County by county news for wednesday, March 2

Deal is scheduled to discuss the importance of reading, read “The Cat in The Hat” to 150 preschool students and celebrate the author’s birthday and the reading event with a birthday cake.

Other guest readers at the event will be Kennesaw Mayor Mark Matthews, Weather Channel meteorologist Jen McFadden and Primrose parents.

Information, visit www.primroseschool.com. -Janel Davis

Attorney, author to speak to vets thursday

Attorney and author Victoria Collier will discuss veterans’ benefits at the American Legion post in Marietta on Thursday.

Collier will also discuss her book “47 Secret Veterans’ Benefits for Seniors” present strategies for navigating the benefit requirements and system.

The event is free and open to the public. The discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Horace Orr Post 29, 921 Gresham Ave. NE in Marietta. Information: www.galegion29.org. -Janel Davis

Bartlett to hold town hall meeting at school

Cobb County school board chair Alison Bartlett will hold a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Osborne High School, 2451 Favor Rd. Marietta, 30060. Bartlett represents Post 7, which includes Oakwood and Osborne high schools. -Jaime Sarrio

Cobb presents summer camp expo

Cobb County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department will host a summer camp expo on March 8 in Marietta.

The expo will provide an overview of the various summer programs available to county youth, including day, art, church, overnight and performing arts camps. The expo runs from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Cobb Civic Center, 548 S. Marietta Parkway in Marietta. Information: Wendy Collins at 770-528-8885, or wendy.collins@cobbcounty.org. -Janel Davis

Dieticians to build gardens a school

Registered dietitians will volunteer at Lovinggood Middle School in Cobb County March 17 to build raised bed gardens, which will be used to grow food for the school’s Family and Consumer Science classes. The dietitians are visiting Atlanta from across the county for a national weight management symposium. After the beds are in place, Cobb’s district dietitians will be in the cafeteria to talk to students about healthy eating habits. -Jaime Sarrio

Austell to destroy old propane tanks

Austell’s propane gas tanks will be burned by the city “maybe next week,” said Mayor Joe Jerkins. Jerkins said “around 20” propane tanks are no longer needed since the Austell Gas System will provide natural gas with larger lines.

Formed in 1954, the system serves 53,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Austell, Powder Springs and Douglasville and in portions of Cobb and Douglas Counties.

Information: General Manager Rob Register at 770-948-1841 or rregister@austellgas.com or www.austellgas.com. -Carolyn Cunningham for the AJC

GWINNETT

Court upholds conviction Duluth woman’s murder

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction against a man who killed a 66-year-old grandmother at the her home in Duluth. Jerry Ann Elliott, who sold pine straw with her husband, was found dead on her den floor on Sept. 28, 2007. She had three gunshot wounds in her head. Michael Douglas Fox, of Flowery Branch, who knew the couple kept large amounts of cash in their home, was charged with the killing. The state Supreme Court, in a decision Monday, upheld the murder conviction against Fox but reversed an armed robbery conviction against him, finding insufficient evidence to support it. -Bill Rankin

Sugar Hill puts hold on sign permits

Sugar Hill has enacted a moratorium on sign permits until the City Council can revise portions of the local ordinance. City officials are reviewing the codes related to regulation of billboards and other provisions governing signs in conjunction with Sugar Hill’s planning department, legal counsel and the public.

The moratorium does not affect any sign permit application the city accepted prior to Feb. 14. -Patrick fox

Trickum math teacher wins award

A Trickum Middle School math teacher Kenneth Whaley has been selected as the 2011 recipient of the Graduate Student Scholar Award presented by the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education. The organization will present Whaley with his award during its annual meeting and conference scheduled this week in San Diego. -D. Aileen Dodd

Teen chosen for Senate Youth Program

A Gwinnett County high school student has been selected as a youth delegate on Capitol Hill. This week Seung Kwan “Brian” Baek, a junior at Mill Creek High, will travel to Washington D.C. to participate in the 2010-2011 United States Senate Youth Program. He was chosen as a Georgia delegate for the week-long event, which begins Saturday. Students also receive a one-time $5,000 scholarship. -D. Aileen Dodd

Georgia Force to rent at Pirkle Park

The Georgia Force Arena Football team has entered into an agreement with Sugar Hill to use Gary Pirkle Park’s artificial turf field as their official practice facility. The team will pay the regular rental fee of $50 an hour for daytime practice and $75 an hour at night. The city will also get some free publicity with signage at Force home games at Gwinnett Center Arena and in the team’s program. -Patrick Fox

Two Gwinnett CIDs awarded grants

The Atlanta Regional Commission recently awarded grants to help two Gwinnett $50,000 to the Gwinnett Place CID to help update a decade-old market assessment.

