🌱 Smyrna Kroger Rat Infestation + Cobb Co. Airport $30M Expansion

Good Morning, everybody. It's me, Danielle Fallon-O'Leary, your host of the Smyrna-Vinings Patch newsletter — here to impart all the most important things happening in town these days.

But first, today's weather:

Cloudy with a heavy t-storm. High: 86 Low: 70.

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

1. A Kroger store on South Atlanta Road in Smyrna is facing rat infestation issues that led to an employee's resignation, as reported by Atlanta News First. The Georgia Department of Agriculture responded to the complaint from the former employee and conducted an inspection, revealing evidence of rodent activity including burrowing, droppings, and a noticeable urine odor within the store. The department plans to destroy contaminated food at the store this week and will reinspect next week to ensure the rat issue is resolved. (Smyrna-Vinings Patch)
2. A Cobb County teacher in Georgia faces potential job loss as she awaits the outcome of her termination hearing on Thursday. Fifth-grade teacher Katie Rinderle from Due West Elementary had assigned the book "My Shadow is Purple," featuring a nonbinary character and exploring gender norms, to her students. The Cobb County School District invoked Georgia's new Divisive Concepts Law, passed in 2022, after a complaint from parents, alleging Rinderle's book choice violated the law's provisions allowing more parental control over classroom content. (Fox 5 Atlanta)
3. Cobb County commissioners have approved the expansion and enhancement of Cobb County International Airport-McCollum Field to meet growing demand. The project involves building a 6,500-square-foot terminal and 65,000 square feet of hangar space, with the $30 million cost covered by the airport's operator, Hawthorne Global Aviation Services. The new terminal is set to be finished by June 2025, while the entire improvement project has a deadline of 2040, aiming to provide more space for new planes and make the airport more attractive for businesses requiring private jet facilities. (WSB Radio)

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Today in Smyrna-Vinings:

Friday, August 11

• Kids Eat Free At Varners Tavern (All Day)
• Mental Health First Aid For Adults At Tillman House Resource Center (8:30 AM)

From my notebook:

• Cobb County resident Sherry Kersey has chosen to dedicate her retirement to caring for shelter animals in Georgia. She has been volunteering for 15 years, capturing photos of shelter dogs for social media, walking them, and looking after kittens. Kersey is among a group of over 100 volunteers who contribute around 950 hours of work each month to help run Cobb County Animal Services. (Atlanta News First)
• Smyrna Parks and Recreation is hosting two upcoming Paint and Sip events at the Smyrna Community Center. The first event, "Girls Night Out," will take place on Sep. 1, and the second event, "Family Fun Glow Night," is scheduled for Sep. 15. Registration is open for both events at the link. (City of Smyrna, GA Government via Facebook)
• Smyrna Library has introduced a new app available for free on Android and Apple app stores. Users can access the library's services by entering their library card number and PIN within the app, providing easy access to Smyrna Library's resources on mobile devices. (Friends of Smyrna Library via Facebook)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Friday! I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow with another update.

— 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.