Dunwoody Crier - November 6, 2025

City hosts annual Truck or Treat at Brook Run Park

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Several City of Dunwoody departments rallied the afternoon of Oct. 30 to throw the annual Truck or Treat at Brook Run Park, coinciding with the Food Truck Thursday finale.

The Dunwoody Police Department rolled out four patrol cars and an armored vehicle from the North Metro Special Weapons and Tactics team onto the grass field in the northeast corner of Brook Run Park at Peeler and North Peachtree roads.

PHOTOS BY: HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA

The Dunwoody Police and Parks and Recreation departments host the city’s annual Truck or Treat at Brook Run Park Oct. 30 with police officers, parks staff, community nonprofits and event sponsors passing out candy to hundreds of local children. An evening before Halloween, young families throughout Dunwoody braved the cold and poured into the park for the trick-or-treating and touch-a-truck crossover

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — The Dunwoody City Council approved the 2026 budget after final public hearing and discussion Oct. 27, balancing its operational spending plan and funding a capital wish list.

Elected officials voted unanimously to approve a $7.3 million amendment before passing the budget, allocating reserve funds

to capital projects within the Parks and Recreation, Police and Public Works departments. None of the projects are guaranteed to happen, but allocating funds is the first step in a months-long process to make them a reality. With the approved 2026 budget and capital spending, the city still has about $23 million in reserves saved up.

Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch shares

thoughts on the city’s 2026 budget, which elected officials amended and adopted at the Oct. 27 City Council meeting. Deutsch said next year’s budget is a compromise, including some funding allocations she is thrilled about and others she is not.

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POLICE BLOTTER

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Officers respond to gunshot detected by Flock Safety

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police are investigating a shooting that occurred just after midnight Oct. 21 within the Peachtree Place North apartments off Winter’s Chapel Road.

An officer said he received a Raven shot detection alert from the department’s Flock Safety system at around 12:11 a.m.

While the alert cited an address along Wintercrest Drive within another apartment community, the officer said the discharge of firearms occurred off Peachtree Place Parkway, just a couple hundred yards north.

The officer said he found six 9mm shell casings near the grill in the picnic area of the Peachtree Place North apartments around 12:35 p.m.

After locating a vehicle facing the picnic area with a dashboard camera, the officer said he tried speaking with the owner about retrieving footage, but the memory card was full.

In his report, the officer said he would return to the leasing office to view security footage of the incident.

No suspects are identified, and no injuries have been reported.

The officer said all shell casings were submitted to evidence.

— Hayden Sumlin

Mall security detains repeat shoplifter

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police arrested a 23-year-old South Fulton man Oct. 21 after he allegedly shoplifted from Abercrombie & Fitch at Perimeter Mall while on probation.

A Dunwoody officer said he met with

the store’s loss prevention team, which told him the man was seen concealing items and passing all points of sale.

The officer said the suspect denied trying to exit the store without paying for the merchandise, including several sweatshirts and sweatpants, valued at $420.

Abercrombie & Fitch employees told the officer they wanted to press charges for the incident.

After reviewing security footage, the officer said the man placed the clothing items in a bag he brought into the store and then clearly tried to exit before being stopped.

Mall security was at the scene and requested he be trespassed from the location.

Before the South Fulton man was transported to DeKalb County Jail for misdemeanor shoplifting, the officer said he told him he was on probation.

The Dunwoody officer said he notified the man’s probation officer of his arrest.

According to Metro Atlanta jail records, the South Fulton man has been arrested multiple times for felony shoplifting by several police departments since 2020.

Records say he was released from Fulton County Jail Sept. 11 after serving just under four months for a probation violation and transferred to the Accountability Court program, which provides alternative sentencing for individuals who face felony charges.

DeKalb County Jail records state he was booked Oct. 21 and then released back to Fulton County Jail Oct. 24.

— Hayden Sumlin

Officer arrests Abercrombie & Fitch shoplifter

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody Police arrested a 40-year-old Atlanta woman Oct. 18 after she allegedly shoplifted more than $700 from the Abercrombie & Fitch at Perimeter Mall.

An officer said he waited outside of the store after receiving a shoplifting in progress call around 12:30 p.m. and confronted the woman with loss

prevention employees when she exited.

A loss prevention employee told officers that she spotted the woman concealing items in a large tote bag and plastic Macy’s bag in plain view.

