Keep Cobb Beautiful will host an Electronics Recycling Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Saturday, May 21, at Jim Miller Park, 2245 Callaway Road, Marietta. Electronics accepted at no charge include: computers, microwaves, toasters, printers, video machines, camcorders, telephones, cameras, cell phones, scanners, and scanners. Televisions will be accepted for a $10 fee. For a complete list of accepted items, visit cobbcounty.org/kcb.
Potting soil is capable of burning and in some cases it has spontaneously combusted. Below are some tips provided by a local Fire Marshall if you are using potting soil.
- Do not use planters or flowerpots as ashtrays.
- In areas where people may be smoking, provide proper ashtrays or non-combustible containers filled with sand.
- Keep plants well watered to prevent the potting soil from drying out.
- Remove and dispose of dead plants promptly.
- Where possible, use non-combustible planters and flowerpots.
- Do not locate planters or flowerpots close to other combustible material.
Cobb Senior Services staff will host “Information Fair 2011″ 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Wednesday, May 11, at the Cobb Civic Center. The fair is free and geared toward seniors 55 years old and older, adult children and caregivers. Exhibitors will include information on elder law, advance directives, living wills, independent living, assisted living, identification fraud, Social Security, Medicare, social clubs, volunteerism, insurance, exercise and nutrition. Blood pressure and skin cancer screenings will be available, as well as basic eye exams provided by the Marietta Lions Club. There will also be several seminars throughout the day:
10:15 a.m. Get Fit and Have Fun
11 a.m. Drive up Hungry; Leave Healthy
11:45 a.m. Everyday Tai Chi
12:30 p.m. It’s All in Your Head
1:15 p.m. Home Grown Fitness
The Cobb Civic Center is located at 548 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta. For more information, visit cobbcounty.org/seniors or call 770-528-1445
Keep Cobb Beautiful is partnering with Advanced Disposal Services to offer Cobb residents free drop spots to bring recyclables from home. There will be four sites. The 15-month pilot program will include free single stream recycling for residents of Cobb.
The drop site will be at police or fire stations, one in each commission district. Items accepted are: paper, plastics 1-7, steel and aluminum cans and cardboard. No glass, trash or dumping is allowed.
The first site opened May 2 at Station 14, 2905 Library Lane, Marietta. In addition to Station 14, drop sites will open Saturday, May 7, at Station 28, 3858 Kemp Road, Acworth and Saturday, May 14, at Station 21, 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta, and Station 22, 4700 Austell Road, Austell.
Cobb libraries will have new hours of operation beginning Sunday, May 1. The Central, East Cobb, Mountain View, South Cobb and West Cobb libraries will be open: 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Mondays-Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday-Saturdays. The East Marietta, Gritters, Kemp Memorial, Kennesaw, Powder Springs, Stratton and Vinings libraries will be open: 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Mondays-Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursdays-Fridays, 1-6 p.m., Saturdays. The Acworth, Hattie G. Wilson, Lewis A. Ray, Sibley and Sweetwater libraries wil be open: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Mondays-Wednesdays and 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursdays. For more information, visit cobbcounty.org/library.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources issues a ban on open burning May 1-Sept. 30 of each year. Fifty-four counties in Georgia, including Cobb County, are affected. During the ban period, residents may not burn leaves, tree limbs or other yard waste, forest land or use air curtain destructors for land clearing. Cobb Fire and Emergency Services staff is responsible for enforcement of this state-issued ban in unincorporated Cobb and the cities of Acworth, Kennesaw and Powder Springs. If you have a complaint or problem regarding burning in your area, please call 911. For more information, visit cobbcounty.org/outdoorburning or contact Georgia Environmental Protection Division at 404-363-7000 or 404-362-2671.
The NW Metro Atlanta Habitat for Humanity Office will be closed on Friday, April 22, 2011 for the Good Friday Holiday. May your families have a Blessed Easter Weekend.
