Child Abuse Awareness Month and the Importance of “Prevention in Partnership” April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Everyone has a role in ensuring children have positive experiences and families have the resources they need when they need them, well before they are in crisis. The theme of this year’s awareness and impact campaign, led by Prevent Child Abuse America and its national network of state chapters, is “Building Together: Prevention in Partnership.”Prevent Child Abuse Georgia and Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee invite community members to help raise awareness and impact through the following action items:Share the Find Help Georgia online resource hub with families. Users can search online or talk to trained professionals who will connect them with area programs.On April 11, visit Big Dan’s Car Wash (305 Ridgewalk Parkway, Woodstock). A percentage of all proceeds on this day will be donated to The Children’s Haven, a Prevent Child Abuse chapter in Cherokee County, to support child abuse prevention services in our community. During the month of April, shop at the Shoe Station (2243 Cumming Highway, Canton) and ask to round up your change. Proceeds will be donated to The Children’s Haven. Follow The Children’s Haven on social media and share its posts. Encourage friends and family to do the same. Use the hashtags #BuildingTogether, #PreventionInPartnership, and #CAPMonth to signify your commitment to helping children, families, and communities to thrive. For more information, please visit CherokeeChildrensHaven.org.
Canton Rotary Club Honors Community Leaders The Rotary Club of Canton honored two community leaders with top awards for professional excellence. The Robert S. (Bob) Stubbs II Guardian of Ethics Award was presented to Cherokee County School Board member Dr. Susan Padgett-Harrison, and the W. Lee Arrendale Vocational Excellence Award was presented to Cherokee County Acting District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway. Both now advance for consideration for the regional awards presented by Rotary District 6910. Dr. Susan Padgett-Harrison took office in January for a four-year term on the Cherokee County School Board following her election last November. Treadaway is serving as acting district attorney following the appointment of Shannon Wallace to a Cherokee County Superior Court judgeship.
Highlights of State of the County Addresses Cherokee County School District Superintendent Dr. Brian Hightower, Cherokee County Commission Chairman Harry Johnston, and Cherokee Office of Economic Development President Misti Martin delivered State of the County speeches in January. Hightower shared metrics illustrating the strength of the District, which serves more than 42,000 students. The graduation rate increased 17 points to 92.3%, with 97% of students being college ready. Students outperform 90% of other Georgia students. Hightower also pointed out the strong financials of the District, highlighting the reduced use of bonds and a reduced millage rate.Johnston’s address focused on the natural gifts in the community, as well as its great manmade resources, infrastructure, and plans for the future. His focus is to keep making Cherokee County the best place to live by gradually reducing the growth rate over the next 30 years and catching up on transportation infrastructure while continuing to be fiscally responsible.Martin spoke about Cherokee By Choice (CBC) 2.0, a continuation of the endeavor that has businesses choosing to relocate to Cherokee County. The initial program brought in more than $467 million and 2,175 jobs. A survey completed in preparation for the launch of CBC 2.0 indicated a focus needs to be made on advanced manufacturing, corporate/regional headquarters, and entrepreneurship/innovation. All three State of the County presentations can be viewed at CherokeeGa.com.
