Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2E
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS-WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2. 1988
NUMBERS
FOR EVERYTHING
• The land area of Forsyth County
totals 226 square miles.
• There are 147 miles of Lake La
nier shoreline in Forsyth County,
which makes Forsyth second in rank
behind Hall county in terms of share
of the lake. Hall has 308 miles of lake
shoreline. The other counties having
minimal acreage of the lake are Daw
son, Lumpkin and Gwinnet.
• Numerous land deals took place
in the county in 1987. According to the
Beasley Report, a publication that
monitors land transactions in Forsyth
and surrounding counties, there were
21041 r ansa eft ons involving tracts val
ued at $5,000 or more. In terms of
acreage, there were 122 sales of par
cels consisting of 10 acres or more.
• A total of 1,549 building permits
were issued in Forsyth County last
year. Of that total, 390 were for mobile
homes, 735 were for single family
building, six were for mult-family, 19
were for industrial and 399 were in the
“other” category' which includes of
fice and other professional building,
retail construction, service stations
and residential additions.
• If all the books on loan at the
Forsyth County Public Library - were
returned at the same time, there
would be 12,000 books on the shelfs.
The local library also has access, via
computer hook-up, to all the materi
als in seven other library' branches in
Gwinnett and Dawson Counties.
• The total number of registered
voters in the county is 13,982.
• As of 1985, there were 373 teach
ers in Forsyth County schools.
• According to 1985 figures, some
6,542 students are enrolled in county
schools.
• As of 1985, there were 39,385 ve
hicles registered in the county. Of that
total, 22,338 were passenger cars,
12,125 were trucks, 4093 were trailers,
790 were motorcycles and 39 were
buses.
• Business licenses issued in the
county in 1987 totaled 1,784, some 249
more than were issued in 1986, the in
augural year for the issuance of busi
ness licenses.
• Poultry production continues to
outweigh any other agricultural pro
duction in the county. Between 1983
and 1985, some 46,500,000 commercial
fryers were raised here along with
650,000 chickens were raised as
layers.
f - votet of I**i \
X i*mu* iamo" V
I&WHKE
il S Radio ll7okc
887-3136 Cumming, GA 577-5998
Soon to be serving you
with 5000 WATTS!
“Bigger and Better Than Ever”
IN 1986, WHNE RADIO CELEBRATED 25 YEARS OF BROADCASTING IN THE
CUMMING/FORSYTH COUNTY AREA. MANY THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE
OCTOBER 13, 1961, WHEN WSNE (THE CALL LETTERS CHANGED TO WHNE
IN 1 980) SIGNED ON THE AIR FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE 1 000 WATT AM STA
TION LOCATED ON HWY 9, SOUTH OF CUMMING, IS READYING ITSELF FOR
THE FUTURE. WITH A FULL TIME STAFF OF FIVE, CONSISTING OF OPERA
TIONS MANAGER DARRYL BAGWELL, NEWS DIRECTOR DARRIS BROCK,
SALES MANAGER JULIE SANDERS, TRAFFIC DIRECTOR WANDA WOOD,
AND OF COURSE, STATION MANAGER, PHIL CASTLEBERRY, THE STATION’S
PART TIME STAFF HELPS SMOOTH OUT THE REST OF THE STATION’S OPERA
TION. PART TIME EMPLOYEES INCLUDE CHARLES PHARR, MYRA POWELL,
JOYCE JORDAN, CECIL CASTLEBERRY, AND BART HAMMOND.
IN THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, THE STATION’S LOGS HAVE BEEN TRANSFER
RED TO COMPUTER. TWO YEARS AGO, WHAT TOOK AT LEAST A DAY TO TYPE
ON A REGULAR TYPEWRITER, NOW TAKES LESS THAN ONE HOUR. THE STA
TION’S BILLING WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE COMPUTER SIX TO EIGHT MON
THS AGO AND MADE THAT PROCESS MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND MUCH
LESS HARROWING!
BUT THE MOST EXCITING NEWS TO HIT THE STATION RECENTLY WAS THE AP
PROVAL FOR A POWER INCREASE. ON DECEMBER 2, 1987, THE FEDERAL
COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) NOTIFIED WHNE THAT A REQUEST
FOR A POWER INCREASE TO 5000 WATTS HAD BEEN APPROVED AND THOSE
CHANGES COULD BE MADE IMMEDIATELY. WHNE’S MANAGEMENT IS NOW IN
THE PROCESS OF GETTING THAT POWER INCREASE IN EFFECT AND HOPES
TO BOOST ITS SIGNAL AROUND APRIL OF 1 988. “THIS POWER INCREASE
WILL BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT WILL INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO
REACH OUR LISTENERS WITH THE KIND OF NEWS, INFORMATION, AND
ENTERTAINMENT THEY WANT”, SAID STATION MANAGER, PHIL
CASTLEBERRY.
