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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Wedneeday, July 17,19 M
Opinion
Get ready for the Torch
Forsyth County will get to celebrate its own day in the limelight for the Summer
Olympics on Thursday as Midway Elementary School principal Dennis Whittle car
ries the Olympic torch through a portion of Roswell in North Fulton County.
Whittle was nominated by some teachers at his school for the honor of carrying
the torch. Whittle’s school is making plans to attend his three tenths of a mile run.
According to our latest information, he will be picking up the torch at approxi
mately 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 18 and proceeding from Clock Tower Place on the
Roswell Square onto Roswell Road, across the Chattahoochee River, then south onto
Pitts Road, to Roberts Drive and then to Ashford-Dunwoody Road.
We are proud that one of Forsyth County’s outstanding volunteers and educators is
able to be a part of this occasion. We know that he will make
Forsyth County proud. Although the torch by-passed our
county, we do have someone participating in the run who can
well represent us.
We also want to remind the public that as of Tuesday
evening, we have visitors here from Okinawa. These karate
experts will be staying in our community for about a week as
they participate in some Olympic exhibitions and enjoy seeing
some events. They will also be treated to some Southern hos
pitality as several area churches, restaurants, the Cumming-
Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, the Sawnee Center
and Forsyth individuals welcome these 46 visitors to Forsyth
County.
Whether you’re going to the Olympics or not, we invite
you to enjoy some of the activities associated with the event, such as Whittle’s run and
the visit by our Okinawan guests. See the events section for more information about
the activities planned for the Okinawans’ visit. Also see page one for more informa
tion on Whittle’s scheduled run with the torch.
On Your Payroll
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor, H. Ford Gravitt, 212 Kelly Mill Road, Cumming, Ga. 30130
Mayor Pro-Tern, Ralph Perry, 1420 Pilgrim Road,
Cumming, Ga. 30130
Lewis Ledbetter, 205 Mountain Brook Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130
Quincy Holton, 312 Samaritan Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130
Rupert Sexton, 705 Pine Lake Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130
John Pugh, 108 13th Street, Cumming, Ga. 30130
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
David Sexton, 5330 Dahlonega Hwy., Cumming, Ga. 30130
Ron Seder, 6355 Barberry Hill Place, Gainesville, Ga. 30506
James Harrington, P.O. Box 305, Cumming, Ga. 30130
John Kieffer, 4403 Pine Tree Close, Cumming, Ga. 30130
Lamar Suddeth, 3145 Pleasant Grove Rd., Cumming, Ga. 30130
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Sherry Sagemiller, 1460 Squire Lane, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
770-887-8388.
Ben Benson, 1265 Dahlonega Highway, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
770-889-9892.
Eddie Taylor, 4195 Morningside Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
770-887-4405.
Arthur Wright, 4200 Oaktree Lane, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
770-887-6883.
Don Hendricks, 5985 Polo Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130.770-889-2909
NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
•U.S. Senator Sam Nunn
303 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510.
Telephone: 1-202-224-3521, Atlanta 404-331-4811
Fax: Washington, 202-224-0072; Atlanta, 404-331-5439
•U.S. Senator Paiil Coverdell
200 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Atlanta: 100 Colony Square, Suite 300, 1175 Peachtree St.,
Atlanta, Ga. 30361
Telephone: 202-224-3643;Atlanta 404-347-2202
Fax: Washington, 202-228-3875; Atlanta, 404-347-2243
•U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, 9th District
1406 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
Gainesville: P.O. Box 1015, Gainesville, Ga. 30503
Telephone: 202-225-5211 ;Gainesville, 770-535-2592
Fax: 202-225-5211; Gainesville, 770-535-2765
STATE REPRESENTATIVES
• Senator Clint Day, 48th District
121-1 State Capitol, Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Telephone: 404-656-0048 (office) or 770-446-1500
•Senator Casey Cagle, 49th District
303-B Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Telephone: 404-656-7580 (office) or 404-656-6578
•Rep. Mike Evans, 28th District
18 Capitol Square, Legislative Office Building, Room 604,
Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Telephone: 404-656-0250 (office) or 404-656-0265
•Rep. Keith Breedlove, 85th District
Legislative Office Building, Suite 412, Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Gov. Zell Miller 203 State Capital, Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Telephone: 1-404-656-1776
Street talk
Are you satisfied with the results from the recent election in Forsyth County?
Ed Key
I think more of the incumbents should have
been kicked out.
Whittle
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Forrest Bean with Amber
I’m satisfied with a run-off in the sheriffs
race because it narrows down the field so
we can make a better choice.
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The primary: What does it all mean?
