Scarecrows took over the Marietta Square in October as individuals, groups, businesses, schools and clubs created scarecrows for display in Glover Park. As part of the city’s Halloween Happenings, Marietta Parks and Recreation awarded prizes for the best scarecrows, listed below with links to their pictures.

Overall
First Place: Gallet & Assoc of Georgia, Inc
Second Place: The Sole Sisters
Third Place: Delmar Gardens of Smyrna

Non-profit
First Place: Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum
Second Place: Marietta Jaycees
Third Place: Keep Marietta Beautiful

Business
First Place: Bank of North Georgia
Second Place: Hair Art
Third Place: Something New

School Division
First Place: Marietta Charter School
Second Place: Sawyer Road elementary
Third Place: Marietta Middle School

Most Creative Use of Materials:  Marietta Board of Lights and Water
Spirit Award:  US Navy

I thought I would post this story. Praise God they have found this sicko. Last night I was watching Patsy’s sister on Fox News - she made an excellent point that even if they never did catch whoever did this, that we have a just God and one day, he/she would be accountable. It makes me sad for the Ramsy’s and how much scrutiny they went through over the past 10 years. Any thoughts?

BOULDER, Colo. - A former schoolteacher was arrested Wednesday in Thailand in the slaying of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey - a surprise breakthrough in a lurid, decade-old murder mystery that had cast a cloud of suspicion over her parents.

Ramsey family attorney Lin Wood identified the suspect as John Mark Karr, 41. Federal officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the name, and one law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Boulder police had tracked him down online.

Wood said the arrest vindicated JonBenet’s parents, John and Patsy Ramsey. Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer June 24.

“John and Patsy lived their lives knowing they were innocent, trying to raise a son despite the furor around them,” Wood said. “The story of this family is a story of courage, and story of an American injustice and tragedy that ultimately people will have to look back on and hopefully learn from.”

The attorney said the Ramseys learned about the suspect at least a month before Patsy Ramsey’s death. “It’s been a very long 10 years, and I’m just sorry Patsy isn’t here for me to hug her neck,” Wood said.

Karr was a teacher who once lived in Conyers, Ga., according to Wood. The attorney said the Ramseys gave police information about Karr before he was identified as a suspect.

Wood would not say how the Ramseys knew Karr. But JonBenet was born in Atlanta in 1990, and the Ramseys lived in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody for several years before moving to Colorado in 1991.

Thai police said that when Karr was arrested, he denied any involvement in JonBenet’s slaying. But a source close to the investigation in the U.S. said Karr confessed to certain elements of the crime. Also, a law enforcement source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Karr had been communicating periodically with somebody in Boulder who had been following the case and cooperating with law enforcement officials.

District Attorney Mary Lacy said the arrest followed several months of work, but she said no details would be released until Thursday.

U.S. authorities said Karr was initially taken into custody in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges. But Thai police Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul said he was unaware of any criminal charges the suspect faced in Thailand.

Karr was arrested at his apartment in downtown Bangkok at the request of U.S. officials, and was being held until they arrived, Thai police said. Suwat said he expected U.S. officials to take Karr back to America in the next few days.

Karr’s brother in an interview with WAGA-TV in Atlanta called the accusations “ridiculous, without a doubt.”

Nate Karr added that suspicious e-mails cited by authorities related to a book his brother was writing. He declined to comment further, saying the family would have more to say on Thursday.

JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family’s home in Boulder on Dec. 26, 1996. Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note in the house demanding $118,000 for her daughter.

The image of blonde-haired little JonBenet in a cowgirl costume and other beauty pageant outfits has haunted TV talk shows ever since, helping feed myriad theories about her killer, and the case became one of the most sensational unsolved murder cases in the nation.

Over the years, some experts suggested that investigators had botched the case so thoroughly that it might never be solved.

Investigators at one point said JonBenet’s parents were under an “umbrella of suspicion” in the slaying. And some news accounts cast suspicion on JonBenet’s older brother. But the Ramseys insisted an intruder killed their daughter, and no one was ever charged.

In the months after the slaying, Patsy Ramsey went before the cameras, vigorously defending herself and her husband, chastising the media and blasting local law enforcement as incompetent.

In a statement Wednesday, John Ramsey said: “Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case, and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today’s development almost 10 years after our daughter’s murder.”

The Ramseys moved back to Atlanta after their daughter’s slaying.

Wood lashed out at the frenzy that long surrounded the case, and he accused the media of “the most obscene false accusations.” “I think the public’s mind was so poisoned against this family that no one was able for too many years to look at the evidence,” he said.

