Steamy summer solstice
Jun. 23 — It’s Cathy from Rough Draft with my weekly newsletter on Tucker. It’s been a bumpy ride on many fronts – globally, locally and mentally, frankly. One bit of advice that is helping me – find meaning in the chaos.
👑 This week’s newsletter talks about the fallout from last weekend’s “No Kings” rallies around Atlanta, the robbery of a beloved Tucker institution, a preview of this year’s July 3 celebration, and some info about Monday’s city council meeting.
Happy summer solstice,
Cathy
☀️ Sometimes the best summer moments are the quiet ones — rocking on a porch swing, listening to the water lap against the dock, or feeling the warmth of the sun on your face with nowhere to be. At Lake Oconee, relaxation isn’t just encouraged — it’s part of the lifestyle. Find your reason to linger longer this summer at Lake Oconee. SPONSOR MESSAGE
A tale of two protests
🪧 Along with about 5,000 others, I showed up at last Saturday’s “No Kings” rally protesting Donald Trump’s stance on immigration, spending cuts, anti-LGBTQ+ orders, and many other policies associated with his presidency.
The crowd, which lined the streets along Chamblee Tucker Road near the Northlake Festival Shopping Center, stayed on the sidewalks while holding signs and encouraging drivers-by to support their cause by honking their horns and/or waving.
Most of the people marching, wearing red, white, and blue clothing, were in the 40-60 age category, with some families with children. And the police presence was practically nil, save for directing traffic at a busy intersection. I left at 1 p.m. as the rally was wrapping up.
What I saw on television around 3 p.m. was a completely different rally, with people walking on Chamblee Tucker Road and defying orders to return to the sidewalk. Tear gas was deployed and eight people were arrested.
One journalist, Mario Guevara, was also detained and is now in ICE custody, with deportation on the table. What changed in those two hours is anyone’s guess, but it’s disturbing on a whole lot of fronts.
🚓 ICYMI, here’s our comprehensive wrap-up of the day.
Support Refugees With Your Grocery Purchase
SPONSORED BY FRESH HARVEST
🌎 This World Refugee Week, show your support for our vibrant refugee community and get some locally grown produce and groceries delivered while you’re at it.
We’re Fresh Harvest. We source local, organic produce and groceries from over a hundred of Georgia’s best growers and producers, then deliver that goodness to you. Based in Clarkston, an official refugee resettlement area, Fresh Harvest is powered by refugees from around the world. In fact, more than 75% of our team are refugees building new lives in Georgia.
❤️ Thank you for supporting refugee job creation and caring about where your food comes from.
Not the right kind of takeout
👎 You picked the wrong place to rob, Terrence Tamplin. The 63-year-old has been identified as the person who slipped out of Matthews Cafeteria on Main Street with a cash register drawer containing about $600.
Patrons of the beloved cafeteria, which has been in business since 1955, expressed their outrage and concern about the incident, which the owners have gratefully acknowledged.
According to DeKalb County Jail records, Tamplin has been arrested multiple times from 1987 to 2012, charged with a variety of offenses including burglary, larceny, failure to appear on previous charges, DUI, probation violation, forgery, driving without a valid license, impersonating a law enforcement officer, and fleeing from police.
Jail records show that Tamplin has identified Tucker as his residence, so someone must know about his whereabouts. He’s listed as 6 feet 4 inches and about 240 pounds and was seen driving away in a black Acura MDX with license plate DAZ8296. Yet, as of this moment, he’s still at large. We are tracking.
🍗 Read more about the incident here.
☀️ Sometimes the best summer moments are the quiet ones — rocking on a porch swing, listening to the water lap against the dock, or feeling the warmth of the sun on your face with nowhere to be. At Lake Oconee, relaxation isn’t just encouraged — it’s part of the lifestyle. Find your reason to linger longer this summer at Lake Oconee. SPONSOR MESSAGE
A rose by any other name is still a rose
🎆 Tucker is showing us that celebrating America’s birthday can be twice as nice. The city marks the day on July 3 starting at 6 p.m. with food, fireworks around 9:30 p.m. and more celebrating until 11 p.m.
Last year, about 10,000 people strolled down Main Street and surrounding streets that were closed to road traffic and replaced with food trucks, drink tents, animal balloon artists, face painters, carnival games, and a music stage.
Mayor Frank Auman said the tradition of holding the Independence Day celebration on July 3 came about organically during the second year of cityhood.
🥳 Here’s a preview of this year’s festivities.
Business as usual at city council
📞 Tucker’s City Council agenda, while filled with routine matters regarding stormwater repairs, park repair updates, and millage rates, will also have discussions about two new initiatives.
One is a contract for a dedicated call center that will “proactively field calls and provide callers with high-level knowledge, determine the need for escalation and correctly direct the call to the subject matter expert on staff,” according to the city’s meeting agenda.
The other item is an ordinance to establish a city marshal’s office, “dedicated positions responsible for court and city security, warrant service, and enforcement of municipal ordinances.”
Also of interest will be a discussion about redeveloping the nearly empty Northlake Mall, a place that has been mentioned many times as a great place for a pickleball complex.
📋 We will be covering the meeting on June 23, but in the meantime, here’s a peek at the agenda.
Share your love of Rough Draft with a friend
Use the personal referral link below and get cool stuff.
Get 10 referrals and we’ll send you some stickers.
Get 20 and you’ll get a t-shirt!
