County by county news for Friday

Sandler said Thursday several of the bidders envision a Pub-lix grocery store in the mixed-use development, known as Jonquil Village.

Sandler said the owners likely would make a decision on the buyer next week. JEFFRY SCOTT

FBI: Serious crimes decrease in Kennesaw

Crime in the city of Kennesaw last year dropped to its lowest level in five years, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “Crime in the United States 2010” report issued this week.

From 2009 to 2010, murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and auto theft declined by 15 percent in Kennesaw.

“The hard work of the men and women of the Kennesaw Police Department has gone a long way in making our community a safer place to live, work, and play,” Chief Bill Westenberger said. -JEFFRY SCOTT

Marietta history audio tour goes high-tech

The Marietta Welcome Center and Visitors Bureau is combining history and technology, enabling visitors to download the Historic Marietta Audio Tour to their smart phones using a QR code.

A QR, or quick response, code is a two-dimensional barcode that can decode and download data at rapid speed.

QR codes have been placed on marketing materials for Taste of Marietta, Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour and the Historic Marietta Walking-Driving Tour brochure to direct people to the websites.

For more information visit, 770-429-1115 or www.mariettasquare.com . -KENNETH MUSISI

Pair of county educators tapped for state council

Two Cobb County educators have been selected to serve on the Georgia schools superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council for 2011-12.

The appointees, Katrina Cordell of Lindley Middle School and Kate Beckerman of Hightower Trail Middle School, will meet with state Superintendent John Barge Oct. 31 and March 14, 2012, according to the Cobb County Schools.

The meetings will include discussion of new initiatives and programs of the Georgia Department of Education. -TY TAGMI

Group focuses on boys reading program

The North Cobb Chapter of Mocha Moms in partnership with the National Institute for Literacy is launching the Boys Booked on Barbershops literacy program Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at Tapers II Barbershop, 1094 Powers Ferry Road in Marietta.

The event will include celebrity book readers, free publications for parents that support the development of reading skills at home and a reading nook featuring multicultural literature for boys 2-15.

For more information, email ariannesherman@yahoo.com or 678-637-1549. -KENNETH MUSISI

GWINNETT

Ga. 316 construction to cause traffic delays

Construction will lead to lane closures on Ga. 316 from I-85 to Sugarloaf Parkway on Saturday.

Beginning at 8 a.m. crews will close the right eastbound lane of the highway to install guardrails. The lane should reopen about noon, when work will shift to the westbound side of the highway. The right westbound lane will be closed from noon to about 3:30 p.m.

The Georgia Department of Transportation advises drivers to expect delays that will likely affect I-85 northbound traffic. -DAVID WICKERT

Work on service projects during volunteer days

The Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services will host its 12th annual Gwinnett Great Days of Service Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

The event brings volunteers together to work on various projects for schools and nonprofit agencies. Participants can volunteer individually, as a group or with a company. The event involves a variety of projects at different locations. For more information, visit www.gwinnettgreatdayofservice.org . -DAVID WICKERT

Gwinnett Tech dedicates life sciences center

Gwinnett Technical College will dedicate its new life sciences center at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday at the Lawrenceville campus, 5150 Sugarloaf Parkway.

The three-story, 78,000-square-foot building will allow the college to expand its life sciences and health care programs. It will serve about 3,000 students annually.

For more information on the college's programs, visit www.gwinnetttech.edu . -DAVID WICKERT

Entrepreneur workshop targets minority women

The Gwinnett County graduate chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. will host a free entrepreneur workshop Nov. 5.

The green TIE, or Training Inspires Entrepreneurship, affair aims to target "nontraditional entrepreneurs," mostly minority women. The workshop is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Small Business Development Center in Lawrenceville. Information: Bettina Benoit Durant at uaogreentie@aol.com and www.upsilonalphaomega.com . -JOEL ANDERSON

Snellville City Council cancels public hearing

The Snellville City Council has canceled its regularly scheduled meeting and public hearing for Monday.

City officials said the meeting was called off because of the lack of a quorum. The council needs four members to have a quorum. -JOEL ANDERSON

Santa to make grand entrance in Duluth

Santa Claus will ride one of the historical Wells Fargo stagecoaches Saturday in the Duluth Fall Festival Parade.

Santa, the stagecoach and horses will appear at the end of the parade, which starts at 10 a.m. at Brock Road and North Peachtree Street and ends at Main Street and Buford Highway in Duluth.

Professional golfer Stewart Cink, a native of Duluth, will be the parade’s grand marshal and kick off the event. -JOEL ANDERSON

NORTHSIDE

Chamber COO to head Clean Air Campaign

Tedra Cheatham, chief operating officer of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce in Alpharetta, is leaving the organization after eight years to become executive director of the Clean Air Campaign.

