Cedar Creek
CIVIC ASSOCIATION
ATHENS, GEORGIA
May 22, 2026
2026 Calendar
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June 4 - CCCA Special Board Meeting, 6PM, 180 Cedar Creek Dr
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June 8-12 - Early Voting, Runoff Election
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June 16 - Runoff Election Day
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​June 18 - CCCA Board Meeting, 7PM, 195 Dunwoody Dr.
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June 14 - Flag Day
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June 21 - Father's Day
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July 4 - Saturday - US Independence Day
CCCA Membership Update
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Thanks to the many of you that have already renewed your CCCA Membership. Our membership currently stands at 204 out of 655 homes in the neighborhood. We would like to exceed our 2025 membership level of 260 members. Renewals continue to trickle in, but we need many more. If you have not already done so, please renew now, and talk to your neighbors about joining as well. Click on the JOIN/PAY button above to choose your payment options, and please remember to fill out the membership form, including your email address. Wishing to pay by check, make it out to "CCCA" and mail to (or drop off at) "CCCA Treasurer, 190 Mockingbird Circle, Athens, GA 30605". Remember to include your home address so we know which residence to credit the membership. Providing your email allows you to stay connected with our community by receiving our monthly email updates.​
Follow-up on ongoing issues
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4190 Lexington Road - After the discussion at the April 21 Mayor & Commissioners work session, the developer subsequently paused the project. This means it will not come up for Mayor & Commissioners discussion again until June or as late as August. If you have concerns about this development keep an eye on the Agenda for the June Mayor & Commissioners meetings.
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155 Whit Davis Rd - At the April 21 Mayor & Commissioners work session, the developer withdrew this project, citing loss of a major funding source.
450 Gaines School Road - The grass on this property has been cut but we have heard nothing further from the developer. Let us know if you see a zoning notice posted, sometimes it takes a while before we notice the signs.
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ATT fiber optic cable placement --- If you also have issues with this project, contact Jacob Banks, Field Supervisor for ANSCO, the contractor at 470-475-4037 or via email at jacob.banks@anscollc.com. Alternatively you can contact Steve McDaniel the utility inspector for Clarke County at 762-400-6703 or via email at Steve.McDaniel@accgov.com. Just remember that it takes a little time for replanted grass to fill in the disturbed areas - especially with so little rain!
What we are keeping an eye on...
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Safe Streets and Roads for All Initiative ... Athens-Clarke County has partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program to explore ways of reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries on county streets. The program focuses on making streets safer for everyone – people walking and biking, people in cars, transit riders, children, older adults, and individuals with mobility challenges. See https://www.accgov.com/safestreets
The SS4A Action Plan for Clarke County, the first step in hopefully bringing in federal funds for improving county streets, was recently approved by the Mayor & Commissioners. We are excited that additional federal funds could accelerate many of the projects proposed in TSPLOST 2026. In particular, the SS4A Action Plan for Clarke County identifies Gaines School Road as a location needing safety upgrades, some of which we identified in our Eastside Athens Complete Streets TSPLOST 2026 project. Of course, federal funding is always uncertain, but we will explore whether this program can be used to shorten the timeline to Gaines School Road safety upgrades.
Local Option Sale Tax approved - We are happy to report that the 2026 TSPLOST was approved by voters. Approval means that in the coming years, Eastside Athens will see a number of road, sidewalk and storm water management issues addressed that will improve vehicle and pedestrian safety.
June 16, 2026 - Runoff Election
The following office races are to be decided in a runoff.
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Nonpartisan - ACC Mayor
Democratic Party - Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner, Labor Commissioner.
Republican Party - US Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State School Superintendent, Georgia Senate District 46
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Hours for advanced voting are 8AM to 5PM except Wednesday, 8AM to 7PM at the Elections Office, ACC County Library and the SE Clarke Park Tennis Center.
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Key information sites
Voter checklist - https://www.accgov.com/9332/Voter-Checklist
Dates and location for runoff voting - https://www.accgov.com/advancevoting
Rules and application for absentee voting - https://www.accgov.com/245/Absentee-Voting
Voter identification requirements - https://www.accgov.com/247/Identification
Check or get your precinct card at Ga My Voter Page - https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/
ACC Elections office at https://www.accgov.com/160/Elections-Department.
Athens Politics Nerd - https://athenspoliticsnerd.com/voter-info/candidates/
Ballotpedia.org - https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_elections,_2026
The Red&Black - https://www.redandblack.com/election/
Note: scroll down this site to see interviews with local candidates.
Notes from the CC Volunteer Landscape Crew
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The Landscape Crew continues to plan sites to install Bee and Butterfly Sanctuary Gardens in select Cedar Creek green spaces. ​To find out the when and where the Landscape Crew meets, contact Rob Gorman (rdfgorman@gmail.com). Volunteers are still needed!
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In June, we will be installing three large boulders in the middle greenspace of the Ponderosa Drive entrance. These boulders are part of a beautification project aimed at providing more interest to the area, seating for pedestrians, and a barrier to vehicles that have been parking on the grass. Eventually we hope to add more vegetation between and around the boulders.