Nickelodeon Star Hosts Teen Center Benefit
Kennesaw, Ga. (April 8, 2011) – Actor/singer Leon Thomas III, currently star of Nickelodeon’s hit TV show Victorious, will visit Kennesaw on April 16 to support fund raising efforts for the city’s new after-school program for teens.
Thomas will participate in the Big Shanty Festival Parade in downtown Kennesaw at 9:30 am. Following the parade, he will make personal appearances at the Youth Council booth at the Festival, where he will be available to meet with fans, provide photo opportunities and sign autographs.
At 6:30 pm, Kennesaw Mountain High School will host a program titled “A Chat with Leon Thomas III.” Admission will be $5 per person at the door; the proceeds will be used to help fund the after-school program now being conducted at the new Kennesaw Teen Center. In this one-man performance, the teen star will discuss the entertainment industry and his career progress, his belief in the importance of character building, and his support of youth development initiatives. He will also answer audience questions and perform a few acoustic songs.
Leon Thomas III is a talented actor, singer and dancer as well as an R&B and pop musician and songwriter. His filmography includes a Broadway debut at age 10 as Young Simba in the The Lion King; casting in the Broadway play The Color Purple; an appearance alongside Robin Williams and Terrance Howard in the film August Rush; and guest starring roles in The Backyardigans, Jack’s Big Music Show, Just Jordan, and iCarly.
Click on Link for full press release: Leon Thomas III News Release
Families invited to enjoy free annual egg hunt
Cobb Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs staff will host its annual Egg Hunt at the Cobb Safety Village Saturday, April 16. The event will feature children’s activities, a basket contest, a petting zoo, inflatables, concessions, a visit with the Easter Bunny and the “Mad Hatter” contest. Admission and parking are free. The site opens at 10 a.m. Hunts will be done by age groups, with the first starting at 10:30 a.m. for children three and younger. At 11 a.m., children 4 and 5 years old will conduct their hunt. The next will be 11:30 a.m. for special populations. At noon, those 6 and 7 years old will hunt, followed by children 8-10 years old at 12:30 p.m. The Safety Village is located at 1220 Al Bishop Drive, Marietta. Parking will be adjacent to the nearby sports complex.
For more information, call 770-528-8875.
Staff from UGA-Cobb Cooperative Extension will host an open house 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday, April 6. The free event will have activities and programs for all ages and will share practical ideas and techniques on a variety of topics. The Urban Agriculture/Horticulture section will feature a plant doctor clinic, where you can bring plants and weeds for diagnosis, a bedbug display, container gardening and raised bed planting demonstrations, soil testing and water testing information. The Family and Consumer Sciences section will have information on preserving your own food, money management publications, Servsafe food handling, healthy snacks and what restaurant inspection scores mean. The 4-H Youth Development section will feature information, face painting, healthy eating, drug awareness and the 4-H Science Club. This event will be held in the Extension parking long, next to the main tag office, at 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta. For more information, call 770-528-4070 or visit cobbextension.com.
If you have never filed for Homestead you should make every effort to do so. It would save you money each year on your property taxes. If you have filed once, then you do not have to do it again.
Homeowners have until April 1 to apply for Homestead Exemptions for this tax year. Applications not received by the deadline will be processed and applied the following year. The applicant must occupy the property and his or her name must appear on the deed in order to qualify. Homeowners must apply for all exemptions for which they are eligible; exemptions are automatically renewed thereafter unless there is a change in ownership or eligibility. Homeowners must notify the Tax Commissioner’s Office if they are no longer eligible for an exemption.
It is not necessary to reapply if the home has been refinanced. Most new property owners will be mailed a tax exemption brochure after the first of the year. Tax bills are mailed on Aug. 15 and payment is due within 60 days to avoid late charges. Applications and payments must be received or U.S. Postmarked (metered postmark not accepted as proof of timely mailing) by the filing or payment deadline to be considered timely. Applications, detailed information, tax bills and year round online bill pay are available at cobbtax.org or by calling 770-528-8600.
