Responding to an investigation launched by the Johns Creek City Council, Mayor Mike Bodker said he is “disappointed that it has come to this.” The investigation centers around alleged violations of the city’s charter and ethics ordinance. Bodker said he welcomes the investigation as a chance to clear his name and any suspicion that has been placed upon him. “My actions have always been to do what I believe is best for the citizens and businesses of Johns Creek,” he said. Bodker said part of his responsibilities as mayor include speaking to people outside of city government. “Sometimes those conversations get misconstrued by others who are not a party to them,” he said. “I’ve tried to clear up each and every misunderstanding that I’ve ever been made aware of, and I would say that [this investigation] is indicative of the fact that that hasn’t clearly gotten across.” Bodker added, “One of the downsides of being the mayor — or a councilmember sometimes — is people will … sometimes on purpose state that you’ve said something or done something if it suits their needs. There have been many, many things that have been attributed to me that I’ve not even known about.” In a statement released Tuesday, Councilman Randall Johnson said the launch of the investigation follows “several reprimands of Mayor Bodker about certain questionable actions he’s taken over the last several years.” Johnson added, “There have been allegations that he’s repeatedly involved himself in actions and situations that were outside the will of council.” One such reprimand Bodker recalled involved the restoration of Rogers Bridge. As Bodker explained, before Johns Creek was chartered as a city, officials from Fulton County, Duluth and Gwinnett County came to an understanding to each contribute to the bridge restoration. “When we became a city, that project had not yet been done and Gwinnett and Duluth had apparently set aside their money but … [Johns Creek councilmembers] decided they did not want to move forward with that project,” he said. “I didn’t agree with the decision, but at the end of the day, the council decision is the council decision.” Bodker said he continued receiving calls from Duluth officials but told them he could not change council’s decision. When Brad Raffensperger was elected to council, Bodker explained the situation to him and asked if Raffensperger might want to meet with Duluth officials and take an objective look at the issue. “[Councilmembers] interpreted it as me trying to go against their will, and they reprimanded me,” Bodker said. In other instances of reprimand, Bodker said his actions have just been his attempt to back the will of the council and to gather information to make sure they had all the facts. Bodker said the investigation will not interfere with city operations and said he hopes it will move forward quickly and professionally. The city has contracted with Wilson, Morton & Downs of Decatur to handle the investigation, which could take up to six weeks. A report will be made public once the investigation is complete.

Retirement from employment has served as a motivation for many over the years since the concept of a workforce was developed. Some retirees seek to travel to exotic locations, spend more time with their families or pick up the hobby they weren’t able to enjoy in the past. However, some return to their chosen vocation to seek a new challenge in the next phase of their life. Al Morrell, the new football head coach of Fellowship Christian, has taken this ideal and will return to the prep sidelines this fall. Morrell has been a high school coach in Georgia for more than 30 years and had spent the last eight seasons as the head coach at Creekview High School in Canton, leading the Grizzlies to a record of 48-25, including a 9-2 mark last season. For last year’s campaign, he was named the Cherokee County Head Coach of the Year and inducted into the Cherokee County Gridiron Hall of Fame. Morrell retired after last season but received a life-altering call from a coaching colleague that changed his plans. Tim McFarlin, the head coach at Blessed Trinity, called me and said that there was a job opening that I may be interested in and it would be a good fit for me,” said Morrell. “I spoke with the administration at Fellowship Christian the next day and I was hired.” Morrell’s distinguished career began after receiving a master’s degree in physical education from the University of Alabama in 1982. He proceeded to be an assistant coach at Wills High School in Cobb County and later the offensive backs coach at Marietta along with stints at Etowah and Sequoyah, helping to lead the Chiefs to the playoffs as an offensive coordinator and was named Cherokee County Offensive Coach of the Year in 2004. Fellowship Christian presents a unique structure for Morrell to work under. “I’ve always been interested in working within a smaller school environment that wasn’t so demanding with more than 100 players in your program like my last stop,” said Morrell. “We’re going to have around 30 players on the roster and I’m excited to go get to know the kids better in a smaller-knit community.” The Paladins are in Class A, the smallest classification in the Georgia High School Association, which usually translate to a smaller roster than the larger schools with bigger enrollments. This affects the entire structure of the football program, from practices to the amount of assistant coaches. “We’re definitely going to practice differently here than at my other schools,” stated Morrell. “At Creekview, we had separate offensive and defensive coaching staffs and basically had two practices going on at the same time. Here, I’ll have fewer assistants, each player will have a role on both sides of the ball and you’re going to see more ironman football.” The Paladins finished last season with a record of 2-8 but have had successful campaigns in the past, including a school-record 11 wins in 2007 and an appearance in the GHSA playoff quarterfinals. Coach Morrell has started the preparations for the fall by organizing the off-campus workouts at the Paladin Center in Roswell. “My goal this summer is to complete my coaching staff, get the information out to the kids and get more structure in our workouts,” said Morrell. “I want the kids here together to work out as a team, start bonding and begin introducing our schemes.” Fellowship Christian will open the season Aug. 30 at home against Lakeview Academy.