Patsy Ramsey’s sister, Pam Paugh, of Roswell, Ga., said the family was celebrating the news of the arrest. “We are elated. We are elated. If this is, in fact, the killer, then we have a very heinous killer off the streets to never harm another child,” Paugh said.

Lib Waters of Marietta, Ga., visited the gravesites of Patsy and JonBenet Ramsey in the Atlanta suburb immediately after hearing news reports about the arrest.

Waters, who described herself as a longtime friend of the Ramsey family, taped a piece of notebook paper to JonBenet Ramsey’s headstone that read: “Dearest Patsy, Justice has come for you and Jon. Rest in peace.”

In 2003, a federal judge in Atlanta concluded that the evidence she reviewed suggested an intruder killed JonBenet. That opinion came with the judge’s decision to dismiss a libel and slander lawsuit against the Ramseys by a freelance journalist, whom the Ramseys had named as a suspect in their daughter’s murder. The Boulder district attorney at the time said she agreed with the judge’s declaration.

“Today is additional vindication of the family,” Wood said.

Wood said he and the Ramseys “have been totally amazed and impressed with the professionalism of law enforcement” under Lacy’s direction. Lacy became district attorney in 2001.

Lawrence Schiller, author of the 1999 book “Perfect Murder, Perfect Town” about the case, said Wednesday he understood the man had been on a list of sexual offenders who were suspects for a long time.

“There are a lot of facts about her actual death that the public does not know.” Schiller said. “If he did confess to some facts of the murder, to reveal those facts of the case, that would finish the puzzle.”

Among the facts he said were not generally known was the murder weapon and what the killer did with it.

DNA was found beneath JonBenet’s fingernails and inside her underwear, but Wood said two years ago that detectives were unable to match it to anyone in an FBI database. It was not immediately known Wednesday whether investigators had any DNA evidence against Karr.

Bob Grant, a former Adams County district attorney who worked on the case, said there was never enough evidence to convince him that any potential suspect could be successfully prosecuted.

“I wasn’t convinced it was an inside job, nor was I convinced it was an outside job,” he said. “All the outside suspects were cleared after exhaustive investigation, and there were a whole lot of outside suspects.”

Associated Press Writers Suzanne Gamboa and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington; Jon Sarche, Judith Kohler, Robert Weller and Chase Squires in Denver; Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles; Harry R. Weber in Atlanta; and Doug Gross in Marietta, Ga., contributed to this report.

Hundreds turned out for a party on the historic downtown Square to
celebrate Marietta being named of the 10 best cities in America. U.S.
Congressman Phil Gingrey congratulated the community, and Governor
Perdue sent a proclamation recognizing Marietta’s achievement as a 2006
All-America City.

The award is the oldest and most respected community
recognition program in the country. Nearly 600 communities began the
application process, and Marietta beat other national finalists for the
award, which recognizes exemplary grassroots community problem-solving.

The Marietta Master Chorale, conducted by Jerid Morisco, started the party by singing Georgia on Mind and America the Beautiful. Volunteers served free hot dogs, cake and drinks, and children enjoyed balloon animals and face painting.

Sharon Metz, a member of the National Civic League board and juror for the national competition, congratulated Marietta on behalf of the organization that crowned the winners. She explained the importance of the award to the community and why judges chose Marietta as one of the country’s best cities.

Marietta City Manager Bill Bruton and Mayor Bill Dunaway presented each member of the team who competed in California a plaque. Members of city council also thanked the community organizations that were a part of Marietta’s application for the award.

The Mustangs played a free outdoor concert, and the crowd wrapped up the evening by doing the chicken dance and electric slide.

The All-America City award is like the “Academy Award®” for cities and means the work the community is doing is among the best in the country. Since 1949, the All-America City award has recognized civic excellence, honoring communities of all sizes where citizens, government, businesses and volunteer organizations work together to address critical local issues.   

Being selected a winner substantiates Marietta is a model for the nation with extensive planning efforts and approaches to facing difficult challenges in innovative and collaborative ways. Winners in previous years have been honored at the White House.

Marietta applied for the award and was selected a finalist. Then a delegation of community members presented the city’s programs and successes to a jury of national civic affairs experts during a three-day competition against other finalists in Anaheim, California.

Marietta presented several community projects to the judges. The first was Marietta’s efforts to reduce crime and stabilize deteriorating neighborhoods by creating M-STAR. The citywide program combines community policing and computer analysis of crime trends with accountability of city staff and public involvement. M-STAR has resulted in many successes, the most notable being a 22 percent reduction of crime.