The report does not specify what merchandise was allegedly shoplifted but includes the total of $714.50.

After securing a warrant for felony shoplifting, the officer said the woman was then transported to DeKalb County Jail.

According to jail records, she was bonded out Oct. 21.

— Hayden Sumlin

Police investigate battery after men left unconscious

ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell Police are investigating an aggravated battery after an unidentified suspect knocked out two men Oct. 17 at a bar off Atlanta Street. Officers said the victims, a 27-year-old Roswell man and a 29-year-old Texas man, were left unconscious for a few minutes after the altercation. Later, they were transported to Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center for treatment of their head injuries.

Multiple witnesses on scene, including the restaurant manager, told officers that the two men were left unconscious on top of one another outside in the parking lot.

A 25-year-old Sandy Springs man working next door said he heard a loud thud on a window. He said both men were unconscious for several minutes. A 35-year-old Marietta man said he saw the suspect, a 5-foot-10-inch man of unknown ethnic origin with a stocky build, knock out each victim with a single blow to the head, one after the other.

After reviewing security footage, an officer said he confirmed the witnesses’ account of the aggravated battery but did not have enough evidence to bring any charges. One of the witnesses mentioned a possible suspect, and officers said they instructed him to come by headquarters to see if he matches the suspect in the restaurant’s security footage.

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Did we bring DeKalb back into Dunwoody?

When Dunwoody voted to form a city in 2008, our goals were clear and simple. We wanted accountability, efficiency, ethics, and local control. We wanted to move away from the bureaucracy of DeKalb County, where decisions were made behind closed doors by people who didn’t live here and build a government that reflected our community’s values.

Those values were not meant to be debated or reinterpreted; they were meant to be lived. Yet somewhere along the way, our values have been reduced to interpretation, subject to the convenience of whoever happens to be speaking for the City.

For a while, we succeeded. Dunwoody began lean, transparent, and responsive. We had a City Manager empowered to run daily operations and department heads who understood their defined roles. The City Council set policy. The staff executed it. Accountability was clear and direct. But over time, something changed. We began adding layers of government that our City Code never envisioned. The position of Assistant City Manager, created years after incorporation, was intended only to act in the absence of the City Manager. The Code gives that role no independent authority to make or announce policy. Yet today, that office has evolved into the City’s primary public spokesperson on financial and administrative issues, even while the City Manager is present and available.

At nearly every Council meeting, the Assistant City Manager now delivers the City’s financial briefings, outlines capital spending plans, and responds to public questions about revenue, expenditures, and budgeting. Those were once, and should still be, the statutory responsibilities of the City Manager,

Talk Back to the Crier

The Crier is committed to its role as Dunwoody’s community thread. As readers have reminded the paper, part of that role means budgeting premium space for letters from residents. Talk Back to the Crier by Sunday night and your note will be on page 3 that week. Email letters to newsroom@appenmedia.com. The Crier won’t publish it without explicitly getting your approval.

who by Charter serves as the City’s chief executive officer and financial officer.

This is not a trivial shift. It blurs accountability. When unelected staff members outside the City Charter assume the public duties of the City Manager, the Council and residents lose the ability to hold anyone directly responsible for decisions involving millions of taxpayer dollars.

Meanwhile, departments have grown increasingly entangled. Community Development has issued letters assigning responsibility for stormwater maintenance, a function that belongs to Public Works, not zoning or code enforcement. The City Attorney advises “staff” as a group instead of the City Manager or Council directly, leaving citizens unclear who, if anyone, speaks for the City of Dunwoody.

The result is a bureaucracy that feels eerily familiar.

Nowhere is this more visible than at Kingsley Lake, a 25-acre private lake that carries much of the City’s stormwater from six municipal inlets, across the lake, over a concrete spillway, and into a City-owned detention pond below. The City has collected stormwater fees from residents for years to maintain this system, yet when the spillway was damaged by the force of municipal runoff, the City declined responsibility without providing the reasons why.

The problem isn’t only about stormwater, it’s about structure and accountability.

When staff positions expand beyond what the City Code allows, the system of checks and balances that defined Dunwoody’s founding disappears. Residents are left with a faceless “City” that cannot be questioned, because no one person owns the decision. That’s how DeKalb County operated, and it’s how Dunwoody is starting to operate today.