The commission also gave $20,000 to the Gwinnett Village CID to help pay for a signage and wayfinding master plan to improve traffic circulation and community identity.

The study will focus on connecting the Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Indian Trail Road corridors. -David Wickert

NORTHSIDE

Ex-sergeant appeals child pornography conviction

A panel of three federal judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Thursday morning will hear the case of former Forsyth County sheriff’s sergeant Milton Scott Pruitt, who was convicted in Federal court in July 2009 of child pornography and sentenced to eight years and two months in federal prison. Pruitt, who was running for sheriff against incumbent Sheriff Ted Paxton when he was arrested and charged, has long maintained his innocence. His attorney Ann Fitz said Tuesday she will argue there was insufficient evidence to convict Pruitt. -Jeffry Scott

Johns Creek council asks for more authority

Johns Creek will ask its legislative delegation to change its charter so members of the City Council have more authority over the hiring and firing of the city manager and city attorney. The proposed change would give the Council more say in the hiring and firing of both employees. Current municipal code provides that both positions serve at the pleasure of the mayor. The new resolution changes the wording to read both positions serve at the pleasure of the City Council. The vote was 6-1, with Mayor Mike Bodker opposed to the changes. -Patrick Fox

Woodstock may regulate road solicitation

Woodstock City Manager Jeff Moon said kids from a growing number of sports and school organizations are soliciting for their groups along and in the medians of Ga. 92 and Towne Lake Parkway. And he said it’s just a matter of time before a child is hit by a car.

“We have reached a point where public safety is threatened,” said Moon, who said he’ll work with the police chief and city attorney to see if some existing regulation could put the brakes on in-the-street soliciting. -Mark woolsey for the AJC

Sandy Springs starts street maintenance

Sandy Springs has embarked on an asphalt pavement preservation project called Hot-In-Place Recycling, targeting streets that were recommended by the city. Each treatment will take about an hour. City officials say residents won’t be inconvenienced much during the process, noting that it will take one day to recycle and one day to micro-surface the street. There are 17 streets in the program. Information: 770-730-5600. -Joel Anderson

Special Olympics deadline is March 21

March 21 is the deadline for registering for the Cherokee County Senior Olympics. The Olympics will kick off April 2 with opening ceremonies and a one-mile walk through downtown Woodstock. It will feature 15 events, including softball, bowling, horseshoes and golf. Information and registration: www.ccsrolympics.org or 678-207-7884. -Mark Woolsey for the AJC

Roswell tree-planting this Saturday

Roswell will commemorate Arbor Day this year with a tree planting at Big Creek Wetlands Park on Saturday morning.

The event starts at 8:45 a.m. For those interested in attending the planting, they should park their vehicle in the Georgia Power Easement off of Old Alabama Road. Information: Andy Pitner at 770-641-3780 or apitner@roswellgov.com. -Joel Anderson

ATLANTA

Ravens’ Michael Oher speaks at Pace Academy

Baltimore Ravens star Michael Oher, subject of the Oscar-nominated film, “The Blind Side,” visited Pace Academy Tuesday. Oher led a motivational discussion about his life, which is featured in his book, “I Beat The Odds: From Homelessness To The Blind Side and Beyond.” The visit was part of Pace Academy’s Diversity Program Speaker Series. -D. Aileen Dodd

Civil rights group holds roundtable March 7

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights will host a media round table at 10:30 a.m. March 7 to discuss new information on funding, programming, human rights exhibitions, the building and groundbreaking.

The round table will include former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who co-chairs the NCCHR board; Doug Shipman, NCCHR CEO; Deborah Richardson, NCCHR executive vice president; and Jill Savitt, NCCHR Human Rights Exhibition Coordinator. The round table will be held in the 15th Floor Board Room of the Southern Company, 30 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., NW. -Ernie Suggs

APS gets $1 million gift from Emory alumnus

Atlanta Public Schools will launch the “Graduation Generation” project today after receiving a $1 million donation from Emory University alumnus Rick Reider to fund the program at Coan Middle School.

The project will include workshops, mentoring, tutoring and other programs for both students and their parents and guardians. It is tailored for students in sixth through 12th grade, with a goal not only to see them graduate high school but also prepare them for the rigor of college. -Kristina Torres

Officer to speak to kids about safety

Fulton County Police Officer Nadia Byrd will talk to children about safety, strangers and drugs on today at the Bowen/Bankhead Branch library, 2685 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, Atlanta. “Stranger Danger” is for children ages five to 12 and starts at 11 a.m. Information: 404-792-2646. -Johnny Edwards

DEKALB

Court affirms man’s murder conviction

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction against a Clarkston man who shot and killed a man at an apartment complex on North Hairston Road.

