The May 1, 2012 sniper shooting of Andrew Messina by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department has raised many questions in my mind. It is apparent that, on that evening, Andrew Messina was a suicidal 16 year old. Among my questions are the following: 1. Were any mental health professionals or suicide prevention professionals involved or consulted in any discussions with Andrew Messina that evening as opposed to a Cherokee County hostage negotiator? If not, should this not be considered for future policy? 2. Should law enforcement be looking into non-lethal means of resolving crises like this …

Last night (Thursday June 14th) while on Hwy 92, I saw a Woodstock Police Officer block off the east bound side of the road in front of the RaceTrac at Hames Rd with his lights flashing. As any curious citzen would be I watched from the west bound side as he exited his car & approached something in the road. He kneeled down to rescue a scared kitten coward down in the middle of the road. Way to go officer!! The moral of the story is - not all flashing police lights are for the purpose of writing tickets or handling illegal actions. It just goes to show all of us that we all have compassion. …

Conrad Quagliaroli of the Cherokee Tea Party Patriots provides the following information and attachments about the T-SPLOST: I am providing a one-page sheet with facts on the T-SPLOST, what you can do to stop it and questions to ask of our elected officials. You can take the attachment to the Town Hall meetings listed below. I've also provided a power point on the T-SPLOST that will be on the ballot July 31. It is one of the best presentations I have seen on the T-SPLOST. If you flip through this power point, you will know all there is to know about the T-SPLOST. There are two upcoming …

In the last 48 hours I have received strong encouragement by friends and community leaders to consider a campaign for Cherokee County School Board Chairman. I am humbled by the support of so many and today officially announce the formation of an exploratory team to consider this campaign. I have a great passion for the children of Cherokee County along with a desire for true public service. In the coming days I will evaluate the opportunity to serve as School Board Chair and the challenges of creating a successful campaign. In pursuing this possibility, I pledge to rebuild the relationship …

Last week, the General Assembly marked Crossover Day–the final day a bill can be considered in its primary house before moving to the opposite chamber. With just 10 legislative days left to conduct the people’s business, legislators wasted little time in adopting a broad range of measures ranging from welfare reform to protecting our children.  Although dozens of bills made their way through the legislative process on Wednesday, they still have to pass their final litmus test–the Georgia House of Representatives. After passage in both chambers, each piece of legislation will then land on the …

The Cherokee County School District isn't the only entity to express its displeasure with a revised redistricting bill. Cherokee Citizens for Kids has penned a new letter, the contents of which are below. Our local delegation (Representatives Byrd, Hamilton, Hill and Jerguson) have drafted new legislation, HB1223, which replaces HB978; however the new legislation is hardly an improvement over the first. Our delegation has made it clear that they will take any steps necessary to remove duly elected School Board members from office who did not vote on issues the way the delegation dictated.  …

A day after the head of the agency that accredits Cherokee offered a stinging rebuke of legislation that would change the way local residents elect members of the Board of Education, the Blue Ribbon Commission that recommended the changes has reversed course. The committee, which was tasked with redistricting the county Board of Education and Board of Commissioners posts, had recommended the seats on both be voted on by residents in those specific districts. The committee also recommended that the school board and commission chairman seats be elected at-large. This afternoon, committee …

Editor's note: Patch invited members of the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation to respond to a letter from the head of the agency that accredits Cherokee and other school systems. In that letter, which the Cherokee County School District made public on Monday afternoon, AdvancEd president and CEO Mark A. Elgart warned state officials against enacting "legislation that bypasses or usurps the local control" of school boards. Hours later, a local citizens group penned its own letter urging the delegation—Reps. Calvin Hill (R-Canton), Sean Jerguson (R-Holly Springs), Charlice Byrd (R-…

An Open Letter to the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation: When Cherokee Citizens for the Kids was formed, we had a vision that our voices would be the ones heard in support of all the children of our county.  With sentiments running high, we felt there needed to be a place for those citizens who were proud of our county and the accomplishments of our school system to band together to keep moving towards excellence in education. We have tried to be a voice of reason in the heated arena of education and politics in the county.  Through HB 978, you are attempting to enact legislation that …

