Archive for September, 2009
Vickery Residents and Shop Owners Pull Together for Lily Anderson
categories: Announcements, Important Causes
Lily Anderson is a typical 8 year old girl. She loves cute little animals, playing with her friends and new clothes – what little girl doesn’t! She lives in Vickery with her parents, Joey and Jennifer Anderson and her little sister Audrey who is 2. Her Mom is a realtor in the community and her husband built most of the kitchens of the homes in Vickery.
A few weeks ago, just before Labor Day, Lily was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Cancer and it happens to be in Stage 4. In short she has a large tumor in her abdomen and the cancer has spread to many other parts of her body. But the family remains positive and optimistic and the entire community is rallying to help. Hearing about and seeing the community come together and help this family means everything and make Vickery the special place that it is.
Because lime-green is Lily’s favorite color, there were green ribbons and lilies provided by Jill Chatham, owner of the Flower Post, and volunteers put them on trees in the community for Lily to see when she comes home from the hospital. There is also a run being organized to raise money for her treatment and many of the local shops are donating as well.
On October 11ththere will be a run in Vickery, “Lily’s Run” which will start at 1pm. There will be food, prizes, games and activities for the kids, but most importantly it will be an opportunity to turn out with the community to help and raise money for a beautiful little girl.
If you can’t make it, please consider donating to the cause to help Lily and her family fight the good fight and battle this disease. Your donations and your prayers are truly appreciated. You can click on the heart below to read more about this young family and make a donation.
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently 1 Comment »
Cogburn Woods Overcapacity: School Superintendent Loe Outlines Plan
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Local Information, Milton Real Estate, Schools
Tuesday night at the Milton High School auditorium Fulton County School Board Representative Katie Reeves and Superintendent Cindy Loe, PhD met with a group of concerned parents about the overcrowding at Cogburn Woods Elementary.
In light of the issue, it seemed to be a pretty small group of people who showed up but some of those that did show up expressed their frustration with the mistake. The issue centers on the fact that Cogburn Woods is over enrollment by 10.9%, all on the heels of a wide redistricting last year that should have prevented this. As you can see in the chart below, Manning Oaks Elementary is also over planned enrollment by 4.4%:
| Comparison of Enrollment - May 2009 to September 2009 and FY10 Projections | ||||
| School | FY09 End of Year | FY10 Month 1** | Forecast | Over/Under |
| Alpharetta | 760 | 711 | 717 | -0.8% |
| Birmingham Falls | N/A | 765 | 752 | 1.7% |
| Cogburn Woods | 952 | 1007 | 908 | 10.9% |
| Manning Oaks | 973 | 756 | 724 | 4.4% |
| Summit Hill | 1058 | 794 | 780 | 1.8% |
| **Official First Month Enrollment; 9/4/2009 | ||||
The issue occurred when school board planners under-estimated the number of students coming from apartments and new townhome communities close by; and in turn didn’t move enough students from Cogburn Woods to Summit Hill or Birmingham Falls - or moved too many students from Manning Oaks to Cogburn Woods. However, I have to take my hat off to Superintendent Loe for stepping up and stating, “the planning department is right on target with projections 99.9% of the time but in this case…we just plain blew it”. Anytime anyone in a position of responsibility takes ownership for a mistake I’m more inclined to trust a plan from them to correct the issue.
So, what is their plan? First I’ll tell you what it isn’t. There were a few calls for some students to be moved immediately so the total enrollment would be in line with original projections. Kudos to Katie Reeves for shutting down this suggestion right away. I think it’s safe to say it would solve the immediate problem but not one parent would want it to be their kids and we should never consider moving students in the middle of the year, disrupting their education.
The plan is two-fold; first parents in Cogburn Woods would be offered an opportunity to apply for hardship transfers if they feel the overcrowding is effecting their child. Hardship applicants would be given a first-come first-served option at moving their child to Summit Hill or Birmingham Falls ONLY if slots exist as no additional teachers would be staffed to accommodate this. Those parents would also be responsible for getting their children to and from school.
Secondly, the school board planners would re-evaluate student population and projections in December / January and a meeting would be scheduled after that so the community could hear the proposal for some small adjustment / redistricting for Cogburn Woods and Manning Oaks. However, this is problematic as both schools are over enrolled and are in a high growth area. Some parents attending made suggestions that student enrollment at Summit Hill and Birmingham Falls would need to be included in that evaluation as well. I agree with this as the over enrollment issue for Cogburn shouldn’t simply be pushed back on Manning Oaks.