Chamber Announces 2023 Leadership and Teen Leadership Cherokee Classes The 20 members of the Leadership Cherokee (LC) class were chosen following participation in a nomination, application, and interview process. After attending a nine-month program, the class will graduate in September.Members of the Leadership Cherokee Class of 2023 include Delease Chester, Canton Tire & Wheel; Sheila Keeffe, His Hands Church; Barbara Corey, Wellstar; Kristin Norton Green, City of Canton; Jenna Geary, MUST Ministries; Anna Teal, Teal Marketing, LLC; Rebekah Gibson, Soil Erosion and Education, LLC. Jenn Goddard, RE/MAX Town & Country; Katy Leggett, City of Woodstock; Laura Gentilello, Woodstock West by Walton; Heddy Proctor, Next Step Ministries, Inc.; Mark Smith, Cherokee County School District; Chyretta Fullmore, Georgia Division of Family & Children Services; Courtney Argo, Goshen Valley Foundation. Chad Davis, Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services; Kayla Cleveland, Cherokee County Office of the Solicitor-General; Casey Barton, City of Holly Springs; Lynne Saunders, Encompass Ministries; Michelle Meek, The Children's Haven, Inc.; Marc Liscio, Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services. The Chamber also selected its 2023 Teen Leadership Cherokee Class (TLC). The applicants, all high school sophomores who live in Cherokee County, were asked to submit an in-depth application including their school and community involvement as well as a video answering the question “Why should I be selected for Teen Leadership Cherokee?” After reviewing the applications and videos, local business leaders selected the class.Students of the Teen Leadership Cherokee Class of 2023 include Zuri Maina, Woodstock; Brett Fillar, Woodstock; Lavanya Shankar, River Ridge; Abby Gillis, Woodstock; Riley Schultz, River Ridge; Elizabeth Hebert, Sequoyah; Felisa Vazquez, Cherokee; Emma Miller, Cherokee; and Isabella Benavides, Creekview. Leia Lankford, Woodstock; Caleb Miller, Creekview; Cade Smith, Creekview; Revis McClairen, River Ridge; Carrington Presley, River Ridge; Isabel Harper, Sequoyah; Melanie Rein, Sequoyah; Emily Wilson, River Ridge; Lois Dwomoh, Woodstock; Chair Emili Roman; and Vice-Chair Todd HayesFor more information on the Chamber and its programs, visit CherokeeChamber.com.
Explorers Bring Home Trophy From BSA Winterfest In January, Explorer Post 469, a junior firefighter program in Cherokee County, competed in the annual BSA Winterfest Competition at Rocky Top Sports World and the Gatlinburg Fire Training Center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. More than 1,000 explorers and venturers from across the country attended the event. Explorer Post 469 placed 3rd in the Bleeding Wounds & Shock event and competed well in other events against nearly 30 other fire and EMS teams. Explorers performed tasks including interior searches, removal of victims, hose deployment, and emergency medical treatment.For more information about Explorer Post 469, visit JoinCherokeeFire.com.Explorer Post 469, Coleman Gwinn, Colton Liam, Colton Lusk, and Garrett Bowers. Simon Velardez, Bryson Vaughn, Seth Stephenson, Colton Grier, and Lucas Holden
48th Annual First Citizen of Cherokee County Announced The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce announced Kendall Jones as its 48th recipient of the First Citizen of Cherokee County Award.Jones is the Cherokee Community Liaison at MUST Cherokee. He also volunteers with the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce (2021 Volunteer of the Year), Cherokee’s Homeless Coalition, Cherokee FOCUS, and Canton Housing Authority, where he holds the title of board chair. Jones is an active member of Canton First United Methodist Church, serving as missions chair for three years and a member of the Men’s Prayer Group and the choir.The title of First Citizen is bestowed upon a resident who has lived in the county for at least five years and has significantly served the community through family, civic, and/or religious involvement. A panel of out-of-town judges reviews the accomplishments of each applicant and chooses the winner based upon merit.
Staff Changes Announced in Office of District Attorney On January 31, 2023, Chief Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea swore in Susan K. Treadaway as acting district attorney of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit and Katie Gropper as chief assistant district attorney. The change in leadership comes following former District Attorney Shannon Wallace being sworn in as Superior Court judge in Cherokee County. Treadaway, who has served the citizens of Georgia as a felony prosecutor for nearly 20 years, will hold the position of acting district attorney pending Gov. Brian Kemp’s appointment of Wallace’s successor. She was previously the chief assistant district attorney. Gropper, the new chief assistant district attorney, has been a prosecutor for more than 15 years.Other staff members who received new assignments include Damion Overstreet who will serve as deputy chief assistant district attorney for the new courtroom, Rachel Hines who will move into Gropper’s previous position of deputy chief assistant district attorney for the Special Victims’ Unit, and Kimball Murdock and Dan Worrell who were promoted to senior investigators.
