Newspaper Page Text
Page 14A
LOCAL
The Champion, Thursday, June 25 - July 1, 2015
Decatur residents win
Pedals 4 Professionals
video contest
by Justin Beaudrot
Decatur residents, Paul Ficklin-
Alred and Nathan Scronce, teamed
up for Canada-based Reliance
Foundry’s annual, multi-national
Pedals 4 Professionals video contest.
In recognition of Bike to Work
Week, Pedals 4 Professionals re
ceives video submissions of partici
pants’ stories of how and why they
bike to work, and reward the win
ning contestants with $5,000 toward
new bike equipment. Scronce owns
video production company, Outfit,
and wanted to tell Fiddin-Alred’s
story.
Fifty-four-year-old Ficklin-
Alred mentions in the video that he
has been biking to work at Emory
University for nearly 10 years. He
began biking as a way to get into
better shape and in response to
Emory’s doubling its parking fees.
He said his health has improved sig
nificantly, and he is a better person
to work with.
“Biking to work is one of the
ways I like to contribute to sustain
ability as a citizen of DeKalb Coun
ty,” Ficklin-Aired said. “I started by
biking the two miles from my house
to the closest Emory shuttle stop,
but very soon I was enjoying it so
much I started biking the six miles
from home to work and back every
day.”
The Emory and Decatur com
munities have been working toward
promoting bicycling as an alterna
tive mode of transportation.
Emory increased its parking fees
and offers students a long-term bike
share opportunity as encourage
ment towards this effort.
Decatur’s Active Living divi
sion organizes a number of events
for its annual bike month held each
May. Last October, Decatur’s Active
Living installed a public bike repair
station in front of the Decatur Rec
reation Center.
With communities working
to encourage biking as an alterna
tive mode of transportation and
the PATH Foundation’s system of
bike trails throughout DeKalb, the
county may begin to see an increase
in bicyclists over the next few years.
Ficklin-Aired commented, “If bik
ing doesn’t work for you, try other
options, such as using public trans
portation to work one or two days a
week if it works for you. Recycle, of
course. DeKalb makes it easy.”
Jeremy Bradley, contest orga
nizer for Reliance Foundry, said,
“We wanted to find a way to engage
communities across North America
... The contest is a way for us to
participate while also helping to
bring folks in the cycling commu
nity together.” Reliance Foundry is
a producer of architectural site fur
nishings such as bike parking stands
and racks.
From left, Paul Ficklin-Alred, an Emory University staff member, and Nathan Scronce, a vid
eo production company owner, won a video contest about cycling to work. Photo provided
NOTICE
The City of Brookhaven City Council does hereby announce thatthe millage rate will be setata meeting to be
held atthe Brookhaven City Hall on on July7, 2015 at7:00 p.m. and pursuantto the requirements ofO.C.GA Section
48-5-32 does hereby publish the following presentation of the currentyear's taxdigestand levy, along with the history of the tax
digest and levy for the past five years.
CURRENT 2015 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
Brookhaven City
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Real & Personal
2,261,071,691
2,691,060,034
3,160,338,872
Motor Vehicles
82,633,320
67,891,300
Mobile Homes
Timber - 100%
Heavy Duty Equipment
Gross Digest
2,261,071,691
2,773,693,354
3,228,230,172
Less M& O Exemptions
254,997,596
437,879,638
655,645,230
Net M & O Digest
2,006,074,095
2,335,813,716
2,572,584,942
State Forest Land
Assistance Grant Value
Adjusted Net M&O Digest
2,006,074,095
2,335,813,716
2,572,584,942
Gross M&O Millage
2.850
2.850
2.795
Less Rollbacks
0.055
Net M&O Millage
2.850
2.795
2.795
Net Taxes Levied
$5,717,311
$6,528,599
$7,190,375
Net Taxes $ Increase
r
r
r
$811,288.00
$661,776.00
Net Taxes % Increase
w
F
F
14.19%
10.14%