Editor's note: Cherokee County’s legislative delegation recently introduced House Bill 978, which cleared the Georgia House of Representatives on Thursday by a vote of 149-0. HB 978 would change the way local residents elect members of the Board of Education. Mark A. Elgart, the president and CEO of AdvancEd, wrote the following letter to Cherokee BOE Chairman Mike Chapman. AdvancED is the international registry for accreditation. Mr. Chapman, This communication is in response to your inquiry regarding the proposed State of Georgia legislation that would restructure the voting districts and …

Twenty-One percent of the country claims to be liberal and 40 percent identify themselves as conservative. That said, why is it that our courts, our schools, our media and our laws (no 10 commandments at city halls) are liberal? It's because liberals are organized, vocal and most importantly, involved. They know that government belongs to those who show up. And right now, here in Cherokee County the PTA, the teachers union, the public school system and the liberal members of the school board are most likely all flooding our delegation with calls, faxes and emails to not vote for the …

What recommendation? When no option is clearly the winner, then clearly no changes should be made! I am a member of the recently convened Blue Ribbon Committee, brought together by the Cherokee County state legislators, (Rep. Byrd, Sen. Rogers, Rep. Hill, and Rep. Jerguson) for the purpose of determining if the two governing bodies of the county should stay the same or be changed in the way they are structured and elected. I think it is important to say that when 13 people get together to make a recommendation that will affect the county school board and the county commissioners for years to …

“More water is good water,” says Cherokee County resident Mark Schilling. The Chattahoochee GOLD Swim Team Coach is excited about the County Commissioners’ vote Tuesday night to approve the construction contract of a new $15 million swim facility in Holly Springs. “As a year-round competitive swim team, Chattahoochee GOLD is highly aware of the county’s struggle to provide enough pool space for summer league and high school swim teams. We see this move as a break through that will allow more kids to participate in the sport of swimming.” He goes on to say, “No Cherokee County High Schools …

Editor's note: Thursday, the Cherokee County Board of Education voted to wait until June 24 to decide the fate of Cherokee Charter Academy. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the 1,000-seat Cherokee High School auditorium. Below is a letter from a parent who went to the meeting. Click the PDF on this page for Cherokee County School District Superintendent Frank Petruzielo's letter to CBS Atlanta, which aired a report after Thursday's meeting. Watch it here. There is also a PDF letter from school spokeswoman, Barbara Jacoby, that responds today to critics of the meeting.• • •Please reveal …

As meteorologists have reported, there’s no end in sight for the heat over Georgia, and due to the fact that heat can be a real killer, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency is asking residents to turn to its Ready Georgia campaign to learn about heat safety. Just this week a child in New Orleans died from being left in a car, and SafeKids.org has announced the 500th child death due to heat stroke from being left alone in a vehicle.  The National Weather Service statistical data shows that heat causes more fatalities per year than floods, lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes.  Based on the …

To Barbara Jacoby and the Cherokee County School District, Although the GCEF has not received a copy of the letter that was electronically sent to the media (it appears it was sent regular mail to us) regarding the enrollment list request, a contact was kind enough to forward a copy of it to us for review. The Cherokee Charter website does not list a registration deadline, nor are we issuing one at this time because we do not yet have approval for a school. We sent letters to parents who could not attend the lottery notifying them that their child was drawn and giving them instructions on how…

Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch would love your letters to the editor. As temperatures remain freezing across the state, many Woodstock residents are experiencing cabin-fever on their fourth day working from home. Since the roads may be icy through the end of the week, The Clean Air Campaign has some telework tips for the stranded: Start with a plan: Make a list of things to do throughout the day and include a timeline to help you stay focused. Stay organized: Keep your work space free of the clutter that tends to build up at home, like mail, games, magazines, homework, etc. Stay connected: Make …

Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch would love your letters to the editor. I attend Etowah High School's graduation every year to support the students that have earned their diploma. It is hard to believe, but there are still many students that are the first in their family to graduate from high school. There are others that graduate but with many roadblocks along the way. There are still others that are my friends and neighbors, and I feel that I should be a part of their celebration also. My oldest will graduate this year. Her grandparents are in Chicago and Raleigh. They are all thrilled to be able…

It's time to set the record straight. Over the course of the past few weeks, a good deal of misinformation has circulated about the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) and its involvement in asking a local school district in Cherokee County to move its public school graduation ceremonies from a religious venue to a secular venue. AU's request has caused a community uproar. Many have claimed AU is an "outsider" group that should mind its own business. However, AU, while being a national organization, has local chapters whose membership is made up of …