Editor’s note: This is the first in a longstanding annual series in the MDJ spotlighting the county’s best and brightest as they graduate high school.

Two Kennesaw residents have been sentenced on federal charges after DEA agents infiltrated a drug ring that was attempting to send nearly 14 kilograms — more than 30 pounds — of 100% pure methamphetamine to Georgia, according to the Department of Justice.

After a tension-filled discussion, council members and the attorney for the developer of the Kennesaw Crossing Shopping Center hashed out the details of the encumbered project prior to Kennesaw City Council approving $385,000 in economic incentives.

For those of you who don’t have Memorial Day plans, Shepherd Center in Buckhead is inviting you to spend it with Shepherd’s Men as it finishes the seventh and final half-marathon in an effort to raise funds and awareness for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A 19-year-old Alpharetta woman has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the 2017 head-on crash that killed 64-year-old Mary Francis Griffin of Woodstock.

As the largest non-governmental provider of recreation facilities in the state, Georgia Power is reminding customers and lake visitors of water safety for the start of the Memorial Day weekend.

The district attorney, chief public defender and a Cartersville attorney will be considered by the governor for the vacant Superior Court judgeship in the judicial circuit that includes Bartow County.

About a month after Cobb Police Chief Michael Register became the county’s public safety director, his potential successor has been named.

The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) announced it has received a $15,000 grant from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and The National Road Safety Foundation Inc. (NRSF) to bolster its drowsy driving prevention efforts.

A man already in state custody has been charged with the murder of two Paulding residents who were found in the trunk of a burning vehicle alongside I-20 in Atlanta in 2002 after being shot to death.

Only a few more shows remain this weekend in Cobb before the 77th Annual Yaarab Shrine Circus and Fair packs up its Big Top until next year.

An area sporting goods company’s raffle for thousands of dollars worth of firearms will help a nonprofit assist area veterans with mental health needs.

A year after moving from Hammond Park to the new City Green park at City Springs, Food That Rocks – A Celebration of Sandy Springs is increasing its size.

To Kevin Ouzts, the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is the perfect melting pot of the Southeast’s top talent in the food and beverage industry.

Sandy Springs resident Tania Marino is among the individuals opposing the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Interstate 285 Top End Express Lanes project.

You couldn’t find a better way to feature the Atlanta’s artistic talents than what the High Museum of Art is doing.

This Memorial Day weekend could be one for Cobb’s record books, as a heat wave set to gain steam in the southeastern United States could break temperature records dating as far back as 1916.

For the June movie in its monthly AJFF Selects series, the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is bringing Israel’s “Tel Aviv on Fire” to Sandy Springs.

Bartow school system wants to use some unanticipated 2019 revenues to give a one-time pay supplement to all school system employees in 2020.

With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, two local psychiatrists said Americans’ mental health is still a concern and statistics support that belief.

Thousands of Cobb seniors celebrated the end of their high school careers, stepped into new careers and accepted millions of dollars in scholarships this week, as the county's final graduation ceremonies concluded.

If you’ve got money, gas and time to burn, there’s an event coming up that’s right up your alley.

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, but the day means more than barbecues and sunscreen.

Dunleith Elementary School's principal will become the Marietta City School District's new executive director of academic programs on July 1, after a unanimous vote from the school board on Tuesday.

Two teams from Creekview High School brought home fourth and fifth place at the Team America Rocketry Challenge, which took place on Saturday in The Plains, Va.

A request for $70 million in bonds and a tax abatement for a new dual-branded hotel near the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is moving forward.

As part of National Law Enforcement Week May 12-18, Holly Springs Police Department Detective Sherrie Conrad joined 2,500 other law enforcement officers from around the country in a series of special events in Washington D.C., remembering officers who have fallen in the line of duty.

Woodstock City Council members are considering a partial rollback in the property tax rate for its 2020 budget, which may mean a small tax savings for some property owners.

As part of Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, the board was presented with the latest updates on development plans in various parts of the county, including the Southwest Cherokee Area Plan and concepts for a recreation center at Veterans Park.

Marietta’s newest singing star was eliminated on NBC’s “The Voice,” but Sprayberry graduate Carter Lloyd Horne says he’s not done making music.

A group of nearly 30 law enforcement officials and county representatives came together Tuesday to celebrate the grand opening of the new office facility for the county’s probation services.

Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services responded to a structure fire at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday at 3273 Hunt Road, just east of Acworth near Ga. Highway 92.

DeKalb County will pay $750,000 for allegedly mishandling funds for an on-the-job training program.

A caretaker has been accused of pushing an 86-year-old Alzheimer’s patient and breaking her hip at an Acworth retirement community, according to police.

The Cartersville Fire Department is partnering with the city's Water Department again over the next several weeks for its annual fire hydrant testing process.

With less than a month to go before the city of Sandy Springs’ amended false alarm ordinance goes into effect, the city is tweaking it one last time.

A teen reported missing Tuesday has been located in Atlanta, according to a Nixle alert from the Marietta Police Department.

The 2019 high school commencement season continued Monday night when the first Cobb County school, Cobb Horizon High School, held its diploma ceremonies in the Lassiter High School concert hall.

MARIETTA — Neighbors of a proposed homeless development center and shelter in Mableton did not get the denial of the project they had sought at Tuesday’s Cobb zoning meeting despite their commissioner’s initial desire to turn down the request.

Four board members of the Gateway Marietta Community Improvement District were each reelected for additional three-year terms Tuesday.

Smyrna’s city council members Monday unanimously voted to table a measure banning dockless electric scooters.

AUSTELL — Students, teachers and volunteers came together at Cooper Middle School on Tuesday to begin construction of a community garden at the school, thanks to a $2,800 grant from a local Home Depot.

Paulding’s airport director believes he can bring a hangar into compliance with fire codes at least six months sooner using a contract developed by the state.

The Dakoro Art Gallery, located at 227 Sandy Springs Place, Suite 522 in Sandy Springs, will host an exhibition with works from international artist Diana Manole June 1 through 29.

Cobb’s police officers, deputies and fire personnel could see their paychecks padded by a one-time payment of nearly $1,500 under a proposal set for a vote by county commissioners next week.

POWDER SPRINGS — Powder Springs Road’s intersections with Flint Hill Road and Pine Grove Drive will soon become one signalized intersection, vastly improving the safety of the corridor, according to project planners.

For its newest fundraiser, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta is combining sports and fashion.

In 2018, 100 opioid overdose victims in Marietta were revived with Naloxone, a drug carried by Marietta Police, Marietta Fire and paramedics.