🌱 Fair Ground Street Head-On Collision + Courtroom To Classroom

Hello all. It's me, Danielle Fallon-O'Leary, your host of the Smyrna-Vinings Patch newsletter. Let's get this Friday started off right with a quick guide to the most important things happening around town.

But first, today's weather:

Sun followed by clouds. High: 79 Low: 58.

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Here are the top three stories today in Smyrna-Vinings:

1. A head-on collision Wednesday morning closed all lanes on Fair Ground Street NE in Cobb County. Michelle Nutt, 21, of Lithonia, was driving south on Fair Ground Street when she crossed over the double yellow line and hit Kevin Espinosa, 21, of Smyrna. Nutt and her passenger were driving a Chevy Impala and collided head-on with Espinosa who was driving a GMC Sierra. Espinosa was not visibly hurt by the accident. Nutt sustained minor injuries, but her front-seat passenger, Jaborrie Darden, was seriously injured and reportedly not been wearing a seatbelt. Darden and Nutt were both transported to the hospital. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
2. The last Courtroom To Classroom of the school year was held on Apr. 14 at Cobb Superior Court. The program offers fourth and fifth-grade students the opportunity to learn about the justice system through mock trials with a real judge and police department officers. St. Francis Elementary was the last school to go to the courthouse for this school year. Superior Court Judge Jason D. Marbutt presided over the mock trial about whether "Jimmy Joyride" was guilty of stealing a bicycle. Marbutt says "The mock trials are a great way to...teach the kids about the justice system... and let them have fun at the same time." (Press Release Desk)
3. The Smyrna Fire Department will be offering local businesses classes that will lead to the designation of "Safe Business." The program will include things like hazard identification, cyber security, first aid/CPR, and more. Only businesses with the safe business logo from the city have gone through the program and are recognized by the city. (Smyrna Public Safety Foundation)

Today in Smyrna-Vinings:

• Game + Code Night ATL, At 2790 Cumberland Blvd SE (5:00 PM)
• Karaoke, At Red And Terry's Timbers (9:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Yesterday, the City of Smyrna honored three outstanding students with the Mayors Education Award! The event was live-streamed last night at 5:40 p.m. and also included other awards for teachers and businesses. (City of Smyrna, GA Government via Facebook)
• There will be a medication take-back day tomorrow, Apr. 22, located at Precinct One. Medication will be accepted between 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. A list of accepted items can be found in the post on Facebook. (Smyrna Police Department)
• About an hour away in Snellville, a middle school student brought illegal drugs to school and encouraged other students to drink a drug-tainted soda without their knowledge. The students who drank the soda required medical attention, but no information about their conditions has been released. The principal at Shilon Middle School released a statement saying that the student will receive severe disciplinary action. (Atlanta News First)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll see you around.

— Danielle Fallon-O'Leary

About me: Danielle Fallon-O’Leary is a content manager with content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and assists Patch.com with community newsletter curation. Danielle also holds a Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and works part-time as a pediatric speech therapist.