The Marietta Revitalization Program was the second initiative submitted to judges. Its goal is to save the city from decline and create a stronger sense of community by balancing the city’s housing stock, stabilizing school enrollments, creating affordable workforce housing and revitalizing neighborhoods. The city has made substantial progress toward increasing the percentage of homeowners while reducing substandard rental units. Over $335 million has been invested in Marietta’s redevelopment.

Judges required a program to benefit children, and the city highlighted Marietta Reads. The citywide effort to foster reading and literacy has increased student test scores and book circulation, while students read one billion words.

Dozens of community organizations and programs were cited in the city’s award application, and many were part of the delegation that competed before the jury. Everyone in Marietta should be proud, because winning the award is the result of the entire community working together every day.

Allgood Neighborhood Revitalization Task Force
Atlanta Regional Commission
Aviation Museum
Boys and Girls Club
Brown Park Cemetery Restoration Project
Center for Family Resources
Chattahoochee Technical College
Citizens Government Academy
Citizens Police Academy
Civil Service Commission
Clean City Commission
Cobb Chamber of Commerce
Cobb County
Cobb County Comprehensive Traffic Plan Task Force
Cobb Housing, Inc.
Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society
Cobb Municipal Association
Cobb/Paulding Regional Transportation Task Force
Communities in Schools of Marietta/Cobb County
Community Leadership Development Program
Downtown Marietta Development Authority
Faith based organizations, including local mosque
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Franklin Road Community Association
Franklin Road Task Force
Georgia Ballet
Georgia Department of Education
Georgia Department of Transportation
Georgia Municipal Association
Homeowners’ associations
IMPACT
Keep Marietta Beautiful
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield
Kennesaw State University
Kiwanis Club of Marietta
Latin American Association
Leadership Cobb
Loop Group neighborhood association
Marietta Business Association
Marietta City Schools
Marietta Civitan Club
Marietta Housing Authority
Marietta Initiative for Neighborhood Transformation
Marietta Mayor and City Council
Marietta Metro Rotary Club
Marietta Museum of History
Marietta Parks and Recreation Department
Marietta Planning Commission
Marietta Reads!
Marietta Redevelopment Corporation
Marietta Schools Foundation
Marietta Tree Keepers
Marietta Weed and Seed committee
Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art
M-Star community policing program
MUST Ministries
NAACP
Powder Springs Road Master Plan participants
Root House
Rotary Club of Marietta
Southern Polytechnic State University
Strand Theatre
Theatre in the Square
WellStar Health System

###

Marietta City Council denied August 9, 2006 a request by Covenant Christian Ministries to rezone property at 838 Powder Springs Street from single family residential classification to community retail commercial zoning. Covenant Christian Ministries planned to build a church, school and dormitory on the site.

Marietta City Council approved route C as the local preferred alternative for the Powder Springs Road Connector at its meeting August 9, 2006. The Powder Springs Road Connector is a transportation improvement project that would link Powder Springs Road with South Cobb Drive to reroute traffic before it reaches the city center.

Alternative C begins at Powder Springs Road north of the Brownstone Square subdivision. The new four-lane road would have a median and run between Brownstone Square subdivision and Sourwood Circle. The road would turn eastward to Sandtown Road and follow a newly widened four-lane Leader Road with a median to South Cobb Parkway.

Voters approved funding for the project as part of the 2005 Cobb County special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) for transportation improvement projects. Although Marietta City Council previously approved a route for the Connector, the current Council recommended a new preference, which will be submitted to county and state transportation officials for their consideration. Cobb County and the state of Georgia must also agree on the preferred route before funding can be authorized.

The $15 million Powder Springs Connector is currently on the Atlanta Regional Commission’s long-range plan with funding for engineering to begin in 2006, right of way acquisition to begin 2012-2020 and construction to begin 2021-2030. The city of Marietta and Cobb County plan to request that the project be moved forward to the Transportation Improvement Plan for right of way acquisition in 2008 and construction in 2010.

For more information, call 770-794-5650.

Morning everyone! We had reported this story a few weeks back, but since the main star of it wrote us directly with all the details, we wanted to share it with the rest of you all (with his permission of course) !

Enjoy!

