Anne Ortiz

What 60,000 already know was announced on the "Today Show" last month. The "Today Show" in New York October 6 called Marietta one of the top 4 places in America for house hunting to get the most bang for your buck. They also mentioned the city's Gone With the Wind Museum and called it the pride of the community. A real estate expert and Al Roker listed the top 10 places in the country with the biggest real estate price declines and ranked Marietta behind Sarasota, Fla., San Francisco and Lansing, Mich., as a best market for house hunting that buyers should consider now. They said Marietta is an area for families and showed the city's museum dedicated to the epic movie Gone With the Wind. Roker jokingly made a reference to the movie's famous line about "not giving a damn" as they talked about how the museum is a joy for the community. For more information, visit MoveToMarietta.com.

Add to that, the Georgia Department of Education named Marietta City schools (MCS) a Title I Distinguished District - Medium District category. The award given to four school systems in four different size categories -- Large District, Medium District, Small District and Very Small District, recognizes school districts that have closed the achievement gap the most between economically disadvantaged students and students who are not economically disadvantaged in each category.

The results of the reading, English language arts and mathematics portions of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) and the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) are used to determine achievement for the Title I Distinguished District award. Each of the four winning districts also receives $50,000 from federal funds.

Seven Marietta City schools were also named Georgia Department of Education 2009 Title I Distinguished Schools. The seven are among the total 896 Georgia Title I Distinguished Schools. Title I Distinguished Schools have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) at least three years in a row. Title I Distinguished Schools that have made AYP for three consecutive years receive a certificate, while those that have made AYP four or more years receive a monetary award, paid from federal funds. The seven Marietta City schools recognized as Title I Distinguished Schools are:

Burruss Elementary School

Dunleith Elementary Schoo;

Hickory Hills Elementary School

Lockheed Elementary School

Park Street Elementary School

Sawyer Road Elementary

West Side Elementary School

Just to add icing to the cake, Marietta Sixth Grade Academy (MSGA) has been selected the 2009 Outstanding Partners in Education program recipient for the Marietta City School (MCS) district by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Chamber representatives will recognize MSGA at the Oct. 20, 2009, meeting of the Board of Education of the City of Marietta. MSGA will receive the Cobb Chamber award at the Nov. 2, 2009, Cobb Chamber First Monday Breakfast at the Northwest Marriott Atlanta.

"The Cobb Chamber of Commerce presents MSGA with the Partners in Education program award for their innovative techniques of recruiting and building relationships within the business community, as well as executing ways to give back to their Partners in Education," said Katie Henderson, Education Manager at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. "Schools chosen for this award are the strongest example of what we look for in a school's Partners in Education program." "We are incredibly humbled by this recognition. Thank you to the Cobb Chamber for their continuous support," stated Dayton Hibbs, principal of Marietta Sixth Grade Academy. "Our partners play a significant role in the success of our school, and we are very fortunate to have an outstanding PTSA partner in education liaison (Allison McMahon). She really helps us sustain the connection between our partner organizations.

Marietta is a wonderful community with so much to offer for all ages. If you are searching for a new place to live, check us out!

Once again Marietta, Georgia will honor its history and provide a weekend of entertainment around the historic Marietta Square.

Frankly my dear, the re-premiere of "Gone With the Wind" this weekend at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre will be the talk of Marietta, and possibly the nation.

Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies selected Marietta for the exclusive 70th anniversary re-premiere of the movie, which will be released in coming weeks in high definition on Blu-Ray.

"There hasn't been an anniversary celebrated in a big way since the 50th in 1989. This re-premiere is significant for Marietta because it's garnering national attention," said Connie Sutherland, director of the Gone with the Wind museum. "Most of us weren't around in 1939 or able to go to the movie's premiere. This is a special time for fans to come out, dress up and take part in something that is special to them."

Beginning Friday, several events will be conduct in the city - all leading up to the re-premiere Saturday night. At least 50 couples have signed up to dance the Virginia Reel at Glover Park at noon Friday. The couples will be dressed in period costume and attempting to set a world record for the largest such dance. Representatives from Guinness will document the effort.

Also on Friday, the Strand is hosting a question/answer session with original cast members and authors who have written about "Gone With the Wind." The Marietta Hilton Conference Center is celebrating the re-premiere by hosting a "Belles and Beaus" Costume Ball on Friday night.

Saturday's events include a formal introduction of the movie's surviving cast members, a salute to Turner Classic Movies and Warner Brothers, and a car parade to the Strand. "Gone With the Wind" will be screened at the Strand at 7:45 p.m. Tickets for the full weekend package are $325 per person, though other ticket options are available. Tickets to the pre-show program and movie screening only are $35. Sutherland said they have sold at least 265 full-package tickets.

"'Gone With the Wind' was a movie way before its time," said Earl Reece, executive director of the Strand Theatre. "If it came out now, it would still have the same impact."

The movie "Gone With the Wind" premiered in Atlanta in 1939. The leading roles of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler were played by actors Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. The movie follows the life of Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of an Irish immigrant plantation owner, during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

"Gone With the Wind" won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress, in 1939. The movie was adapted from the 1936 Margaret Mitchell novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.

Sutherland said the movie's theme of survival is universal, and especially resonates today.

"Margaret Mitchell said she wrote about people with gumption who were able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and keep going in the face of adversity. I think the underlying message is strength and being able to make it through hard times," she said. "People see that, and it gives them hope. It makes them feel as if they, too, can keep going no matter what."

Head to the Square this weekend and help to celebrate a great classic, as well as the history of the South. The weather will be perfect and it will be great fun!

For more information and tickets, call the Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum at (770) 794-5145 or email csutherland@mariettaga.gov.