Race, women and money some ran
dom notes from last week’s primary elec
tion:
• The notion that white voters will not
elect blacks to high office was shattered. A
black congressman, Rep. Sanford Bishop,
won a sweeping victory in a Democratic
primary dominated by white voters in
southwest Georgia. Farmers, organized
labor and black leaders joined in a tradi
tional coalition to elect Bishop over a white
challenger in the newly configured 2nd
District. Bishop is the odds-on favorite to
win again in the November election.
• The idea that black voters will not
elect whites also fell by the wayside. Civil
rights leaders in Atlanta urged veteran
African-American state Rep. John White of
Albany to challenge white state Sen. Mark
Taylor. Black activists Jesse Jackson and
Joe Lowery promised to come to the aid of
White to defeat entrenched Democratic
leader Taylor. The race was to be run right
down black-white lines with Taylor painted
as a racist. It didn’t work. Jackson and
Lowery were no-shows. Taylor swept the
election, winning every county in the 60-
percent-plus black district. Still, Taylor
reportedly spent a bundle on his 62 percent
victory.
• Two black appellate judges Chief
Justice Robert Benham and Court of
Appeals Judge Jack Ruffin escaped elec
tion challenges and were returned to the
bench. The only appellate court fight
occurred over the seat occupied by conserv
ative white Court of Appeals Judge Gary
Andrews. He was thrown into a rare judi
cial runoff against lawyer Anne Elizabeth
Barnes. The issue: Trial lawyers believe
Andrews leans too much in favor of silk
stocking defense lawyers in personal-injury
cases. The plaintiff bar spent about
$250,000 to prove its case against Andrews.
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Fey Mikles
They were interesting to watch coming from
another state.
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• Cookie-king Michael Coles,
Democratic nominee for the 6th District
congressional post, may not be able to
bring down Speaker Newt Gingrich in
November, but he has earned a place in
Georgia history. Coles spent $965,000, or
nearly SBO per vote —a new state record
in his runaway victory over Cliff Oxford
in the Democratic primary. Insiders say
Coles is prepared to spend $3 million to
unseat Gingrich in the general election.
• Coles wasn’t the only big spender.
Guy Millner poured an estimated $4 mil
lion into his primary race for the Senate,
spending about $37 a vote. Still, he slipped
from 52 percent in the polls in January to
42 percent on election day. Outspent 4-1 by
Millner, former state Sen. Johnny Isakson
rose from 17 percent in the January polls to
35 percent on election day. Isakson’s high
risk pro-choice stance turned out a sizeable
number of women voters. It may be diffi
cult for Isakson to maintain his momentum
through the Olympics until the Aug. 6
runoff. Millner is expected to pump an
additional $2 million into his runoff cam
paign.
• If Sanford Bishop and Mark Taylor’s
victories were good news for advocates of a
colorblind political system,
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney’s run
away primary victory in the 4th District
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Angela Rainwater with
Miriam and Benjamin
No, I wish Ron Seder had been re-elected
and Gary Smith had been elected.
sent a different message. She ran a sepa
ratist campaign and labeled moderate white
opponents as “old Confederates.” In fact,
McKinney’s primary campaign may mean
centrist white males no longer stand much
chance of winning Democratic primaries in
urban and suburban areas of the state.
McKinney’s 4th District is about 65 percent
white, but the Democratic primary was
dominated by black votes. P.S.: McKinney
also received a high percentage of female
votes, white as well as black, in her victory
over Comer Yates and Ron Slotin.
• Incumbents can breathe easier. In last
week’s voting, not a single incumbent was
defeated in races for statewide offices,
appellate judgeships or the state Senate.
Only one state representative, Jim Woods,
R-Marielta, was turned out of office.
However, several incumbents may be seek
ing new career opportunities after the
runoff and general election.
• The biggest winners from the primary
may be Democrats. More voters cast
Democrat ballots than Republican ballots.
Voting was lightest in suburban Republican
areas, and heaviest in rural Democratic
strongholds. While the turnout statewide
failed to exceed 28 percent, more than 50
percent of registered voters cast ballots in
several south Georgia jurisdictions.
• The elections division of the secretary
of state’s office rates barely a C-minus for
its election reporting. Despite the low
turnout, results were posted at a snail’s
pace. More than a dozen precincts were still
out Thursday, and the results of the U.S.
Senate primary fluctuated fdr three days
after the primary.
Bill Shipp is editor of Bill Shipp’s
Georgia, a weekly newsletter on govern
ment and business. He can be reached at P.
O. Box 440755, Kennesaw, GA 30144 or by
calling (770) 422-2543.
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Jean Graff
No, I’m waiting for the run-off.