County by county news for Wednesday

District Two Commissioner Bob Ott, who was re-elected, will be sworn in 4 p.m. today at the Cobb County Superior Court building.

Chairman Tim Lee, who was re-elected, will be sworn in at 10 a.m., Thursday at the county’s headquarters in Marietta.

Newly elected District Four Commissioner Lisa Cupid will be sworn in 2 p.m. Jan. 4. at the county’s headquarters.

Jaime Sarrio

Bank wants to open in Powder Springs

JPMorgan Chase Bank wants to open a branch at 5100 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs.

The bank has filed an application with the Comptroller of the Currency.

Written comments may be submitted to the Licensing Manager, Large Banks Licensing Operations, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E. St. SW, Mail Stop 7-13, Washington, D.C. 20219.

Comments must be received by Jan. 14. Carolyn Cunningham for the AJC

Woman, 24, killed in I-75 wreck

A 24-year-old Cobb County woman, Fatma E. Shalaby, of Acworth, died Monday when her Nissan Sentra traveling southbound at the Terrell Mill Road overpass spun into the path of a white Dodge pickup truck pulling a trailer.

The truck struck the Sentra, causing the truck and its trailer to jackknife and strike a guardrail, Pierce said.

Neither the driver of the truck, identified as Danny Cox, 37, nor the passenger, Marion Cox, 33, both of Screven, were injured in the crash, police said.

No charges are expected to be filed in the case.

Anyone with information should call investigators at 770-499-3987. Alexis Stevens

Auditions to be held for MLK Day celebration

Auditions will be held for limited entertainment slots for Cobb’s Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, to be held Jan. 21.

Musical presentations, dance interpretations, dramatic readings and all performing arts are welcome, but the work must be a tribute to King.

Auditions will take place 6 p.m. Jan. 3, 10 a.m. Jan. 5 and 6 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Cobb Civic Center, 548 S. Marietta Parkway.

Information: 770-528-8490. Jaime Sarrio

Council appoints board members

The Marietta City Council has appointed the Rev. Ron Clark to represent Ward 5 on the Board of Zoning Appeals and James. T. Martin to Post 1 of the Civil Service Board.

Betty Hunter, Kee Carlisle, Bill Kinney and Harlon Crimm were reappointed to the Marietta Museum of History board. All terms are three years. Tucker McQueen for the AJC

Free Christmas tree recycling available

Keep Cobb Beautiful is sponsoring free Christmas tree recycling at select parks and recreation locations Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 and some Home Depot locations on Jan. 5.

Free mulch will be available to residents after Jan. 5.

Information: 770-528-1135.

Jaime Sarrio

GWINNETT

New Sugar Hill City Hall nearly completed

Sugar Hill’s $11 million, 33,000-square-foot city hall at West Broad Street and Temple Drive downtown is expected to be complete by Friday. City Manager Bob Hail said furniture is scheduled to be installed Jan. 2-3 and information technology Jan. 5-6, with city employees set to move from the existing city hall at West Broad and Level Creek Jan. 7-8.

Hail expects the building to be fully operational by Jan. 9, before its grand opening ceremony at 1 p.m. Jan. 13 and its first City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14. Michael Alpert for the AJC

Smith named new Duluth High principal

At a special called meeting on Monday, the Gwinnett County Board of Education appointed Anthony Smith as principal of Duluth High School.

Smith currently serves the school system’s director of mathematics.

He replaces Jason Lane who transferred earlier this month to Mill Creek High. Smith’s been with the decade for more than a decade, serving as director of mathematics since 2011. Nancy Badertscher

Animal shelter sets pet doption goal

Adopt a pet between now and Sunday and give an animal a home by Christmas for a $30 spay/neuter fee at the Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement Shelter.

The shelter’s goal is for every animal to be adopted by Christmas.

Information: 770-339-3200 or www.gwinnettanimalcontrol.com. Andria Simmons

Pleasant Hill Road open during holidays

Gwinnett County will suspend lane closures on the Pleasant Hill Road bridge over Interstate 85 during the holiday shopping season.

The county is building a new interchange at the intersection, but will keep all lanes open through Jan. 2 because of heavy traffic volumes expected near Gwinnett Place Mall. Information: www.gwinnettddi.com. David Wickert

Water and sewer rate increase

Effective January 2013, Gwinnett will implement a rate increase for water and sewer effective through December 2013. Single-family residences will pay between $4.69 and $9.38 per 1,000 gallons for water depending on volume and $7.11 per 1,000 gallons for sewer. All irrigation and builder accounts shall be billed at two times the tier-one volumetric rate. Visit www.gwinnetth2o.com, or call 678-376-6700 for a complete list of rates and charges.

