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Roll on
Disabled Johns Creek graduate inspires students to push forward By HANNAH FRAZER | hannah@appenmedia.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga.— Confined to a wheelchair by muscular dystrophy, Kyle Eggleston drew a standing ovation for the words of inspiration he gave in his commencement address to Johns Creek High School graduates. At age 4, Eggleston was diagnosed with the genetic condition that gradually weakens and breaks down the skeletal muscles. By age 11, he transitioned from crutches to a wheelchair. “Emotionally, it had me anxious about my independence,” he said, “but by accepting being in a wheelchair it had allowed me to become more independent than ever before.” Opening his address to seniors, Eggleston confessed to using the high school hallways as his own personal Daytona 500. “Consequently because of this, a lot of feet were ran over these past four years,” Eggleston admitted. “I need to say something, I am sorry.” He then turned to two important lessons he has learned in life: speaking up for himself and knowing when to listen to others. “It is incredibly important to speak up, but if we don’t take the time to listen to others and to try and see things from different points of view, we will never learn,” Eggleston told the assembly. His mindset of “learning to adapt makes you stronger, not weaker” caused him to challenge the students “to get something you never had, you have to do something that you’ve never done.”
See EGGLESTON, Page 21 ANDREW REDMAN/SPECIAL
Kyle Eggleston follows a football game as an assistant coach at Johns Creek High School in 2023. Eggleston, who has muscular dystrophy, was a featured speaker at the 2024 high school commencement ceremony where he encouraged students to “roll on.”
Deadline nears to lodge appeals on assessments 2024 will be final year for 3-year value freeze By BEECHER TUTTLE newsroom@appenmedia.com ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in April signed a bill to limit large annual property tax increases that have plagued homeowners in Metro Atlanta suburbs for the better part of a decade. While the legislation should help property owners in counties like Fulton, DeKalb and Forsyth, it will also quietly remove what some deem a loophole that has benefitted taxpayers who know the ins and outs of the property assessment process. The coming days and weeks will likely represent the last chance homeowners have to lock in their property values without much of a fight. Set to be enacted prior to the 2025 tax season, House Bill 581 will enable counties to limit the appreciation of property values to no more than the current rate of inflation. The new law comes on the heels of significant annual surges in taxable property values in most every county in North Georgia and parts of Metro Atlanta. However, the bill will also soon prevent homeowners from taking advantage of the current system where simply appealing a property tax assessment will freeze the appraisal value for the current and two succeeding years,
See TAXES, Page 20
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