presenting - City of Smyrna, GA

Fall 2009
Presenting
Smyrna
Presenting Smyrna is a periodic update of happenings in and around Smyrna.
Happy Trails Help Make the World a
Better Place
What if you had the power to ease road
congestion, improve your health and encourage the health of others, promote local businesses along active transportation corridors,
help reduce health care costs, help curb climate
change emissions and oil dependency, all while
promoting family and community? You will.
Did you know that most trips and errands
are in an area of one mile or less? Think of
Legend
The City of Smyrna is working on increased
connectivity for citizens. These trails (highlighted in red on the map) will connect with
trails planned and/or in progress in Cobb
County. In the future, you will be able to ride
a bike from the Market Village to the Silver
Comet Trail, among other destinations. And,
for those who are particularly active; Kennesaw Mountain will be a lovely goal on a
beautiful day, too.
If your interests are closer to home, Brawner Park and the Market Village will be more
easily accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.
Imagine walking or biking to the Fresh Produce Market or the annual fireworks display
at the City of Smyrna Birthday.
A Points of interest
Existing Trail
Planned Trails - City of Smyrna
Proposed Trail - Cobb County/Other
Points of Interest
A) Downtown Smyrna - Village Green, Veterans Memorial,
City Hall, Market Village, Welcome Center & Museum
B) City Of Smyrna Community Center
C) City of Smyrna Library
D) The pond downtown
(home of big fish, turtles, ducks and geese)
E) Campbell Middle School
F) Georgia Power Office on Concord
G) Grocery
H) Bank(s)
a future in which you can take advantage of
beautiful weather and do all of the above on a
pleasant walk or a sunny bike ride just to get
toothpaste or buy bread. Think trails. Think
“happy trails to you.” Got a song in your
head yet? Forget the car, think of the power
your own two feet give you and the wisdom
of muscle power.
I)
J)
K)
L)
M)
N)
O)
P)
Q)
Credit Union
City Of Smyrna Brawner Park
City Of Smyrna Jonquil Park
Brown Elementary
Historic Concord Road Covered Bridge
Cumberland Mall
Cobb Galleria
Silver Comet Trail
Grocery
Look for more information soon on
planned trails and the future of connectivity
on the City Web site at www.SmyrnaCity.com
and our social media channels Facebook and
Twitter. Y
King of Dedication Leaves a Legacy of
Success
Lamar King recently retired from the City
of Smyrna after 49 devoted years in the Public
Works Department. King began his career with
the City of Smyrna in October of 1960, and
worked his way up to supervisor. King has
numerous friends who will miss him, and he
indicated upon retirement that he leaves with
many memories of good changes in Smyrna.
“I enjoy what I do,” King expressed prior
to retirement, adding that he will miss the
friendships and the people of Smyrna, but that
his wife will keep him busy. King also plans to
do lots of good cooking and a bit of traveling.
What advice does the “King of Dedication”
have for young people starting out in the
workplace today? “If you like what you are
doing, stay with it. If you don’t like it, find
something else,” he expresses with a laugh.
We will miss Lamar, a very dedicated and
practical man. Thank you for the many years
of quality service! Y
www.smyrnacity.com
Village News
Take Advantage of the
Convenience of Social
Media to Keep Up
with Latest City of
Smyrna News
& Events
2
Did You Know…
2
City of Smyrna
Events
3
Another First-Place
Award for Keep
Smyrna Beautiful!
4
Smyrna Parks and
Recreation Honored
for Outstanding
Commitment to the
Community - Awarded
Best Park System in
Northwest Georgia
4
Holiday Sanitation
& Recycling
Schedule
4
Presenting
Smyrna
The Jonquil City with beautiful parks,
Take Advantage of the Convenience of Social Media to Keep Up
with Latest City of Smyrna Events
As social media continues to gain
popularity on the home front keeping
friends and family close, it’s also gaining
an increased following on the business
front. Facebook®, Twitter®, and
Nixel® are
familiar words
in today’s
lexicon, even
among those
who don’t
visit the Web
sites.
The City of Smyrna encourages you
to take advantage of the convenience
of using social media to keep up with
what’s going on in the city. And if you
haven’t quite gotten on board, find out
how easy and enjoyable it is to stay
current with local events.
Become a Facebook® fan of Smyrna
Events by visiting the City of Smyrna at
www.facebook.com/CityofSmyrnaGA.
If you’re not signed up on Facebook,
getting started is simple and free!
Similar to Facebook®, Twitter® is one
more free and easy way to keep current
by logging on. Follow SmyrnaNews
on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/
SmyrnaNews.
Nixle® is another free avenue for
trusted, up-to-the-minute public safety
and community information. The service
allows you to receive information instantly
through text message, e-mail or Web.
And with winter upon us, from time
to time we will post messages regarding
road closures and/or public safety
information impacting you. Go to www.
