County by county news for Thursday

The luncheon meeting will begin at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday in Suite 100, City of Austell Threadmill Complex, 5000 Austell Powder Springs Road, Austell.

Cost is $10 for members or $12 for guests.

Reservations: felicia@servproswcobb.com by Friday.

Carolyn Cunningham for the AJC

Marietta school named for academic success

The Marietta Sixth Grade Academy, was recently named an Effective Middle School Program by the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals. The award recognizes schools with academic success based on state and federal standards.

“The professionalism and dedication to educational excellence of the administration, teachers and support staff at MSGA continues to prepare our students for the next level of academic achievement for life success,” Marietta superintendent Emily Lembeck said in a statement.

Daarel Burnette II

Cobb Democratic Committee to meet

The Cobb County Democratic Committee will hold its fourth quarter business meeting 7 p.m. today at the Marietta Fire Department Museum Conference Room, 205 Lawrence St., Marietta.

The meeting will have an election for officers to lead the CCDC in 2013 and information regarding the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner next year. Information: Melissa@CobbDemocrats.org.

Kenneth Musisi

Cobb agency hosts meeting & mixer

Cobb Travel & Tourism will celebrate its successes this year at the Annual Meeting and Mixer 5 p.m. today at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History.

A new promotional marketing piece will be revealed at the event. Guests will enjoy food, drinks, great giveaways and network in an exciting atmosphere. Tickets: $30 partner; $40 friend.

Cobb Travel & Tourism plays a role in economic development supporting travel and tourism. Registration and information: www.TravelCobb.org.

Kenneth Musisi

Campbell to hold IB open house

Campbell High School’s International Baccalaureate program will hold an open house 7 to 9 p.m. today for 8th grade families. The event will take place at Livingston Auditorium at 5265 Ward St. in Smyrna.

IB programs involve an advanced curriculum along with community service and a final research project. Graduates receive a special diploma. For more information,visit the school’s website at www.campbellhs.com or call 678-842-6856.

Daarel Burnette II

Food trucks continue at Smyrna park

Smyrna’s City Council recently agreed to allow food trucks to operate at the city’s Taylor-Brawner Park, 3180 Atlanta Road. New hours are 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Council members gave a nod to the popular event that was scheduled to close at the end of October.

Tucker McQueen for the AJC

GWINNETT

Snellville church hosts crisis training

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team and Grace Fellowship Church of Snellville will host “Sharing Hope in Crisis”, a regional training to prepare Christians to appropriately respond with the love and hope of Jesus Christ in times of crisis.

A nationwide network of crisis-trained chaplains will conduct the training from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Saturday at 1400 Dogwood Rd., Snellville.

Fee: $40 per person. Registration and information: tinyurl.com/aky4oqo.

Kenneth Musisi

Braselton names downtown director

The Town of Braselton has named Amy K. Pinnell its downtown director.

Pinnell will market the historic downtown and focus on economic development. She has previously worked in sales, marketing and banking. She was a customer service representative for Northeast Georgia Bank. David Wickert

Foundation to host ‘A Day of Hope’

A Day of Hope Foundation will host its third annual A Day of Hope Event from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse grounds in downtown Lawrenceville.

The free event will showcase local church ministries, nonprofit organizations and social service agencies that help the needy.

Also featured will be a motorcycle show, free craft activities for kids and bounce houses, a teens scene, and more.

The Concert n’ Coffee event with music from local bands will be 4 to 8 p.m.

Information: www.adayofhopefoundation.org/FREE.html.

Kenneth Musisi

Snellville horse farm owner fights eviction

Marilyn Peterson, owner of Parkwood Farms, a Snellville horse farm, claims a wrongful foreclosure is threatening to shut down the riding center that has provided therapy for disabled children for more than a decade.

A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday for supporters to raise awareness of the farm’s plight.

Peterson said she fell behind in her payments, but was attempting to work out the issue with HSBC Bank.

A spokesman said Peterson’s foreclosure fight is with her loan company, Everhome Mortgage, based in Jacksonville, Fla., and not HSBC, which is the loan trustee.

Parkwood Farms has temporarily suspended classes and moved its horses to an animal rescue center in Winder.

Peterson said an eviction would end a beneficial community service.

She said the next step is to ask the sheriff’s office to hold off on completing the eviction while she fights the foreclosure in federal court.

Fran Jeffries

Ricoh Electronics expands

An expansion of Ricoh Electronics in Lawrenceville will create 58 jobs, company officials said.

The company, which produces thermal paper and labels, will expand a thermal media coating facility by 35,500 square feet.

The facility opened in 1990 and has expanded several times on its nearly 70-acre campus.

