Ready to show off your BBQ skills and get a chance to win over $14,000 in cash and prizes? Then enter your cooking team into the Backyard BBQ, Anything Butt and Peach Dessert contests to be held at the Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival on Friday, August 26 and Saturday, August 27, 2011. The contest is professionally sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, and only a limited number of entries will be accepted. The deadline to enter is August 1, 2011, and you can click here to view contest rules and download an entry form.

Festival Address:
Adams Park and the Ben Robertson Community Center
2753 Watts Drive
Kennesaw GA 30144

For more information, please call the City of Kennesaw Parks & Recreation Department at (770) 422-9714.

The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History is hosting two summer camps this June. The first camp, Workin’ on the Railroad, will teach youngsters about the different jobs on the railroad. The second camp, Civil War Soldier Camp, features drills, skirmishes, and camp activities.

Workin’ on the Railroad
June 14, 2011
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
$35/$25 museum members
Ages 5 to 8

Learn about the different jobs on the railroad through story, song and fun activities. Registration required by June 7, 2011. No refunds will be issued for cancellations after that date. Camp participants will bring their own packed lunch. No peanut products please!

Civil War Soldier Camp
June 15, 2011
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
$35/$25 museum members
Ages 9 to 12

Learn about the everyday life of a Civil War Soldier through drills, skirmishes and camp activities. Registration required by June 8. No refunds will be issued for cancellations after that date. Camp participants will bring their own packed lunch. No peanut products please!

For more information, please visit http://www.southernmuseum.org/2011/03/southern-museum-summer-camps-for-2011/

After months of speculation, Daniel Papp, Vince Dooley and Nancy King announced that Kennesaw State University hopes to soon have a football team. The football exploratory committee, headed by legendary football coach Vince Dooley, gave the green light for the university to move forward. The results of the study show that there is solid support for a successful football program. The team could start as early as the fall of 2014.  The entire press release is below:

Kennesaw State University Football Exploratory Committee Says “Yes!”

Committee headed by legendary football coach Vince Dooley gives green light for university to move forward

KENNESAW, Ga. (Sept. 15,2010) – Kennesaw State University President Daniel S. Papp accepted a highly positive recommendation from legendary football coach Vince Dooley, chair of KSU’s Football Exploratory Committee (FEC), to move forward with the university’s interest in fielding a football program.

The results of the nine-month study indicate there is solid support for a successful football program at Georgia’s third-largest university, according to the 137-page report, which Coach Dooley submitted to Papp along with a five-page Summary and Recommendations document.

The Committee’s positive recommendation was announced for the first time at a press conference held today at the KSU convocation Center. “This is a truly historic day for Kennesaw State University,” Papp said, upon accepting the document from the iconic football coach. “This is an important first step in assessing support for a football program at KSU, and we all look forward to building on this positive feedback and strong momentum that exists.

“Now that we have the Committee’s report, it’s very important for us to once again re-evaluate the level of student support,” Papp continued. “This has been a continuing conversation; and to that end, our next step is to talk with our student leaders and to the student body to ascertain their continued interest in having a football program at KS U.”

Dooley, who retired as the University of Georgia’s athletics director in 2004 after 25 years, was UGA’s head football coach from 1964 to 1988. He led of one of the most successful football and all-sports programs in intercollegiate athletics. He expressed appreciation for serving on the Committee and working collaboratively with all 32 members.

“It has been an honor to oversee the hard work and enthusiasm of the four subcommittees. They did a very thorough job,” Dooley said. “We tackled some tough issues over the past several months to come up with the Committee’s recommendation, which I’m particularly glad to say represents the overwhelmingly positive opinion that the University should move forward towards building a football program.”

The positive decision by the committee came after months of intensive study by four subcommittees composed of faculty, staff, students, alumni, benefactors and community members.

Papp charged the study committee with weighing the projected costs of establishing a football program, the funding possibilities, the broader consequences and implications of a football program, and positive alternatives.

The four subcommittee chairs and the subcommittees that they headed included: Teddie Parrish (Projected Costs), Rick Siegel (Funding Possibilities), Dr. Nancy King (Broader Consequences), and Dr. Tom Keene (Positive Alternatives).

Papp acknowledged the hard work that Dooley and the entire Committee put into the study project, starting last December.
“To use a football metaphor, I am so grateful to Coach Dooley and the other 32 members of the Football Exploratory Committee for taking the ball and running with it,” said Papp.

Based on the FEC report, KSU student fees and additional funds from sponsors, donors and ticket sales would be necessary to fund the estimated $5-6 million cost of the program. If feedback from the student body is equally supportive as the FEC report, and the university decides to launch a program, KSU -which completed its transition into NCAA Division I last year -could have a football program as early as Fall 2014.

With some adjustments, a Kennesaw State University football team could play in the state-of the-art, $16.5 million KSU Soccer Stadium that was just completed in early May of this year.

Papp stressed that there are challenges ahead. “Starting a football program from scratch will not be easy, but then again nothing truly worthwhile is ever easy,” he said. “As Coach Dooley often reminded his players, there are four quarters to every football game. And the score that counts is the one at the end of the fourth quarter. We have a long way to go toward achieving victory, but with today’s announcement, we are one step closer to having football at KSU!”

Papp also reiterated that even if KSU launches football, quality academics will remain the university’s focus. “A football program could serve that mission well, as it may help bring increased national recognition to our institution and highlight the important work that is being done here in teaching and research,” Papp said.