Nixle.com to register or link from the
homepage of www.SmyrnaCity.com. Y
Did you know …
City of Smyrna Parks Update
• Located at 2801 Park Drive near
Fire Station #3, Jonquil Park will be
re-dedicated Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. The
14-acre park will include walkways, a
playground and pavilion.
• A park located at North Cooper Lake
Road is nearing completion. The 50acre park will include a large meadow,
community garden, walking and bike
trails. The first planting season for the
City’s first community garden will be
spring 2010.
• A small playground located at 100
Village Green Circle, adjacent to the
Smyrna Library, opened in March.
• The Aline Wolfe Adult Recreation
Center located at 884 Church Street
was dedicated in March.
• The 10-acre Taylor-Brawner Park
located at 3180 Atlanta Road was
dedicated in April. Reservations of the
Brawner Hall classroom and reception
space or facilities in the historic TaylorBrawner House may be made by
calling (678) 631-5545.
2
Fall 2009
•R
iver Line Park, located at 6043
Oakdale Road, has been open to the
public since May.
Railroad Silent Crossing
The new four-way crossing gates will
allow passing trains to skip sounding
their horns while passing through two
crossings in Smyrna. One crossing is
located at Spring Street across from
the Market Village and the other is at
Hawthorne Street near Belmont Hills
Shopping Center. Special four-way gates
at these locations will be installed to
prevent cars from gaining access around
the two-way standard gates now at the
locations. Construction is expected to be
complete by the end of the year.
Brown Elementary School
Wins Award
State Superintendent of Schools Kathy
Cox recently recognized the community’s
teachers and students by selecting
Brown Elementary School as one of this
year’s recipients of the Superintendent’s
Distinguished Achievement Award.
Brown won awards for improvement on
the Criterion-Referenced Competency
Tests (CRCT) for Grade 1 in both
reading and math.
Campbell High School Ranked
One of American’s Top Public
High Schools
Campbell High School ranked 216
out of the top 1,500 by Newsweek
Magazine. The ranking is based on
key principles that a great high school
must serve all its students well, not
just those who are bound for college
and that it must be able to produce
measurable academic outcomes to show
that the school is successfully educating
its student body across a range of
performance indicators.
Smyrna Library
The Smyrna Library has two new
online resources for job seekers and
students, Glassdoor and MyLibraryDV.
Glassdoor is a career resource engine and
MyLibraryDV “It’s Academic” channel
shows ePrep videos to prepare students
for the ACT and SAT tests with math,
English, science and writing reviews.
Visit www.smyrnalibrary.com for more
information about the library. Y
thriving businesses, great location, and bright plans for the future.
City of Smyrna Events
For a complete list of village events visit www.smyrnacity.com
December 4 through 22
Santa’s House
Smyrna Welcome Center (Aunt Fanny’s Cabin)
2875 Atlanta Road
Santa will be at the Smyrna Welcome Center (Aunt Fanny’s
Cabin) weekends during December. Check www.smyrnacity.
com for event hours as it gets closer to “Santa time.”
Fridays, December 4, 11, & 18
Saturdays, December 5, 12, & 19
Sundays, December 6, 13, & 20
Monday, December 21
Tuesday, December 22
For more information call (770) 431-2842.
Tuesday, December 15
Shop with a Hero
The holidays will be much
brighter for many elementary
school children who will receive
an opportunity to shop at
Wal-Mart with members of
the Smyrna Fire Department.
Through the Shop with a Hero
program, you can help reach
the goal of lifting the spirits of 50 kids by mailing a check or
money order to the Smyrna Public Safety Foundation, 2620
Atlanta Road, Smyrna, Georgia, 30080.
Thursday, December 31
Noon Year’s Eve with Radio Disney
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Smyrna Community Center
200 Village Green Circle
Free
It’s Noon Year’s Eve and Radio Disney AM 590 is ready to
celebrate! Join us at the Smyrna Community Center with
Radio Disney for a gigantic dance party for kids. Radio
Disney will have tons of fun with great games, cool contests
and supreme prizes. And that’s
not all ... there will be a
balloon drop and cider toast
at noon! In December, listen
to Radio Disney AM 590 or
go to www.smyrnacity.com
and www.radiodisney.com/atlanta.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Bring One for the Chipper
Cumberland Home Depot (Vinings)
Two time slots are available:
8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
This Christmas tree recycling event is one of the biggest
events of the year and is a part of a statewide effort! Citizens
bring Christmas trees to the Home Depot in Vinings that
will be chipped for mulch. Volunteers are needed for traffic
control, counting cars, unloading trees and distributing
seedlings to the participants. A volunteer is also needed to
wear the ‘Chipper’ mascot costume. It is a day full of fun!
