North Fulton Students’ Creative Successes Milton HS Student’s Artwork Selected for Prestigious ExhibitionMilton HS senior Sloan Salinas was juried into the sixth annual 2021 National Art Honor Society and National Junior Art Honor Society Exhibition, sponsored by the National Art Education Association (NAEA). The event showcases the work of talented student artists across the U.S. who are members of the organizations. Though normally held live at the NAEA Studio and Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, this year’s exhibition is virtual and runs through April 30.Salinas’ submission entitled Easy Listening was an unusual technology-based medium of 100 pairs of earbuds knitted together to make a scarf. Though she initially bought them as part of an interactive piece for her AP Art Show, COVID-19 shut down that event. So, she innovatively upcycled them into “artwear” and submitted them as an exhibition entry. Her piece was chosen from 1,187 submissions and is one of 93 works representing 49 schools and 20 states.Alpharetta HS Student Actors Win Regional AwardAlpharetta HS student actors participated in the first round of Georgia High School Association Region One Act Play, a competitive event for theater students held at Milton HS. AHS Thespians took home first place in Region 5 7A, which qualified them for the state competition. The competition requires a performance of a published play or musical. Students must move their set onstage, perform the work, strike the set, and clear the stage within an hour. Under the guidance of AHS Theatre Director Sarah Stoffle, the group’s chosen work was Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, written by Matt Fox. Jurors judge on staging, vocalization, characterization, and overall script interpretation.Chattahoochee HS Student Illustrates Children’s BookChattahoochee HS sophomore Riley Akers recently illustrated a children’s book in collaboration with her mother, June Akers. Entitled Riley Madison Discovers the Superpower of a List, the book was published in December 2020.Though Riley wasn’t quite ready when her mom approached her several years ago with the proposal to illustrate the book, citing the need for more practice, 2020 was the year it came together. Now, the book is a #1 new release on Amazon.com in multiple categories. The duo’s second book, Riley Madison Discovers the Superpower of Time, is due out in summer 2021.
Roswell Garden Club Environmental Blog Competition Winners Announced Inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg’s pledge to the U.N. and the National Garden Club, Inc., to “protect and conserve the natural resources of the planet Earth and promise to promote education,” the Roswell Garden Club invited local high school students to write a blog post using the following prompt: “How can we move from consumers to caretakers of our air, water, forest, land, and wildlife by reducing carbon footprints?” Students were encouraged to blog about ways communities, organizations, and individuals can have a positive impact on the environment. All three winners are Roswell HS students:1st Place - Tara Goff received $100 for her blog entitled “The Do’s and Don’ts of Recycling.”2nd Place - Savannah Young received $50 for her blog entitled “We Can Lower Our Carbon Footprint and End Climate Change — Here’s How.” 3rd Place - Maynor Chinchilla received $50 for his blog entitled “Why Am I Helping the Environment?” The students’ work can be viewed on the blog tab at RoswellGardenClub.com.
Milton Remembers Tim Lester In January, the Milton community lost Tim Lester — a beloved citizen who, after an exemplary NFL career, shaped lives for the better throughout the community. A Miami native, Lester played a total of eight seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dallas Cowboys. On the field, the fullback became known as “The Bus Driver” for leading the way for Hall of Famer Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. Off the field, Lester was recognized two straight years as an NFL Unsung Hero for his contributions to his community. After retirement, Lester became even more active as a humanitarian, coach, minister, and public speaker. And, fortunately for Milton, he settled with his family in this community where he helped found a youth football program, coached football at numerous local schools, and became a treasured mentor, neighbor, and friend to many.