A search of the internet shows conflicting opinions on whether English ivy growing on trees can damage the tree and lead to its death. It is true that ivy can harm its host tree over time if you don't prune it. Some claim that the problem actually isn't with the ivy that climbs up the tree trunk but with the clusters of ivy on top of the tree – these, over time, will prevent the tree from getting the light it needs. In Georgia, the ivy grows so fast that keeping up with pruning is difficult. We suggest it is safer to periodically remove the ivy.
Other ivy species in Georgia you should be aware of include:
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Boston Ivy: A climbing vine often found on buildings and walls that can also cause damage.
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Japanese Ivy: A hardy vine that thrives in shaded areas and has glossy leaves.
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Ground Ivy (Creeping Charlie): A low-growing plant with creeping stems, often found in lawns.
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Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila): A small-leaved vine that can cling to surfaces and is popular in landscaping.
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Virginia Creeper: A fast-growing vine with five leaflets that can resemble ivy.
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Poison Ivy: Not a true ivy, but often mistaken for one; it has three leaflets and can cause skin irritation.
In short, ivy
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Competes with trees for nutrients, water, and if not pruned, from light - potentially weakening the tree and stunting growth,
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Blocks sunlight from reaching the tree's leaves, hindering photosynthesis,
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Adds weight to the tree, increasing the risk of branch breakage,
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Harbors pests and diseases that may affect the tree's health, and,
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May cause physical damage by wrapping around and constricting tree trunks.
An older, mature tree may be able to handle a little ivy growth but it is best to simply keep ivy away from trees. Rather than pulling it down, simply cut the ivy near the base of the tree, remove a short section of ivy bark, then allow the ivy remaining on the tree to die and fall off. This avoids damaging the tree further by pulling the clinging ivy from the tree bark.
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English ivy (Hedera helix) is classified as an exotic and invasive species in Georgia. Homeowners are encouraged to not plant ivy and to remove it where possible. Ivy can be very hard to remove from your yard. Most people who have been successful at this say the steps are:
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Cut the ivy back to ground level using pruning shears, saw, weed whipper and/or mower.
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Rake and dispose of cuttings in a bag to prevent regrowth.
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Dig up as many roots as you can with a garden spade, hoe, or forest adze, and bag the removed roots as well.
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Mulch heavily to discourage regrowth.
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Repeat steps 1-4 every couple of months until you no longer see ivy sprouts.
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Note that chemical herbicides typically don't work well with ivy because the leaves have a heavy wax coating that sheds the chemical, preventing it from getting into the leaves, stems, and root where herbicides need to access to be effective. Ivy can regrow from small root segments that the herbicides may not reach. Multiple applications may be needed to be effective.
Q: Does English ivy growing on trees damage the tree? Should I remove English ivy from the tree?
Q and A: Ask the CCCA Board a question and we will try to find an answer.
The CCCA newsletter is printed locally in Athens by Jack Jones of Duplicating Systems Inc. Thanks.
President’s Letter, May 2026
We are deep in graduation season now, so congratulations to all the newly minted high school, tech school, college, and university graduates in Cedar Creek. And to the parents of those grads, we know you're rightfully proud. I know many folks like myself are also looking forward to the relative peace and quiet that UGA's summer semester brings to Athens. It's a great time to enjoy some of the entertainment opportunities the city offers.
It's also becoming peak vacation season. I want to urge everyone who's traveling this summer to reach out to your neighbors. Let them know when you'll be away. We can help each other by watching each others' homes, retrieving and holding mail, and serving as a local emergency contact. And if you need a house- or a pet sitter, there are qualified folks here in the neighborhood.
The Board is continuing our beautification and improvement efforts in the common spaces. The mulch is fully spread on the Cedar Circle trail. Watch for some new additions to the Ponderosa spaces. We're still planning the pollinator garden beds, but our advisor has recommended planting in the fall, so we're holding off on that for the moment.
And we have only days left before the May 19 election. This is really important! See elsewhere in this newsletter for details.
-Jack Dominey
Another Successful Cedar Creek Community Yard Sale
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The annual Cedar Creek Community Yard Sale featured 26 yard sales this year. It was a fun event and well attended. The weather was great and we had lots of shoppers out on the streets. This is one of the CCCA’s biggest events and extra efforts were made this year to promote it with flyers, signs, Flagpole ads, newspaper classified ads, some Cedar Creek Next Door postings and a listing in the events section, some Cedar Creek Facebook page postings and listing in the events section, banners at each neighborhood entrance, maps online identifying all participating addresses, and printed maps at each neighborhood entrance. We gave it our all!
Thanks to each yard sale host for registering online before the event. A survey was sent to you via email asking for input on how we might improve next year's event. We look forward to learning about your reactions, successes, and suggestions. We want to share your story, so tell us what item you thought would never sell — but did! If you missed the email, click the Yard Sale Host button to enter your comments.
We also want to hear from those who participated in the event as a buyer. What suggestions do you have for improving the event. Also, tell us what was the strangest, funniest, or most unique item you bought? For one of the organizers, it was an old trench coat similar to the one Humphrey Bogart wore in Casablanca! Click the Participant button to enter your comments.
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We hope everyone had fun buying and/or selling and will come back next year! Please take just a minute to complete the attached comment form and help us continue to improve this popular event that brings visitors to our lovely neighborhood.
Special thanks to our organizers, Susan Parish, Carolyn Gorman, and Ross Watson. Without their leadership this event would not have happened.
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