“We are sorry to see her go but excited about her new opportunity as executive director with the Clean Air Campaign,” said Brandon Beach, the chamber’s president and CEO. “Tedra can do for the entire Atlanta region and state what she has done for north Fulton.” NANCY BADERTSCHER

Golf tournament to honor 9/11 firefighters

Atlanta Area Oil Terminal Cooperative is holding their Annual Golf Tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 4, starting at 8 a.m. at the Horseshoe Bend Country Club in Roswell.

The event will include lunch and prizes. It will benefit the local fire department in creating a memorial to the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The mayor of Doraville, Donna Pitt-man , will attend.

To donate, call Firefighter Doug Harms at 404-579-1964 or email dekalb911memorial@gmail.com.

Information: tinyurl.com/3bc6z54 . -NANCY BADERTSCHER

Police take applications for citizens academy

The Fulton County Police Department is accepting applications for its nine-week-long Citizen Police Academy.

The class will meet each Thursday 7 to 10 p.m. beginning Thursday and the sessions will be held at various county police facilities.

Registration is limited to 25 people who are at least 18 years old and live or work in unincorporated Fulton County.

Sessions will cover topics such as the department’s history and traffic enforcement. Thee will be “live fire” demonstrations.

Information is available at fultonpolice.org or by calling 404-346-7940. RHONDA COOK

Forsyth electronics recycling event Oct 1

Keep Forsyth County Beautiful is sponsoring an electronics recycling event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Cumming Fairgrounds’ parking lot 3 off of Castleberry Road.

Accepted items include computers, stereos, CD players, cell phones, microwaves, cameras and more.

The minimum donation per carload for drop-off is $5. An additional $10 fee will apply for all televisions.

Items, such as large wooden console televisions, toaster ovens and refrigerators will not be accepted.

Information: www.forsythco.com or 770-205-4573. -PATRICK FOX

Landscaping workshop set for Roswell

The Roswell Garden Club will present horticulturist Daryl Pulis speaking on affordable low-maintenance and environmentally friendly landscapes for homeowners at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Roswell Area Park Community Activity Building, 10495 Woodstock Road.

Pulis has hosted “The Garden Show” on radio, provided green thumb garden tips on television, and occasionally substitutes for Walter Reeves on his “Lawn and Garden Show.”

The event is free. -PATRICK FOX

ATLANTA

History Center chief to step down next year

Atlanta History Center president and CEO Salvatore (Sal) G. Cilella Jr. has announced that he will retire after a 42-year museum career.

An executive search committee has been formed, with hopes of hiring a successor by Cilella’s departure in March 2012. AHC board chairman Bill Shearer praised Cilella’s work since his 2006 arrival in establishing the Buckhead institution as a community resource. “He has positioned the History Center for a tremendous period of growth,” Shearer said. Cilella will remain in Atlanta with his wife, Marifred Cilella, head of Howard School, and plans to write a follow-up to his 2009 book, “Upton’s Regulars: The 121st New York Infantry in the Civil War.” -HOWARD POUSNER

Movie night coming to West Manor Park

Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis has teamed up with the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs for Movies in the Park on Saturday at West Manor Park, 3240 W. Manor Circle.

The community is invited to bring folding chairs, blankets and snacks to watch “Thor.” The movie starts at 8 p.m. All park rules apply.

“Movies in the Park is a great way for families to come together and share a fun, free event that takes advantage of the great weather that we get in Atlanta early in the fall,” Willis said. -JEREMIAH MCWILLIAMS

Track club donates to Grady bike program

The Atlanta Track Club, organizers of the AJC Peachtree Road Race, donated $20,000 to the Grady Health Foundation for the Grady Bicycle EMT program. The 12-member team helps runners on the Fourth of July.

The Atlanta Track Club has provided support to the Grady Bicycle EMT program through annual donations totaling more than $100,000 since the program began in 2003.

At this year’s race, the EMTs responded to a cardiac arrest on 10th Street near the race finish and were able to revive the runner. -TODD C. DUNCAN

DEKALB

Decatur will launch major drainage project

Decatur approved an agreement with the Decatur Housing Authority to begin relocating and replacing the existing storm drainage system in the city’s western section.

Two parallel 75-foot pipes will run from the Allen Wilson Apartments across Electric Avenue, eventually connecting to future drainage improvements in Ebster Park. Total cost is $237,000.

