County by county for Thursday

“It has been an honor to serve as superintendent for the school district I attended as a child and where I started my teaching career,” said Hinojosa in a statement. Jaime Sarrio

Finalists named for Powder Springs chief

Three finalists were announced at Monday night’s Powder Springs City Council meeting to be the city’s next police chief.

Finalists include the city’s interim police chief, Maj. Tom Arnold, a veteran of the Cobb police force for around 30 years; Jeffrey Pearce, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and William Sewell, police chief for McMinnville, Tennessee. Carolyn Cunningham for the AJC

3 communities offer outdoor concerts

Acworth, Kennesaw and Smyrna will have free outdoor concerts Saturday . Acworth’s Love the Lake music series starts 8 p.m. Saturday with the Sons of Sailors band at Cauble Park on Lake Acworth. The Almost Elton John & the Rocket Band with Craig A. Meyer will be at the Depot, 8 p.m. Saturday, 2828 Cherokee St., Kennesaw. The Rhythm Yard band will perform 7-11 p.m. Saturday at a summer concert series on the Village Green in downtown Smyrna. Tucker McQueen for the AJC

No foot traffic over railroad during events

Pedestrian traffic will no longer be allowed at the Cherokee Street railroad crossing in Kennesaw during special events at Depot Park. Walkers will be directed to use a pedestrian underpass which connects the park with Main Street. Outdoor concerts on June 11 and July 3 will be the first two events affected. Information: 770-424-8274 Janel Davis

District gets input on rebuilding school

The Cobb County school district held a public forum Tuesday at Campbell Middle School to hear what the residents’ thoughts on which of three elementary school should be rebuilt. The new elementary school will replace either Brown, Argyle or Belmont elementary school. The decision will be in 2012, said Doug Shepard, chief administrative officer for Cobb County school district. Elise Hitchcock

Six Flags walk to benefit children

Six Flags Over Georgia will open early Sunday for a charity walk to raise money for child medical care. Registration for “A Walk in the Park” begins at 7:30 a.m., with the three kilometer walk in Six Flags commencing at 8:30 a.m. Anyone who raises at least $50 gets a free ticket to the park. Proceeds go toward the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a non-profit that raises money for hospitals that serve children. Six Flags is at 275 Riverside Parkway SW in Austell off I-20 west of Atlanta. Register online at walkintheparks.org. Ty Tagami

GWINNETT

Gwinnett man president of mental health group

The Georgia Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the state’s largest mental health advocacy organization, has elected Bill Kissel as its newest president.

Kissel, of Lilburn, is the national director of mental health operations for NaphCare Inc., a correctional health care company. Kissel told Georgia NAMI members he is focused on ensuring Georgians with a mental illness have access to quality treatment and working with Sheriffs around the state to reduce the number of persons with serious mental illness in jails. Andria Simmons

GGC vice president will be interim chief at GCSU

Stas Preczewski, a vice president at Georgia Gwinnett College, will serve as interim president of Georgia College & State University starting July 1.

The college’s current president, Dorothy Leland, is leaving to become president of the University of California, Merced on July 1. Preczewski, vice president for academic and student affairs at GGC, has been with the Lawrenceville college since it opened in 2006. Laura Diamond

Firefighters free girl stuck in pool pipe

Gwinnett County firefighters spent several hours Tuesday night freeing a child’s arm from a swimming pool vacuum line.

Crews sent to an apartment complex pool in the 1700 block of Winter Brook Court near Norcross just before 8:30 p.m. found the 8-year-old girl’s wrist stuck in the line. Firefighters cut the concrete to reach the tube and the girl’s arm.

The child was finally freed from the concrete about 11:20 p.m., and was taken to a local hospital to have the pipe removed from her arm, Eberly said. Mike Morris

County offers training for babysitters

Gwinnett County will offer babysitter training for those age 11 to 15 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday or Saturday.

Young people will receive instruction on basic child care safety, safe play, first aid, professionalism and leadership skills. The cost is $65 for materials and certification by the American Red Cross.

Information kimlafourche@aol.com. Pre-registration and prepayment are required at 770-985-4713. David Wickert

New sidewalks for part of Rockbridge Road

A stretch of Rockbridge Road near Lilburn will get new sidewalks and turn lanes under a contract approved by the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners Tuesday. Commissioners awarded the $959,513 contract to low bidder E.R. Snell Contractor Inc. for work on Rockbridge from Lilburn-Stone Mountain Road to Five Forks Trickum Road. The company will build 1.25 miles of sidewalks, curb and gutter and build new turn lanes. David Wickert

Evermore CID heralds new bridge

The Evermore Community Improvement District will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to formally open the Yellow River Pedestrian Bridge.