About Kennesaw State University:
Kennesaw State University is the third-largest university in Georgia, offering more than 70 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including doctorates in education, business and nursing, and a new Ph.D. in international conflict management. A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State is a comprehensive, residential institution with a growing population of more than 22,300 students from 142 countries.

Kennesaw State University President Daniel S. Papp and legendary coach Vince Dooley will announce the findings of KSU’s Football Exploratory Committee at a press conference on Wednesday, September 15, at the KSU Convocation Center.

On December 10, 2009, Papp announced that he had named Dooley to chair the 32-member KSU Football Exploratory Committee. The body was charged with considering the pros and cons of a KSU football program and with making recommendations to the university’s administration. Papp and Dooley will share the committee’s recommendations at the press conference.

Check the homepage of Kennesaw.com tomorrow at noon for an update (our guess – yes, they are definitely starting a football program, probably division 1 with Georgia State and Georgia Southern, perhaps the Big South conference, starting in 2012 or 2013 at the latest).

Who:
Daniel S. Papp, president, Kennesaw State University
Vince Dooley, chairman, Kennesaw State University Football Exploratory Committee
Nancy King, senior women’s administrator, Kennesaw State University

When:
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Where:
Kennesaw State University Convocation Center
1000 Chastain Rd.
Kennesaw, Ga., 30144

MUST Ministries is asking for help to fill bare shelves in its food donation center. Please bring canned goods and other staples to the Ben Robertson Community Center, Police Dept or City Hall where barrels will be set up for your donations.

Demand for food is up 200% over this time last year, according to MUST Ministry officials. The food bank is completely out of canned chicken, ham, tuna and salmon. There’s no flour, instant potatoes, jelly, dry milk, oatmeal, grits, canned beans, spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce. MUST is also running low on dry beans, rice, boxed dinners and pasta. The City’s goal is to fill a tractor-trailer with food by the end of September.

MUST Ministries serves people in need in Cobb and Cherokee Counties. Your help is desperately needed and greatly appreciated.

For more information, call 770-427-9862.

The City of Kennesaw is requesting feedback on several proposed changes to the City sanitation service. These changes have been proposed in order to offset rising costs and operate more efficiently while avoiding increased fees. The proposed changes include:

• Reduce the number of vehicles and personnel
• Go to one day a week garbage collection (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday)
• Move brush collection to Monday (yard waste only – limit to number of bags)
• Charge for bulk material collection (large limbs, white goods, furniture, etc.)
• Accounts in property owner’s name – not renter’s name
• Security deposit: $100 (container cost)
• Reinstatement fee: $50
• Bad Check/credit card: $25
• Call Back & Special Pick up $25 normal hours; $55 after hours

Proposed Rate Changes:
Rates will be based on usage (base rate will not change)

• Residential Rates will be based on the number of containers. 1 is $24, 2 will be $28, 3 will be $32, 4 will be $36 and 5 will be $40.
• Commercial Rates will also be based on the number of containers. 1 will be $35, 2 will be $45, 3 will be $55, 4 will be $65, 5 will be $75.

Click here to provide feedback regarding these proposed changes.

Legendary football coach Vince Dooley has been selected to chair the exploratory committee for football at Kennesaw State University. The committee consists of students, faculty, staff, alumni, business and community leaders, and friends and benefactors of Kennesaw State University. Over the next nine months, the committee study the impact of a football program and deliver their recommendations to KSU President Daniel S. Papp in September 2010.

“The launch of the Football Exploratory Committee is the next logical step in the progression of KSU’s athletics programs,” Papp said. “We are excited that a coach of the caliber of Vince Dooley has agreed to lead us through this process as KSU decides whether or not we should start a football program.”

On December 1, KSU announced a partnership with the Atlanta Beat Women’s Professional Soccer team that includes the construction of a $16.5 million, 8,300-seat stadium that will be ready by spring. The stadium could also be used for football, Papp said.

According to WAGA, KSU is actively working on a football program and has hired Vince Dooley. In a role similar to former Falcons coach Dan Reeves’ role at Georgia State, Vince Dooley will play an active role in building Kennesaw State University’s football program.

Kennesaw, GA (Dec. 1, 2009) – Atlanta Beat Owner Fitz Johnson and Kennesaw State University President Dr. Daniel S. Papp announced a partnership to construct a $16.5 million, 8,300-seat soccer stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The stadium, located on a 21-acre parcel of land, lies between George Busbee Parkway and the I-575 overpass on Big Shanty Road. It will be home to both the Atlanta Beat Women’s Professional Soccer team and the KSU Owls women’s soccer program.

“This stadium will be the only women’s soccer-specific stadium of its kind in the world,” said Beat Owner Johnson. “I think this partnership is a great match between KSU and the Atlanta Beat.”

“This first-class facility is the perfect venue in which to showcase our championship women’s soccer program,” said KSU President Dr. Papp.

Scheduled for completion in Spring 2010, the stadium will host all Atlanta Beat home games for the team’s 2010 inaugural season.

“We are honored and excited to be in the process of building this stadium,” said Beat General Manager Shawn McGee. “Our goal is to make this facility the focus for soccer in the southeast and to take soccer to new level in this area of the country.”

“We certainly hope to host US National Team soccer games, the NCAA College Cup, and international friendlies in addition to all of our WPS games.”

The stadium will function primarily for soccer events with sideline, family section, on-field and suite level seating. However, it also accommodates up to 16,000 patrons as a concert venue.