Boy Scouts, Citizen Honored by City Council

What do a million dollars, Michael Jordan, a man missing since 1943 and the Boy Scouts have in common? All were topics of discussion at Thursday's Acworth City Council meeting.

Conference Room One at was unusually packed for the meeting on account of the dozens of Boy Scouts, Scoutmasters and proud family members in attendance. This year is the 101st anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America, and every year the Acworth City Council presents a plaque of appreciation to the various local troops for their role in shaping the young men of the future.

The future could wait, though, as a few of the Scouts jumped up to peer over the ledge of the large desk where the mayor and Board of Aldermen were soon to meet. Many of the Scouts had pens and paper at the ready, eager to learn about the functioning of local government. Two of the Scouts were having an important conversation about public affairs: the pronunciation of Mayor Tommy Allegood's last name.

“Is it 'All-good' or 'Alley-good?'” asked the khaki-clad boys.

Once the mayor and Board of Aldermen filed into the room, Allegood asked the Boy Scouts to present the colors and lead the assembly in prayer. After the assembly was seated, the mayor asked all the Scouts and Scoutmasters to gather before the large desk and pose for some photos. Allegood then read the proclamation that the city had prepared to honor the Boy Scouts' 101 years of service and honored local Boy Scout Troops 116 and 2096, along with Cub Scout Packs 611 and 2096.

The mayor commended the local Scouts on their upcoming Scouting for Food service project. Allegood spoke warmly of his time in Scouting and said the leadership skills he learned while a member of the Scouts had contributed to his current stewardship of the city of Acworth.

Members of the then took the floor to honor a local citizen who had assisted an officer in distress. Police Chief Michael Wilkie honored the efforts of Michael Jordan. On the night of Dec. 23, Jordan helped Officer Lisa Turcotte subdue a man who was attacking her in the parking lot of a restaurant. While many people in the parking lot just watched the attack, Jordan, who was driving by, pulled in and assisted the officer.

Jordan said what he did was the duty of all citizens everywhere. He also commended the coolness and restraint of Turcotte, who resisted the urge to use excessive force to defend herself. He also took a moment to mention that he, too, was once a Boy Scout, which drew laughs from the councilmen and visitors alike.

took the floor for the public comment section to mention that a chef who trained under him will appear on the Food Network program Chopped next Tuesday at 10 p.m.

Chandler also asked the mayor and Board of Aldermen to reconsider closing Main Street until 10 p.m. during the Classic Car Cruise Nights, saying traffic to restaurants will be greatly aided if Main Street reopens an hour earlier. The Classic Car Cruise Nights will take place April 30, July 30 and Oct. 29.

The board then unanimously approved the consent agenda, which, among other items, reappointed Ben Flanagan, Jeff Steorts and Jim Aiken to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Additionally, the city will issue a $15,000 purchase order from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds for School Street improvements.

City Manager Brian Bulthuis reported to the board that Acworth's SPLOST projects are proceeding ahead of schedule and $1,024,623 under budget so far. Bulthuis said that for a recent SPLOST Oversight Committee meeting, Powder Springs had hired engineers to compile its SPLOST data, whereas Acworth did the work in house, probably saving even more money.

The meeting ended on a somber but powerful note when Alderman Bob Weatherford reported that he was able to return the remains of a Georgia airman, missing since 1943, to be buried alongside his wife. As a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcyclists who act as counterprotesters at the funerals of service members, he regularly escorts troops' bodies home. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escort the remains of Staff Sgt. Berthold Allen Chastain to Birchwood, TN.

Chastain was born in Dalton but lived in Cleveland, TN. He was 27 when he was killed Oct. 27, 1943. His B-24 Liberator bomber, nicknamed “Shack Rat,” crashed because of bad weather in the Sarawaget Mountain Range in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The wreckage was located in 2005, but the remains could not be retrieved until 2007.

Chastain's remains were positively identified in 2010, and his only surviving child requested that the Patriot Guard Riders escort her father home after 67 years. Chastain was laid to rest on what would have been his 95th birthday.