Local Briefs

Media projects advance to international competition

Seventeen student media projects from the Fulton County School System have earned superior ratings in the state media festival and now advance to international competition. Four of the projects received perfect scores.

Individuals and teams:
Alpharetta Elementary School
Haley Jones, Jaclyn Nix, Joseph Sander, Garrett Mathis, Austin Mueller, Montana Nichols, Justin Stutler, Peyton Hampton, Nick Meyer, Andrew Gagne, Alex Genesky, Jose Hull, Leahy Behar, Holden Canouse, Sean Carmody, Piper Chapman, Kaila Henry, Madeline Luth, Slex Martinez, Aidan McHugh, Rachel Stackpole and Jackson Weaver (two projects)

Seaborn Lee Elementary School
Nakari Lowman and Genesis Pura

A.P. Randolph Elementary School
Elizabeth Hinmon

Fulton Science Academy
Benny Bierbaum, Sam Teegardin, Jacob D. Watson

Centennial High School
Sara Dixon

Northview High School
Jordan Graves (two projects), Brandon Burton and Jordan Graves, Jordan Graves and Melissa Burstein, Dave Randolph, Jessica Roberts, Davis Allen, Allison Wachs, Taylor Lovelace, Mark Fillhaber, John Ledford, Tyler Cooper, Tyler Cook, Austin Brown and Kelsey Widem

Roswell High School
Austin Burkhart, Beau Ward, Jessie Herz and McKenzie Weems

TEACH Charter High School
Daniel Condon and Adam Neal

When awarding scores, judges looked for excellence in production, writing, creativity, organization, technical quality, use of resources, relevance and impact.

In addition to a superior state rating, “Math Millionaire” by Seaborn Lee Elementary School’s Nakari Lowman and Genesis Pura, and “Frozen Time” by Fulton Science Academy’s Sam Teegardin, earned perfect scores of 100 points.

All 17 award-winning Fulton projects will compete at the International Student Media Festival finals, held this year in Louisville, Ky., during October 29-31.

City of Roswell Hosts Post Bike Race Summit
Roswell, GA (June 5, 2009)–The City of Roswell invites all interested parties to attend a public meeting and workshop Wednesday, June 24 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill Street.

This will be the second informal meeting designed to give residents, local business owners and stakeholders an opportunity to discuss the Historic Roswell Criterium of 2009 held on April 26, as well as make suggestions for future events. 

Some items of discussion will include: location of the route and events, combining Criterium with other events such as local artist/business festival and ways to improve visibility/marketing of the event to draw more spectators and generate more business for the local merchants.  

This will be an open forum meeting. Attendees should be prepared to present ideas and options to the group.

Space is limited and attendees are asked to RSVP by close of business on Monday, June 22 to 770.594.6420.

31st Annual Possum Trot 10K Results
The 31st Annual Possum Trot 10K Road Race for the Chattahoochee Nature Center generated an excellent turnout of over 1040 runners with fantastic sunny and cool summer weather.  Runners from around the Georgia and the southeast ran for NATURE and participated in the early morning race along the Chattahoochee River on Saturday, May 30th.

The overall Men’s Winner was Michael Strickland of Marietta with a time of 33:53

The overall Women’s Winner was Jill Horst of Rome, Georgia, with a time of 37:05

The Overall Masters Men’s Winner was Danny Westheimer of Dunwoody with a time of 39:25 and the Overall Masters Women’s First Place was Cathy O’Mara of Atlanta with a time of 43:38. 

Roswell’s Mayor, Jere Wood, presided and presented awards to the finalists for Overall and Masters Male and Female finishers.  First, second & third place finishers in 13 age groups also received awards at the ceremony held at the conclusion of the race and had their photos made with the Possum!  Many of these runners will soon compete in the upcoming Peachtree Road Race.  The Possum Trot is a qualifier for the Peachtree and helps runners condition themselves to the summer conditions.

Everyone enjoyed the young and enthusiastic Fun Run participants who did their best in the one mile Fun Run.  Some parents even ran with their young children, teaching them how to pace themselves.  These runners will be future 10K runners someday!  

The Possum Trot was sponsored by Whole Foods Market who provided wholesome refreshments including bagels, water and fresh fruit; Pit Stop Sanitation and the City of the City of Roswell as well as Big Peach Running Company Stores.  The race was a Run & See Georgia event.  The event was also supported by a variety of other local businesses such as Star 94FM and vendors including Roosters, Smoothie King, Rockledge and Katie Belew. 

