COMMUNITY
Sandy Springs
candidate forum
planned for October
The League of Women Voters and
Leadership Sandy Springs are teaming
up to host a forum for candidates seek
ing a seat on the Sandy Springs City
Council.
The forum is set for Oct. 8 at North
Springs High School. There will be a
meet-and-greet at 6:30 p.m. and the fo
rum will start at 7 p.m.
Elections will be Nov. 5, and there
will be some intriguing races on the bal
lot. District 6 Councilwoman Karen
Meinzen McEnerny is stepping down,
and there are five candidates vying to
replace her. Mayor Eva Galambos and
Councilman Chip Collins have also de
cided against running again.
“This is the perfect opportunity for
Sandy Springs residents to meet the can
didates running for public office,” Caro
lyn Axt, executive director of Leadership
Sandy Springs, said in a press release.
“With the city’s election a little over a
month after the forum, this occasion
gives people the perfect time to hear the
issues and make decisions that are right
for them.”
“This forum showcases what is great
about Americas election system. Can
didates get to voice their opinions and
present the issues that are important to
them, and the electorate gets to make
informed decisions,” Sally FitzGerald of
The League of Women Voters said in a
press release.
People with questions can email
them to memberprograms@leadership-
sandysprings.org.
Children’s
Healthcare trying
to get arms around
childhood obesity
Childhood obesity in Georgia is a big
problem, Children’s Healthcare of At
lanta Director Tricia Hardy said. Hardy
spoke to the Sandy Springs/Perimeter
Chamber of Commerce and highlight
ed Children’s Strong4Life program. The
statewide initiative is an effort to com
bat childhood obesity and its harmful
effects.
“One million kids in Georgia are
overweight and obese,” Hardy said.
She said kids are showing up to doc
tor’s offices with adult health problems,
like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
“This generation is the first that is
not expected to outlive their parents,”
she said.
Childhood obesity is a topic of dis
cussion around the country. Schools
have implemented new nutrition guide
lines and health assessments. She said
physical fitness assessments in Georgia
have shown disappointing results.
“Forty-three percent of Georgia’s
kids fall outside a healthy weight range,”
BRIEFS
Hardy said. “Twenty percent of Georgia
students can’t pass any of the five assess
ments; 16 percent can pass all five.”
By 2030, the obesity rate in Georgia
could reach 53.6 percent, she said.
Hardy said the Strong4Life program
is backed by doctors, nutritionists, exer
cise specialists and other professionals.
She said the program’s four main focus
areas are: communication and public
awareness; community programs; clini
cal intervention; research and policy.
Hardy said policy changes can be dif
ficult. Many improvements can start in
the home she said, noting the campaign
is targeted at parents so they can learn
to set a good example for their children.
“Kids with both parents overweight
have an 80 percent chance of becoming
overweight themselves,” Hardy said.
Meinzen McEnerny
making no
endorsements in
District 6 race
The race for the Sandy Springs Dis
trict 6 City Council seat is the most con
tested of all the city races on the Nov. 5
ballot, but the outgoing council mem
ber isn’t making any endorsements.
Councilwoman Karen Meinzen
McEnerny recently told all five of the
candidates that she has no plans to en
dorse a candidate to replace her. The
candidates are: Andy Bauman, Patty
Berkovitz, Jennifer Steele, John Stoj and
Sonja Tonpea.
“I am officially undecided, neutral,
open or whatever other phrase that rep
resents that I have not decided for whom
I will be voting on Nov. 5,” McEnerny
said in an email to the candidates.
City approves sales
tax agreement
During a special called meeting on
Sept. 13, Sandy Springs City Council
approved an agreement that will help
determine its share of Fulton County’s
Local Option Sales tax.
City Attorney Wendell Willard told
the council the city of College Park
backed out of the previous agreement
and had been replaced by the city of
Fairburn. Willard explained that in or
der for the agreement to be valid, it must
be approved by all the parties involved.
Otherwise, the issue would be deter
mined by a judge, he said.
If the agreement takes effect, Sandy
Springs’ share of the sales tax money will
be 9.5 percent.
“It keeps our revenue steady, mean
ing that we’re still getting as much rev
enue and a little bit more than we cur
rently are receiving,” Willard said.
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