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Dunwoody defers vape shop ban, extends moratorium By DYANA BAGBY dyana@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — The Dunwoody City Council backed off a proposed ordinance to ban vape shops in the city at its May 11 meeting. The council opted instead to extend its moratorium on new vape shops through Aug. 10.
Dunwoody is one of many cities in metro Atlanta trying to determine how to deal with the influx of vape shops. Georgia law makes it illegal to sell vapes to anyone under the age of 21. But some city officials worry these shops market specifically to young people with shiny packaging and fruity flavors. The proposed ordinance defines “vape shops” as stores with vapes
making up 25 percent of their floor space and accounting for 25 percent of their revenue. They would be prohibited from all zoning districts in the city, effectively banning them citywide. Council members seemed confused about what the proposed ordinance would do.
See BAN, Page 9
District overhauls method to decide school closures By JIM BASS jim@appenmedia.com DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The DeKalb County School District is overhauling its Student Assignment Project that was initially slated to close dozens of schools. The overhaul, first discussed at the Student Assignment Project Committee meeting on April 29 and reported by Decaturish on April 30, received an official district announcement on May 5. The project will now focus on cluster-based community engagement. The decision follows more than 10,000 community
feedback submissions, with the majority of submissions opposing school closures. The closure and redistricting effort is due to a significant enrollment decline seen broadly across metro Atlanta. With 110,000 seats and about 90,000 students, the district is trying to become more fiscally efficient by balancing buildings, boundaries and programs. “We learned that the process felt too top-down,” DeKalb Schools Interim Superintendent Norman Sauce said in a video update about the SAP process. See OVERHAUL, Page 10
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DeKalb Schools Interim Superintendent Norman Sauce discusses updates to the Student Assignment Project at a joint meeting with the DeKalb Board of Commissioners on May 4.
Service scheduled for Memorial Day at Brook Run Park By DYANA BAGBY dyana@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony Monday, May 25, at 10 a.m. at the Brook Run Park Veterans Memorial, 4770 N. Peachtree Road. The public ceremony is hosted by Dunwoody Parks and Recreation with support from the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs VFW Post 10822 and Dunwoody Woman’s Club. “Memorial Day is a special time to honor the brave veterans who went into harm’s way, making the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” said retired Lt. Col. Thomas W. Ariail, commander of VFW Post 10822. “This ceremony offers us a chance to come together as a community, not only in remembrance, but also to ensure their legacy lives on.” The keynote speaker will be Dunwoody City Councilwoman Catherine Lautenbacher, who served four years in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence officer for a C-130 unit. Lautenbacher grew up in a Navy family and attended Boston University on a full ROTC scholarship, earning a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. She later received her MBA at UNC Charlotte. Other speakers include: • Mayor Lynn Deutsch, who will deliver the welcome.
See SERVICE, Page 9
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