What's Next After School SPLOST?

East Cobb supporters of the recently-approved sales tax referendum say they'll continue to address funding concerns.

Last month's passage of the Cobb Education SPLOST was a relief for supporters of extending the sales tax referendum for construction and maintenance projects. But larger funding issues loom for the Cobb County School District, which faces a projected fiscal year 2014 budget deficit of $86.4 million. While Cobb Board of Education members last week expressed their unhappiness with proposed budget cuts, East Cobb parents involved in helping pass the SPLOST say they'll continue working on grassroots efforts to address long-term financial issues. "ED-SPLOST was a first step and not our goal," said David Schwartz, a Dodgen Middle School parent and co-founder of FACE It Cobb, organized as the SPLOST campaign geared up. Although strong voter …

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ASO Musicians to Visit Lassiter

The long-promised joint performance has been scheduled for Feb. 19 and will include students from Walton High School.

After a controversy involving the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra last year, chorus members from two East Cobb high schools will finally get to perform with the pros. The Marietta Daily Journal reported this week that ASO musicians will perform with students from Lassiter High School and Walton High School on Feb. 19. The concert begins at 7:30 in the new performing arts center at Lassiter, and will feature the work of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and others, according to the MDJ story, which also reported that proceeds will benefit the Lassiter and Walton choral booster clubs. Tickets are $21 in advance and can be ordered online. They are non-refundable. The cost for tickets at the door will be $25. Visit the Lassiter Chorus website for more …

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Lassiter Finishes Second in Cobb Swim Meet

Walton's boys and girls both won the county championships on Saturday.

Walton High School's swimming teams knew their toughest competition in the Cobb County Championships was going to be their rivals from Lassiter High School. But the Raiders' boys easily outraced the runner-up Trojans by 37 points Saturday in claiming a county title at the Mountain View Aquatic Center. On the girls' side was the most notable news. Not only did Walton clip Lassiter by 28 points, but the Lady Raiders also won their first Cobb title since 2008. Walton has been the only school other than Lassiter to win the girls' title in the last 14 years. In the most recent Georgia high school swimming poll, published by Score Atlanta, the Walton boys were third and Lassiter was fourth in Class AAAAAA. On the girls side, Walton is second and…

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Lassiter, Kell Begin Playoff Quests

The top-ranked Trojans and No. 4 Longhorns both play first round games at home tonight.

Brookwood at Lassiter, Friday, 7:30 p.m. For the first time in school history, the Trojans are ranked No. 1 in the state, in the Class AAAAAA poll. But like Walton's game against Parkview, another Gwinnett team with a strong playoff track record is coming to Cobb. Lassiter is 10-0 with its high-powered offense, led by quarterback Eddie Printz and receiver Willie Police, and an opportunistic defense that has come up big when needed (including its regular season win over Walton). Three years ago, the Trojans were also undefeated, then were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. Southwest DeKalb at Kell, Friday, 7:30 p.m. The Longhorns have had another strong season, and enter the Class AAAAA playoffs ranked No. 4. Their only loss …

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Million-Dollar Homes Get Zoning Nod

Demand is growing in the luxury real estate market in the Lassiter, Pope and Walton high school districts.

A zoning decision by the Cobb Board of Commissioners this week should leave little doubt about the very strong health of the East Cobb-area real estate market. By a 4-0 vote on Tuesday (with chairman Tim Lee absent) the commissioners approved a request by Brooks Chadwick Capital, LLC, to rezone 6.6 acres on Woodlawn Road, just south of Lower Roswell Road, for 21 homes that will cost an average of $1 million. Each home will contain between 4,000 and 6,000 square feet of space. The development will be located in the heart of the Walton High School district, and a short walk from Dickerson Middle School. As The Marietta Daily Journal reported when the request was before the Cobb Planning Commission earlier this month, East Cobb's public …

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"Chorus Should Reflect Diversity of ATL:" ASO

The President of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has clarified the orchestra's position on the partial exclusion of Lassiter and Walton High School's choruses in favor of the chorus at Grady High School.

Update, 6:40 p.m.: In an interview with WSB-TV, ASO President Stanley Romanstein said, "We want the stages of the Atlanta Symphony, whether here, Verizon (Wireless Amphitheatre), or Chastain Park to reflect the diversity of Atlanta." Romanstein went on to express his surprise at the reaction from what he called this "interesting misunderstanding."  "There are at least 12 very talented high school choirs in Atlanta," Romanstein said to WSB-TV. "We gave Lassiter and Walton choirs an opportunity to perform for four consecutive years, and they were marvelous. We think it's time to give other Atlanta high school choirs, who are very skilled and deserving, their chance to perform with the ASO as well." Update, 3:50 p.m.: Jay Dillon, Cobb County …

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PatchCast

PatchCast: Alabama Burn Smokes Cobb, Walton Grad Heats Up Pro Ice, Artists Paint Marietta Landmarks

Here are some of the highlights from Northeast Cobb and nearby Patches for April 5.

For more on these stories, click on the following links:

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Lassiter, Walton Earn Counseling Honor

The East Cobb high schools will receive a special designation by the American School Counselors Association.

Lassiter High School and Walton High School both have caught the eye of the national association of counseling professionals.  In June representatives from the two schools will receive the RAMP Counseling designation from the American School Counselors Association at its national conference in Minneapolis.  RAMP -- which stands for Recognized ASCA Model Program -- recognizes schools that are committed to delivering a comprehensive, data-driven school counseling program and creating an exemplary educational environment.  “This year’s RAMP honorees have shown their commitment to students and the school counseling profession,” said Alan Burkard, ASCA’s 2011-12 president. “This designation distinguishes these schools and encourages school …

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Girls Robotics Team Takes First Place

Food begins to spoil from the moment it is harvested. Girls Exploring New Ideas Using Science (GENIUS) took on the challenge to find one way to improve food's safe delivery.

What do a candle, a metal detector, a clay pot, vibrating molecules, smoke, a computer, salt, a laser, ice, and an invisible light beam have to do with your food? Each plays a role, either in preserving food or testing it for safety. With the invention of the microscope, scientists discovered bacteria, parasites, and other threats to our food and ourselves. Pasteurizing, refrigerating, freezing, vacuum packing, and irradiating became common as scientists and engineers found new ways to keep food safe for longer and longer. Scientists and engineers discovered better fertilizers, pest killers, and medicines for farm animals. Inventors created new machines for planting and harvesting. Food began to travel farther and farther from where it was…

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Walton Holds on to Reach State Finals

The Raiders downed East Cobb rival Lassiter 30-24 Friday to advance to the Class AAAAA title game against Grayson.

PHOTO GALLERY: From the Walton-Lassiter game Three years ago, Lassiter quarterback Eddie Printz and Walton running back Tyren Jones were teammates on the Wheeler Junior Wildcats eighth-grade football team. A year ago, they were teammates on Lassiter's football team. On Friday, the two juniors met at Walton's Raider Valley in the Georgia High School Association's AAAAA state football semifinals. The rematch from their regular season was a cliffhanger, unlike Walton's 34-10 regular season win in October.  The Raiders bolted out to a 21-3 lead, but Lassiter kept hanging around and had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds.  However, the Trojans couldn't force overtime, as Walton held on for a 30-24 victory before a full house at …

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Donna Espy-Rypel

10:11 pm on Friday, December 2, 2011

Great job of coverage, Wendy!! Congrats to Walton but what an amazing season Lassiter had! They should be very proud...awesome job, east Cobb teams!!   more ›