We didn’t incorporate to build a larger bureaucracy with new titles and higher salaries. We incorporated to bring decisions closer to the people, to

Elections: The Nov. 4 elections took place after this paper went to press. Find results and coverage on appenmedia.com or in next week’s edition.

make government smaller, simpler, and answerable.

It’s time to return to the model we created:

• A City Manager who manages and remains the public voice on financial and operational matters;

• Department directors who stay within their defined authority; and

• A Council that demands written, transparent answers, not filtered talking points from “staff.”

The residents of Dunwoody deserve the government they voted for in 2008: accountable, ethical, and efficient. We formed a city to get away from DeKalb’s dysfunction. Let’s not let that dysfunction move back in under a new name.

Spruill unveils new AMPLIFY mural on Ashford Dunwoody

DUNWOODY, Ga. — The Spruill Gallery revealed the winner of its 6th annual AMPLIFY competition Oct. 25 at the Smoke House along Ashford Dunwoody Road.

The winning design, “A Charm of Buntings,” is painted by Atlanta printmaker and muralist Chloe Alexander, who took home a $10,000 prize.

The mural features two indigo buntings in flight against a brightly colored botanical background.

The Spruill Gallery presents artists with space and opportunity to introduce new, experimental and rarely seen works. The gallery’s curated exhibitions and programs unite artists and patrons, creating space for all to grow and expand their understanding of contemporary art and artist explorations of broader topics through their works.

Alexander’s mural design aims to instill a sense of joy and hope within viewers.

Spruill Gallery Director Shannon Morris said this year’s mural competition drew more than 150 submissions from artists across the country.

“[Entries] were vetted by a committee of local and national artists, arts professionals and community members charged with the task of selecting a mural that best amplifies our corner of Dunwoody,” Morris said. "It’s such an honor to lead this project that supports artists.”

Alexander is a Georgia State University graduate who has exhibited work nationally and internationally, including Atlanta, New York and London.

Her work can be found in the Harvard Museums in Cambridge, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and in an array of other public and private collections.

The Spruill Center for the Arts is a nonprofit aimed at fostering creativity and social connections through the arts. The Spruill Education Center offers 300 classes and workshops each quarter for all ages and skill levels through its 17 dedicated studio spaces and features a variety of communitybased programs.

For more information about the Spruill Center for the Arts, visit spruillarts.org.

Hayden Sumlin

containing 3 clues for the 3 answers on the line. But here’s the catch! The clues are not in order - so the first clue in Line 1 may (or may not) actually be for the second or third answer in that line. Got it? Good luck!

LAST IS FIRST

1. Like a busybody. Hank ___ Copland. Tropical fruit.

2. Sandy ___Quaid.

Sad. Ticket part.

3. Failure. River to the Rio Grande. Sir Walter ___Glenn.

4. Anne ___Lovejoy. Bout ender. Stand-offish.

5. Gusto. Clumsy person. Christopher ___Bridges

6. Elton ____Lithgow. Kind of passage. Clunker.

7. Little wriggler. Dean ____ Scorsese. Wax-coated cheese.

1. Like a busybody. Hank ___ Copland. Tropical fruit

2. Sandy ___ Quaid. Sad. Ticket part

How to Solve: Each line in the puzzle above has three clues and three answers. The last letter in the first answer on each line is the first letter of the second answer, and so on. The connecting letter is outlined, giving you the correct number of letters for each answer (the answers in line 1 are 4, 5 and 5 letters). The clues are numbered 1 through 7, which each number containing 3 clues for the 3 answers on the line. But here’s the catch! The clues are not in order - so the first clue in Line 1 may (or may not) actually be for the second or third answer in that line. Got it? Good luck!

3. Failure. River to the Rio Grande. Sir Walter ___ Glenn

4. Anne ___ Lovejoy Bout ender. Stand-offish.

5. Gusto. Clumsy person. Christopher ___ Bridges

6. Elton ___ Lithgow. Kind of passage. Clunker 7. Little wriggler. Dean ___ Scorsese. Wax-coated cheese.

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1960s lottery raids in local neighborhoods

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist

Running numbers, lottery games and gambling on sports events took place in Atlanta and the surrounding communities in the 1960s. These activities involved the advanced technology and devices of the time; telephones, adding machines and walkie talkies.