A 4th of July to Remember
9:00am- 2.5 weeks before our baby’s due date, my wife Erin and I went to Marietta, GA to see the 4th of July parade .
12:00pm – After watching floats and marching bands, we drove up to Lake Allatoona to enjoy picnicking and swimming. At the Lake, she told me that she had very small contractions but that there was no pain.
3:05pm – We arrived at the ESPN Zone in Buckhead to watch the world cup semifinal between Germany and Italy. Many of our friends were there to join us. At the Bar, she had more contractions; I even timed them. They were a little stronger but still did not hurt.
5:15pm – We went home and Erin rested for about an hour. At this time, her contractions were inconsistent in frequency and duration.
7:30 pm - Deciding to go to Marietta Square, we listened to “Little Big Town” (one of Erin’s Favorite bands) which played prior to the fire works.
The story really begins here:
Towards the end of the concert, Erin’s contractions were yet a little stronger, but it was still 2.5 weeks early so we did not worry too much. As the fireworks were nearing completion, Erin and I headed out to get a jump start home when she met one of the singers. I took a picture of them. As she told me she was now experiencing a little pain, we quickly walked to our car. By the time we reached our car, all the other 10,000 people reached their cars too, and there it was: THE WORLDS WORST TRAFFIC JAM AND LEVAN’S WORST NIGHTMARE COME TRUE. (And for nine months, I had been planning for 285 traffic. HAHA!) We sat in out car in the parking lot for 30 minutes and moved at the most a few yards. Erin’s pain increased; she began to cry. My panic increased also. I finally maneuvered the car out of the parking lot but traffic was worse on the little street (we were about 30-35 minutes from Northside). I jumped out of the car and asked other drivers to let me through because we were having a baby. This effort took us no more than 100 feet. Panic took a hold of me; I was sweating like a big dog in the humid weather. I called 911, and they said it would be very hard to find me in such bad traffic. I called back 5 minutes later, turned my flashers on, jumped out of the car, and ran like a crazy man looking for a cop. I finally found a cop; he came to the car and called some paramedics and the ambulance. Erin was sitting down. I thought she for sure was going to have our kid there. Finally, the ambulance made it through the traffic. They loaded Erin onto a stretcher and into the vehicle. I quickly backed the car up over the sidewalk to the parking lot, grabbed the camera (I am a smart man even though I was in panic), and sat in the passenger seat of the ambulance. In 25-30 minutes we arrived at Northside (11:15pm). Erin was already 7 cm dilated (craziness). In a short 30 minutes, she was fully dilated. And in 1 hour after being at the hospital, baby DANTE KAKHADZE was born. No epidural, no drugs, but O’boy was she in PAIN. (Note to future Dads in the labor room: don’t talk and do what she asks you to doJ). The whole experience was amazing; DANTE came out very healthy 16 minutes after midnight (so his birthday is July 5th) 7 lbs. 9 oz and 20.5 in. It was a blessing that labor in the hospital only took 1 hour, but I probably lost 2 years of my life before we got there thinking that I would have to deliver the baby in the car.
So nightmares can come true; however, we had many blessing that day: we had a full day of fun, Erin saw her favorite band, and Italy beat Germany and advanced to the world cup finals. Labor only took 1 hour and much more.
Lesson learned: if (when) we have a second child, you can find us camping out in the hospital parking lot for the last 4 weeks of pregnancy.J
Advice to fellow Atlantans: Never underestimate the traffic in our city, and when planning to reach your destination in a hurry, expect the unexpected, which, quite predictably, happens very often in Atlanta.
-Levan

My family and I were on the Square last night. After enjoying a meal at the Pizza Company, we were walking by the fountain and noticed that the lights were still on at Sugar Cakes Patisserie. During the week, I’ve always seen the charming dessert house, but it’s been closed. This being the weekend, though, was to our advantage as we walked into the entrance of the shop around 9:30 pm.

Before even eating the inviting foods, the decor of the location is aesthetically pleasing: warm, simple, modern. The chairs have a whimsical “coffee-cup-with-steam” carving in the backs of them. The pastry case is the main draw. It’s large, open, and showcases each creation for the customer’s viewing (and eventually, eating) pleasure. I really liked the small, orange lights in the cafe; they draw you in from outside.

The owner and dessert artist, Ted Arpon, was at the bakery last night. He has been working with pastries for 7 years. Arpon attended culinary school in Chicago, where he studied under a French mentor. Sugar Cakes definitely boasts an elegant, European-style preparation in their dessert making.

