🌱 Smyrna Man Sentenced For CARES Act Fraud + New Trails For Mableton

Hello, neighbors! I'm back in your inbox this morning with your fresh edition of the Smyrna-Vinings Patch newsletter. Let's get this Wednesday started off right, with a quick dive into everything you need to know about what's happening around town.

But first, today's weather:

Some sun, then clouds; warm. High: 85 Low: 63.

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

1. A man from Smyrna has been sentenced to five years and nine months in prison for fraudulently obtaining $3.3 million in CARES Act funds. Rowlando Hatter Jr. used the personal information of over 100 people to receive unemployment insurance benefits related to COVID. Hatter targeted workforce agencies in five states, including Georgia. Hatter was also sentenced to three years of supervised release to occur after his prison term and was ordered to pay almost $3 million in restitution. (Cobb County Courier)
2. Up the road in Marietta, two former Cobb County hospital employees have been charged with theft after being accused of stealing an urn from a patient's room. Anilus and Rosnie Frederick have also been charged with a felony for removing a baby's cremated remains from the urn, which were held inside a teddy bear. The child's parents took the bear to the hospital with them for emotional support during a procedure, but the bear went missing from their room. Both the teddy bear and urn have been recovered and returned to the parents, but the ashes are gone. (WSB-TV)
3. A Cobb County grand jury has indicted a man on several charges relating to the January shooting death of Chelsea Baptist. Kendrick Keontae Faust of Hampton, Georgia is accused of fatally shooting Baptist and injuring one other woman off of Church Road in Smyrna. Prosecutors allege that Faust shot Baptist in the abdomen to cause the death of her unborn child. (Yahoo News)
4. Nearby Mableton will soon see new trails and a regional trailhead park as part of the Chattahoochee RiverLands project. The project is being led by the Trust for Public Land, which recently purchased 8.6 acres of land for the trailhead. The coming park will be the first location with public access to the Chattahoochee River in South Cobb. The Mableton trailhead will connect to a 2.7-mile greenway trail leading to Smyrna and will also connect to the Mableton Parkway Trail. The park is slated to include picnic tables, a kayak launch, a playground, as well as the construction of two new trails. (Subscription: Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Today in and around Smyrna-Vinings:

• Infant & Toddler Storytime At Smyrna Public Library (10:30 AM)
• Hawthorne Heights & Armor for Sleep At Variety Playhouse in Atlanta (7:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Registration is now open for the Smyrna Parks and Recreation Summer Camp. Each week of camp features a different theme, including Circus Week and STEAM Week. To learn more or register, click here. (Smyrna Parks and Recreation via Facebook)
• The Vinings Farmers Market has announced a new vendor for tomorrow's market! Sunflowers Sol Market Garden will have organic vegetable seedlings and tulip bouquets for sale at their booth. (Vinings Farmers Market via Instagram)
• In case you missed it, Cobb County students raised a record-breaking $700,000 to support the American Heart Association's research and outreach programs. Students participated in the Kids Heart Challenge and the American Heart Challenge, both of which support students' mental and physical well-being with learning opportunities and physical activity. (American Heart Association)

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Featured events:

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• SUP Yoga Teacher Training Certification (May 5)
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You're all caught up for today. See you all tomorrow morning for 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.