This is part of Wilson’s Phase II redevelopment. When the pipes are completed, construction will begin on the four-story apartment complex called the Oliver House, scheduled for completion next September. -BILL BANKS

Neighborhood shooting disrupts 2 public schools

Two DeKalb County public schools were on lockdown Thursday afternoon following a nearby shooting.

Idlewood Elementary and Stone Mountain Middle were both locked down as police searched for suspects, according to Joy Burton, school system spokeswoman.

One person was in critical condition after being shot in the 1300 block of Sagewood Circle, off East Ponce de Leon Avenue, said Mekka Parish with DeKalb County police.

Two suspects were taken into custody and officers were still searching for another person, Parish said Thursday afternoon. -ALEXIS STEVENS

Event will celebrate Taiwan’s 100th birthday

The Celebrating Republic of China’s (Taiwan) 100th birthday: An exhibition of traditional Taiwanese paintings and calligraphy event is Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Chinese Cultural Center, 5377 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee.

There will be a lecture on the history of Chinese traditional (Han) calligraphy and a demonstration, along with an auction of paintings and calligraphy. There also will be a demonstration on how to make tea. Information: 770-451-4456. -KENNETH MUSISI

Prosecution says clerk tricked mayor in thefts

A former assistant city clerk accused of stealing more than $26,000 from Lithonia tricked the mayor into signing blank checks, a DeKalb County prosecutor said at a hearing on Wednesday.

During the hearing, Alisa Dent entered a not-guilty plea before DeKalb Superior Court Judge Linda Hunter.

John Melvin, deputy assistant chief district attorney, told the judge that Mayor Tonya Peterson Anderson had been told by Dent “that these blank checks need to be signed because there was a misprint on some other checks.”

But instead of going to pay the city’s bills, the four checks allegedly went into Dent’s bank account.

Defense attorney Steve Roberts said his client did nothing wrong. The money disappeared in July 2010, reportedly after Dent learned she was about to be laid off. DAVID IBATA

County updates civic associations database

DeKalb County is updating its database of civic associations and homeowners associations throughout the county.

The neighborhood registry helps the county alert residents about new developments and zoning plans in their areas.

More information: 404-371-3689 or onedekalb@dekalbcountyga.gov. -APRIL HUNT

SOUTHSIDE

School board schedules charter school hearings

The Fulton County school board has set three public hearings on a possible move to a charter school system. The hearings are set for the following: Oct. 3 at Milton Center, 86 School Drive, Alpharetta; Oct. 5 at Lake Forest Elementary School, 5920 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs; and Oct. 6 at Westlake High School, 2400 Union Road, Atlanta. All of the hearings will be at 6:30 p.m. in the school auditorium or cafeteria. -NANCY BADERTSCHER

Road race will benefit Henry County libraries

The second annual Race 2 Read 5K will be at 3 p.m. Oct. 2 in McDonough.

Event proceeds will help purchase books and materials and fund programs for Henry County’s libraries. The race will take place in McDonough’s Westridge Industrial Park. Registration is $20. The event is offered by the Friends of the Henry County Libraries.

For information: www.co.henry.ga.us . -LAURIE HOFFMAN

Covington practice joins Emory Healthcare

A primary care physician practice in Covington became a member of the growing Emory Healthcare system Thursday.

Internal Medicine of Newton County, now called Emory Internal Medicine of Newton, joined Emory Specialty Associates , a subsidiary of the health system.

The five-physician practice provides diagnosis and treatment services for adult diseases, including disorders of the heart, gastrointestinal tract, lung, kidneys, blood, and circulation and endocrine system. -LAURIE HOFFMAN

Elementary school earns blue ribbon

The U.S. Department of Education has designated Peachtree City Elementary as a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School.

The school is one of 304 to earn the honor this year and the fifth in Fayette County to receive it since 1997.

Blue Ribbon schools qualify by having overall high student achievement or by having at least 40 percent of students from disadvantaged backgrounds improve their performance to high levels.

Peachtree City Elementary will receive its honorary plaque and flag in November in Washington, D.C. -JILL HOWARD CHURCH FOR THE AJC

Dixon Grove Baptist Church to hold car show

Dixon Grove Baptist Church is hosting its annual Southern Crescent Car Show at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The car show will be in the parking lot at 7690 Fielder Road, Jonesboro.

All proceeds will go toward new instruments for the church’s music department. Information: the Rev. Spurgeon Henderson, 678-502-6204 or 404-225-4437. -SANDRA MARSHALL MURRAY

Clayton Humane Society to hold yard sale

The Clayton County Humane Society will hold its Treasures for Paws yard sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 1 at Jonesboro High School, 7728 Mount Zion Blvd., Jonesboro. Information: 770-471-9436. -TAMMY JOYNER