Cobb Fire and Emergency Services staff encourages residents to help keep their families, friends and neighbors safe by reminding them to change the batteries in their smoke alarms. Smoke alarms are the only device in the home that will alert you when there is a fire. Practicing smoke alarm maintenance is a simple and effective way to reduce home fire deaths. Test your smoke alarms monthly to make sure they are working. Do not ignore the chirping sound the smoke alarm makes when maintenance is required. Also, plan, discuss and practice an escape route with your family for dangerous situations, such as home fires, and natural disasters. For more information on home safety or for information on the county fire departments, visit cobbcounty.org/fire.
Please note: Sessions begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.
Children must be picked up by 12:15 p.m.
Did you know:
- Black students have the lowest elementary school reading scores in Georgia, which may explain why they also have the lowest ACT reading scores as high school seniors
- Elementary school students who are not reading at grade level will struggle through middle and high school
- Black students have the lowest middle school math scores in Georgia, which may explain why they have the lowest ACT math scores as high school seniors
- The highest level of math that a student takes in high school is one of the clearest predictors of college success
Only those students who pre-register will be guaranteed a seat and have access to online prep at Academic Excellence in Mathematics:
- Register online at: http://accessandequity.org/id46.html
- Register vial email at: crct@accessandequity.org (provide student name, grade, subject (either math or reading), and parent name
- Voice mail at: (678) 395-5825
Math
- All students will take an actual CRCT math pre-test on Saturday, March 12, 2011
- All students will take an actual CRCT math post-test on Saturday, April 9, 2011
- During each session, students will work through various content areas (i.e., fractions, absolute values, exponents, positive and negative numbers, estimating, geometry, etc.)
Reading
- All students will take an actual CRCT math pre-test on Saturday, March 12, 2011
- All students will take an actual CRCT math post-test on Saturday, April 9, 2011
- During each session, students will work through various content areas (i.e., fractions, absolute values, exponents, positive and negative numbers, estimating, geometryetc.)
What students will need:
- 3-ring binder
- paper, pencil, and calculator
- positive attitude and respect for teachers/tutors
Volunteers and Donations:
If you are interested in volunteering, teaching, or tutoring please contact the CRCT chairperson, Steve Spencer via email – steve.spencer2314@gmail.com
If you are interested in making a donation, please email – crct@accessandequity.org.
- Photocopying
- Pencils and notebook paper
By Kathryn Elizabeth Tuggle
Published March 04, 2011
| FOXBusiness
The weak economy has many cash-strapped consumers opting to purchase items secondhand, but buyers beware: Not all items are fit to be purchased used.
“When the economy first bottomed out, a lot of people shopped resale for the first time,” says Adele Meyer, executive director of National Association of Resale Professionals. “And once they get that first bargain, they’re hooked, there’s a real thrill to finding something that you get such a good buy on.”
Members of the NARTS, which include resale boutiques and secondhand stores nationwide, reported a 12.7% growth in net sales in 2010.
From shopping at the Goodwill to picking up a discarded item on a street corner, finding gently-used items can save a lot of money. However, some items are better purchased new no matter what the cost savings.
We asked experts for the top six items you should never buy used, because they might end up costing you more in the long run.
Mattresses
Buying used bedding and mattresses can be risky for health reasons.
“[You] have to be very careful that people haven’t discarded an item because of bedbugs—either knowingly or unknowingly,” says Missy Henriksen, vice president of Public Affairs at the National Pest Management Association (NPMA).
Bedbug extermination can cost between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars, according to Henriksen, and they aren’t the only critters you need to worry about. Dust mites, which can cause allergies or asthma attacks, can also be found in used mattresses, as can fleas. Fleas can lay dormant for up to a year without needing to feed, so they can be hiding in a mattress or boxspring with no activity for 12 months.
“It’s just too risky to take in a mattress that has been in anyone else’s home,” says Henriksen. “Even if there are no live bugs in the mattress, there can be dead ones, and dead bed bugs do emit an odor.”