On October 14, 1965, government agents raided three homes in Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. They were prepared with crowbars and sledgehammers, expecting to break their way in a home at 750 Hammond Drive. Instead, they walked in unlocked doors and found two women operating adding machines and three men managing lottery tickets. 750 Hammond Drive is now part of the Perimeter Ridge office park at Hammond and Glenridge Drive. (Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 15, 1965, “Lottery raiders hit 3 homes, arrest 5”)

The agents also expected to find telephones at 750 Hammond Drive, but two other nearby homes were the location of the telephone part of the operation. Phones were used to take bets. Those homes were at 1275 Meadow Lane in Dunwoody and 4600 Ridgeview Road. One of the homeowners was receiving a fee for each day the home was used as part of the betting operation.

Officers confiscated two cars, two adding machines and $230 in cash from the raid.

The Chamblee lodge of the Loyal

Order of Moose was raided in 1962. The lodge was located at 5632 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. They were charged with possession of gaming equipment and possession of more than the legal amount of taxpaid whiskey. Conducting the raid were Capt. T. W. Smith and officers John Crunkleton, B. S. Ivey and R. T. Burgess (Atlanta Constitution, “Police Raid Chamblee Club, Hold Manager, Seize Gaming Devices” April 26, 1962)

There were mixed opinions during the 1960s about these raids. One opinion was there were more important ways the police force could protect the community. These raids at individual homes were usually part of much larger operation running out of Atlanta.

An arrest on Winters Chapel Road took place in June 1963. The home was a $2,000 a day lottery headquarters. Detectives reported adding machines, tapes, and lottery paraphernalia were seized along with company records. (Atlanta Constitution, June 25, 1963, “Father of 2 arrested in lottery raid”)

“Officers with walkie-talkie radios had the house under surveillance for some time.” A barking dog and a young child with a whistle warned those in the home that detectives were approaching. One of the accused was stuffing lottery paraphernalia under a bed as officers entered the home.

Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media and the Dunwoody Crier. She lives in Atlanta. You can email Valerie at pasttensega@gmail.com or visit her website at pasttensega.com.

Appen Media, Evanston RoundTable partner to cover indicted former superintendent

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Appen Media and Evanston RoundTable announced Wednesday a reporting partnership to cover the indictment and controversies involving Devon Horton, former superintendent of school districts in their respective communities.

Under the agreement, the two news organizations will collaborate on coverage relevant to DeKalb County, Georgia, and Evanston, Illinois.

"This partnership allows us to provide our readers with comprehensive coverage of issues that directly affect their communities," Appen Media Editor Dan Whisenhunt said.

Horton resigned from the DeKalb County School District on Oct. 15 following a federal indictment in Illinois accusing him of participating in a kickback scheme at his previous job as superintendent in EvanstonSkokie School District 65.

Appen Media and Evanston RoundTable independently covered Horton’s tenure as he led the districts, as well as the aftermath of his exits. Moving forward the two newsrooms will collaborate on that work.

Appen Media announced this week a reporting partnership with Decaturish and Evanston RoundTable, aimed to collaboratively cover former schools superintendent Devon Horton.

Appen Media Staff Reporter Jim Bass will lead the coverage for that newsroom, with stories set to appear in sister publications Decaturish and the Dunwoody Crier.

Decaturish, the trusted source for hyperlocal news in DeKalb County, and the Dunwoody Crier, a legacy newspaper covering the Atlanta perimeter, were acquired in recent years by Alpharetta-based publisher Appen Media Group. The organization focuses on government, business, public safety and community

reporting.

Evanston RoundTable, founded in 1998, is an Illinois nonprofit newsroom. The publication provides in-depth coverage of Evanston's city government, schools, social issues, arts and culture, and sports.

Readers in each community can support their local newsrooms at appenmedia.com/join and evanstonroundtable.com/donate.

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Budget:

Continued from Page 1

That is enough funding to cover six months of city operations while keeping $4 million available for any worst-case scenarios or unexpected opportunities.

The big-ticket item, $5 million for the full buildout of Homecoming Park, drew a few Dunwoody High School volleyball players and their coaches to advocate for the city’s first beach court.

As one of the nation’s fastest growing girls sports, elected officials substituted the beach volleyball court for previously planned pickleball courts during discussions earlier this year.

Because of plans for a state-of-theart playground for children with sensory processing issues at Homecoming Park, pickleball courts are now slated for Wildcat Park. The pop-pop-pop of pickleball just doesn’t mesh well with an inclusive playground for children with disabilities.