Cherokee County History Center Wins Awards History Cherokee won Special Projects #2 and #4 Awards at the Georgia Association of Museums conference in January. These awards were given for the History Center’s new exhibits and for the documentary, The Way It Was: Stories of Cherokee County's Desegregation, created in partnership with Scrapbook Video Productions.Harvee White, education manager; Thomas Paterson, development and communications coordinator; Stefanie Joyner, executive director; Kaylee Johnson, exhibits and collections manager
Cherokee County School District Announcements STAR Students and Teachers AnnouncedThe STAR, or Student Teacher Achievement Recognition, student honor is awarded to the high school senior from each Georgia public and private high school with the highest score on any single test date of the SAT and who also ranks in the top 10% or top 10 students of his/her class based on grade point average. Each honored student is invited to select his or her favorite teacher to be named that school’s STAR Teacher.The overall Cherokee County winner is the school honoree with the highest eligible SAT score, which was a three-way tie between Griffen Bon, Braden Flournoy, and Avi Stein. They now advance to regional competition, and the 12 region winners will contend for the State PAGE STAR Student title. STAR Teachers continue with their students through these additional levels of recognition.The CCSD honorees are Cherokee HS’s student Griffen Bon and advanced placement (AP) chemistry teacher Mark Segall and student Braden Flournoy and AP computer science teacher Carla Thornton (tie between two students); Creekview HS’s student Kylie Buchanan and AP chemistry teacher Jason Hardin; Etowah HS’s student Avi Stein and AP English teacher Tina Parmar; River Ridge HS’s student Nandita Bipin and honors English teacher Wendy Vander Veen; Sequoyah HS’s student Taryn Mareau and AP English teacher Dr. Cathy Murphy; and Woodstock HS’s student Lydia Lord and AP English teacher Jacqueline Vance.Seven CCSD Students Named U.S. Presidential Scholars Program CandidatesAs candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, these seven students are among only 5,000 from the more than three million graduating seniors in the nation’s class of 2023 selected to participate in the prestigious recognition program. Only 173 students from Georgia were named candidates. Established in 1964 by executive order of the president, the program was designed to honor and recognize extraordinary graduating seniors. Candidates for the invitation-only recognition program are initially selected based on outstanding performance on the ACT or SAT. For the next round of competition, semifinalists will be selected based on an application that considers overall academic excellence, personal character, leadership, and service activities. Finalists will be selected based on further review of their success in these areas, with 161 Scholars to be named in the spring. Scholars receive national recognition and an invitation to an all-expenses paid trip to the White House. Mill Creek MS Teacher Named Georgia Science Teachers Association 2022-23 Teacher of the Year Ann-Margaret Somers has been recognized as “a distinguished teacher who exhibits ongoing excellence in the teaching of science and commitment to its improvement.” One winner at each level — elementary, middle, and high — is selected statewide. Winners are chosen based on an outstanding record of exemplary classroom instruction, demonstrated innovative teaching strategies, strong professional engagement, and recommendations by colleagues and supervisors.Liberty ES Earns Recertification as Georgia School of CharacterLiberty ES is one of only 73 schools around the world, and one of only two in Georgia, to be recognized by the nonprofit Character.org as a state 2023 School of Character. The organization advocates for all people to become “educated, inspired, and empowered to be ethical and compassionate citizens.”
Canton City Council Meeting Notes On December 15, the following occurred at the Canton City Council meeting: APPROVED • Changes to zoning conditions for 40 acres of Park Village to allow office and light industrial development • Rezoning and conditional use permits for an expansion of residential development on Marietta Road to include quadplexes, duplexes, and a renovated single family detached unit (24 in total) by Latimer • Removal of water towers on East Main Street and Brown Industrial Parkway • Relocation of the water line at State Route 140 and Avery Road • Loan financing through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for Canton Cigar Company UPDATED Councilor Will Carlan informed the Council and public of his official resignation from Canton City Council. In January, Carlan began his new role as a Cherokee County magistrate judge. As a member of the judiciary, he cannot serve as an elected official. The City Council can appoint a replacement to the seat who will serve until a new member is elected in November.
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