🌱 Local To Serve 25 Years + Downtown Work To Start + Paving Project

Hi all. It's me, Nina, your host of the Patch newsletter. Follow along to find out everything you need to know about what's happening these days in town. In today's issue, you'll read about these stories and more:

• A Woodstock man has been sentenced for crimes against children.
• Phase I of the Woodstock City Center project starts next week.
• Paving starts next week in subdivisions around the county.

Today's newsletter is sponsored by Michale Pena, Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Georgia Properties

The Realtor will see you now

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Now, today's weather:

Cloudy. High: 74 Low: 63.

Business owners and marketers in Woodstock-Towne Lake: Do you want to build awareness with local customers? I have a limited number of sponsorships available to introduce our readers to local businesses they need to know. Click here to learn more.

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

1. A year after a charges were brought against a Woodstock man for crimes against children, he has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. John Bennett, 38, was living with an area woman and her two children in March of last year when he sexually assaulted the two children and a visiting third child. The mother of the two children caught Bennett in bed with one of her sons and contacted the Sheriff's Office. Bennett then fled to Mississippi, where he was captured on March 27, 2022. It was revealed during the investigation and subsequent trial that he had assaulted the children multiple times. He pled guilty to all charges, including aggravated child molestation, statutory rape, five counts of child molestation, criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation and failure to register as a sex offender and will be spending a mandatory 25 years in prison, followed by life on probation with a sex offender status attached. (Fox 5 Atlanta and Cherokee Sheriff's Office via Facebook)
2. Construction will be the norm soon in the downtown area as we dive into Phase I of the Woodstock City Center project. For this first bit, East Main Street, between Wheeler Street and Arnold Mill Road, will be closed starting next week and construction fencing will be installed. The parking lot located in that stretch of road, where Ace Hardware used to be, will not be accessible. You can access the area at the intersection of Fowler Street and Main Street while construction is going on. (Woodstock News)
3. Also, starting on April 3, 13.67 miles of road in subdivisions around the county will be getting spruced up. The 2023 Resurfacing Project will be completed using $763,000 in SPLOST funds and $2.4 million from a GDOT Local Maintenance Improvement Grant. Expect traffic and/or detours as the paving moves through the Orange Shoals, North Lake, Tamarack, Crabapple Springs, Westridge, Copper Creek, Emerald Forest, Towne Lake Hills North, BridgeMill and Kingston Square neighborhoods. The project is expected to finish up in the fall, and construction hours will be Monday - Friday, from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Cherokee County Communications Division)
4. The Cherokee County Animal Shelter is holding a special adoption event today. For today's event, the adoption fee is waived for all pets over 6 months. These beautiful future family members will go home with you with their spay or neuter, heartworm and leukemia testing, initial vaccinations, deworming, flea preventative and microchip already done, and the shelter even throws in a sample bag of food. You can see available animals here. Adoptions today will run from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and the shelter is located at 1015 Univeter Road in Canton. (Cherokee County Animal Shelter via Facebook)

Today in Woodstock-Towne Lake:

• Butterfly Gardeners: join the group of citizen volunteers as they maintain the Woodstock butterfly gardens. This month's workday location has not been posted yet, please keep an eye on the registration page for more details. (8 a.m.)
• Morning INfluence with Cherokee County E 9-1-1 Director, Shane Bonebrake: enjoy some breakfast, networking and a brief presentation. Non-members are welcome, but an RSVP is required. The event is being held at the Chambers at City Center, 8534 Main Street. (8 - 9 a.m.)
• Open Pickleball Play: open to county residents at The Buzz, 7345 Cumming Highway in Canton. There is a nominal fee to play. (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.)
• American Red Cross Community Blood Drive: donors will receive a $10 prepaid Visa card and will be entered to win a $3,000 prepaid Visa card. You can make an appointment by phone at 800-733-2767 or online at the link for the blood drive at the R.T. Jones Memorial Library, 116 Brown Industrial Parkway in Canton. (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.)
• freeCodeCamp: learn to code for free at the in-person, hybrid and remote study group every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at The Circuit, 1 Innovation Way. (noon - 1 p.m.)
• Open Gym: open to county residents at The Buzz, 7345 Cumming Highway in Canton. There is a nominal fee to play. (1 - 6 p.m.)
• Jazz Night: Woodstock Arts is bringing jazz to the Reeves House back porch tonight. Tables and chairs are set up for you to use and the night is rain or shine, but there is a tent in case of rain. The outdoor bar will have charcuterie boards, wine and beer available for purchase and there are coffee, drinks and snacks inside. While you're there, be sure to check out the current exhibit in the gallery, "Through the Looking Glass: Art + Science." (6 p.m.)
• Flashlight Egg Hunt: bring the kids over to Cherokee Veterans Park, located at 7345 Cumming Highway in Canton, to meet the Easter Bunny, have fun in the Kid Zone, make crafts, dance and get their face painted. There will also be craft and food vendors. Flashlights will be provided, but please bring your own basket. The egg hunt starts at 8:30 p.m., and there is a $10-per-child, cash only entry fee. (6 - 9 p.m.)
• DJ SBB: live music will be up on the rooftop tonight at PURE Taqueria, 405 Chambers Street. (7 - 11 p.m.)
• Emo Night Karaoke: The Blue Ghost Arcade has outdone themselves, because tonight will be the night for Emo Karaoke! The entry fee includes all the emo-ing you can begrudgingly muster and unlimited games until 2 a.m. at 164 Towne Lake Parkway. (8 p.m.)
• Daniel Lieving: the artist will be live tonight at Donovan's Irish Cobbler, 1025 Rose Creek Drive. (9 p.m. - 1 a.m.)
• DJ Karaoke: every Friday at Guston's Grille, 12195 Highway 92, Suite 156. (9:30 p.m.)
• Senior Center Programs - most classes and events are held at the William G. Long Senior Center (WGLSC), 223 Arnold Mill Road
  • 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. (9:30 - 10:30 a.m.)
  • Nutrition 2023 - every Friday at the William G. Long Senior Center. (10:30 - 11:30 a.m.)
• MadLife Grill Patio Stage - free shows, no ticket needed
  • Rae & The Ragdolls (5 - 8 p.m.)
  • Mother Legacy (8 - 11 p.m.)
• MadLife Stage & Studios
  • The Four Horsemen - Metallica Tribute (7 p.m. and 9:55 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Tavern at Towne Lake has two fun events coming up for the art lover in all of us. Madison O'Brien Art will be at the tavern on April 10 at 7 p.m. for an April Sip and Paint Class, and again on April 12 at 7 p.m. for a Spring Wine Glass Painting Class. The events are not BYOB, but there will be food and drink for purchase. Tavern at Towne Lake is located at 1003 Towne Lake Hills East. (Tavern at Towne Lake via Facebook)
• Woodstock Arts has a few openings for their Spring Break Camp next week. The camp is for ages 8 - 12 and will run from April 3 - 7. The campers will see a RepTouR Show, tour the Reeves Gallery, work with clay at the Kish center and more. You can register here. (Reeves House at Woodstock Arts via Facebook)
• SafeWise has released their annual 20 Safest Cities in Georgia list, and Holly Springs is in the top spot. Also landing in the top ten were neighboring Johns Creek and Milton. Canton is in spot 14, and sadly, Woodstock is in last place. Last place, friends. Drilling down, our violent crime rate is currently 1.3 per 1,000 people, and our property crime rate is 9.9 per 1,000 people. (Holly Springs PD via Facebook)
• Downtown Woodstock: "On April 15th The Board and Box is celebrating One Year in Business by holding a birthday bash at the Woodstock Beer Market. The celebration is from 4pm -6pm on the 15th. See the image for all the other event info. @woodstockbeermarket..." (Downtown Woodstock via Instagram)
• Downtown Woodstock: "Big Sidewalk Sale at Spirited Boutique in Downtown Woodstock! Sale is from March 30th - April 9th, while inventory lasts. Visit soon to take advantage of the great deals being offered! @spiritedboutiques #woodstockga #woodstockgeorgia..." (Downtown Woodstock via Instagram)
• Nextdoor Neighbor, Madison Falls: "My brown and black welsh corgi has gone missing on march 29th around 4 to 6 PM. Her name is Luna, and she is wearing a purple collar with a blue rabies tag. If anyone has any information, please let message or call. We have a cash reward in place for her safe return. Call 770-655-1518 or 770-655-7397..." (Nextdoor)

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You're officially in the loop for today. I'll be in your inbox tomorrow morning with another update!

— Nina Lightcap

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