mentoring other government workers.

Merriss has been city manager since 1993 and has helped earn the city numerous state and national awards for ethics, development and other issues.

She was elected the first female president of the International City/County Management Association in 2002 and serves on the board of the Alliance for Innovation and the Municipal Policy Committee of the Georgia Municipal Association. Merriss has worked for Decatur since 1983.

—- April Hunt

FULTON COUNTY

Roswell Reads picks novel about neighbors

Volunteers for a citywide effort to promote reading have selected “Them,” a debut novel by author Nathan McCall, as the Roswell Reads book for 2009.

The novel examines race relations in an historic Atlanta neighborhood, the Old Fourth Ward, through the eyes of two neighbors.

From January through March, the city of Roswell will promote book discussions, programs and events centered around the novel. McCall is expected to be the featured guest at a literary luncheon on March 28.

—- Mary MacDonald

GWINNETT COUNTY

Snellville school one of four to win award

Brookwood High School has been named a Georgia School of Excellence.

One of four high schools in the state to receive the honor, Brookwood earned the award because of the rising reading and math standardized test scores of its students. The Gwinnett County public school is ranked in the top 10 percent of Georgia campuses for its success in those areas, according to state officials.

Brookwood principal Debbie Dees thanked students and staff for their hard work and community members for their support. “As I was told the news, I immediately felt a tremendous sense of pride for our students and staff,” she said. “It’s an honor to receive such a prestigious award that recognizes our commitment to the students and community of the Brookwood Cluster.”

The state’s Schools of Excellence will be celebrated at a special banquet on Jan. 23 at the Georgia International Conference Center in Atlanta.

—- D. Aileen Dodd

GREATER ATLANTA

Henry County SPLOST road work discussed

The Henry County SPLOST Department will host a public information meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 11 in the Government Annex Community Room in McDonough.

The meeting is to discuss road improvements planned for South Bethany Road from Coan to Philadelphia, which will include straightening two dangerous curves along the roadway. This is a designated SPLOST III project that is being funded by the 1-cent sales tax. The public is invited to attend and comment .

For more information about this or any other SPLOST project, please visit www.co.henry.ga.us/splost.

The Government Annex Community Room is at 116 S. Zack Hinton Parkway in McDonough.

—- John Hollis

Public to comment on Forsyth budget cuts

Forsyth County commissioners will open the floor for public comment Thursday on a proposed 2009 county budget that eliminates planned raises for government workers and 23 jobs.

The slumping economy is forcing the commission to slash general fund spending to reflect a 16.4 percent drop in revenues. Two public hearings are planned, with the first being at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Forsyth County Administration Building in Cumming, the second at 5 p.m. Dec. 18.

The budget calls for rescinding raises approved last May for 2009, including 4.3 percent cost-of-living increases for all employees and merit raises averaging 3 percent.

—- Nancy Badertscher