Don't let last minute holiday shopping stress you out this year. Spend a relaxing evening on Marietta Square this Friday, November 13th. Get into the spirit by enjoying a sneak preview of holiday merchandise from local shopkeepers.

Christmas is seven weeks away, but it's never too early to get into the yuletide spirit, say Marietta Square merchants.

Most of the merchants on the Square will have a Christmas Open House beginning Friday, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Businesses will open their doors for customers to get a glimpse of merchandise. An assortment of door prizes, refreshments and entertainment will be provided as well.

Even if you don't make it this Friday, shops will remain open every Friday until at least 8 p.m. through Dec. 25.

"The holiday open house really is the kick-off of the holiday season up here on the Square," said Karen Heard, owner of Marietta Wine Market at 18 Powder Spring St., near Marietta Pizza.

"We're all working to get up our Christmas decorations. On Friday, a lot of the shop owners will put refreshments out. A lot of times they'll do special sales and things for holiday gift items. A lot of the shops will have entertainment."

Laura Rossiter owns Alchemy jewelry boutique at 77 Church St. and is head of the Marietta Square merchants association. She said the basic idea behind the season-long event is to get people to see what's in the shops they may pass by daily without ever visiting.

"This is not your average mall," said Theresa Jenkins, executive director of the Marietta Welcome Center & Visitors Bureau. She said the shops and galleries on the Square offer something unique for shoppers.

"This is where you can find that one-of-a-kind treasure, that unique thing for Christmas. And besides, it's a lot more fun to shop on the Square than it is at the mall."

Stacey Smith owns not one, but two stores on the Square - Doodlebugz gift boutique and Lizards & Lollipopz toy store, which opened on Oct. 1. She'll be participating in the Christmas Open House and said Doodlebugz, located at the corner of West Park Square and Roswell Street, will feature Kennesaw artist Laura Kirkland who'll be signing her Christmas ornaments.

"I'm very excited about Christmas," Smith said. "I love the holidays.

The weather will be beautiful, so treat yourself to a fun evening on Marietta Square. Don't forget to enjoy a leisurely dinner at one of the Square's several high quality restaurants, too. With the busy holiday season just a few weeks away, you deserve it!

Once again, Kennesaw, Georgia will pay homage to its Southern heritage, and will make it fun!

The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History in Kennesaw will play host to its fourth "Through The Ages: A Living History and Military Timeline" event Saturday and Sunday in Swift-Cantrell Park. About 80 re-enactors and military experts will bring history to life as they demonstrate military acts from the time of the Roman Empire to the present military.

The event's organizer, Lead Interpreter for the Southern Museum Harper Harris, said timeline events occur across the country, but Kennesaw modeled its program after the annual timeline event in Jamestown, Va. Harris said they expect around 1,000 people to attend the event, and the public can vote on their favorite re-enactors and demonstration for awards that will be presented at the conclusion of the event.

Some of the expected demonstrations include the firing of a Civil War cannon, sword and archery demonstrations, musket firings and a fly-over by a vintage bi-plane. Horses will also be used in cavalry demonstrations, and the Georgia Military Vehicle Preservation Association will display antique military Jeeps, trucks and other vehicles.

"This event is always a lot of fun, and people really seem to enjoy it," Harris said. "It's making history come alive, and not just one time period but several are shown. With everything we do at the museum, we try to get kids involved in history and foster a love for it, and this is a great way to do that."

Harris said that a bluegrass picking session will create lively music from the pavilion stage, and to expect to see Queen Elizabeth and Abraham Lincoln. "Our Abe is very well-known and has actually been filming in Savannah the past few weeks after Robert Redford hand-picked him to play Lincoln in his Civil War movie about the conspiracy to kill Lincoln," Harris said.

The Kennesaw Optimist Club will be selling food and drinks, and Harris said that Boy and Girl scouts will receive $1 off their admission.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 14th and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 15th. Swift-Cantrell Park is located at 3140 Old 41 Highway in Kennesaw, just west of Kennesaw Elementary School. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 4-12, and free for children 3 and younger. For more information, call the Southern Museum at (770) 427-2117.

The weather should be beautiful, so come out and enjoy!

Once again citizens of Cobb County, Georgia will gather to support a worthy cause.

On Saturday, approximately 1,000 local residents are expected to participate in the Cobb Start! Heart Walk, an annual fundraiser hosted by the American Heart Association.

The purpose of the walk is to promote physical activity and heart-healthy living, and to raise money to fund research for the No. 1 killer of U.S. citizens, heart disease, and the No. 3 killer, stroke.

According to the organization's Web site, the walk has raised more than $190,000 as of Thursday afternoon. Cobb Start! Heart Walk assistant Jane Sanders believes the organization will reach its fundraising goal of $225,000.

"There will be a lot brought in last minute, but the numbers so far are very exciting and promising," Sanders said.

Festivities begin at 9 a.m. in Glover Park on the Marietta Square. Sanders said there will be information available on stroke and heart disease; a tribute tent for those who have died from stroke or heart disease; company-sponsored tents and a kid's play area. A welcoming program will begin at 9:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m.

Most walkers will follow a 5K route, leaving north on Cherokee Street and returning to the Square traveling south on Church Street. The survivors who are walking will travel a shorter path, cutting over from Cherokee Street to Church Street via Sessions Street.

Sanders said WellStar has the largest group of participants, with 674 employees participating in the walk. Those interested in walking are encouraged to donate a minimum of $150, and can sign up online before the event or at the Square the day of the walk, Sanders said.

Please come out learn important facts that could affect your health and help fund the reasearch that could save lives. Most of all, enjoy a beautiful day in Marietta and make some friends!