David Wickert

NORTHSIDE

British company to make Cumming headquarters

A British chemical equipment supplier has selected Cumming as the home for its U. S. headquarters and distribution center.

Biodiesel King LLC, specializes in supplying chemicals, fuels, additives, accessories and equipment to the biodiesel industry. Among other services, the company collects waste cooking oil from restaurants, hotels and other sources.

The Chamber says the relocation will bring “fewer than 10” jobs to Cumming.

Mark Woolsey for the AJC

Woodstock approves mountain bike trail

The Woodstock City Council this week approved spending up to $40,000 of city impact fee money to help fund a 3.5-mile advanced mountain bike trail.The money will match donations to be raised by two non-profits for construction of the Fierce Loop of the Taylor Randahl Memorial Mountain Bike Trails, on the north side of the Little River. Officials are shooting for completion in March.

Mark Woolsey for the AJC

Registration for youth baseball ongoing

The Alpharetta Youth Baseball Association has opened registration for its Spring 2013 baseball season. The season will include tee-ball and baseball programs for children ages 4-18.

Milton city residents who play at AYBA will pay the “Alpharetta city rate”, reducing registration fees by up to 75 percent. The significant rate reduction follows the agreement reached between the cities of Alpharetta and Milton on Nov. 5.

Registration: www.alpharettayouthbaseball.org/store/register-spring.html.

Kenneth Musisi

Fulton County School board meets today

The Fulton County School Board will hold its regular meeting 5 p.m. today at Dunwoody Springs Elementary School, at 8100 Roberts Drive, Sandy Springs. The board will immediately go into executive session and will reconvene in public at 6 p.m. Following a recognitions ceremony, there will be public comment.

Jeffry Scott

Johns Creek Symphony holds holiday concert

Johns Creek Symphony’s annual Christmas Holiday Pops Concert will be 8 p.m., Dec. 1 at St. Benedict Church, 11045 Parsons Road.

The JCSO, under the direction of J. Wayne Baughman, will perform holiday and seasonal favorites with full orchestra, choirs and guest soloists. Tickets: $30 for adults, $23.50 for those 55 and older and $16.50 for students

Information: 678-748-5802 or www.johnscreeksymphony.org.

Patrick Fox

Forsyth man named to statewide DPS panel

Governor Nathan Deal has named Forsyth County Fire Chief Danny Bowman to the Georgia Board of Public Safety. The board sets policy and provides direction for the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia.

Bowman has headed the Forsyth County department since 2003. In 2010, the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs named him fire chief of the year.

Mark Woolsey for the AJC

ATLANTA

Video released of Ponce fatal shooting

Police have released video footage of a man who was shot and killed Monday outside a Midtown apartment building in an apparent robbery.

In the video, the victim appeared to be calling someone on the intercom to grant him access to the Ford Factory Lofts apartments in the 600 block of Ponce De Leon Avenue.

Sometime before 5 p.m., a man with dreadlocks wearing a white sweatshirt, sneakers and camouflage pants walked up behind the victim and reached for a package he was holding.

The victim pulled the package close to himself and an apparent struggle ensued, followed by shots fired.

Police believe the suspects fled in a white vehicle.

If you have information call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477.

Marcus K. Garner

Business execs help homeless youth

Business leaders will spend tonight on the streets Thursday, Nov 15 to help Covenant House raise money and support for homeless kids.

The event will begin with a candlelight vigil at Centennial Olympic Park at 5:30 p.m. followed by a trip to Covenant House at 1550 Johnson Road in Atlanta, where dinner and tours of the facility will be held. The executives will hear testimonials and have discussions with youth served by the program before bedding down.

The collective goal is to raise $2.5 million to support Covenant House, the nation’s largest privately-funded agency providing food, shelter and crisis care to homeless and runaway kids.

Andria Simmons

Prostate cancer focus of Clark Atlanta focus

Clark Atlanta University’s Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development will host a forum 1 - 2:30 p.m. today in CAU-TV’s Studio A, in the Woodruff Library, 111 James P. Brawley Dr., S.W. on “The Impact of Prostate Cancer in the African-American community.”

African-American males are diagnosed with prostrate cancer later than whites and have a mortality rate 2.4 times higher, organizers say. Information: www.ccrtd.cau.edu or 404-880-6750.

Ernie Suggs

DEKALB

DeKalb County schools release draft audit

DeKalb County schools superintendent Cheryl Atkinson released an audit that she previously withheld from the public.

School system general counsel Sutherland Asbill & Brennan advised Atkinson that the KPMG draft audit was not subject to disclosure under Georgia open records law, but the Georgia First Amendment Foundation said the document was a public record.

Information:www.dekalb.k12.ga.us.