This is a sensitive issue for all parents involved but a question comes to mind and I wonder what others think about this. There are some classes at Summit Hill that have more than 25 kids becasue they didn’t have quite enough kids in a particulare grade to warrant an additional class. Cogburn Woods as a whole is over enrolled but their class sizes are 25 or less. Which situation is worse? An over crowded school with appropriate class sizes or an under enrolled school with some larger class sizes?
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently 2 Comments »
Matilda’s Music Under The Pines - A Hidden Gem in Alpharetta
categories: Local Information, Miscellaneous
I’ve run into more than a few people lately who have said, “I’ve heard of that, it sounds like fun I should really go”. Well the concert series runs through the end of October so if you haven’t yet, you should really check out Matilda’s Under the Pines one Friday or Saturday night before then.
If you don’t know about Matilda’s, let me paint you a picture. Just south of Alpharetta, on Hwy 9 there are a collection of funky little cottages full of artwork, painted furniture and crafts from a wide range of local artists. Mary Jane Potter has created something you won’t find anywhere else and once you visit you’ll wonder how you ever missed it (although you’ve probably driven by it a thousand times).
Easy, Casual and Fun:The music usually starts around 8:30pm every Friday and Saturday and it’s $10 ea. to get in. There are tables and chairs or you can bring your own, along with a picnic basket of food and the drink of your choice. But if you decide to go at the last minute, don’t worry. There is great barbecue for sale - just bring your cooler and stroll on in.
This past Saturday the Barn Rats played some great bluegrass and the weather was perfect. In this economy who isn’t looking for an easy, inexpensive, fun night out? An how cool is it to relax with a glass of wine or cold beer and listen to live music being played on the front porch of a little shack in Alpharetta? I’m looking forward to hearing some blues this weekend. Oh, by the way, your dog is welcome too! If you go, let me know what you think and say hi to Mary Jane (on the right below)!
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently 1 Comment »
Northview High School at Head of Class
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Milton Real Estate, Roswell Real Estate, Schools
There is a reason both locals and people from out-of-state pick North Fulton to buy a home and the recently reported SAT scores show exactly why. Students, teachers and people who live in the Northview High School distract can be proud of the fact that the average score there was up 31 points this year to 1722 out of a possible 2400.
What is really amazing is that they had the highest participation rate with over 550 students taking the test. It’s great for those kids and great for homeowners living in that district. Here is the list:
| High School | Total Score | Change |
| Northview | 1722 | +31 |
| Alpharetta | 1686 | +28 |
| Chattahoochee | 1678 | +11 |
| Centenial | 1614 | -19 |
| Milton | 1657 | -10 |
| Roswell | 1671 | -6 |
| Fulton County | 1584 | -9 |
| GA | 1460 | -6 |
| U.S. | 1509 | -2 |
Contact us about homes for sale in any of these High School districts, search for homes in the Northview HS district or specify the High School District you’re interested in living in.
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently No Comments »
Pure Expands and Woodstock Says Thanks!
categories: Local Information, Stuff I like to talk about
I had the opportunity to take part in a pre-opening event Friday for a new Pure restaurant in Downtown Woodstock and it looks like another hit for Sedgwick Restaurant Group. For most everyone in Alpharetta and Milton, we know how popular the original Pure is every night of the week and by all accounts the new location will be just as busy, but with a rooftop bar and more space for patrons.
This pre-opening event was a chance for the community to try out the great food and for the staff to ramp up for what I’m sure will be a local favorite. We started with margaritas on the roof top and it felt like we were at a resort. The had live music and the view of downtown Woodstock was great. Chris Sedgwick came up with a design of canvas “sails” and the furniture is sleek, cool and comfortable.
Because this was a pre-openning “warm-up” for the staff, they let each table draw their appetizer and dinner selections from a cup so each dish was a surprise. The Tres Ceviche with shrimp, fish and octopus was light, fresh and a perfect appetizer. For dinner the chipotle chicken tacos and hanger steak with jalapeno mac & cheese was awesome.
For those loyal Pure fans, don’t worry! The food, atmosphere and awesome margaritas are just a delicious as they always are. This is the first of many new locations that the Franchise is planning to add, with Inman Park coming on line in a few weeks.
Coincidentally, this also happened during Downtown Woodstocks Friday Night Live event. Similar to Roswell’s Alive after 5 on historic Canton St., there is live music, art galleries, events in the park and, of course, great food from local restaurants.
I encourage you to check it out and let me know what you had that was the best, and if it was the margarita - that’s fine too!
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently 1 Comment »