The event will start at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Lake Lucerne Road and Highway 78 in Lilburn. Joel Anderson

NORTHSIDE

Forsyth wants to suspend planning commission

The Forsyth County Commission in its Tuesday work session moved by a 3-2 vote (District 3 Commissioner Todd Levent and District 5 Commissioner Jim Boff opposed) to put up for public hearings a plan to suspend the Forsyth County Planning Commission to June 30, 2012 to save money, said District 1 Commissioner Pete Amos, who made the motion. Levent said he is opposed “because I don’t have a problem child on the planning commission.” In an April planning commission meeting Planning Commissioner Matt Murphy called activist Nydia Tisdale a “Nazi.” Jeffry Scott

Distressed homeowners can get help on Twitter

Homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure can talk to a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department-approved housing counselor in a live Twitter chat today from noon to 1 p.m. Also answering questions will be Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann, who is spearheading a daylong Foreclosure Prevention Fair on Saturday at Alpharetta High School. Residents can also ask about affordable housing, down payment assistance and other housing programs. To participate, tweet questions to @FultonInfo and use the hashtag #FChousechat. Johnny Edwards

River race and festival launches Saturday

The 9th Annual Back to the Chattahoochee River Race and Festival takes place Saturday with a 9 a.m. paddle race open to all ages and skill levels. A free festival will be set up at Riverside Park in Roswell, the course’s ending site. On-site registration for the race is $50 for solo paddlers and $70 for tandem, based on capacity. Info: 404-352-9828, www.Chattahoochee.org. Melissa Ruggieri

Forsyth may change vicious animals law

After a lively exchange between commissioners and County Attorney Ken Jarrard, the Forsyth County Commission moved Tuesday to change the county animal control ordinance which has no regulations to protect other animals bitten by dogs, including dogs bitten by dogs, or cats bitten by dogs. The law only declares a dog a dangerous if it bites a human. “How about if a dog bites a bear?” asked Commissioner Pete Amos, “would that be illegal if we change the law?” They moved to make to declare a dog dangerous if it bites a domestic animal. Jeffry Scott

Movie on the Lawn in Sandy Springs

Join the Church of St. Andrew for Movie on the Lawn at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 5855 Riverside Drive, Sandy Springs. The featured film will be “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and free popcorn and hotdogs will be available. Michelle E. Shaw

Cherokee sees uptick in business licenses

Cherokee County saw a rise in business licenses over this time last year. There were 108 business licenses issued in May, up from 94 in May 2010. Many businesses closed last year and few new ones started as the county hit “rock bottom,” Ana Silbernagel, director for the Development Service Center in Cherokee.

People seem more optimistic this year, she said.

Elise Hitchcock

ATLANTA

Mayor Reed on ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, will appear “Meet the Press,” Sunday to discuss whether President Obama can turn the nation’s economic woes around in time for his re-election and to provide analysis on the evolving field of Republican presidential candidates.

Reed is scheduled to be on the roundtable, along with GOP strategist Mike Murphy, author and MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe, and Wall Street Journal columnist Kim Strassel. “Meet the Press” airs at 10 a.m. locally on NBC affiliates. Ernie Suggs

Atlanta lawyer president of state bar

Atlanta lawyer Kenneth Shigley of the firm Chambers, Aholt & Rickard is the new president of the State Bar of Georgia.

Shigley, who will serve a one-year term, became the 49th president of the 42,000-member legal group during the bar’s recent annual meeting in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Other top officers are: president-elect Robin Frazer Clark of Atlanta, treasurer Charles L. Ruffin of Macon and secretary Patrice Perkins-Hooker, the vice president and general counsel of Atlanta BeltLine Inc. Bill Rankin

Atlanta International School taps board chief

Atlanta International School has a new leader on its board of trustees. Deb Sudbury, a partner in the Atlanta office of the international law firm Jones Day, was appointed chair of trustees for the independent school. Sudbury is active with several civic and charitable organizations, including Leadership Atlanta, Communities in Schools and the Woodruff Arts Center. AIS offers a internationally accredited academic curriculum that exposes students to rigor and lessons in dual languages. Students graduate with a International Baccalaureate diploma. D. Aileen Dodd

Family Fiesta Saturday at Silverbacks Park

The Latin American Association will host a free Family Fiesta Saturday . The fun will begin at 11 a.m. at Atlanta Silverbacks Park, 3200 Atlanta Silverbacks Way. For information: 404-471-1892. D. Aileen Dodd

DEKALB

DeKalb Tech president to step down

Robin Hoffman, the president of DeKalb Technical College since 2004, will retire July 31.

Larry Teems, the college’s executive vice president, will serve as acting president, officials announced Wednesday.