Ty Tagami

Attorney wins battle in Druid Hills war

Commissioners agreed with attorney Robert Buckler that the county’s Historic Preservation Commission overstepped its boundaries in not allowing him to erect a wall and fence on his land on Clifton Road.

The two commissioners who represent the area, Kathie Gannon and Jeff Rader, dissented.

The victory is tangential to the lawsuit from the Druid Hills Civic Association, which is suing to drop the project it says will erode the historic character of the neighborhood laid out by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

That lawsuit is in DeKalb Superior Court.

April Hunt

Emory psychologist gets Beckman Award

Dr. Nadine J. Kaslow, a professor and vice-chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, has received the 2012 Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award.

The award recognizes Kaslow’s inspiration for her students and junior colleagues to create meaningful and effective community-based programs. The award was founded in honor of Dr. Beckman, an educator and pioneer in the field of psychology. Information: emoryhealthnews.org.

Kenneth Musisi

County, volunteers clean up South River

The county’s watershed department and volunteers from the South River Watershed Alliance recently cleaned up of the south DeKalb waterway.

Crews plucked 83 tires from the river in two hours. Volunteers removed 16 bags of trash and rubble from the Panola Shoals sandbar. Information: www.southriverga.org.

April Hunt

Decatur schools anticipate more growth

During Tuesday’s Decatur School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards said the system’s projecting another 11 percent increase for 2013-14, or roughly 400 more students. This would be the third consecutive year of 11or 12 percent growth for Decatur, the state’s fastest-growing system. Edwards said this would mean hiring 16 new teachers for a total cost of $1,181,000. It may also mean, she said, eliminating any new openings for out-of-district tuition-paying students. Decatur schools currently have about 140 students paying $5,480 annual tuition.

Bill Banks for the AJC

DeKalb History Center hosts free book event

Author Jeff Clemmons will discuss his new release, “Rich’s: A Southern Institution,” a book about the department store, at a book signing.5:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Historic DeKalb Courthouse, 101 E. Court Square, Decatur.

Information: www.dekalbhistory.org.

April Hunt

SOUTHSIDE

Dapper robber hits SunTrust in Henry Publix

Henry County police and the FBI are searching for a clean-shaven armed bank robber who held up a SunTrust Bank inside a Stockbridge Tuesday afternoon. The suspect showed the teller a black handgun in his waistband and a note demanding money. He fled in a maroon SUV, police said.

The slender, black male, in his early 20s, was wearing a striped shirt with a white collar buttoned to the top and a dark blue suit. If you have information call Henry County Police at 770-288-8200 or Atlanta Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.

Christopher Seward

Woman pleads guilty to kidnapping baby

Naquelle Sontieq Ballard, 19, of Morrow, was sentenced to 20 years — 10 to be served in prison — Monday after pleading guilty to snatching a 2-day-old girl from Southern Regional Medical Center Women’s Life Center on Jan. 4.

An alarm system and two hospital employees thwarted her attempt to leave with the infant, whom she had placed in her pocketbook. The baby wasn’t hurt.

Ballard had told her boyfriend she was pregnant and tried to kidnap the infant after she suffered a miscarriage.

The mother, Jasmere Brown, was so traumatized that she moved out of state with now 10-month-old Chloe.

The judge also ordered Ballard to meet with Brown if the mother ever wants a face-to-face as part of Brown’s healing.

Fran Jeffries and Alexis Stevens

Henry releases 2012 rabies report

Four animals in Henry County – a raccoon, a fox, a cat and her kitten – have tested positive for rabies in 2012, according to a report given by an animal control officer at a recent Board of Commissioners meeting.

Twenty-nine animals have been submitted for testing during that time. This year’s total of 221 reported animal bites (178 from dogs and 43 from cats) is down from last year’s 256. There were no reports of wild animal bites. Information: www.hcacc.org.

Monroe Roark for the AJC

Child, 8, shot in southwest Fulton

An 8-year-old child, whose name and condition were not released, was hit in the back when shots were fired into his home on Hassana Lane near Fairburn late Tuesday.

The child was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta at Egleston. Fulton County police have no suspects or motive and are asking for the public’s help in finding the shooter.

Marcus K. Garner and Alexis Stevens

BHN store celebration and fundraiser

The Basic Human Needs Organization will host a celebration and fundraiser for its upcoming store 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Hearts Building, 640 Ga. 138 SW, Riverdale.

Scheduled to open Jan. 15, the BHN store is housed in a 20,000-square-foot facility that stocks basic human needs – clothing, food, building supplies, paper products and medical or hygiene items.

The public can make purchases by paying for the items in a half-cash or half-trade arrangement.

All store profits are returned to Hearts to Nourish Hope, a provider of support for young people and families in need.

Information: www.bhn.org or www.heartstonourishhope.org.

Kenneth Musisi