After agreeing to amend the Homecoming Park master plan to reflect the change at a future meeting, claps from varsity volleyball players, coaches and their families rang out at City Hall.

Mayor Lynn Deutsch, who proposed the 2026 budget and its spending amendment, said public safety remains her top priority, if not the only.

“Chief [Carlson] knows that when he fills all the positions that are available… we’ll find the funds to continue to fund expansion of the Police Department,” Deutsch said. “No one more than me believes that we need several dozen more officers. There’s a lot of documentation out there about what makes a good police officer, and we are not going to waver from that simply to have people come work for us.”

The comments came after longtime resident Bob Hickey asked city leaders to allocate more funding to the Dunwoody Police Department so it can raise its staffing level as recommended in the 2023 BerryDunn study. Hickey was the only one to speak during the final public hearing before budget adoption.

In the city’s general fund, the Police Department is the largest line item at $14.5 million, or 38 percent of the operational budget.

“Students in the room, this is a lesson on compromise,” Deutsch said. “I’m not thrilled with the cost overruns on the facility at Brook Run.”

With contingencies and all other costs associated, the city could be paying nearly $3.8 million when construction wraps up next spring. The city had allocated $1.5 million for the project in the 2025 budget, less than half of the cost.

City Councilman Rob Price, who voted for the construction contract with council members Stacey Harris, Cath-

erine Lautenbacher and Tom Lambert, said the original construction estimate was a “back of the napkin” quote.

“Apparently, we’re re-legislating the park building,” Price said. “One of the reasons I think we decided it was that the other building caught on fire in 2022 … It’s going to need to be replaced.”

Of note, City Councilman John Heneghan voted in favor of the amendment allocating $7.3 million in reserves from the city’s operational budget but did not support the 2026 budget overall.

“As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of 12-foot sidewalks on Peeler, spending $2 million in this budget for a sidewalk that only goes four tenths of a mile to me is a little bit high,” Heneghan said. “I’m not in favor of the $3.7 million that we’re spending on the Brook Run maintenance facility.”

Heneghan said the maintenance facility is like a City Hall for the Parks and Recreation Department, and he wishes it was not in the budget. He also floated an amendment to delay construction of a section of the Peeler Road multi-use path but did not receive any support from council members.

“I know [the amendment] won’t go anywhere,” Heneghan said. “Only a sidewalk is needed, not a 12-foot path, not lighting, not clearing out that area. But that decision already been done and decided by Council, and I’m just one vote.”

Several residents from neighborhoods surrounding the proposed path have spoken at city council meetings for and against its construction.

Some say it is unnecessary, poorly designed and worry about its impact on their properties and quality of life. Others want a path from their neighborhood streets on the north side of Peeler Road to Windwood Hollow Park and the continued buildout of the city’s trail system.

“We’re spending $7 million plus … but that gives us enough background funds for a rainy day, in case something were to happen,” Heneghan said, explaining his support for the reserve spending. “For example, I want to make sure that we have our EMS funds available.”

Heneghan said he also wants to

THE CITY OF DUNWOODY, GEORGIA

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

2026 budgeted reserve spending:

Parks:

• $5 million for Homecoming Park

Police:

• $200,000 for Flock Safety’s drone as first responder program

• $183,000 for replacement of gas-powered police vehicles

• $117,000 for electric vehicles/ Ford Mavericks

• $235,000 for ballistic windows on patrol cars

• $65,000 for bulletproof vests

Pedestrian Safety:

• $275,000 for Dunwoody Village Parkway intersection

• $100,000 for audible push buttons at 10 intersections

• $50,000 for Vanderlyn at Hensley drives crosswalk bulb outs

• $50,000 for Tilly Mill Road at Dunwoody Glen crosswalk realignment

• $25,000 for Womack at Vermack roads bulb out

Sidewalks:

• $500,000 for Peeler Road sidewalk: Huntington Hall to Equestrian Way

• $450,000 for Chamblee Dunwoody Road sidewalk: Spalding Drive to Oakpointe Place

• $50,000 for Vermack Road sidewalk: Womack Road to Parliament Drive

ensure the city has funds in case the federal government offers to sell the allbut-shuttered Dunwoody Post Office in the Village.

“There’s a thousand things [the Post Office site] could be used for,” Heneghan said. “If that building were to come available, we still have funds in the bank ready to roll on that.”