George Smiley is serving a life sentence for the Sept. 1, 2006, killing of Samuel Williams, 21, of Stone Mountain. Authorities said Smiley shot Williams in the head after he was told that Williams had smashed out the windows of a GMC Jimmy SUV owned by Smiley’s mother. The state Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction, obtained by DeKalb County prosecutors during an October 2007 trial, in a decision issued Monday. -Bill Rankin

Accused Dunwoody shooter to be arraigned

The Marietta man accused of gunning down his co-worker’s husband outside of a Dunwoody preschool will be arraigned April 4 in a DeKalb County courtroom.

Hemy Svi Neuman, 48, has been charged with murder in the Nov. 18 shooting death of Russell “Rusty” Sneiderman. His arraignment has been scheduled for 9 a.m. in Judge Gregory Adams’ courtroom.

Sneiderman, 36, was fatally shot while dropping off his 2-year-old son at the Dunwoody Prep preschool and nursery. Neuman was arrested Jan. 4. -Joel Anderson

Police close records office for lunch hour

Residents can no longer pick up DeKalb County Police Department reports during their lunch break.

Starting March 7, the police department will close the central records’ office between 12:30-1:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday.

Records will be open 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Records will remain closed on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays.

The scheduling changes are part of the department’s efforts to be more “efficient with manpower,” police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said. -Megan Matteucci

Interchange dedicated to the late Tom Scott

An interchange at I-285 and Memorial Drive will be dedicated this week in honor of DeKalb County’s former tax commissioner Tom Scott.

A dedication ceremony will be Thursday at 3 p.m. at the tax commissioner’s office at 4380 Memorial Dr.

Scott served as a state senator for eight years and as DeKalb’s tax commissioner for 14 years. He died in 2006 of leukemia

A memorial garden in honor of Scott has also been planted at Memorial and Northern Avenue, state Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield announced the new interchange will be named after Scott. -Megan Matteucci

Clairemont highlights walking to school

Decatur’s Clairemont Elementary has been selected by the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Resource Center as the featured school for today’s second annual Georgia Walk to School Day. This recognition highlights Clairemont’s six-year commitment to increasing its walking and biking population. Today students will gather in the auditorium for words from Mayor Bill Floyd, while also screening student-made videos highlighting their walking and biking experiences. -Bill Banks for the AJC

NORTHSIDE

Fayette to consider new place to raise bees

To bee or not to bee? That is the question Fayette County Commissioners will try to answer today as they consider a zoning request from a local beekeeper.

Michael Maxwell of Fayetteville is asking the board to allow beekeeping in R-40 zones -- areas permitted for single-family homes and gardens. According to county ordinance, beekeeping is considered livestock and prohibited from R-40 zones.

Fayette County Commissioners meet in a workshop session Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. -Kathy Jefcoats for the AJC

Henry opens reservoirs for fishing today

The Henry County Water & Sewerage Authority opens some of its drinking water reservoirs to local residents to fish beginning today . The authority’s Tussahw and Gardner (Indian Creek) Reservoirs will be open on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through the end of November. Fishing on authority reservoirs is available to any Henry County property owner with an active reservoir use permit issued by the authority. Permits are available for $45. Information: www.hcwsa.com -Tammy Joyner

Black-tie Arte Gras fundraiser March 12

The Fifth Annual Arte Gras will be March 12 at 7 p.m. at the National Archives at Atlanta. The black-tie gala supports the scholarships and arts in education programs of Arts Clayton. The event is $125 per person or $1,000 for a table of 8. Cocktail hour, dinner buffet and music will be featured. The archives is in Morrow. Information: www.artsclayton.org or Linda Summerlin at 770 473-5831. Tickets can be purchased by phone, at the Arts Clayton gallery or online at www.artegras2011.eventbrite.com. -Tammy Joyner

East Point, MARTA pact to bring sidewalks

East Point officials approved an intergovernmental agreement with MARTA that could see more sidewalks built in the city. MARTA awarded the city a $230,000 grant for bus shelter improvements and sidewalk construction. The city plans to use the funds to build sidewalks on Stone Road, Dodson Drive and Taylor Road. East Point already has $300,000 funds earmarked for sidewalks that will also be used in the project. John Thompson for the AJC

Fayette cited for helping with facility

Fayette County will be recognized Thursday for its role in the construction of a mental health facility in Fayetteville.

County administrator Jack Krakeel said the county will be receiving an award during the Sixth Annual CREATE Community Local Government breakfast at Atlanta’s Loudermilk Center.The county donated a former Department of Transportation site on Bradley Drive for the construction of the Fayette Counseling Center. -Kathy Jefcoats for the AJC

Clayton ask feedback on county website

Clayton County officials are seeking feedback on the county’s website. They are interested in your opinions and ideas. To view the site and give feedback, log on to www.claytoncountyga.gov/news-and-events/web-site-feedback.aspx. -Tammy Joyner