Roswell’s Bromberg On National Engineering Panel The City of Roswell is pleased to announce Lenor M. Bromberg, interim director of Community Development, recently took part in an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) event, the latest in a series of accomplishments in the civil engineering society. Bromberg was a panelist in the ASCE’s event “Explore Engineering Careers in Public Agencies” as part of the organization’s Career Discovery Series.She participated in this ASCE panel discussion about engineering careers, which was partially prerecorded and partially live question-and-answer. The prerecorded portion included information about what the Community Development department does, what Bromberg does in her role as deputy director, why she chose local government, and what her day-to-day activities include.This panel discussion came after Bromberg was appointed to ASCE’s newly formed Government Engineers Council (GEC) and was named chair of the ASCE Committee on Technical Advancement. The GEC was created in late 2020 to spawn a community within ASCE for government engineers to collaborate within the Society. Bromberg was appointed to her role with GEC along with 11 of her peers.The Committee on Technical Advancement is a ASCE committee that consists of nine technical groups and is charged with being the incubator of new technical activities within the organization. It considers changes to standards relating to sustainability, energy, and computing, among others.ASCE represents more than 150,000 members of the civil engineering profession in 177 countries. Founded in 1852, ASCE is the nation’s oldest engineering society.
Roswell Fire Department Offers Car Seat Program Thanks to a 2021 car seat mini grant from the Georgia Department of Public Health, Injury Prevention Program, the Roswell Fire Department (RFD) is providing car seats and education to financially eligible families in North Fulton. The program will help ensure children are safe while riding in motor vehicles. “It’s our responsibility to keep our children safe,” said Lt. Ed Botts, RFD. “The car seat mini grant is a great opportunity to help our community and help protect our children from serious injuries or death in motor vehicle crashes.”In Fulton County, RFD and Safe Kids North Fulton educate parents and caregivers on how to properly install and use car seats, offer car seat inspections, and provide car seats and booster seats to needy families. Through the car seat mini grant, agencies supporting more than 120 counties are working to keep Georgia’s children safe. These programs help families get their children buckled up right, every trip, every time. The program is funded by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.For more information about the car seat program, contact Lt. Botts at 770-594-6225 or visit SafeKidsNorthFulton.org.
Fix a Leak Week and City of Roswell’s Tips for Understanding Your Water Bill The first step in changing the way you use water in the future is taking the time to understand how much water you use today. The best place to find this information is on your monthly water bill. The average American uses around 88 gallons per day per person. That means a family of four would use approximately 10,500 gallons in a 30-day period. The Roswell water utility bill provides a usage trend/consumption history to show how your water use has varied over the course of the year. This is a helpful tool to see when your water use reaches its highest levels. The Roswell water utility rate includes a monthly fixed base rate, based on the meter size, which is charged to all customers regardless of the amount of water used. An additional, variable fee is added to the base rate dependent upon the gallons used per month. The base rate covers costs for maintaining existing infrastructure and constructing new infrastructure. The variable fee is the price the resident pays per gallon of water used, which reflects the costs of providing water including chemical treatment to provide safe water and energy to deliver water.The bill also includes a space for special messages, contact information, payment options, and payment requirements (due date, late fees, penalties, and disconnect/reconnect fees).Fix a Leak Week is March 16-22. An average household with a water leak can account for nearly 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year. Here are some tips for finding leaks:• Look at your water usage during a colder month. If a family of four exceeds 12,000 gallons, there is a serious leak.• Check your water meter before and after a 2-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you have a leak.• Identify toilet leaks by placing a drop of food coloring in the tank. If color shows up in the bowl after 10 minutes, you have a leak.• Examine faucet gaskets and pipe fittings for any water on the outside of the pipe to check for surface leaks.
Drake House Volunteer Donates Car Although the Drake House does not typically take auto donations, the organization is grateful for a long-time volunteer who knew just what she wanted to do with her pristine car after deciding to buy a new one. This volunteer was familiar with the struggle some parents have getting to the Drake House’s Monday night classes, where she worked each week, and she knew that it is not unusual for them to take several bus routes to gather their children after work. A very grateful Drake House mother of an infant, toddler, and two teens is now the proud owner of the volunteer’s reliable car. Having a vehicle will enable her to work more hours and save money for her family’s future.