For our desserts, we enjoyed a chocolate cake with a raspberry filling, along with a nice dish of creme brulee. The chocolate was fine and subtle, without being overpoweringly sweet. The combination of chocolate and the raspberry filling was amazing, and the presentation was exquisite. The dish of creme brulee was delicious; the server behind the counter even let me come back to watch the sugar being carmelized on top of the dessert. Our daughter enjoyed a thick, rich chocolate chip cookie for her nighttime snack.

I would recommend this wonderful establishment to anyone looking for dessert on the Square. Sugar Cakes Patisserie has been opened for approximately 3 months and is located at 101 North Park Square. Their phone number is 770.218.9994. A website (www.sugarcakespatisserie.com) is coming soon.

WOW. What a story. I totally agree with him. Traffic after the concert on the Square on the 4th of July was NUTS. I haven’t EVER seen it as bad as it was that night. Pure chaos. Read this story….

Thanks to the AJC!

By LEVAN KAKHADZE
Published on: 07/19/06

Two and a half weeks before our baby’s due date, my wife, Erin, and I went to Marietta to see the Fourth of July parade.

After watching floats and marching bands, we drove to Lake Allatoona to enjoy picnicking and swimming. At the lake, she told me that she had very small contractions but that there was no pain.

Levan Kakhadze lives in Smyrna.

That night, we decided to go to Marietta Square, to hear “Little Big Town” (one of Erin’s Favorite bands), which played before the fireworks.

Toward the end of the concert, Erin’s contractions were yet a little stronger, but it was still two and a half weeks early, so we did not worry too much. As the fireworks were nearing completion, Erin and I headed out to get a jump start home. By the time we reached our car, all the other 10,000 people reached their cars, too, and there it was: the world’s worst traffic jam and my worst nightmare.

We sat in out car in the parking lot for 30 minutes and moved at the most a few yards. Erin’s pain increased; she began to cry. My panic increased also.

I finally maneuvered the car out of the parking lot, but traffic was worse on the little street on the square. (We were about 30-35 minutes from Northside Hospital). I jumped out of the car and asked other drivers to let me through because we were having a baby. This effort took us no more than 100 feet. Panic took a hold of me; I was sweating like a big dog in the humid weather.

I called 911, and the dispatcher said it would be very hard to find me in such bad traffic. I called back five minutes later, turned my flashers on, jumped out of the car, and ran like a crazy man looking for a cop. I finally found a cop. He came to the car and called some paramedics and the ambulance. I thought for sure Erin was going to have our kid there.

Finally, the ambulance made it through the traffic. An hour after being at the hospital, baby Dante Kakhadze was born.

Advice to fellow Atlantans: Never underestimate the traffic in our city, and when planning to reach your destination in a hurry, expect the unexpected, which, quite predictably, happens very often in Atlanta.

Level 1 Restrictions ban outdoor water use from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. No outdoor water use is permitted on Fridays. Outdoor water use is allowed during non-banned hours on scheduled days as follows:

Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday - Even numbered or unnumbered addresses may water.

Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday - Odd numbered addresses may water.

For example, an even-numbered address may water only on a scheduled day from 12:01 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and may water again from 4:01 p.m. until midnight. The same schedule applies for odd-numbered addresses.

The Cobb County Water System will strictly enforce these restrictions. Warnings are issued for a first offense. Second, and each subsequent time results in escalating fines for each offense up to $500, water service disconnection, as well as prosecution.

For more information, call (770) 423-1000 or visit the Cobb County Water System web site at www.cobbwater.org.

Not that this is the first time we’ve encountered such rules, but what are your thoughts on these restrictions, citizens of Marietta? Are they workable for you or are they difficult to manage? Do you think they do a good enough job of conserving water for the city?

Get ready - Art in the Park is less than 2 months away!

Whether you are an artist or an art lover, Art in the Park in Marietta, Georgia is the place to be on Labor Day Weekend. This juried art show has become one of the largest in the Southeast United States thanks to the quality of artists who enter the competition.

Marietta has maintained a cultural tradition that exceeds a city of our size, and this festival has contributed to this legacy. The juried art show spotlights original works of fine art and crafts including paintings, photography, pottery, graphics, sculptures, jewelry and much more. It offers a chance to not only view some of the finest work of contemporary artists, but also meet them and discuss their work. Many art lovers make this a “must attend” event for that very reason

In addition to the fine art and crafts that encircle Glover Park, there are antiques shops and galleries that shoppers can browse. Food is served by many fine restaurants and vendors on the square, and just a short distance from the festival is the Marietta/Cobb County Museum of Art, which makes Art in the Park an event to remember!