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The Champion, Thursday, December 24 - 30,2015
LOCAL
A Section 12-24-15.indd 7
12/22/15 3:44 PM
Laura Balzer has supported her best friend Dana Geiselmann, who has
two children with a rare disease. Photos provided
Pastor's wife raises awareness
about Batten disease
by Deanna Cauthen
Laura Balzer, of Stone
Mountain, and Dana Geisel
mann, of Memphis, Tenn.,
have been best friends since
they met in high school years
ago in Birmingham, Ala.
They went on to graduate
and attend college together at
Auburn University and lived
together after college. Like
many friends, they celebrated
all the important milestones
together—engagements,
weddings and the birth of
each other’s children.
In August 2013, Milla,
the middle daughter of Dana
and Frazer Geiselmann,
began to have seizures and
in October 2014 was diag
nosed with Batten Disease,
a fatal, inherited disorder of
the nervous system. Due to
the genetic nature of the dis
ease, the Geiselmanns were
advised to have their other
two daughters tested. As a
result, they learned that their
youngest daughter, Elle, also
had Batten Disease.
“[Milla] had been suffer
ing with seizures for over a
year, so I had already come
to terms with the fact some
thing was going on,” said
Balzer, who is a trained OB/
GYN nurse. “When we got
an answer, it was kind of like,
‘OK, this is what it is.’
“It was about a month
later that I got a text from
Dana which said that Elle’s
diagnosis was positive, too,”
Balzer said. “We just sat on
the phone and cried. It was
crushing and shocking when
you have another one that’s
going in the same direction.”
According to the Na
tional Institute of Neurologi
cal Disorders, Batten Disease
typically begins in child
hood. Early symptoms of
this disorder usually appear
between the ages of 5 and 10,
when parents or physicians
notice that a previously nor
mally developing child be
gins to develop vision prob
lems and seizures. Over time,
children with the disease will
lose their sight, suffer mental
impairment, have increasing
ly worse seizures and suffer a
decline in motor skills.
Balzer, who moved to At
lanta from Birmingham last
year when her husband, Da
vid, became the new pastor
at Grace Church for All Na
tions in Stone Mountain, still
struggles with the diagnosis
of her best friend’s daughters.
“Being so far away has
been hard for me, but I do
what I can do,” she said. “I
visit whenever I can. I’ve
been going every couple of
months.”
She stressed that people
who have friends who are
dealing with difficult health
issues can help by doing the
“small things.”
“[When I visit], I unload
the dishwasher, play with the
kids, and spend time with
their oldest daughter, Ann
Carlyle,” Balzer said.
Another way that Bal
zer helps is by getting the
word out about a new book
entitled Voyage to the Star
Kingdom that was written by
her sister, Anne Riley, and il
lustrated by her cousin, Amy
Grimes.
Balzer has started an
email campaign to help raise
awareness of the disease and
support for the book. Pro
ceeds from the book will be
used to help offset expenses
the Geiselmanns have in
curred as a result of their
daughters illnesses.
The official release date
is Jan. 12, 2016, more infor
mation about Batten dis
ease and the Geiselmanns’
story can be found, at www.
theprowritersstudio.com/
bookproject.
In 2013 Dana Geiselmann learned that her daughter Balzer’s sister wrote a book about Batten disease. The
Milla has Batten disease. book is illustrated by Balzer’s cousin.
Notice of Public Hearing
The Mayor and City Council of the City of Chamblee, Georgia will hold a public hearing
on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at the Chamblee Civic Center, 3540 Broad Street,
Chamblee, GA 30341 at 6:00 p.m. to receive public comments regarding the following
matters:
• Comments on proposed amendments to the occupational tax business profitability
classifications.
• Fred Milani of Hadi Homes, Inc. requests approval of an Amendment to the Official Zoning
Map rezoning property from Neighborhood Residential -1 (NR-1) to Village Residential (VR)
and approval of a Planned Unit Development in accordance with City of Chamblee
Ordinances, Appendix A, Unified Development Ordinance, Chapter 280 for the purpose of
constructing 46 townhomes on 6.5 acres of property located on the following 3 parcels in
Chamblee GA: 2605 Chamblee-Tucker Road, 3229 and 3235 Stratford Arms Road, being
DeKalb County Tax parcels 18-281-03-013, 18-281-03-019 and 18-281-03-018, respectively.
• John Roegge of Hilton Displays requests approval of variances for signs to be located on
property zoned Mixed Use-Business Center (MU-BC) at 2901 Clairmont Road (Sam’s Club),
Chamblee, being tax parcel 18-196-02-016. The subject variances relate to Chapter 260 of
the City of Chamblee Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Unified Development Ordinance, for
two signs, as follows:
o Sec. 260-7(b)(3) to increase maximum sign height from 8 ft. to 18 ft. (2 signs)
o Sec. 260-7(b)(5) to increase maximum sign area from 64 sq. ft. to 156 sq. ft. (2 signs)
o Sec. 260-7(b)(5) to vary required distance between a sign and a driveway (2 signs)
o Sec. 260-7(b)(4) to locate one sign in the restricted corner sight distance triangle set forth
in Sec. 230-15; and
o Sec. 260-7(b)(6)c. to locate one sign that is greater than 64 sq. ft. such that it is closer
than 2000 ft. from another sign greater than 64 sq. ft. on the same side of the street.
• Matt Wilson of Wilson Development requests variances of the following provisions of the City
of Chamblee Ordinances, Appendix A, Unified Development Ordinance with respect to a lot
consisting of 0.585 acres zoned Village Commercial located at 5485 Peachtree Boulevard,
Chamblee, GA being parcel 18-308-15-021:
o Sec. 250-2(a) to reduce the required minimum number of off-street parking places;
o Sec. 230-5(a); to reduce the required minimum fagade height of a building of 24 ft.
located on a Storefront Street;
o Sec. 230-30(b)(1) to reduce the required minimum interior floor-to-ceiling height of 18 ft.
for a building located on a Storefront Street;
o Sec. 350-2(c) that requires interparcel access to adjacent commercial, office or
multifamily property.
o Sec. 230-29(a)(2) that requires a sidewalk from the front of the building to the sidewalk
adjacent to the street.
o Sec 250-22(2) that requires that dumpsters shall be placed a minimum of 5 ft. from a
property line.