Karen Huppertz for the AJC

Police offer advice on credit fraud complaints

Ensure a better resolution to credit card fraud cases by completing a Gwinnett County incident report and filing a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center, which is a collaboration between the FBI, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the National White Collar Crime Center.

Some Gwinnett incident reports can be filed online at www.gwinnettcounty.com/static/departments/police/online_crime_reporting/start-report.html. Andria Simmons

NORTHSIDE

County extends local business initiative

Forsyth County commissioners have voted to extended the county’s local business initiative through 2013. The program, which has been in place since April 2009, provides local businesses with a preference when bidding on certain county projects.

For solicitations less than $500,000, a qualified local business that submits a responsive and reasonable price receives a local preference credit of 5 percent.

There are some exclusions under certain circumstances. Patrick Fox

Price named to budget panel

U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., who represents north Fulton and Cherokee, has been named Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Budget for the 113th Congress. Price will serve alongside committee chair Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican. The appointment takes effect when the new Congress convenes in January.Mark Woolsey for the AJC

Forsyth to swear in commissioners

A swearing-in ceremony for Forsyth County commissioners will be 4 p.m. Thursday at the County Administration Building, 110 E. Main St., Cumming.

Re-elected District 2 Commissioner Brian R. Tam, re-elected District 5 Commissioner Jim Boff and newly elected District 4 Commissioner Cindy Jones Mills will be sworn in by Judge Woody Jordan. Patrick Fox

Early voting site opens in Alpharetta

The Fulton County Board of Elections has one early voting site in Alpharetta for the special election to fill the Senate District 21 seat vacated by Chip Rogers. Voters may cast their ballots at 30 South Main Street, Suite 1 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Jan. 4, with the exceptions of Dec. 24 - 25 and Jan. 1.

Voters may also cast ballots 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 8, the date of the special election.

Information: www.fultoncountyga.gov/rae

Patrick Fox

Special election early voting underway

Early voting is underway in Cherokee County for a Jan. 8 special election to fill two open seats in the Georgia General Assembly. Voters can cast ballots 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Jan. 4 at Cherokee County Elections and Voter Registration, 400 E. Main St., Canton. The office will be closed Dec. 24 through Dec. 26 for Christmas and Jan 1. For New Year’s Day. Mark Woolsey for the AJC

Students skype with acclaimed writer

A group of students at Roswell’s Holcomb Bridge Middle School had a unique conversation with Linda Sue Park, Newbery Prize-winning author of A Long Walk to Water, on Dec. 11.

The virtual Internet discussion with Park in Rochester, N.Y. touched on a schoolwide push to read her book and a pledge by the school’s teachers and students to raise $10,000 to help build a primary school in South Sudan, the world’s newest countries.

Students were selected to participate in the conversation with Park based on essays they wrote explaining their desire to help the people of Sunday or how reading Park’s book affected their lives. Nancy Badertscher

ATLANTA

Government center’s cafe closed for roaches

Fulton County health inspectors shut down Chambers Café located off the atrium of the downtown Atlanta Government Centeron Monday after receiving a complaint of roaches, according to a spokeswoman. Environmental Health Services checked out the and gave it a grade of 59. Inspectors marked several items out of compliance under the Foodborne Illness Risk Factors/Public Health Interventions section of the report. Johnny Edwards

ARC chair to speak to business group

The Buckhead Business Association’s weekly breakfast meeting will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday12/20 at the City Club of Buckhead, 3343 Peachtree Road N.E., Suite 137. Tad Leithead, chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission, will be the featured speaker. Tickets are $10 for BBA members and $20 for visitors. Information: www.buckheadbusiness.org. Veronica Fields Johnson

Ludacris to help with charity event

In partnership with Target, the Ludacris Foundation will host its annual “LudaCrismas” 4-6 p.m. today at the Thomasville Center of Hope, 1835 Henry Thomas Dr.

Each year, Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges provides inner city youth with toys, books and winter clothing. Jeremiah McWilliams

City Hall drive to runs through Friday

Atlanta City Councilman Michael Julian Bond’s holiday food and toy drive at will continue at City Hall until Friday. Bond began the food and toy drive on Dec. 3 with a concert by the Department of Watershed Management’s employee chorus.

Since then, city employees have donated more than ten cartons of toys and nonperishable food.

Donations can be dropped off in the Atlanta City Council lobby on the second floor of Atlanta City Hall at 55 Trinity Avenue S.W.

Information: atlantapost1.com, mbond@atlantaga.gov or 404-330-6770. Jeremiah McWilliams

DEKALB

Construction of new PDK hangars OK’d

The county has signed an $8.2 million contract for 63 new hangars at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.

