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SNELLVILLE – Get your taste buds ready.

Local eateries will feature their favorite dishes and offer succulent food for the tasting at the city's first "Taste of Snellville" event Sept. 17.

Come experience the diverse tastes of the city's many cultures as area chefs prepare their favorite foods for the event which takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. on the Towne Green.

Some of the restaurants participating are: Ionie's Caribbean Kitchen, Fratelli's, Beren's Frozen Custard, Chick-fil-A (Highway 78), American Tavern, Stevi B's, Zoës, Grayson Coffee House, Baby Jane's Home Cooking, The Village Corner German Restaurant and Bakery, Fresh Market, Wild Wing Café, Spice Oven, Pollo Tropical and more. Lincoln Fill Station will be on site selling beer and wine as well.

While the event is free, to taste food samples and take part in other activities, visitors must buy tickets at the information booth. When visitors purchase tickets, they can also pick up a card that will have each restaurant name on it that can be stamped once they visit each restaurant. The card also enters patrons for door prizes to be awarded at the end of the event.

Food is just part of this new event, as the Jazz Fusion Kings will take the stage from

4 to 5 p.m. and the Metro Jazz Club will perform from 5-8 p.m.

Many art vendors will be displaying their art pieces along with other vendors that will be set up on the Green and on Oak Road. Event organizers Snellville Tourism and Trade is partnering with the Snellville Arts Commission to offer Sip N Paint packages for both wine glass and canvas painting. Attendees can to sip wine and taste food while painting in the middle of Oak Road. Wine Glass Sip N Paint sessions will be offered from 4-8 p.m. for $10 which includes a drink ticket and two food tickets. The Canvas Sip N Paint is $30 and includes the canvas, one drink ticket and five food tickets. Visit www.snellvillearts.com to sign up for the canvas and wine glass painting classes and the free sidewalk art squares.

Sam Roper with Rope-A-Dope Toons will be teaching a character drawing class for $5 which includes a souvenir pencil set to take home and a finished character designed by participants. Sign up for those classes online at www.snellvilletourism.com. Classes are limited to 20 patrons per seating and will be offered at 4, 5, 6 and 7 p.m.

Stop by the Family Tree Garden Center Tent and create a Fairy Garden for $10 which includes supplies.

There will also be inflatables and the Trackless Train for children.

For more information visit www.snellvilletourism.com

SNELLVILLE – The city's police department will be out in force hosting its annual Snellville Public Safety Night Sept. 27.

The event will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the Towne Green in front of City Hall. A Flag Ceremony will kick off the event at 5:30 p.m.

This successful annual event allows residents to meet and ask questions of local police officers.

Police vehicles with anti-crime accessories, tactical equipment and weapons and the Snellville Police SRT (special response team) will be on hand. The Air-Evac Lifeteam Helicopter, Gwinnett County Fire Department equipment and personnel, Gwinnett Animal Control, the Gwinnett County Bomb Squad's van, Emergency Medical Service workers and first responders are all scheduled to attend.

Numerous exhibitors will be providing information on personal safety, road safety for adults, teens and young children, gun safety and training, financial security, home and pet security. Members of the Snellville Citizens Police Academy will be available with information of the popular Citizens Police Academy. Information on the free emergency notification system Code RED and fingerprinting of kids will be available. A number of animal mascots, a Treasure Hunt and a drawing for a door prize will keep children engaged and entertained.

The SPD K-9 officers will give several demonstrations throughout the evening along with a "How to manage a traffic stop" demonstration. Also the animal mascots, including Snellville's own STAT the Cat, will have a skit for the kids on "Being Safe."

Bring the family for fun and get great information on protecting yourself, your family, your pets, your home and business and your personal identity.

The event is free.

For more information contact Kathy Emanuel (Snellville Citizens Police Academy Alumni) at kae10@bellsouth.net, or Tom Martin (Snellville Citizens Police Academy Alumni) at twmartin50@yahoo.com.

For more information please visit our Bid page.

SNELLVILLE – A new signal bridge and two sign bridges will soon span the intersection of highways 124 and 78 after the city approved a memorandum of understanding with the Georgia Department of Transportation Monday.

When construction begins on the city's busiest intersection sometime next year, it will now include an arched metal span with decorative signage at either end.

The project will not exceed $600,000 from city funds and will be funded through Special Local Option Sales Tax funds, city officials said. The cost has already been budgeted in the current Fiscal Year 2014 SPLOST.

The decorative posts mirror a sign to be placed at the western entrance to the city. Both structures were designed as part of the Downtown Development Authority's wayfinding signage project completed last year.

The measure passed 4-0 as Mayor Tom Witts and Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Bender were not present.

GDOT is currently in land acquisition negotiations for the intersection project which will feature a uniquely engineered traffic flow design which has worked very well in other major intersections across the country.

SNELLVILLE – Those entering the city heading east on Highway 78 will soon be greeted by a new sign.

At the August meeting of the Downtown Development Authority, directors achieved the final step to approve construction of the first Primary Gateway monument. The monument will replace the old granite sign that is at the city line on Highway 78. DDA officials have been working for several months to obtain an easement for the new primary gateway monument. Sung Kim, owner of SignDSign, the property the sign is on, agreed to grant an easement to the city to replace the aging sign. The DDA will also repair the wall which sits behind the monument.

Construction is expected to begin within a month, city officials said.

"A little over a year ago, the DDA directors worked with a group of citizens and a consultant, Sky Design, to develop what is known as a wayfinding package," said Eric Van Otteren, economic development director. "The project designed a family of monuments and signs that promote the city and give the city a unified look."

New wayfinding signs have already been built on the Towne Green and at City Hall.

In an effort to quell the rumor mill, be assured, the delivery of the 65-gallon rolling recycle carts started last Thursday and delivery will continue.

However, more than 400 requests for carts were received so the Department of Public Works is asking residents be patient as it will take time before arrive. If you asked for a cart, you will receive one.

The carts are still being delivered.

Please visit the bid page for more information.

UPDATE: The Snellville Police Department is no longer accepting applications for the fall session of the Citizens Police Acacemy but will still accept applications for the spring session starting in March.

SNELLVILLE – Applications are currently being accepted for the 22nd session of the Citizens Police Academy.

The first meeting of the 12-week class will take place at 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Snellville Police Department, 2315 Wisteria Drive.

The Snellville Citizens Police Academy was founded in the 2003 and there are spring and fall sessions. It is designed to educate the public about the operation of the police department and how the involvement of the community can help to deter crime.

Law enforcement topics are discussed and members engage in practical exercises with Snellville police officers. Topics include domestic violence, drug awareness, traffic stops, firearms training and crime scene processing. Participants will take a tour of the Gwinnett County Jail and will have a graduation dinner provided at the last session of the Academy.

This program is open to all Snellville and Gwinnett residents, 18 years and older. There is no charge for attending and you do not have to live in the city limits to participate. Applications can be picked up at the police department. A background investigation will be conducted on all applicants prior to acceptance in the Academy.

For more information, contact Lt. Robert Pendleton at 770-985-3555 or rpendleton@snellville.org.