🌱 February Is School Choice Month + Traffic Detours Next Weekend

Hello, friends. I'm back in your inbox this morning with all the most important things happening in Woodstock-Towne Lake. In today's Daily, you'll find news about these stories and more:

• It's School Choice Month in Cherokee County!
• Traffic will be diverted during the Guns & Hoses 5K.
• You can help a local helper and enter a raffle at the same time!

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Here are the top five stories in Woodstock-Towne Lake today:

1. February is School Choice Month for the Cherokee County School District (CCSD), so if you're looking to switch your child's school, now's the time to put that request in for the 2023-24 school year. You can reassign to and from any CCSD school, including STEM, STEAM and Fine Arts Academies, online high school and i-Grad Virtual Academy. The standard annual Pre-K - 12th grade new student enrollment is being postponed until March while a new registration system is being set up. Here are some of the important dates coming up soon - school reassignment requests can be handled from February 1 - March 1, incoming kindergartners and new students in K-12 will register starting on March 7 and the Pre-K lottery runs from March 20 - 31. Get that Pre-K registration done as early as you can, waitlists form quickly. You can read more about school reassignment here. (CCSD News)
2. The Guns & Hoses 5K is going on next weekend at Hobgood park and traffic will be detoured in spots around the area. Hopefully everyone that wanted to register for the 5K has done so, but there will be day-of registration if you didn't get a chance. For everyone not participating in the run, the traffic on Saturday will be impacted between approximately 7:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Towne Lake Parkway going westbound will be rerouted onto Rose Creek Drive for the stretch of road from Rose Creek Drive to Bells Ferry Road, but eastbound traffic will not be affected. Wyngate Parkway will be shut down in both directions from Watkins Glen Drive to Towne Lake Parkway. (Cherokee Sheriff's Office via Facebook)
3. The Cherokee Marshal's Office is calling out for our help. An employee of Cherokee County was diagnosed with breast cancer only a couple weeks ago, and because of how aggressive the cancer is, she has already required surgery. The staff member, Tanya Hale, is responsible for the PAWS program at the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and has been working with the county since 2013. To help with the mounting hospital bills, the Marshal's Office is holding a TV raffle, and the tickets are only $10 a piece. You can either bring cash to the Cherokee Marshal's Office at 959 Marietta Highway in Canton or send money via Venmo to the user @Tanya-Hale-23. If using Venmo, you will be asked for the last four digits of a phone number, use #1204 and include in the memo your name and phone number so they can reach out to you if you win. The drawing will be held next Friday at 1 p.m. on Facebook Live. The deadline to purchase the tickets is an hour before the drawing, I'm grabbing mine now. (Cherokee Marshal's Office via Facebook)
4. The food and drink specials have been announced for the Mardi Gras Pub Crawl! The Downtown Woodstock area will host the party on February 18 as the Mardi Gras spirit takes hold. Not only will there be amazing food and drinks to be had, as you visit participating downtown restaurants and bars, you can collect stamps to turn in towards event prizes. A few of the spots participating are The Blue Ghost Arcade, Pure Taqueria, Prime 120, the Reeves House and Partners II Pizza. Check out the full listing of restaurants and their offerings at the link. (Visit Woodstock)
5. On restaurants in the Downtown area - unfortunate news, Freight Kitchen & Tap received a failing score on their recent January 27 health inspection. The popular restaurant at 251 East Main Street received a score of 42-U (unsatisfactory), with the inspection report citing food storage issues and cleanliness concerns, also stating that there was no person in charge present, no certified food protection manager, hands were unclean and management knowledge, responsibilities or reporting were not in compliance. Several of the issues are known risk factors for foodborne illness. The latest failing score came after a redemption of sorts when a failing May score (38-U) was raised to a passing score (96-A) later that month. (Atlanta News First and North Georgia Health District)

Today in Woodstock-Towne Lake:

• Beer Release: brewed in collaboration with Visit Woodstock as part of the Base Camp series, it's Black Rock Mountain. Available for brewery pickup today, the IPA has notes of tangerine, coconut, tropical fruit and stone fruit with hints of cedar, mint and cream - head to Reformation Brewery to grab yours at 105 Elm Street. (All Day)
• L.B. "Buzz" Ahrens Jr. Recreation Center Grand Opening: the new 33,000 square foot center is at 7345 Cumming Highway in Canton. This morning, you'll be able to tour the facility, climb the rock wall, play some basketball, participate in raffles and more. Head down with the family, I'll see you there! (10 a.m.)
• February Stroll and Roll: for kids ages 5 and under, admission includes a dance party, time on the playground and a craft. Ride-along toys are allowed, but pedal bikes and motorized vehicles are not. Hot Wheels Skate Center is located at 228 Farm Ridge Drive NE. (10 a.m. - noon)
• Homeschool Skate: admission includes either the playground or skating at Hot Wheels Skate Center. (noon - 4 p.m.)
• Sensory Friendly Storytime: for children of all ages, featuring quiet music, interactive readings and sensory-friendly activities. Children must be accompanied by an adult, the storytime will be at the Woodstock Library, 7735 Main Street. (4 - 5 p.m.)
• Locals Night: meet February's featured artist and enjoy live music and wine at the Education Studio inside the Reeves House, 734 Reeves Street. (6 - 9 p.m.)
• Anna Shinholster: the local singer-songwriter is performing tonight in The Listening Room at Rootstock, 8558 Main Street. (7 - 10 p.m.)
• Woodstock Arts Improv Troupe, WIT: at the Woodstock Arts Theatre, 8534 Main Street. (7:30 p.m.)
• First Friday Comedy Night: featuring D Moss and Donald Outlaw, with music by DJ Mo Livee at Payton Jean Marie, 9550 Main Street. Note: the ticket button is a bit hidden on the event page, you can grab your tickets here. (8 p.m.)
• DJ Karaoke: every Friday at Guston's Grille, 12195 Highway 92, Suite 156. (9:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.)
• Senior Center Programs:
  • Walking Club - every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Dupree Park walking/running track, 513 Neese Road. (8 - 9 a.m.)
  • Fit Over 50 - stretch and exercise with chair yoga, balance, bands, weights and core strength work every Wednesday and Friday at the WGLSC Activity Center Expansion, 223 Arnold Mill Road. (9:30 - 10:30 a.m.)
• MadLife Grill Patio Stage (free shows, no ticket needed):
  • Mike & Mike (5 - 8 p.m.)
  • The Hooldins (8 - 11 p.m.)
• MadLife Stage & Studios:
  • On the Border - The Ultimate Eagles Tribute (7:30 p.m. and 9:55 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Let's talk about the Senior Center. A kind reader requested that I start listing the Senior Center event addresses, thank you so much for the suggestion! I will start listing them going forward. The William G. Long Senior Center (WGLSC) is located at 223 Arnold Mill Road in Woodstock, you can reach them at 678-445-6518. A Senior Center membership is required for most of the events there, but the membership is a very affordable $25 a year. A membership opens the door for a host of events, including arts and crafts, luncheons, games and day trips to places like museums, restaurants and more. Take a look at their brochure here to read more about the great events and socialization opportunities offered for Woodstock's senior residents. (Woodstock Recreation and Parks)
• Cherokee Recreation & Parks is hiring! There's something for everyone on the list of openings, from manager to swim instructor to recreational director and so many more. Take a look and see if something jumps out at you. You'd be a great addition to the team! (Cherokee Recreation & Parks)
• Reformation Brewery is holding a Galentine's Party on Monday, February 13. The event will feature local vendors, new cocktails, beer specials and more at 105 Elm Street, starting at 6 p.m. (Reformation Brewery via Facebook)
• The Reeves House is offering a new event for all book lovers, the Reeves House Book Swap! The event will take place February 13 - 17 - you can drop off your gently used books during normal business hours on Monday through Wednesday, and the browsing and book pick-up portion of the event will be on Thursday and Friday from 4 - 7 p.m. (Reeves House at Woodstock Arts via Facebook)
• Registration is open for Summer Day Camp at the YMCA of Cherokee County. Get the kids off their screens this summer and out enjoying all the teamwork, confidence and health a great day camp can offer. (YMCA of Metro Atlanta)
• Cherokee County Animal Shelter: "We adopt pets everyday Tuesday through Saturday 10am-5pm. Our Friday@5:30 posts are when we post the MOST new available pets after spay/neuter surgeries for the week are done. This week things turned a little upside down and we have several new pets available that were already altered. We also have a few of the cuties from last week still looking for homes. So check out our link to see ALL of the current available pets: https://www.adoptapet.com/shel..." (Cherokee County Animal Shelter via Instagram)
• Downtown Woodstock: "Canyons - Woodstock BURGER OF THE MONTH for February is The Big Dill . . . for all the pickle lovers out there! A Certified Angus Beef Burger topped with melted American cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced pickles, fried pickles, & house made dill ranch." (Downtown Woodstock via Instagram)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• Mantra HHC-Metaphysical Shop and Holistic Hea — (Visit website)
• Queen Custom Couture — (Visit Website)
• Add your business here

Events:

• Blood Drive (February 3)
• Taxes in Retirement Seminar at Chattahoochee Technical College on February 7th & 9th (February 7)
• College Planning and Financial Aid Webinar (February 7)
• Home Buyer Workshop - This is for ANY Buyer - Your First Home or Your Forever Home! (February 11)
• Crossing Over With Psychic Medium John Edward (Live)! (February 23)
• Add your event

That's it for today. I'll see you around!

— Nina Lightcap

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Woodstock-Towne Lake Daily? Contact me at Woodstock@Patch.com