WHNE INVITES YOU TO TUNE IN ANY TIME AND INVITES YOUR QUESTIONS,
COMMENTS, OR REQUESTS. CALL 887-3136 OR WRITE TO WHNE, P.O. BOX
609, CUMMING, GA 30130.
“The Voice and Choice of LAKE LANIERLAND”
I I I! ' |
r ; * A
• i r *«.
- I \ W- i
!
** In
” " W**
■: 4 N
m ‘ *>*• -r
-
- - . • XJ*.
Traffic accidents As Forsyth County grows, so does
the number of traffic accidents recorded by local law en
forcement agencies each year, in 1987, 18 people lost
their lives in accidents in Forsyth County. County acci-
dents fall under the jurisdiction of the sheriff ’s department,
the city police, or the Georgia State Patrol Post located in
Lawrenceville
B lllK
J3UARAN'
Vta
AJ
\ No matter how
j * you break them.
y No matter how many
times.
No matter if they’re glasses,
bifocals, or even sunglasses.
If you bought them at any
Pearle
Vision Center, you can take
them back
to any Pearle Vision Center.
And we’ll replace or
repair them as needed. Ab
solutely free. For
one full year after purchase.
Because we think
that’s one break you deserve.
NOBODYCARES FOR EYES MORE THAN PEARLE.
TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS
Tri-County Plaza
Cumming
889-2019
LABOR
More than most other counties in
the state, Forsyth works.
Balanced on the northern edge of
metro Atlanta, Forsyth County con
sistently scores one of the lowest un
employment rates statewide, usual
ly hovering about a percentage point
below Georgia’s average.
Though year-end data has not been
computed by the state Department
of Labor, officials are quick to recog
nize Forsyth as one of the top
counties.
“Certain ones are consistent and
Forsyth County always tends to be
among the lowest,” said Ginger
Blackstone, director public relations
for the labor department. “Forsyth
has a consistently healthy unemploy
ment rate.”
AV E RA. G E Continued from page 1
county’s work force is employed in
this fashion, followed by 12 percent
who work as machine operators, as
semblers and inspectors. Only four
percent of the work force still tills the
soil.
• Bringing Home an Average In
come of $23,000. (Editorial note: This
reporter takes no responsibility for
the number of employees this infor
mation may induce to insist upon a
raise.)
• A Fairly Self-Sufficient Sort.
Only 4.4 percent of all households in
the county receive public assistance.
• But Rather Apathetic. Out of an
estimated population of approxi
mately 36,000, only 13,982 are regis
tered to vote. If you use 1980 census
figures, there are approximately
9,272 people under voting age in the
county. If you add the registered vot
ers with that number, that accounts
for 23,254 people. OK, so what sort of
excuse do the other 13,000 of you
have?
• Possessing a Particular Affini
ty for Fried Chicken. It would be fast
er to name the restaurants in the
liiT rjs
1L? £ i/iii-i;
IMPROVING
FORSYTH’S
VISION
Since Spring 1983
Professional-Experienced
Eyecare and Service.
Jack Hudak-Franchise Owner
Bobby Scoville, LDO-Manager
Marilyn Wilson and
Elaine Gober-Optical Assistants
Eye Examinations by
Dr. Howard Oifer
and
Dr. Mark A. Hegestchweiler
“For all your vision needs”
PEARLE)
vision center J
December’s figures show For
syth’s 3.3 percent unemployment
rate was the state’s second lowest,
behind Banks County. The state av
erage was 5.4 percent.
Out of a total civilian work force of
19,197, only 662 Forsyth County resi
dents were unemployed, Blackstone
said. That figure represents fewer
unemployed persons than in Novem
ber, when 942 were jobless a rate
of 4.7 percent.
Figures have remained stable
over the past year, with the rate for
last December only .2 percent higher
at 3.9 percent. The work force size
has also stayed near 20,000, which
Blackstone characterized as a medi
um size labor pool.
county that don’t serve fried chicken
than it would be to name the ones that
do. Couple the traditional southern
appreciation for an expertly fried
bird with the fact the county’s largest
employer happens to be a chicken
processing plant, namely Tyson
Foods, and you can readily see why
poultry production outweighs any
other farm production in the county.
But the fondness for fried food may
have a direct correlation with this
fact about our “average guy:”
• Quite likely to drop dead from a
heart attack. Heart disease is the
leading cause of death among county
residents.
Take heart, though. If you’re male,
a simple sex change operation can
help you live longer. (No county sta
tistics on sex change operations yet.
Maybe next year.) Our “average
guy” is:
• Likely To rive Longer If He’s a
Woman. The average life expectancy
for male county residents is 64; for
women, it’s 76. You can draw your
own conclusions from that.
Generally, the new tax law requires
children and other dependents to file
tax returns for 1987 if: • they have any
investment income, such as interest on
savings, and • this investment income
plus any wages is more than SSOO.
Publication 922 contains detailed
information. To get one, call the IRS
Forms number in your local telephone
directory'. — Ti —r
A FuMl* lervkf of L/w Iff*
BRANNON SQUARE
Roswell
998-9656