Chattahoochee Nature Center Wins Best of Weddings Award The Chattahoochee Nature Center is pleased to announce its selection as a 2021 winner of The Knot Best of Weddings. This accolade represents the highest and most-rated venues from wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, their families, and wedding guests on The Knot, a leading wedding planning, registry brand, and mobile app. Despite COVID-19 interrupting many 2020 weddings and social events, wedding professionals around the nation continued to support to-be-weds throughout their wedding planning journeys. From adjusting future schedules to make way for postponed weddings, to helping couples host socially distanced weddings following state and local guidelines and restrictions with an increased focus on health and safety, wedding pros — and the industry as a whole — rallied together in 2020, ultimately helping couples continue to celebrate life and love. The Knot 2021 Best of Weddings recognition honors the vendors who went above and beyond to help to-be-weds navigate the global pandemic. In 2021, only 5% of hundreds of thousands of local wedding professionals listed on The Knot received this distinguished award. To learn more about the Chattahoochee Nature Center, please visit ChattNatureCenter.org.
City of Roswell Shares Tips To Conserve Water and Energy This Winter As cold weather approaches, keeping warm and saving energy can be easy with the right preparation. The sun provides heat, so take advantage of it! Open the curtains on your south-facing windows during the day to absorb the sunlight and close them at night to reduce the chill from cold windows.Prevent drafts and seal leaks by applying weather stripping trim to your doors or invest in insulating drapes for your windows to reduce drafts. Be sure to check utility cut-throughs for pipes and gaps around your chimney.When you’re home and awake, set your thermostat to a comfortable temperature. When you’re sleeping or not home, lower it by 10 degrees to save up to 10% on your heating bills. A programmable thermostat enables you to set up auto schedules and adjust temperatures remotely.Wrap pipes with insulation to prevent them from freezing and bursting. If a pipe is frozen, keep the faucet on and apply heat to thaw it slowly. Insulating hot water pipes will help your shower heat up faster and will also protect pipes from cold, which can cause leaks.Maintenance is key. Has your furnace filter been replaced recently? Does your heating system need service? Is your fireplace flue snugly closed when not in use?Apply good habits and banish the bad. Keep your bathroom at a comfortable temperature or invest in a space heater, so you aren’t tempted to linger in the shower, which wastes water and energy. Wearing layers traps body heat better than a single thick garment. Electric blankets consume less energy than a heater. Close the doors in your home, so you’re only heating the rooms you use.
COVID-19 Vaccine Information The City of Alpharetta wants to connect you with verified information about the COVID-19 vaccine, so you can make informed decisions. The City sources the information it shares only from three professional public health agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and the Fulton County Board of Health. Precautions such as social distancing, wearing a mask, washing your hands frequently, and getting vaccinated are the best ways to control the spread of COVID-19 and protect the public. Understanding how the body fights infection and how the new COVID-19 vaccines protect people by producing immunity is critical in making your decision about getting vaccinated. Visit CDC.gov to find plain language explanations as well as information on the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available. There has been a lot of buzz about the new vaccines, but what exactly are the benefits to being vaccinated? - Vaccination will protect you from getting COVID-19.- Vaccination is a safer way to help build protection by creating an antibody (immune system) response without having to experience sickness.- Vaccination is an important tool to help stop the pandemic.Most COVID-19 vaccines require two shots to be effective, so you may not be protected until a week or two after your second shot.Due to the statewide rollout, the vaccine is currently available to limited population groups. In January, citizens 65 and older along with their caregivers became eligible to be vaccinated, joining the ranks of healthcare workers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, and first responders (police, firefighters, etc.). You can learn more about Georgia’s vaccine plan at DPH.Georgia.gov/covid-vaccine.For the latest information from the City of Alpharetta, visit Alpharetta.Ga.us.