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Check your status, update your address or find your polling location on the Secretary of State’s “My Voter Page” at https://mvp.sos. ga.gov/s. The webpage also provides the option to register. For the Nov. 5 general election, the deadline to register is Oct. 7. See story, PAGE 5
Johns Creek escapes brunt of deadly storm that swept over state By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com NORTH METRO ATLANTA — While the full extent of costs and damage from the storm has yet to be determined statewide, north metro residents began returning to their normal lives over the weekend. Johns Creek came out the other side of Hurricane Helene unscathed, for the most part. Communications Director Bob Mullen told Appen Media the storm resulted in only a couple of downed trees and a few light signals that went dark, but all was well by the afternoon Sept. 27. He said Johns Creek, the city’s namesake waterway, filled up but did not get within a foot of either of the bridges that stretch over Abbotts Bridge and Old Alabama roads. “We were so fortunate that we didn’t get hit as hard as neighboring communities did, and we’re pleased with the response and the attentiveness of our folks who were out there,” Mullen said. “I know it’s cliche, but I feel like we dodged a bullet.” The city prepared for the worst, nonetheless, creating its makeshift Emergency Operations Center on the third floor of City Hall in its Traffic Management Center. Communications Lieutenant Lt. Deb Coble posted a selfie on X Sept. 27, adding that it was a “quiet night” as officials monitored Hurricane Helene. Mullen said the EOC uses foldable walls to make for a larger area, so that everyone has a view of what’s happening. “There’s even a protocol that [Fire] Chief [Chris] Coons and his team goes through to work with PD and to work with Public Works and the various departments on making sure everything is smooth when the EOC is open,” Mullen said.
See STORM, Page 21
HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA
From left, Rick Bragg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author, speaks with George Weinstein, an award-winning author and executive director of the Atlanta Writers Club, about their careers as Southern writers Sept. 29 at the second annual Johns Creek Literary Fair.
Authors, booklovers assemble for Pulitzer Prize-winner’s talk By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — The second annual Johns Creek Literary Fair Sept. 29 drew a couple hundred people to peruse books from local authors and hear from one of the South’s best. Just a couple days after Hurricane Helene rushed through Johns Creek, residents gathered at the Mark Burkhalter Amphitheater at Newtown Park for a day dedicated to books. Local authors set up their book stands around the amphitheater as kids played lacrosse
on the turf field next door. It was an early fall afternoon in North Fulton County, an ideal setting for authors to discuss how they do what they do. Up on the hill abutting the venue, children’s authors displayed books about everything from the lost journal of Nikola Tesla to the challenges faced by American minorities. With most in attendance over retirement age, the Literary Fair still featured Johns Creek’s diversity, with people from all backgrounds
See AUTHOR, Page 22
Caroline Nalisnick C: 404.513.9226 | Caroline@HOMEgeorgia.com
Sam DiVito C: 404.803.5999 | Sam@HOMEgeorgia.com
Allison Kloster C: 404.784.5287 | Allison@HOMEgeorgia.com