The City of Dunwoody City Council will meet Monday, December 1st , 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Dunwoody City Hall, which is located at 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338 for the purpose of due process of the following:

SLUP 25-02, 125 Perimeter Center W: Zaxby's Properties, LLC requests a Special Land Use Permit for a drive-through to allow the construction of a new drive-through restaurant.

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact the City of Dunwoody Community Development Department at 678-382-6800. Staff is available to answer questions, discuss the decision-making process, and receive comments and concerns.

A message to college students, part one

Millions of you, including my two boys, just started a new school year swamped by toxic politics, a tough job market, and tectonic AI shifts on campus and off.

• It’s easy to understand why stress, uncertainty and sadness are soaring.

Why it matters: I want to offer you a very different way to see the world awaiting you — one with a lot less impending doom. It’s based on a belief I grow more certain of with each passing month:

• You’re being duped!

It’s not your fault. We all are:

• You’re being duped into thinking most people are nuttier, meaner, more polarized than they actually are.

• You’re being duped into thinking America is more broken, more unfixable and more hostile than it actually is.

• You’re being duped into thinking you can’t shape your life on your terms in your own way. You actually control a lot more of you than you realize. What if I told you that politicians, the media and your social media feeds are all chasing the exact same thing … your attention?

Halloween:

Continued from Page 1

Each of the patrol cars were decorated with a theme, ranging from Dunwoody Police Community Outreach Officer Theresa Hernandez’s yellow brick road from the “Wizard of Oz” to

DEATH NOTICES

Michael Ewing, 75, of Roswell, passed away on October 22, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Gary Fay, 74, of Roswell, passed away on October 22, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Bobby Hood, 83, of Alpharetta, passed away on October 21, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

• And all three get your attention, to varying degrees, by amplifying conflict and juicing your emotions — mainly your negative ones. Our brains are hardwired with what is called “negativity bias.” So we’re all susceptible to eating this up.

The result: Everything — and everyone — appears nastier, more outrageous, more hopeless than they really are. Think about it: Your reality is shaped by what you see, hear and read. So if your eyes, ears and mind are lit up with doom and gloom, you assume darkness and conflict are everywhere.

• But what if I told you most people in the real world aren’t obsessed with politics, aren’t glued to MSNBC or Fox News, or don’t download X?

• Most people are the opposite of that: They’re normal — living their lives with friends and family just like you. It’s the people lighting up your social feeds who aren’t.

• Most people don’t care about Sydney Sweeney’s jeans/genes or Cracker Barrel’s logo.

Reality check: I’m not diminishing the real-world, real-time consequences of politics in an era when we see that our communities, country and world are changing with historic and at times alarming speed. And, yes, there are big, urgent challenges, from rising pessimism to AI’s effect on entry-level

Sgt. Michael Cheek’s spookier backseat with floating ghosts and a giant walking eyeball.

Hundreds of children and young families poured into the park to enjoy one of the area’s top-rated playgrounds, the Dunwoody Homeowner Association’s last Food Truck Thursday of the year and some trick-or-treating the night before Halloween.

Charles McNichols, 84, of Alpharetta, passed away on October 21, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Seton McRae, 58, of Alpharetta, passed away on October 19, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Carlos Moreno, 51, of Alpharetta, passed away on October 19, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

From Jim, part one

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei wrote three letters to college students. He gave Appen Media permission to share them with readers. This essay is part one.

work.

But let me lay out a different way to think about tackling all of this. First, some context:

• Yes, I’m in the media, so you can argue I’m part of the problem. But Axios doesn’t have an opinion page — our reporters cover their beats clinically, like doctors, and we aim to be sources of truth amid the noise.

• I come at this view as a father of two sons in college, and a daughter who graduated recently. I helped co-found two companies, Politico and Axios. I’m CEO of 450 employees — and I’m an unapologetic beneficiary of democracy, capitalism and America’s entrepreneurial spirit.

My perch allows me to talk to CEOs, political leaders, tech and business executives, and lots of young people who work at Axios or move through my daily life. Here’s what I see, and what I hope my kids and the rest of you will consider:

1. America rocks. Yes, there are countless things we could do better.

Police Chief Mike Carlson and Deputy Chief Oliver Fladrich patrolled the greenspace, chatting with community members and officers while occasionally passing out candy or chatting with a 3-foot-tall Superman.