Hoffman started with the college 38 years ago as an instructor on the Clarkston campus.

She isn’t leaving higher education. In August she will begin as a vice president with the accrediting agency, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Laura Diamond

Museum School like to get waiver to continue

The Museum School of Avondale Estates was told this week that DeKalb’s School Board will likely give it a one-year waiver, contingent upon the Board’s vote Monday. This would allow The Museum School to operate next year while also giving it time to apply for a five-year charter, the typical length of a charter-school contract according to Principal Katherine Kelbaugh. The Museum School was one of 16 charter schools the Georgia Supreme Court determined, in a mid-May ruling, that were approved by a process that’s unconstitutional. Bill Banks for the AJC

Program promotes home ownership

DeKalb County has joined with private firms to steer $20 million in mortgages and home repair costs to homes in the county.

The Get Home Now effort is designed to help up to 230 families with affordable mortgages that include financing for repairs and renovation. Low- and moderate-income borrowers also qualify for up to $25,000 in federal grants to help defray costs.

The program is a partnership between the county and private firms Home Depot, APD Solutions and First Guaranty Mortgage.

Information: 1-877-484-6669 or www.HomeByRequest.com/gethomenow. April Hunt

Officials to explain property tax process

Several DeKalb County officials will explain the county’s property tax process and take questions from residents on assessments at a public meeting tonight .

The meeting is sponsored by Pride Rings in Stone Mountain, or PRISM, and features the county’s chief tax appraiser, the tax commissioner and representatives from the office of the Superior Court Clerk.

The meeting runs from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at St. Timothy’s United Methodist Church, 5365 Memorial Dr. April Hunt

Decatur to keep two-district system

Decatur’s City Commission voted to keep its current two-district system, but the geographical boundaries must be redrawn to comply with the “one person, one vote” standard. The 2010 census revealed that the first (or northern) district has 1,541 more residents than the second. To balance these districts, the Commission proposed assimilating two portions of District One into District Two, including a center section that includes City Hall and also the East Decatur Station area. This configuration gives the first district only 40 more residents, an acceptable deviation. The Commission will vote on the re-balancing during its June 20 meeting. Bill Banks for the AJC

SOUTHSIDE

Grand opening concert cost county $107,200

Saturday’s free grand opening concert at the new Wolf Creek Amphitheater cost the county about $107,200, most of it for booking acts, according to Fulton Arts Council interim Director Michael Simanga. Headliner India Arie cost $49,000 and sound, lights, rigging, crew, equipment and catering totaled about $32,000. The money came out of the arts budget. The venue is expected to give an economic boost to south Fulton, and officials plan to recoup costs through bookings. Simanga said Saturday’s event got word out about the venue’s viability. Johnny Edwards

Homebuyer workshop to be on Friday

Resources for Residents and Communities, a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department-approved housing counseling agency, will hold a homebuyer workshop Friday at the Lang Carson Community Center, 100 Flat Shoals Ave., S.E., Atlanta, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Completion earns a voucher for a Homebuyer Education Certificate, which can be forwarded to lenders and used with grant programs.

The cost is $30, which includes lunch. Information: 404-525-4130 Ext. 17. Johnny Edwards

DOT gives Clayton money to boost projects

Clayton County has been given a half-million dollars from state transportation officials to beef up local projects. Roughly $300,000 will go to landscape and beautify an area near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Another $250,000 will be used for the Jesters Creek Trail Enhancement project. The money comes from the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Transportation Enhancement funds. More than $200 million in requests were submitted statewide. The state transportation board picked 144 projects totaling $55 million. Tammy Joyner

Hapeville hikes fees for door-to-door vendors

The Hapeville City Council voted Tuesday to double the registration fee from $25 to $50 for people selling items door to door or in public areas. The increased fee will cover administrative costs, said Mayor Alan Hallman.

John Thompson for the AJC

Electric vehicle may patrol Hapeville park

Hapeville took another step towards going green Tuesday. The City Council voted to use $12,634 in seized drug funds to purchase an electric Gem vehicle to patrol the city’s Master Park. The Gem can go 25 miles on a charge, and takes approximately eight hours to recharge. John Thompson for the AJC

Henry moves on bridge over Rock Quarry Road

A $4 million bridge over the railroad tracks on Rock Quarry Road in Stockbridge is a little closer to becoming a reality after several moves by the Henry County Board of Commissioners at its June 7 meeting. A bid for the bridge construction, a SPLOST project, was accepted and another $423,000 was approved to reimburse Georgia Power for relocation of utilities. Rock Quarry Road is a critical thoroughfare between downtown Stockbridge and Henry Medical Center, and a new fire station is now under construction on the road a few hundred yards from the railroad tracks. Monroe Roark for the AJC