VIDEO: MUST Ministries Fights Hunger

Volunteers served nearly 190,000 lunches to families in need this summer.

The Summer Lunches Program at MUST Ministries has just ended, and volunteers handed out a total of 189,648 lunches to needy children this summer—a 34 percent increase from last year. MUST started the Summer Lunch Program in 1995 in Cobb and Cherokee Counties in an effort to fight child hunger. In 2011, MUST Volunteers delivered 103,000 lunches to hungry children in Cobb and Cherokee, and the program was expanded to Douglas, Paulding, North Fulton and Gwinnett communities this year.

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VIDEO: Pellegrino Speaks Up for Illegal Immigrants

Cobb activist Rich Pellegrino discusses immigration related issues and shares things you might not have known about him.

Do you agree with Rich Pellegrino on the immigration issues discussed in the video? What are some of the causes you are passionate about? Speak out in the comments!

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What You Didn't Know

VIDEO: Support Your Local Veterans

Meet the new commander of the American Legion Post 304, and find out how you can support and connect with veterans in Cobb County.

The North Cobb American Legion Post 304 will be hosting its 2nd Annual 5K Run on Saturday, Aug. 18 at Dallas Landing Park in Acworth. The event helps raise money to support youths and veterans programs in Cobb County. You can register online at www.active.com, or click here to download the entry form on Post 304's website.

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Grassroots Library Comes to Smyrna

The Little Free Library movement is gaining momentum nationwide and Vickery Do it Best Hardware is now home to Smyrna's first little library.

Thinking about Vickery Do it Best Hardware Store conjures up images of hammers, nails, wood and gardening supplies, but not books and especially not libraries. However, Susan Harlan, the store’s manager, sees things differently. Harlan is the woman behind Vickery’s Little Free Library, the first library of its kind in Smyrna that is part of the larger Little Free Library movement that’s spreading across the nation. The idea behind Little Free Libraries is that you don’t need to build an expensive building to house a library. Instead reading enthusiasts everywhere are building “little libraries” that resemble large birdhouses and setting them up in their yards and businesses. Harlan first heard about Little Free Libraries on NPR and said …

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Letter to the Editor: A Tribute to a Man and His Garden

A member of American Legion Post 160 pays tribute to a man he only know through his garden.

  I never had the privilege of either meeting or knowing the man. I never knew his name until this Saturday morning while returning from my usual attendance at the monthly country breakfast, American Legion Smyrna Post 160. However, as with countless others within Cobb County, I well knew and have admired his garden for many years. Anyone over the last twenty years who has ever traveled or traversed Church Road to and from South Cobb Drive, Smyrna, Georgia, knows of this man’s garden. One could not help but notice and gaze upon this sizable plot of land surrounded by thick woods upon which stood a grand tribute to gardening the old fashion way. There stately stood planted rows of every type vegetable to include tomatoes, stalks of corn, …

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SPSF Heroes of the Week

Honoring Corporal Gene Crawford

Corporal Gene Crawford, a 29-year-veteran of the Smyrna Police Department, was struck Tuesday afternoon in a hit and run accident.

Smyrna-Vinings Patch ran this profile about Corporal Gene Crawford last year leading up to the 2011 Smyrna Heroes Gala. On Tuesday, May 8 Crawford was struck and seriously injured in a hit and run accident while on duty. Smyrna police say Crawford was in good spirits, but substantial pain later that evening. He will undergo surgery Wednesday. In light of the accident, Smyrna-Vinings Patch is rerunning this story about Crawford and his service to the Smyrna Police Department. Gene Crawford knew he wanted to become a police officer was he was only 2 years old. His mom was at work, and his dad was babysitting him . . . not too well as it turned out. The front door was unlocked, and Crawford wandered outside and down the road. Cobb County …

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