Boats
Because boats typically don’t get serviced as often as cars, they are much more likely to have maintenance problems, according to John Thedford, CEO of LaFamilia Pawn and Jewelry in Miami.
And when it comes to maintenance, the hull of a boat is much more difficult to repair than a flat tire.
“Our practice is to test the item before we write a pawn loan,” says Thedford. “And it would be difficult, if not impossible, to test something such as a watercraft.”
Buying used is all about knowing what you’re getting, Thedford said, and when a test drive can’t be performed and a diagnostic test would be prohibitively expensive, you’re better off buying new.
“People have to take care of their cars because they drive them every day, but you can’t say the same for a boat,” he says.
Engagement Rings and Fine Jewelry
“It’s a bad idea to buy a used engagement ring directly from another individual,” according to Marcy Roth, owner of fine jewelry boutique AccessoryArtists.com. “Unless they have the paperwork that documents stone quality you are taking a gamble.”
Of course there are many professional jewelry resellers that specialize in the certification of estate pieces, but if you buy straight from another individual via eBay or consignment shops, you have no way of verifying quality, Roth says.
“How do you know that the stone is really a yellow sapphire? It could be a citrine or yellow quartz,” says Roth. “Gold is the same thing. They can say it’s 18 karats, but it could be 14 karats or even some type of plating.”
Roth advises that as a general rule, fine jewelry should only be purchased from a trusted source or a designer; pictures on a computer screen can be very deceiving.
Baby Car seats and Cribs
If there’s any chance that you’ll put your children at risk by buying a used item, it’s not worth it.
“Fairly recently, there have been recalls on cribs that have an adjustable side because they were disengaging and catching babies’ heads and hands,” says Marcia Turner, author of the blog Thrift Shopping Tips, (LINK OUT TO: thriftshoppingtips.wordpress.com)
Baby car seats are another potential safety hazard if you happen to purchase one used that is damaged, Turner adds. To the naked eye, it would be virtually impossible to determine if the underlying plastic is broken or chipped, or has been weakened through misuse, says Turner. If a car seat happened to be in an accident, the integrity of the seat could be compromised and your baby might not be as well protected as you think.
“Some car seats have built in fabric-covered seats and backs that cannot be removed and cleaned. Sure, you can scrub the plastic and hose the fabric down with disinfectant, but unless you can wash it in hot water, be aware that the seat may harbor germs that will come into contact with your baby’s skin. “
Video Cameras and Digital Cameras
You would think a used camera or camcorder could be a great idea for a kid or a senior like your parents or grandparents, but think about where they’ve been,” cautions Christine Frietchen, the editor-in-chief of ConsumerSearch.com, a product review Web site. “They could have fallen in a stream, or have a grain of sand from the beach in there that you might not notice.”
Many new digital cameras can cost $40 or less, according to Frietchen, and they often come with a year-long warranty that you’re not going to get if you purchase them used. Also, it’s possible that used imaging equipment will have battery issues, as many of them come with rechargeable batteries.
“If you buy a used camera for $30 and then you have to go out and buy a rechargeable battery pack for $40, then you could have just bought a new camera with a warranty,” says Frietchen.
It is possible to purchase refurbished cameras and video cameras from a manufacturer, and that’s a good option as long as they come with a warranty, Frietchen warns.
Vacuum Cleaners
“Think about why most people get rid of an old vacuum,” says Frietchen. “It probably doesn’t work that well, and you don’t want to spend the time taking it apart and cleaning all the hair out of the wheels.”
While some people may think that putting a new bag in a vacuum means it’s good to go, even that can be an issue: it can be hard find new bags for a discontinued vacuum model.
But bags can be the least of your problems when you consider wiring issues that can come with a faulty cord.
“Think about cords. Anyone with pets at home knows that dogs and cats like to chew on these things, and they short out,” says Frietchen.
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