Please identify your preferred time slot. Times will be filled
on a first come first served basis. Lunch will be provided for
volunteers. For more information call Keep Smyrna Beautiful
(770) 431-2863.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Adopt-A-Mile
Brawner Hall
3180 Atlanta Road
8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Don’t like litter on the roadways! Here’s your chance to join
up with other dedicated volunteers to help keep Smyrna’s
roadways clean and litter-free. The time commitment for this
event is usually 1 to 2 hours. Please call ahead of time so we
can plan your participation. Refreshments, safety training
and equipment will be provided. For more information call
Keep Smyrna Beautiful (770) 431-2863. Y
Budding New City of Smyrna Web Site to Blossom this Spring
Spring is a time of renewal, and in the
spring of 2010 you can expect a fresh and
new look to the current City of Smyrna
Web site.
Plans are underway for a completely
updated information system for citizens.
A full set of information channels are
already up and running, and you may
access them by signing up for Facebook,
Twitter and Nixle now at www.
SmyrnaCity.com.
The new site will post eServices and
payment options more conveniently,
and meeting and agenda minutes will
be found more easily. The site will also
list recreation programs and activities,
among other features.
Additionally, an improved search
component will make your Web
experience with the City of Smyrna
much better.
The launch of the new Web site will be
announced on www.SmyrnaCity.com and
our other information channels soon. Y
www.smyrnacity.com
3
Presenting
Smyrna
Another First-Place Award for Keep
Smyrna Beautiful!
Keep Smyrna Beautiful has been
awarded the first place 2009 Keep
Georgia Beautiful Affiliate Award
45,000 - 69,000 population category.
The awards recognize the high performance achieved by Keep Smyrna
Beautiful in encouraging city residents
to take greater responsibility for
improving their community through
the various Keep Smyrna Beautiful
programs.
Just a few of the Keep Smyrna
Beautiful programs include: Adopt-AMile, Partner-in-Education, Books for
the Library, Christmas Tree Recycling,
“Rivers Alive” river cleanup and the
Smyrna Garden tour.
Keep Smyrna Beautiful attributes
their success to their strong volunteer
base that donates thousands of work
hours making each Keep Smyrna
Beautiful event a success, and to the
cooperation and support from City
departments and elected officials.
A member of Keep Georgia Beautiful and the Keep America Beautiful
system, Keep Smyrna Beautiful is a
non-profit organization comprised of
Holiday Sanitation &
Recycling Schedule
The holiday season brings a welcome
change of pace. And while you’re planning
specific details of the fun and festivities,
please keep in mind that the holidays can also
mean shorter workweeks. Be sure to plan accordingly with regards to your sanitation and
recycling schedule, and jot down the pick-up
dates below on your calendar.
Christmas Holidays and New
Year’s Day
concerned people from all walks of life
joined together to help the public become more aware and involved about
environmental issues. Their mission
is to bring together the resources of
businesses, government and residents
to protect and improve the environment and quality of life in the Smyrna
community.
onday and Tuesday
M
routes unchanged.
If you would like to volunteer with
Keep Smyrna Beautiful call us at (770)
431-2863.
No trash or large collection this week.
hursday routes colT
lected on Wednesday.
riday routes collected
F
on Thursday.
o yard waste collecN
tion this week.
Please note: Recycling schedule will be the
same as the sanitation schedule for this week.
“We are very happy to receive this
honor on behalf of all of our great volunteers and supporters,” Ann Kirk –
Director of Keep Smyrna Beautiful. Y
Smyrna Parks and Recreation Honored
for Outstanding Commitment to the
Community - Awarded Best Park
System in Northwest Georgia
Reminder – Leaves and Yard Waste
Smyrna Parks and Recreation
received the Georgia Recreation and
Park Association (GRPA) District 5
2009 Agency Award at the District 5
awards banquet on October 21 at Red
Top Mountain State Park in Cartersville. District 5 includes the cities in 18
northwest Georgia counties.
The award recognizes outstanding parks programming and projects
throughout the year. Successes for the
city include the issuance and management of the Smyrna Parks Bond
4
Summer 2009
Referendum, the completion of the
Wolfe Adult Recreation Center, TaylorBrawner Park and Brawner Hall, the
expansion of Brinkley Park, Riverline Park, Village Green playground,
Jonquil Park, Cooper Lake Road Park,
and a new online activities and class
registration option for citizens through
ActiveNet.com.
For more information on the City of
Smyrna Parks and Recreation department, visit www.SmyrnaCity.com. Y
The leaf-vacuuming program for bulk
leaves at curbside was discontinued in the
last fiscal year. However, collection of bagged
yard waste is ongoing and a weekly service
(provided each Wednesday) except holiday
weeks. Leaves and grass clippings intended
for collection must be placed in yard waste
paper bags. Please remember that yard waste
bags must be at curbside by 7 a.m. the day of
collection. Y