Click to enlarge photos.By Otis Brumby, Bill Kinney & Joe Kirby
Columnists
"A SALUTE TO THE MILITARY" party and ribbon cutting for the Marietta Museum of History's new Military Gallery is Saturday night. Museum members, community VIPs and the public are invited to this special event celebrating the opening of the new Gallery.
On hand to cut the ribbon will be World War II prisoner of war Harry Livingston Jr. of Marietta and volunteer and expert relic-hunter Jim Black, who were instrumental in the Gallery's development, reports Museum director Dan Cox. Also being honored are the "Museum Marauders," donors of $1,000 or more toward the renovation. Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50. Call (770) 794-5710.
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CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CONVENTIONS on April 19 are the next step before selecting delegates to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis Sept 1-4. As Cobb is split among three congressional districts - the 6th, 11th and 13th - Republican delegates and alternates elected at the March 15 county convention continue participating at each of the three conventions, with each electing three delegates and three alternates to attend the national convention. Then 30 more delegates and alternates will be selected at the Republican State Convention in May for a total of 72 delegates and alternates. They will represent Georgia in September at the Republican National Convention.
Georgia will have the seventh-largest delegation because of Georgia's strong voter turnout for George W. Bush in 2004. Cobb will field nine delegates/alternates. District nominating groups try to allocate candidates equitably across county lines.
Among those lobbying for delegate seats to represent Georgia are Cobb GOP Chairman Scott Johnson, Georgia Young Republican Chairman Jason Shepherd and long-time activists Toria Morgan and Joe Dendy. State GOP chair Sue Everhart is among state delegates.
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POLITICAL PLATTER: District 4 Commissioner Annette Kesting will host a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Life's Hope Baptist Church at 3360 Hicks Road, Marietta. Call (770) 528-3311.
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OPEN FOR BUSINESS at 48 Atlanta St. is First Landmark Bank after the Department of Banking and Finance presented president Ron Francis and chairman John Moore a permit. Organizers raised more than $20 million in capital, and the stock offering is closed. Francis is joined by chief lending officer Terri Bunten; chief financial officer Terry DeWitt; senior veeps Leigh Pharr and Renee White; and vice presidents Heather Pitstick, Matthew Roberts and Amber Camilla.
Directors are Steve Cole, Dr. Richard Gardner, Andrew Jones, Bob Krause, Linda McKinley, Pat McPherson, Al Pond, Jim Pressley, Bill Smith Jr., Woody Snell and David Swales. The bank is buying land at the Cole Street and the North Marietta Parkway intersection for a permanent main office and anticipates moving there in summer 2009.
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DEATH HAS TAKEN three prominent Cobb residents: Marietta Kiwanis Club members are asked to serve as honorary escorts at the 11 a.m. Wednesday funeral at Mayes Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home for 50-year member and former County Extension Agent Ernest Wester. …
The funeral of Mary Ella Cole, widow of the late Bayard Cole, whose ancestors gave the land for the Marietta National Cemetery, is at 4 p.m. Wednesday with graveside services in St. James Episcopal Cemetery on Polk Street in Marietta. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. today at Mayes-Ward-Dobbins. …
Funeral services for retired Cobb Superior Court Judge Howell Cobb Ravan are at 11 a.m. Thursday at Marietta First Baptist Church. The family will receive friends Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home.
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FORMER STATE REP. Sam Hensley (D-west Cobb) underwent a heart procedure late last week and thus was resting at home, unable to attend Saturday’s ceremony marking the completion of his sale of 35 acres to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
The ceremony took place on the land in question, just across a small pond from his house. Hensley’s son, Sam Hensley Jr., pointed out to the crowd a bench overlooking the pond, and told listeners that it sits where the family’s “time out” chair — actually a tree stump — used to be.
“My mother (the late Iris Hensley) used to call it ‘the grump stump,’ and after we replaced it with the bench, we started calling it ‘the Grinch bench,’” he said.
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SATURDAY’S COBB LIBRARY FOUNDATION lecture featuring TV chef Alton Brown, star of “Good Eats” on the Food Network, was a smash.
The event was conducted at the Walker School, where Library Board Chair Don Robertson is headmaster, and netted the nonprofit Foundation about $40,000, said executive director Donna Espy on Monday.
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PEOPLE: Bob Ormsby, chairman of the Aviation Discovery Center, has been released from Kennestone WellStar hospital after a bout with bacterial pneumonia, but has been ordered to put up a “No Visitors” sign at his apartment for five days of isolation. … Among those attending Friday’s “Return to Service” ceremony for the USS Georgia at Kings Bay near Brunswick were banker Joe Daniell and his wife, Glenda, and Southern Polytechnic State University President Dr. Lisa Rossbacher and her husband, Dr. Dallas Rhodes. They joined U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson and Gov. Sonny Perdue. …Semi-retired CPA Frank Moore who with wife, Susie, has been vacationing in Australia and New Zealand with the Neely Youngs and Micky Blackwells, did a 140-foot-bungee jump in New Zealand. Three years ago he went skydiving. … St. Andrews Methodist Church Senior Pastor the Rev. Mack Riley is one of 40 Elite Scholars Invited to 20th Anniversary Oxford Round Table this week in England.
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MARIETTA HIGH SCHOOL’S Advanced Mixed Choir, under the direction of Jerid Morisco, and the school’s Symphonic Band, under the direction of David DuBose, earned “Superior” ratings at the Georgia Music Educators Association Large Group Performance Evaluations. MHS’ Combined Mixed Choir scored an “Excellent” rating. It is believed this is the first time since 1988 that the band has received an overall superior rating. … Preview paintings and sculptures by Lucy Browning and Yvonne Randall are on display at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, 30 Atlanta St., through June 21.
For details, call the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art at (770) 528-1444.
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JOHN WARD ROAD will be closed to through traffic between Irwin Road and Willowbrook Drive from Saturday until April 13. The actual point of closure is about 1,400 feet south of Irwin and about 650 feet west of Willowbrook. Closure is necessary due to SPLOST construction to rehabilitate the bridge spanning Ward Creek.
Covered Bridge Road will be closed to through traffic between Concord Road and South Hurt Road April 14 through May 14. The actual point of closure is on Covered Bridge Road where it passes under the Silver Comet Trail. Closure is necessary due to SPLOST-funded reconstruction of a retaining wall and re-alignment of the pavement. There will be detour route signs on both roads.
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THE EARLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, doo wop and R&B sounds of the 1950s and 1960s will be the focus on a triple bill of The Coasters, The Drifters and The Platters at 8 p.m., Friday at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre. Tickets are $30.
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THE COBB CHAMBER OF COMMERCE will host a Business-After-Hours networking event at the distinguished Vinings Club on Thursday, April 17 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Cost to attend is free for Cobb Chamber members and $20 for non-members. The Vinings Club will be sponsoring the event.
Reservations are required. Visit www.cobbchamber.org or contact Alexis Taylor at (770) 859-2320.

















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Posted Comments
Ernest Wester was an outstanding citizen and person! His no-nonsense approach to issues with a healthy dose of his caring heart help set the tone for this community for many years! We have all lost something by his and other caring citizens' deaths and it is very evident in the lack of civility in our every day interactions. The baby-boomers of which I belong should take note and quit whining about everything!
Kudos to the Hensley family on the sale of their land to the park. I'm sure they could have made a larger profit by selling it developers, so on behalf of us park lovers: "Thank you!".