Several council members and community volunteers also attended the Oct. 30 gathering at Brook Run Park, braving the cold for the trick-or-treating

Vinay Patel, 50, of Roswell, passed away on October 17, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Marvin Whitmire, 82, of Alpharetta, passed away on October 27, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Michael Wright, 89, of Alpharetta, passed away on October 23, 2025. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

And lots of areas of legit concerns. But I beg young people to understand the enormous, indisputable advantages of this country, especially compared to other nations. We’re the best-performing economic and new-idea-generating machine on the globe.

We’re blessed with two oceans on our shoulders and friendly neighbors north and south. We’re sitting on more energy than was ever dreamed possible, and we have the freedom to move, live and work anywhere. We’re leading AI and health advances — and we’re the envy of all for our startup culture and can-do spirit.

2. It’s your country. I don’t get the hopelessness and defeatism about changing things.

The last three presidential elections all came down to a few hundred thousand votes in a few states. The tiniest of shifts would have tipped the White House — and the House of Representatives — the other way. Hell, every president going back to Bill Clinton (25 years ago!) enjoyed all-party rule (the White House, Senate and House) for at least two years.

No stat better captures what a 50-50 nation we are. So your individual ability to change things, regardless of party or age (provided you’re 18+), has never been stronger.

See MESSAGE, Page 13

and touch-a-truck crossover.

Parent spent the evening keeping up with their children, taking costume photos with officers and learning about different nonprofits and resident-led businesses sponsoring the city’s annual Halloween week celebration.

To keep up with free community events, visit dunwoodyga.gov/ community/city-calendar.

Message:

Continued from Page 12

3. No, things actually have been a lot worse. We all suffer recency bias. And assume “it’s never been this bad.” It sure as hell has. Crime is near a 50-year low. Murders? Low, and dropping by double digits three years in row. War? Military deaths are at a historic low. Yes, but this economy sucks! Cost of living has gone up — but inflation is nowhere near as bad as three years ago, and unemployment is holding near historic lows. But poverty. Yes, it’s 11%, which sucks — but that’s half the rate in 1959.

4. You control you. Those are the most important three words of advice I will ever offer. We’re often caught up in a blame-others or blame-life culture. It’s a stupid waste

of time. And wrong. You control how early you wake up, what you eat, whether you exercise, how you treat others, whether you pray or meditate or take time to think, what you read, watch and listen to, and what you do at night.

5. You control your reality. You choose the read, watch, listen inputs that feed your mind and shape your reality. Too many feeds are awash with dumb, trivial, fake news. You choose whether to stare at stupidity or fixate on phony, airbrushed versions of people and events. There’s more high-quality, life-enhancing, mind-enriching content available for free on YouTube, podcasts and elsewhere online than at any point in history. And it’s not close. You simply need to choose it.

6. You’re living history. Pay more attention to the world unfolding before you. The way we work, communicate, travel, learn, practice politics, wage wars and explore

space are all rapidly changing before our eyes. So open them. Be curious. AI alone might be bigger than the internet or electricity. You know it’s going to change the world. So use it before you have to. Learn about it. Question it. Life is too short to be a silent, clueless bystander.

7. Get in the damn game. These might be the five most important words of advice after “You control you.” You have roughly 80 years on Earth, one-third spent asleep. So don’t piss them away wishing, wondering, whining. Jump in. Trust me, life will hit you hard with unexpected punches that truly hurt and leave a mark. So use every punchfree day to get in the fight on your terms. Try new things. Read new things. Meet new people. Find new passions. Change things you want changed. Do good things for others. Yes, America has big problems. Always has. Always will. So help fix ‘em.

8. Be grateful. It sounds cheesy and trite

even to write it. But we live in extraordinary times, in an extraordinary nation, full of extraordinary people. It’s easy to doom-scroll life away, both on your screen and in your mind. Don’t. Want proof there’s more to be grateful for than you think? Starting today, keep a running list (I use the Notes function on my iPhone) of people who do things, big or small, that brighten or better you. You’ll be astonished how long this list grows — and how seemingly little things leave a big mark decades later.

The bottom line: There’s a lot to lament. Just look at social media and the email you’re about to send me telling me I’m a privileged, delusional knucklehead. But there’s a lot more to love — once you realize you’ve been duped.

Jim VandeHei is the CEO of Axios. Let him know what you think by emailing jim@ axios.com.

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