Runners can now see the official final results of the race that are posted online at www.active.com.   The proceeds from the race will be used to support the ongoing work that the Nature Center does to provide quality environmental education focused on the Chattahoochee River and its watershed to the community.  The runners were able to see the exterior of the new museum and gardens surrounding it.  The Discovery Center will open officially to the public on Saturday, June 20th. 

For more information about next year’s race, call DeAnn Fordham at (770) 992-2055, x 226, or visit our website: www.chattnaturecenter.org

Rain Barrel and Compost Bins on Sale June 20th
Roswell, GA (June 5, 2009)- Keep Roswell Beautiful and the Georgia Recycling Coalition will host a backyard compost bin and rain barrel truckload sale on Saturday, June 20 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill Street. Both the rain barrel and compost bin will cost only $49 each.

Norseman Environmental will be bringing over 800 rain barrels and 90 compost bins to Roswell City Hall. Everyone is welcome. Sales are final and are cash or check only. There is no pre-ordering. The event is rain or shine and there is no limit to the number that may purchased per person.

For more information, please contact Janet Liberman at jliberman@roswellgov.com or 770.594.6451 or the Georgia Recycling Coalition at www.georgiarecycles.org.

Samples of each machine are available for viewing at the Public Works/Environmental Department, Suite 235 in Roswell City Hall until June 12 and then at the Roswell Recycling Center until June 19.
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Johns creek good samaritan
When Richard Taber picked up an apparently discarded, beat-up envelope as he made his maintenance rounds at Johns Creek’s Ocee Park Sunday afternoon, he really didn’t give it much thought – until he looked inside.

What the worker found was $222 in cash along with a license and ATM card. He tucked the envelope away and on Monday morning turned it in. Recreation and Parks Manager Kirk Franz received it from Taber’s supervisor later that day.

By Monday evening, a few miles away in Dekalb County’s Toco Hills, 22-year-old Shana Nemetsky was packing her bags for the return trip to her New York City home. She was wrapping up a visit with her family that had included a Sunday afternoon trip to Johns Creek to watch her stepbrother play softball at Ocee Park.

A feeling of panic came over the Florida native as she realized that the remains of a recently cashed paycheck and – more important given her impending flight – her identification were missing.

Nemetsky called AirTran, which told her she would need two forms of ID to replace the lost license and advised her to contact police. She went to the nearest Dekalb PD office Tuesday but they sent her back to Johns Creek’s department. Finally, on Wednesday with her flight just hours away, she called the Johns Creek call center and explained her dilemma. The operator transferred her to Franz.

“We hadn’t been able to figure out how to reach her and when she called, I had to ask her a lot of questions to make sure she was the rightful owner,” Franz said.

That afternoon, a grateful Nemetsky met her benefactor as Taber personally turned over the cash and cards.

“I was just so happy when they told me they had my money,” the freelance makeup artist told Taber. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“I’m just glad we could get it to you before you left,” replied Taber.

“That level of honesty is pretty impressive,” Nemetsky said. “Not everyone would turn in that much cash. You can be sure I’ll come back to Johns Creek the next time I visit.”

City Manager John Kachmar also praised Taber’s “highly ethical” decision.

“It would have been very easy for him to put the money in his pocket and no one would be the wiser,” Kachmar said. “Especially now, when the economy is so uncertain, one could see how a person might give in to that temptation. But Mr. Taber did the right thing, not the easy thing, and I’m proud to have him representing the City of Johns Creek.”

Taber works for Optech-Monette, a subcontractor for CH2M HILL, the Englewood, CO, company that provides most municipal services including recreation and parks to the City of Johns Creek under a public-private partnership contract.

Johns Creek selects ‘Firefighter of the Quarter’
Capt. Chris Coons is the first recipient of the Johns Creek “Firefighter of the Quarter,” recognizing his exemplary service and leadership for the Johns Creek Fire Department.

“Captain Coons represents the best of today’s highly-skilled firefighting and emergency response professional. Along with his skills, he brings a strong sense of community, which exemplifies the Department’s commitment to the residents and businesses of Johns Creek,” said Fire Chief Joseph Daniels in announcing the award for the first quarter of 2009.

A native of Lawrenceville, Ga., Coons served 15 years with the City of Atlanta Fire Department before joining the Johns Creek Fire Department at its launch in October 2008. He serves with Battalion 1 at Fire Station 3.

“All of the firefighters here in Johns Creek have been given a tremendous opportunity to build a new, top-notch department to serve this great community. I’m truly honored to win this award and I want to share it with my crew and thank them for all their hard work,” said Coons.

A paramedic, hazardous materials specialist / instructor and technical rescue technician, Coons is also a Weapons of Mass Destruction Instructor for the Department of Homeland Security.

He is currently completing his B.A. in Emergency Management from Grand Canyon University.