The deal with the Astra Group of Woodstock calls for hangars to be built along a crosswinds runway near the airport’s Clairmont Road side. Once built, they will help ease a 10-year waiting list for the airport’s existing 90 hangars.

The construction is being paid from the airport’s enterprise fund but is expected to put some money into county coffers, from increased property taxes and fuel fees. April Hunt

Trial begins for former cop accused of rape

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a former Fulton County police officer charged with raping a 12-year-old girl.

Michael Wilson, 32, is charged with two counts of child molestation, rape and false imprisonment.

He was arrested in November 2010 after the mother of the 12-year-old reported the alleged crimes to DeKalb police.

Christian Boone

Decatur commission to pursue annexation

Decatur’s City Commission voted to continue pursuing annexation of two heavily commercial areas. One is the Clairemont Avenue/North Decatur Road sector, the other the Suburban Plaza area off Church Street.

The first area is 97 percent commercial, the second 62 percent. The city will next ask DeKalb County legislators to pass a bill in the General Assembly authorizing annexation. Bill Banks for the AJC

Grant for female crime victims extended

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners recently agreed to extend a federal grant that helps specialized service for female victims of violent crimes.

The $51,786 Violence Against Women Act grant, along with a $340,000 match from the District Attorney’s office, pays for two prosecutors, two investigators and two victim advocates for female victims of murder, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated assault and others.

DeKalb first received the grant in 2006 and has since included the local matching funds in the DA’s annual spending plan. April Hunt

DeKalb agrees to fund business loans

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners recently agreed to use federal grant money to fund a revolving loan program for local businesses.

The deal with the DeKalb Enterprise Business Corporation calls for using $385,000 of federal block grant money for loans to small businesses. The corporation created 14 full-time jobs with similar funds in 2012.

April Hunt

Firm to run landfill electricity plant

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners recently agreed to pay $2.8 million over the next five years for Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt Consulting Engineers, to oversee the electric facility at the Seminole Road landfill, which converts methane from the landfill into electricity.

The county makes about $500,000 a year, just under the contract expense, selling that electricity to Georgia Power.

DeKalb built the plant in 2006 and has since paid off the construction from the sale of power. April Hunt

SOUTHSIDE

Commissioner suggests laying off lobbyists

A Fulton County Commissioner wants to lay off the county’s in-house lobbying staff and replace it with an outside firm. Earlier this month the commission balked at hiring the law firm Arnall Golden Gregory at a cost of $260,416, but Commissioner Robb Pitts said that if the county’s $500,000 intergovernmental affairs division is eliminated, it would save money. Pitts says the staff is ineffectual, but he wants to keep one person to manage state and federal grants.

The panel will consider his proposal today. Johnny Edwards

Alcohol allowed in some Henry parks

The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted Monday to amend the county ordinance to allow beer and wine only for specific events at Nash Farm Park, Heritage Park (arena and building area only) and the Locust Grove Event Center. Such use will require written approval from the county’s recreation board and other stipulations.

Previously all alcohol consumption was prohibited at all such areas. Monroe Roark

Church bells to ring for shooting victims

Four Henry County cities – Hampton, Locust Grove, McDonough and Stockbridge – have united to ask local churches to toll their bells 26 times at 9:30 a.m. Friday in honor and remembrance of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last week in Connecticut. Monroe Roark

Henry commissioners to be inaugurated

The Henry County Board of Commissioners will host an inauguration ceremony at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Community Room of the Henry County Administration Building to swear in four newly-elected members: Tommy Smith (Chairman), Bo Moss (District 1), Brian Preston (District 2) and Gary Barham (District 3). It will be broadcast live on local cable TV and at www.henrycounty-ga.org.

Monroe Roark for the AJC

Forest Park to hold Newtown memorial

There will be a communitywide memorial service 7:30 today at Living Faith Tabernacle, 5880 Old Dixie Road in Forest Park to honor the 27 lives lost in last week’s shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Information: (404) 361-0812. Tammy Joyner

Peachtree City tax deadline looms

Nearly 1,200 businesses in Peachtree City still need to visit City Hall by Dec. 28 to renew their Occupational Tax for 2013. Representatives are required to appear in person with photo identification and completed forms. The city cannot process payments if the business has delinquent Stormwater Utility fees or false fire alarm fines. Jill Howard Church

Disaster relief drive for hurricane victims

The Reach Project, with the Red Cross and Michon’s Smokehouse, will host a community disaster relief drive and free concert 2 to 7 p.m. today at Michon’s, 1583 Virginia Ave., College Park. The event will benefit New York and New Jersey victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Information: reach@thepgnetwork.org or 678-383-0019. Veronica Fields Johnson